Blokhed Studios Makes A Smart Move To HARMANs Soundcraft Si Expression 2 Digital Live Sound Console
DEER PARK, New York - When it comes to sound quality, Blokhed Studios owner Tom Stiegler is no fool. A drummer, recording, mastering and live sound engineer, Stiegler is a self-described sonic perfectionist who didnt want to make the move to live digital mixing until it met his standards. When HARMANs Soundcraft Si Expression 2 console hit the market Stiegler found what hed been waiting for.
Stiegler was really excited when digital live sound consoles started to become more affordable a few years ago. However, excitement turned to disappointment when he first heard one of those earlier models. I hated it, was his reaction, finding it thin sounding and impractical to use because the faders had to be zeroed out whenever they needed to be reset. He shied away from trying a digital console again until recently, as prices came down and more manufacturers including Soundcraft entered the market.
This time, Stiegler was more wary and spent a lot of time obsessively researching my options and making sonic comparisons. Soundcraft was on my list. I always had faith in their mic preamps, and the new Si Expression Series looked like it had the features I needed. The Si Expression 2 was price-competitive with other comparable brands. After comparing various digital consoles in his price range, Stiegler chose the Si Expression 2 for its superior sound quality and feature set. Im a mixing and mastering engineer, he noted. I hear everything. What seems like a little bit of a sonic difference to others is a big amount to me.
Stiegler does a lot of live sound work for local Long Island and New York Metro area bands at outdoor and indoor gigs, where bands have come to rely on him for his ability to get a good-sounding mix no matter where theyre playing-even in clubs with less-than-stellar acoustics and house sound systems. I feel that local bands should have a live sound mix thats as good as any national act, he emphasized. Easier said than done in some venues, which is why Stiegler often brings in extra PA gear and appreciates the Si Expression 2s ability to adapt to any live sound situation.
In the hectic environment of club sound, Stiegler will often have to set up the Si Expression 2 in less than an hour-or even have only minutes to build a mix. He finds the console to be adept at getting him where he needs to be fast, thanks to its motorized faders, logical layout and features like Soundcrafts simple, timesaving cue/snapshot system that lets Stiegler instantly recall any board settings from any club hes ever worked in - a beautiful thing. Equally useful is Soundcrafts TOTEM (The One-Touch Easy Mix) system that reconfigures the console and allows users to press a single key to mix to an AUX, FX or Matrix bus.
Stiegler noted that all the compression, EQ, noise gate and other controls he needs the most are at his fingertips, with the analog section of the console right at the top and the touchscreen interface providing ready access to desired functions. Stiegler finds the FaderGlow color-coded illuminated faders a lifesaver in clubs where front of house is thrown into near-darkness when the house lights go down.
The Si Expression 2s iPad compatibility gives Stiegler the ability to make adjustments to the console from anywhere in the room-an extremely useful feature that lets him adjust the mix from anywhere in the venue and set each musicians monitor mix from the musicians on-stage position.
In making the move from analog to digital, Stiegler found there was a learning curve, but not too big a one. The Si Expression 2 is not that hard to learn. The biggest mistake you can make is walking into it thinking its going to be too complicated. If youre thinking about buying a digital console in this price range, the Si Expression 2 is the one to get-its not even a question, he concluded.
--
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Blokhed Studios Makes A Smart Move To HARMANs Soundcraft Si Expression 2 Digital Live Sound Console 
