The Presonus StudioLive AR12c packs a clever combination of analogue and digital features into a compact mixing desk. It's built like a standard analogue mixer with four mono and five stereo channels, but under the bonnet there's also a digital effects processor with 16 reverb, delay, and chorus effects, as well as an SD card recorder/player and a fully functional USB audio interface. And as an added bonus, the AR12c also has a built-in Bluetooth 5 receiver, as well as featuring eight XMAX microphone preamps of the same kind that Presonus uses in its high-end studio equipment. Despite its compact dimensions, there's nothing stopping the AR12c being used to create high-quality audio content of all kinds, be it in the form of music, podcasts, or live streams for a YouTube channel.
The Presonus StudioLive AR12c is like the Swiss Army knife of audio interfaces: It's compact and yet incredibly versatile. Presonus has cleverly integrated the digital features into the analogue console workflow, and even novice users will find their way around the StudioLive AR12c in no time at all. In addition to the main XLR outputs, the signal can be routed to the separately controllable FX and AUX outputs (there are two of the latter), which enables a variety of routing scenarios such as running signals through an external effects unit or creating a headphone mix for musicians. The highlight, however, is the "Super Channel": Four stereo sources can be routed to stereo input 13/14 – the stereo RCA and stereo mini jack inputs, the SD card player, and the Bluetooth receiver.
The Presonus StudioLive AR12c successfully balances ease of use with a comprehensive range of features and functions, which makes it the ideal tool for musicians, podcasters, and YouTubers who don't want to delve too deeply into the technical stuff but still need a versatile audio tool. The StudioLive AR12c is just as suitable for use in a home studio as it is for mixing live events, where background music is often required in addition to vocal microphones. And users shouldn't be deceived by the AR12c's small footprint: This compact mixer is no less capable than its larger siblings in the StudioLive series when it comes to operational reliability and sound quality.
Presonus is a US company founded in 1995 by Jim Odom and Brian Smith in Baton Rouge, Lousiana. The firm designs hardware and software at both professional and more affordable levels for musicians and producers. Presonus first made a splash in the mid-1990s with the DCP8, an eight-channel analogue compressor/limiter/gate with fader and mute automation that could be digitally controlled by MIDI. In the early 2000s followed a series of microphone amplifiers and the first audio interfaces for the then-emerging home studio scene. Today, the company's product range includes audio interfaces, microphone preamps, digital mixing consoles, and studio monitors as well as the established DAW software Studio One.
Many bits of gear found in professional studios can be accurately described as one-trick ponies, but there's no danger of anyone thinking that about the Presonus StudioLive AR12c. In addition to its obvious applications – as a mixer and USB interface for recording podcasts or streaming on YouTube, for instance – it's also a great companion for singer-songwriters and even smaller bands, who can use the AR12c to mix and simultaneously record their live shows, as well as to capture ideas on the go and continue to work on them later in their home studio using the Studio One Artist software. Drummers can use the AR12c for practising, e.g. by recording themselves playing to a backing track from a smartphone (via Bluetooth). This compact StudioLive model is also a great choice for solo entertainers or duos, because thanks to the Super Channel, no valuable channels are sacrificed for playing background music during breaks in the performance.