Soundcraft Si Impact Manual⁚ A Comprehensive Guide
This manual provides a complete guide to the Soundcraft Si Impact digital mixer, covering features, operation, and troubleshooting. It’s designed to help you understand and efficiently use the Si Impact for live sound, recording, and other audio applications. The manual includes detailed information about the console’s layout, assignable controls, touch screen operation, DSP elements, and mix features, as well as troubleshooting tips and specifications.
Introduction to the Soundcraft Si Impact
The Soundcraft Si Impact is a powerful and versatile digital mixer designed for live sound applications. It offers a compact footprint while providing a wide range of features and capabilities. The Si Impact is ideal for a variety of live sound scenarios, including concerts, theatre productions, corporate events, and houses of worship. Its intuitive design and user-friendly interface make it accessible to both experienced engineers and those new to digital mixing.
1.1. Overview
The Soundcraft Si Impact is a digital mixer that offers a compact and streamlined design, making it suitable for a variety of live sound applications. It features 32 microphone preamps, 40 input channels, and 31 output busses, allowing for complex audio setups with ease. The Si Impact also includes a built-in 32×32 USB audio interface for multi-track recording and playback, adding to its versatility. The Si Impact is equipped with a comprehensive set of features, including a touch screen, assignable controls, and a powerful DSP engine, making it an ideal choice for live sound professionals and musicians.
1.2. Features and Capabilities
The Soundcraft Si Impact is packed with features that cater to live sound professionals. It boasts a user-friendly interface with a color touch screen for easy navigation and control. The console features assignable controls, including fader layers, control channels, and an assignable channel strip (ACS), which allows for quick and efficient adjustments to various parameters. The Si Impact also includes a powerful DSP engine with a wide range of processing options, such as gate, compressor, equalizer, and graphic EQ, providing comprehensive audio control. Additionally, the console features a flexible routing system with numerous busses and matrixes for versatile signal management. The Si Impact also supports integration with Soundcraft’s ViSi Remote iOS app for remote control.
1.3. Applications
The Soundcraft Si Impact is a versatile digital mixer suitable for a wide range of audio applications. Its compact size and powerful features make it ideal for live sound reinforcement in various venues, from small clubs to larger concerts. The Si Impact’s comprehensive DSP capabilities and flexible routing options make it suitable for recording studios and broadcast environments. Additionally, its integration with Soundcraft’s ViSi Remote iOS app allows for remote control, making it a valuable tool for houses of worship and other venues where remote operation is beneficial. The Si Impact’s combination of features and user-friendliness makes it a versatile and adaptable tool for professional audio applications.
Getting Started with the Si Impact
The Soundcraft Si Impact is designed for ease of use, but understanding the console’s layout and features is essential for efficient operation. The Si Impact offers a user-friendly interface with intuitive controls and a clear, color-coded feedback system, which helps reduce operational errors. The manual provides a detailed overview of the console’s parts, including the faders, buttons, and touch screen. It explains the concept of FaderGlow, a unique feature that provides visual feedback on the console’s status, making it easier to track various functions. Understanding these basic elements is crucial for navigating the Si Impact and maximizing its potential.
2.1. Console Overview
The Soundcraft Si Impact is a compact digital console optimized for live sound applications. Its design prioritizes intuitive operation with a straightforward layout, making it easy to navigate and control. The console features a central section with a large color touch screen that provides access to system settings, preferences, and various audio functions. The touch screen is complemented by a row of physical faders and buttons along the lower section of the console. These faders and buttons control various aspects of the audio signal flow, including input channels, output busses, and mix features. The Si Impact’s compact size and user-friendly interface make it a versatile choice for live sound engineers and musicians.
2.2. Parts of the Console
The Soundcraft Si Impact console is composed of several key parts, each serving a specific function in managing and manipulating audio signals. The console’s front panel features a central section housing the color touch screen, which provides access to various settings and functions. Below the touch screen, a row of motorized faders controls individual channels and busses. To the right of the faders, a series of buttons and knobs control input channels, output busses, and mix features. The Si Impact also features a section with assignable controls, allowing users to customize the console’s functionality to suit their specific needs. The back panel houses various input and output connectors, enabling the console to interface with microphones, instruments, and other audio devices.
2.3. FaderGlow
FaderGlow is an innovative feature on the Soundcraft Si Impact that enhances the user experience by providing visual feedback on channel status. This dynamic color-coded system is integrated into the console’s faders, illuminating them in different colors to indicate various states, such as muted channels, soloed channels, or selected channels. FaderGlow effectively eliminates confusion and helps users easily identify the current status of channels, especially in fast-paced live sound environments. It also helps to reduce operating errors by providing a clear visual cue to the user, ensuring that they are interacting with the correct channels and functions.
Assignable Controls
The Soundcraft Si Impact is equipped with a powerful set of assignable controls that enhance its flexibility and streamline operation. These controls empower users to customize the console’s layout and functionality to suit their specific needs. By assigning different functions to various sections of the console, users can quickly access and manage a wide range of parameters, including channel levels, EQ settings, and dynamics processing. This intuitive design allows for efficient workflow, ensuring that users can operate the console swiftly and accurately, even in demanding live sound situations.
3.1. Fader Layers
The Si Impact employs a multi-layered fader system, allowing users to assign different functions to the console’s faders, enhancing its versatility and workflow. The console offers four primary Fader Layers, designated as A, B, C, and D, accessed via the FADERS button group located to the right of the Control Channels. Each layer provides a unique set of control functions, enabling users to manage various aspects of the mix, such as channel levels, auxiliary sends, and bus assignments. The ability to switch between these layers allows users to quickly adapt to different mixing scenarios, ensuring efficient control over a wide range of audio signals. This layered approach simplifies complex mixing tasks by organizing functions into distinct groups, making the Si Impact a powerful tool for live sound engineers and recording professionals.
3.2. Control Channels
The Si Impact’s Control Channels represent a crucial aspect of its assignable control system. These channels provide dedicated control strips for DSP functions, offering users a streamlined approach to managing a wide range of audio processing options. Each Control Channel is equipped with a fader, indicators, and buttons for ON, SOLO, and SEL functions. The SEL (Select) button plays a key role in assigning the Assignable Channel Strip (ACS) to the desired channel. This allows users to access and adjust the parameters of specific DSP channels directly from the ACS, simplifying the process of applying effects, EQ, and dynamics processing. Control Channels are organized in a layered structure, with the Fader Layer buttons determining the current Control Channel assignment. This organization enhances the console’s flexibility, allowing users to seamlessly switch between different sets of Control Channels as needed, ensuring a smooth and intuitive workflow for managing complex audio processing tasks.
3.2.1. Control Channel Assignment
The process of assigning Control Channels is a vital step in configuring the Si Impact’s assignable control system. To customize the Control Channel layout, you’ll navigate to the FADER SETUP menu within the Touch Screen Main Menu. This menu provides a dedicated interface for assigning specific audio channels or functions to the Control Channels. Here, you can select a Control Channel using the Fader Layer and SEL buttons, defining which DSP channel will be linked to the corresponding Control Channel strip. The FADER SETUP menu offers options for assigning Stereo Input channels, MIX Master channels, or inserting blank Control Channels. The ability to insert blank Control Channels is particularly useful for rearranging the Control Channel order, allowing you to move them to different positions within the Control Channel bank. This process of assigning Control Channels empowers users to create a personalized control surface that aligns with their specific mixing needs, enhancing their efficiency and workflow within the Si Impact’s advanced digital mixing environment.
3.3. Assignable Channel Strip (ACS)
The Assignable Channel Strip (ACS) is a powerful feature that enables comprehensive control over individual audio channels within the Si Impact. By pressing the SEL (Select) button on any DSP channel, you activate the ACS, dedicating the channel strip to the selected channel’s parameters. This allows you to directly manipulate all the input, EQ, dynamics, and output functions associated with that channel. The ACS provides a centralized hub for fine-tuning the sound of individual channels, offering a range of controls for shaping and processing audio signals. This intuitive interface empowers users to adjust gain, apply EQ, and control dynamics, all within the same channel strip, streamlining the mixing process and providing a high level of control over individual audio signals.
3.4. Totem (Fader Follow)
The Totem (Fader Follow) feature on the Si Impact provides a streamlined method for adjusting the levels of various bus contributions. Located just below the ACS, the Totem buttons, labeled MIX 1-14, MTX 1-4, and FX 1-4, comprise the FADER FOLLOW button group. When you select a Totem button, the faders on the console automatically reflect the levels of the corresponding bus. This allows you to quickly and easily adjust the contributions of various channels to that specific bus, such as main mixes, matrix mixes, or effects sends. The Totem function offers a powerful way to manage multiple bus levels simultaneously, simplifying the mixing process and allowing for efficient control over the overall sound of the mix.
Touch Screen Operation
The Soundcraft Si Impact’s color touch screen is a central element of its intuitive operation. It can be used directly with touch input, or in conjunction with the scroll encoder and MENU / APPLY buttons. The touch screen provides access to a wide range of functions, including system settings, preferences, copy/paste functions, cue lists, show control, input and output settings, monitoring options, the solo system, and a frequency response-type display for the 4-band EQ. The touch screen allows for a more visual and interactive approach to managing the console’s settings and functions, making navigation and parameter adjustments more efficient and user-friendly.
4.1. Main Menu
The Soundcraft Si Impact’s touch screen Main Menu is easily accessed by pressing the MENU button located next to the screen. This menu serves as a central hub for navigating the console’s settings and features. From the Main Menu, you can access various sub-menus⁚ SHOW, SYSTEM, PREFS, and OSC. The SHOW menu allows you to manage show file operations, global isolate settings, and the console’s RESET CONFIG function. The SYSTEM menu provides access to system information, HiQnet and IP addressing, selective console reset functions, and the Event Log. The PREFS menu manages brightness settings and D.O.G.S. Finally, the OSC menu allows you to configure the built-in oscillator, including routing, waveform, frequency, and output options. The Main Menu provides a structured and organized method for adjusting settings and accessing essential console functions.
DSP Elements
The Soundcraft Si Impact incorporates a powerful suite of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) elements to enhance audio quality and provide flexible control over your mix. These DSP elements are accessible through various parts of the console, including the Function Focus, the Assignable Channel Strip (ACS), the Control Channel, and the Graphic EQ (GEQ). The Function Focus provides a dedicated area for adjusting key parameters such as gate, compressor, and equalizer settings for the selected channel or bus. The ACS offers a comprehensive set of controls for input, EQ, dynamics, and output functions, enabling precise adjustments to individual channels. The Control Channel provides an assignable channel strip for DSP channels, allowing you to control faders, indicators, and ON, SOLO, and SEL buttons. Finally, the Graphic EQ provides a visual interface for adjusting the frequency response of selected channels or busses. These versatile DSP elements offer a wide range of tools for shaping and refining the audio signal, empowering you to achieve professional sound quality.
5.1. Function Focus
The Function Focus is a dedicated section on the Soundcraft Si Impact console that provides quick and easy access to key parameters for the selected channel or bus. This area typically displays the most commonly used DSP elements, such as gate, compressor, and equalizer settings, allowing you to make adjustments without navigating through menus. The Function Focus simplifies the process of fine-tuning individual channels or busses, ensuring a streamlined workflow for your mixing tasks. You can easily switch between different DSP elements within the Function Focus, enabling you to focus on specific aspects of the audio signal. This dedicated area allows for rapid adjustments, making it an essential tool for live sound mixing, recording, and other audio applications.
5.2. ACS/Channel Strip Elements
The Assignable Channel Strip (ACS) on the Soundcraft Si Impact is a powerful tool that provides comprehensive control over individual audio channels. It offers a complete set of processing elements, including input gain, gate, compressor, equalizer, and output routing. The ACS allows you to shape the sound of each channel, control its dynamics, and direct its signal flow. With its intuitive layout and clear visual feedback, the ACS simplifies the process of making precise adjustments to individual channels. Whether you’re working with vocalists, instruments, or other audio sources, the ACS provides the necessary tools to enhance and refine your sound.
5.3. Control Channel
The Control Channel on the Soundcraft Si Impact is a dedicated channel strip that allows you to manage and control various DSP functions within the console. You can assign a specific channel to the Control Channel, providing a dedicated interface for adjusting its parameters. This includes gain, equalization, dynamics, and routing. The Control Channel is particularly useful for tasks like creating submixes, managing effects sends, and applying global processing to specific groups of channels. The Control Channel’s flexible assignment options and comprehensive set of controls offer a powerful way to refine and shape your mix.
5.4. Graphic EQ (GEQ)
The Soundcraft Si Impact features a 31-band graphic equalizer (GEQ) that provides precise control over the frequency spectrum of your audio signal. The GEQ is an essential tool for shaping the overall tonal balance of your mix, addressing specific frequency issues, and creating unique sonic characteristics. The GEQ offers a highly visual interface, allowing you to see and adjust individual frequency bands with precision. You can use the GEQ to boost or cut specific frequencies, creating a more balanced sound, removing unwanted noise, or enhancing particular instruments or vocal frequencies. The GEQ’s flexibility makes it a valuable tool for both subtle adjustments and dramatic tonal shaping.
