Si Compact Training Notes and FAQs

Contents
Version: .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1
What is new about Version 2: .................................................................................................................................... 1
Demonstrating the Console: ....................................................................................................................................... 2
FAQs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Version:

V2.0 Updated for V2.0 Software, cleared version history for clarity.

What is new about Version 2:
V2 provides many new features and enhancements therefore this FAQ guide has been updated accordingly. Full
instructions for the new features are covered in the new V2 user guide; a list of key changes from V1 to V2 are listed
below:

Increased inputs to mix on Si Compact 16 & 24
Support for multiple shows on internal SD card
Ability to dim illuminated control surface elements from new PREFS page
Wider gain range on line trim function
Ability to ISOlate insert function
Press & hold of backspace button on QWERTY keyboard will auto delete the name
Improved system default settings for FX return routing and bus masters
Ability to instantly set bus and matrix sends to unity or inf
DOGS Gain tracking
Selective Copy & Paste
Security lockout
Assignable fader layers
Snapshot control via MIDI in and MIDI out
Ability to independently send Left, Right and Mono to a matrix bus
Console can be word clock slave or master
Global Isolate of individual buses
Patching of stereo inputs to any channel
HPF setting shown on EQ screen
Delay displayed in meters feet and ms and PEQ filter width in Q and octaves
SELect Function Focus includes additional information and active only whilst SEL key is held
Support for CobraNet and Aviom
Minimum 25% speed improvement on all processes
Improved fader operation
Improved access of LCR > Matrix function
Improved menu navigation
SOUNDCRAFT
A Di vi si on of Harman Internati onal Industri es Ltd
CRANBORNE HOUSE
CRANBORNE ROAD
POTTERS BAR
HERTS EN6 3JN
UK
Registered Office: Harman International Industries Limited, Cranborne House, Cranborne Road,
Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3JN. Company Registration 1485558

Demonstrating the Console:
Experience gained over the 1
st
year of production has improved our insight to how the product is understood by clients
and users, this experience allows the trainer to highlight qualities that increase the perception of the product, explain
clearly features or attributes that are not commonly understood especially by entry level users, and avoid difficult
questions.

Key highlights to note during a demonstration are follows:

Ensure the user understands that inputs can be linked as mono or stereo.
Ensure the user understands that the number of input sources, processing channels, faders, layers, buses and output
destinations are 6 independent and unrelated numbers.
Ensure the user understands that a Group is essentially a Post Fade aux at unity gain.
Ensure the user understands that buses can be linked as mono or stereo.
Ensure the user understands that an aux can route back to the main LR bus if wishing to use it like an audio
group.
Highlight the Soundcraft FaderGlow function.
Highlight the Si Compact uses Vi1 mic amps
Highlight the Function Focus window, especially in GEQ mode and the Pop-Up name when you simply select or
re-select a channel.
Ensure the user knows there is a GEQ on every bus and it can be opened whenever a BUS, FX, MTX, LR or
MONO is SELected.
Highlight the Lexicon and associated control tabs (patch#1 has 3 pages, patch#14 has one page) making especially
sure the user knows its a touch screen; this is often missed since the screen is not normally used for control.
Highlight that youve not had to change to any other page or mode to do any type of mix when using the FOLLOW
keys.
Demonstration: create a mix to LR then a mix to an FX bus, highlight that you are hearing the FX return channel
in your monitor, press solo clear to hear LR then bring the FX into LR by simply raising the MONO/SEL fader.
Demonstrate that when mixing to a BUS the SELect key of an input can be pressed to move the control focus of
the Assignable Channel Strip (main control section) back from a bus to an input allowing problems on a
contributing channel to be easily fixed; control may be assigned back to the bus by pressing the SEL key over the
MONO/SEL fader..
Demonstrate the INPUT PRIORITY mode, while mixing to a bus highlighting that SOLO function is temporarily
brought back to input channels when you SOLO an input but returns to the bus when the input SOLO is cancelled.
Demonstrate CLR + BUSn when mixing to a bus press CLR + the BUSS key you are mixing to allowing
contributions to the bus to be reset to default. Explain that CLR works logically with most audio keys to reset
groups of parameters such as GEQ, Mute Groups, Compressors & similar.
Ensure the user understands that they can clear all solos at any time by pressing SOLO CLEAR.
Ensure the user knows to exit BUS FOLLOW simply de-selecting the current bus.
Ensure the user understands the one way to do it principle; mix to BUS1 then open the GEQ, now mix to BUS2
and note the GEQ is closed as BUSn is a function for mixing. To jump between GEQs (for checking monitors)
go to bus mode then the GEQ can stay open as you SELect between buses.
Ensure the user knows about the option cards, especially MADI and Si Compact can work with the Studer D21m
and Soundcraft Vi and Compact stage boxes.
Demonstrate the INTERROGATE function for switches that allow the user to see which channels have a given
function set ON/OFF through illumination or otherwise of SELect keys and that whilst in interrogate the status of
such switches can be toggled using the SELect keys; a particularly effective application example is checking all LR
routing is ON or which channels have 48v enabled.
Ensure the user knows about the off-line editor especially that it is a facsimile of the console in look and operation
so is an excellent training tool.
Ensure the user is left with a copy of the Si Compact Quick Start Guide & off line editor
Demonstrate COPY & PASTE ensuring user understands the copy happens when you enter COPY/PASTE mode
or change SELect (so changes made to a channel youve copied are ignored), the principle of adding & removing
items from the clipboard especially the action of press & hold on an icon.
Demonstrate SECURITY functions highlighting the power offered by a profile driven system where a change in
profile applies to all users highlighting the power offered by a profile driven system where a change in profile
applies to all users.


Ensure user knows that stereo line inputs can be patched as individual mono sources to mono channels.
Demonstrate DOGS gain tracking and show how this can work with multiple consoles.
Demonstrate sending L, R and MONO separately to a matrix bus.
Demonstrate HPF on EQ screen.
Demonstrate reassigning faders, an excellent example is bringing FX return channels to layer A.
FAQs
The following questions are coming in from distribution and customers

Q. What is the maximum channel to mix for SiCompact 16, 24 and 32?
A. 32, 40 & 40 inputs to mix across the 3 frame sizes with V2 software.

Q. There are 2 layers for the input faders therefore. Si Compact 24 has 44 input faders across 2 layers etc...
This is correct but always keep in mind these are faders that can be assigned to control channels and how you assign
these is at the users discretion.

Q. Why are there some faders that appear to do nothing?
There are two reasons for this, you may have channels assigned to faders but those channels are not patched to any
input sources or there are faders on the console not assigned to control any channels.

Q. Can AUX busses be configured as Group busses?
A. Technically No however any bus may be routed back to main LR and MONO (SELect the bus then press LR and/or
MONO) if the user wishes to use a bus as an audio sub groups. Whilst in FOLLOW mode it is possible to set any
active (ON) bus send to unity gain by pressing the [ALT] + [ON] key of the channel you want @ unity. FaderGlow
distinguishes between PRE FADE (yellow) and POST FADE (green).

Q. Where are the FX masters?
A. The FX send masters are nominally fixed at unity gain, they never appear on the faders.

Q. Are there dedicated FX returns?
A. No, FX returns nominally use the stereo return channel nominally on layer B

Q. Where is the headphone jack?
A. Located under the front edge near fader 1. This location reduces risk of being damage and keeps the cable away
from the control surface, this is especially important on a product with moving faders; the socket is on the left as most
AGK headphone cables exit from the left phone and this is close to the blank panel allowing the headphones to be
safely paced on the console.

Q. Can I mount the desk?
A. Yes, the Si Compact 16 is natively 19 rack mountable and comes with rack ears in place of the decorative side
profiles whilst the 24 and 32 fader versions are finished with side profiles that double as carry handles. A trim &
mount kit will be made available; this includes the parts required to add trims to the 16 fader version and rack ears
allowing the 24 and 32 fader versions to be table-top mounted (drop-through).

Q. How do I get accessories like dust covers?
A. An accessory kit for each frame size of Si Compact will be made available, this includes such items as dust covers,
console lamps, wipe-clean NOTES pad, Soundcraft lanyard and similar.

Q. Why not 4 fully parametric EQs?
A. If all four bands were fully parametric we would have required more encoders and displays, a way to toggle the
mode between bell and shelf and a way to indicate the status, this would have added complexity and risk to an
inexperienced users who may have turned the gain up in shelf mode at an extreme frequency and just added gain! The
LO and HI MID bands are 20Hz to 20KHz so can be used for detailed Hi or Low EQ tasks.
This EQ topic lends itself to discuss good engineering practice; for the majority of scenarios a problem you are trying
to hide with a bucket of EQ is caused by mic/speaker choice & placement or bad performer / instrument none of
which can be fixed with EQ. On the occasions that you really need more EQ inserts are available letting you patch in as
many bands as you wish. Remember when considering the EQ that every output bus has the 4 band EQ and GEQ so
there is no real lack on system EQ if needed.

Q. How do get to the bus or matrix send levels?
A. All sends are on faders, there is no send on encoder function for the console. This approach makes it simple to
learn, especially with The One Touch Easy Mix (TOTEM) system with dedicated keys for every bus.

Q. What are the FX like?
A. Great, there are four Lexicon MX400 based processors driven from the touch screen with their own dedicated buses
in addition to all the other mix buses and a separate TAP tempo key per processor.

Q. Does it have GEQ?
A. Yes, there is a BSS GEQ for every bus on the console; it is accessible whenever a bus is SELected.

Q. What is the option slot about?
A. The option slot takes any of the Si series option cards, in production now (or soon to be in production) there is
MADI, AES, CobraNet and Aviom offering 64 additional input sources to choose from and 64 additional output
destinations; destination sources can be from almost various points in the signal path including the beginning of the
input path making this ideal for recording applications.

Q. Can I use a remote stage box with the Si Compact?
A. Yes, the Si Compact will work with Studer D21m and Soundcraft Vi and Soundcraft Compact stage boxes.

Q. Why a different number of faders to mic inputs?
A. On a digital system there is no correlation between the number of input sources, the number of faders, the number of
processing channels, the number of buses and the number of output destinations, add a stage box and you have many
more mic amps than faders but does that make anything wrong?

Q. How to reset the desk?
A. There is a comprehensive RESET and CLEAR system. Global reset of the console and patching is achieved from the
SYSTEM menu but the CLEAR key + other function keys allow reset of whole channels or buses, processing groups
per channel such as EQ, COMP GEQ etc. Advanced clear functions include clearing mute group assignments resetting
all system EQs or all sends to any given bus.

Q. Is there delay on inputs and outputs?
A. Yes, all inputs and outputs are equipped with a delay function up to 500mS.

Q. Can I send LR and MONO to the matrix?
A. Yes, a 2nd presses of the active MTXn sets the rightmost 3 faders (20,21 & 22 on an Si Compact 24) become the
sends levels and routing from left, right and mono buses to the MaTriXn.

Q. How may I have more physical outputs from the console without using option cards?
A. Additional outputs may be obtained using the INSERTS, assign an insert to a bus with a cable that links the insert
send to the return and also Y splits the send to an in-line connector such as a male XLR to allow connection to your
system.

Q. How can I get more inputs to mix?
A. Additional inputs to mix are available by using the INSERTS, assign an insert to an AUX bus and connect your
signal source to the INSERT RETURN then simply route the bus to the main L-R MONO or MATRIX as needed.

Q. Why the odd number of faders?
A. The apparently odd number of faders stems from many factors
1. The smallest console had to fit into a 19 chassis and given what we wanted to do with the control surface and
control pitch this meant there was not room for more faders
2. We chose to use the mic amps from the Vi1 which come in groups of 16 (or 8) and this set the pattern going
forward
3. Right now, a desk with 24 mic amps has 32 inputs to mix so there was no need to try and squeeze every local
mic input onto one layer as you were always needing a 2nd layer for the additional inputs (FYI these are set by
default as mono channels on layer A and linked/stereo channels on layer B however you can link/unlink
faders as you wish)
4. Going forward we wish to make yet more channels to mix available for customers using the option cards to
connect to stage boxes and similar so once again correlation between the number of sockets on the mixer,
number of faders and number of channels to mix becomes irrelevant especially if you consider using a
Soundcraft Compact Stagebox which has 32 mic inputs

Q. Where can I find weights & dims?
A. There is a weights & dims section on the Si Compact web page and 3
rd
angle measured drawings are available for
download.

Q. What about an off-line editor for Si Compact?
A. The Si Compact uses the same editor as Si Version 4 and operates as a facsimile of the console. The editor can be
downloaded from any Si Compact web page along with the user guide for the editor.

Q. What about on-line remote control of Si Compact?
A. There is an iPad app for the Si Compact and Vi series consoles available from the Apple App Store (Spring
2012).

Q. Why is there no printed user guide with the Si Compact?
A. As we make regular updates to the feature set of Si Compact it was decided to only maintain the user guide in
electronic format in order it may be quickly and easily be updated without the wastage that occurs with printed paper
manuals each time the software is updated.

Q. Why does the Security feature not use a USB key?
A. USB keys have a tendency to be lost or forgotten, so having a touch screen is a safer interface

Q. What is the idea behind Security Profiles?
A. Profiles allows a change to system access rights by simply updating the access rights against any given profile
without having to update every user.

Q. How can I counter the Yamaha argument There are more processing channels on an LS9?
A. True the DSP engine in the LS9 is capable of processing more channels than the Si Compact, but this does not mean
it has more inputs, to use those additional channels you need to add cards and/or stageboxes. For an additional 32 mic
inputs on an LS9 32ch you would require:
1xMY16ES 64 card,
1xMY16EX expansion card,
2x SB168-ES stageboxes;
Purchased as a bundle at Thomann adds more than 7200 to the 7527 cost for the console, separately these items sell
for more than 7600 excluding interconnect cables and rack mounts/cases for the stageboxes.*


E&OE
Soundcraft Dec11

*Thomann UK Cyberstore 9/12/11