Soundcraft Si Expression 1 digital mixer

General

Digital mixers made by companies with great reputations usually come with great big prices too. Or in other words, if you want top quality, you often have to pay top dollar. This is something that UK company Soundcraft is changing with their Si Expression series. The Soundcraft Si Expression 1 is a comprehensive digital mixer with an unexpectedly affordable price. The three mixers in the Si Expression series all have the same technical specifications so all you need to choose is the number of inputs and faders you'd like to have.

A Closer Look

The Si Expression 1 has a lot to offer, including powerful DSP processors by dbx, Lexicon and Studer. It has 16 microphone inputs that can be expanded to a maximum of 66 by using a Soundcraft stage box. That should be plenty for the kind of projects you'd normally use a console of this size and price for. The microphone preamps are high-quality with plenty of dynamic headroom. Each input has a 4-band equalizer, a delay, gate and a compressor, while each output has a parametric and 3-band equalizer, a compressor, delays and four Lexicons.

Controls

Technology is great, but it's what you can do with it that makes it even better. The Si Expression 1 has motorised faders and Soundcraft's FaderGlow fader slots that light up in different colours depending on the function you're using them for, giving you a colourful and clear overview while mixing. The encoders above the faders are equipped with LED rings so you can easily see the settings. A touch-sensitive colour display with an intuitive interface makes structured tasks like monitoring and adjusting inserts easy without having to trawl through lots of submenus. Next to the display, are traditional effects and controls for the inputs, compressor, equalizer and output, again with LED rings. The icing on the cake though, is the fact that this mixer can be operated remotely from an iPad giving you ultimate freedom.