Avid VENUE | S6L

Complete control of patching and routing

Patch a source from anywhere in your system or connected network (from any pickoff point) to any input channel with full automatic delay compensation.

See more of what's new in VENUE 7.2

Get seamless Waves V14 integration

Avid VENUE 7.1 and Waves 14

With the latest VENUE software, you can now use Waves SoundGrid Servers and V14 plugins directly with your VENUE | S6L system, enabling a flawlessly streamlined workflow. Take full control of all your Waves plugins right from the desk, store settings in snapshots, and get all the power you need to present beautiful sound that's perfectly time-aligned—even for the most demanding shows.

See more of what's new in VENUE 7.1 

Share I/O across three S6L systems

VENUE now supports I/O sharing across three S6L systems, giving you more workflow flexibility while cutting costs and complexity. This makes it easy to add a broadcast console or second monitor console to your setup or enable fast switchover at festivals. Plus, all I/O configurations fully support True Gain technology, which automatically manages gain compensation to ensure proper signal levels are maintained for each engineer.

See more of what's new in VENUE 7

Connect to Milan-networked devices

Milan (Media-integrated local area network) is an open standards-based network protocol, built on the AVB standard, that’s gaining traction across the Pro A/V market for its easy, reliable, and future-proof media delivery. With the new MLN-192 Milan Option Card and latest VENUE software, you can now connect S6L with Milan-enabled loudspeakers, amplifiers, and other devices and benefit from the speed, interoperability, and reliability Milan brings to live sound.

Mix more creatively and easily

Expand your creative possibilities with new mixing features. Add analog warmth and color to mixes with HEAT available on every input channel. Shape sounds without constraint with unlimited graphic EQs on all output busses. Filter out frequencies with HPF and LPF on every output channel. Enable parallel mix control on built-in channel EQs and dynamics to perform parallel compression, expansion, and gating on every channel. And see your levels in their full glory with the Big Meters view.

Get quick ’n’ easy USB recording and playback

Don’t need a full Pro Tools multitrack session? VENUE 7 enables easy 2-track recording and playback using a USB flash drive connected to your S6L control surface. Perform basic live stereo recordings. Play back stereo tracks for pre-show entertainment or walk-up music. You can even integrate audio files with VENUE snapshots and events to trigger sound effects, cues, and music beds for theater performances.

Explore more processing and routing possibilities

Have access to four new post-fader plugin inserts and one post-fader hardware insert on every input channel—ideal for automixing workflows. Double your plugin fun with 400 plugin slots available across all S6L systems and engines, allowing for better VENUE show file compatibility—regardless of the system or configuration used. And with bus-to-bus routing, you have the freedom and flexibility to route any Aux or Group to any other Aux or Group.

Take better control of delay compensation

Got plugin-heavy mixes with complex routing requirements? Aligning busses and matrixes is now super simple with the expanded Automatic Delay Compensation (ADC) settings. Plus, the new Input Delay Alignment command makes it easy to align selected input channels to compensate for any plugins inserted on those inputs, giving you more granular control and visibility over how delay gets managed across the system.

Build your perfect system

VENUE | S6L offers a variety of component options to configure and scale a system to meet any production, space, or budget requirement. Take control of your mix with a choice of five surfaces that offer from 16–48 faders. Power performances and integrate studio processing with a choice of three engines. Get all the ins and outs you need by mixing and matching any combination of five I/O rack options, including the new Stage 48, which provides the same pristine sound of Stage 64 in a more affordable solution. And scale up or down to meet changing control, processing, I/O, and connectivity requirements, with 100% hardware, software, and show file compatibility across all components.

Check out the new Stage 48 I/O rack

Learn more about the S6L unified platform

Take intelligent control of your mix

When you’re mixing live, there are no do-overs. You have to anticipate and react fast. With Avid VENUE | S6L, you get instant access to every facet of your mix. View detailed information across high-res displays—in even the brightest outdoor conditions. Access and adjust your mix, including plugins and VCA groups, using the touchscreen and surface controls. And gain insight into every input, aux, and more through the Universe screen.

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Experience unprecedented power

From Broadway to broadcast, many live shows require hundreds of channels. With the VENUE | E6L engine, you have the power to support over 300 processing channels. The real-time processing engine handles all routing, channel, and mixing functions. The HDX-powered DSP engine manages all plugin processing, with full automatic delay compensation, so you can create bigger, better sounding mixes—with no round trips to external servers. Simply put, it outperforms the competition—hands down.

Achieve pristine sound—live

VENUE systems have always been respected for their unprecedented sound quality. The clarity. The warmth. S6L is no different—yet it totally is. And it starts at the source. Every VENUE | S6L I/O rack features the exact same professional-grade build quality, with a high-performance preamp design, so they deliver the same sound quality and clarity no matter which you choose, enabling you to present even higher quality mixes, with incredible presence.

Expand your creativity

Mix with the same sound processors used in top studios to get the sounds you want. Or re-create an artist’s signature studio sound live. Because all S6L configurations support Avid and third-party 64-bit AAX DSP plugins, you’ll have far more creative choices at your fingertips than any other live mixing system. Plus, you’ll be able to use way more plugins in your mix, thanks to the system’s dedicated, scalable HDX-powered DSP processing.

Directly control Waves plugins

With the WSG-HD Option Card, you can run Waves SoundGrid systems with Avid VENUE | S6L and experience full unrivaled integration, enabling you to access and control Waves plugins directly from the S6L surface and VENUE software. Just as easily as and right alongside your AAX plugins. It’s super-simple to set up, supports Snapshot automation, and provides full system redundancy for the utmost reliability. You can even open older VENUE (TDM) show files that use Waves plugins right in S6L and have all of your settings ready to go.

Choose your ins and outs

With a choice of racks and I/O options available, it’s easy to customize your setup for your stage and local needs, as well as for remote I/O distribution. Connect one or more racks and choose from a variety of analog and digital I/O, including mic/line XLR, AES/EBU, and ADAT connectivity. You also have additional local I/O built into each S6L control surface for added flexibility, including up to 8x8 analog I/O, 8x8 AES I/O (4 pairs), two headphone outputs, MIDI I/O, and GPIO.

Expand the local I/O of your system

Need more inputs and outputs at your local mix position? The Local 16 I/O rack provides you with eight analog ins and outs, as well as eight digital ins and outs in a compact, 3U package—with all I/O conveniently located on the back for easy integration with external processing racks.

Connect with everything

S6L offers extremely reliable Ethernet AVB connectivity across all system components—no matter how long the cable runs. Put an end to expensive, bulky analog snakes. Use lightweight, inexpensive Cat5e cables for runs up to 100 meters. Or use fiber-optic cable for longer runs up to 500 meters. Need to connect to MADI or Dante devices? Just add option cards to integrate S6L into your existing environment. Plus, with support for Luminex GigaCore 26i and GigaCore 10 AVB switches, you can connect your VENUE engines and I/O racks in a redundant star configuration for better flexibility and resilience.

Mix monitors with ease

S6L makes it easy to handle dozens of monitor mixes to help artists deliver their best performance. Get one-touch access to any mix on the faders, whether in-ear, a wedge, or backline. Make complex level adjustments with single fader moves. Enable performers to control their own stage mixes with the VENUE | On-Stage app, or integrate Aviom personal monitoring systems over Dante. Monitor two independent stereo solo busses, which can be assigned to a cue belt pack and/or listen wedge. Plus, get two built-in headphone jacks for local monitoring.

Mix theater productions with ease

Stay on top of every performer, act, and scene with new workflow enhancements that take the stress out of mixing live theater. Add any of the 96 aux sends to your snapshot Scope. Gain greater efficiency with numerous snapshot advancements. And perform complex mixing adjustments with speed and ease thanks to significant updates to the intuitively programmable Events system.

Have peace of mind

VENUE | S6L not only delivers road-tested, industry-proven reliability and the same robust build quality across all of its components, it offers the highest level of service and support in the biz. Even when on the road or in the most extreme environments. All S6L systems now come with three years of Avid Advantage Elite Live support, giving you the highest priority care whenever you need help, 24x7. From ultra-fast response times, to same-day hardware exchange shipping, we’ve got you covered so your show always goes on.

Learn once, mix anywhere

VENUE software is the common platform across all VENUE systems, speeding up all aspects of live mixing and recording. It eliminates complexity, so you can focus more on what matters most—your mix. You can even access a host of parameters and views with just a single touch, increasing your efficiency. If you’ve mixed on any other VENUE system, you’ll feel right at home.

Record shows directly with Pro Tools

Experience the most powerful live recording and playback capabilities in the industry. S6L comes with and supports 128 tracks of redundant Pro Tools recording, so you can create a backup of all live recordings without any extra interfaces or expense. Create a Pro Tools session automatically from your current VENUE show file in seconds—complete with all track names and patching. Record and play back up to 128 audio tracks through a single Cat5e cable. And control your live mixing and recording rigs as one.

Save time with Virtual Soundcheck

When sound checks get compressed or scrapped, show time becomes stress time. With timesaving Virtual Soundcheck, you can get a head start on your mix using Pro Tools recordings from a previous night’s performance in place of the live mics. Then fine-tune from there. And because it doesn’t require the presence of any performer, it’s also a great way to prep a show, from programming snapshots to experimenting with different plugins.

Tackle big productions with dual operators

With the latest VENUE software, you can now designate up to two fader zones on a VENUE | S6L-48D, 32D, or 24D control surface, enabling dual-operator mixing. It’s ideal for theater sound, live broadcast events, and other complex productions. And it offers a cost-effective way to divide and conquer FOH and monitor mixing on a single S6L surface.

Boost your efficiency

With Snapshots, you can store and recall console and plugin settings instantly. Set multiple snapshots to handle changes for every song in a set list. Or quickly switch settings for different performers or scenes. You can also trigger time-consuming but frequently performed actions using Events. And with Layouts, you can assign any channel to any fader strip in any order and save your settings for easy recall. Save up to 48 channel strips per Layout and up to 48 Layouts per show file, enabling assignments and fader settings to be preserved when moving from a larger surface to a smaller one. 

Take your mix to go

All VENUE systems use the same software, so you can load any VENUE show file into any S6L system and be ready to rock. This makes it easy to transition from one console to another, like when going from a club tour to a big festival. Just copy your show files to a USB key and load them into S6L. VENUE software adapts the settings to fit within the available hardware and software feature set of the given VENUE system configuration.

Expand your sonic palette

S6L comes with an amazing collection of studio-quality plugins to get you started. But you can expand your library even further by installing renowned plugins from Avid, Sonnox, McDSP, and other top audio designers directly into the system, as well as integrate Waves plugins through the Waves SoundGrid Option Card. From unbelievable emulations of vintage and modern hardware, to a wide array of compressors, EQs, delays, and other sound processors, your creative possibilities are endless.

Find more Avid plugins

Find third-party AAX plugins

Optimize your sound with Soothe Live—free

Oeksound Soothe technology has been indispensable for taming harsh sounds in the studio. And now it's available for live environments as Soothe Live on S6L—the only platform able to deliver the revered technology for the first time in real time. Soothe Live removes harshness from any sound source, clears boominess and muddiness from rooms, tames cupped vocals, reduces cymbal bleed, minimizes proximity effect, and suppresses other problematic resonances like magic.

To help you present the best and cleanest mix possible, Avid is providing a 1-year Sooth Live license free with all new S6L purchases and to current users with an active support plan. Get more details >

Mix monitors on your iPhone or iPad

Wish you could step away from S6L and fine-tune individual monitor mixes on stage? You can with the VENUE | On-Stage iOS app, which enables you to control Aux master levels, Aux send levels, and Aux pans remotely through its VENUE-style interface. You can even let performers control their monitor mixes using their own mobile device. Best of all, it's a free download from the Apple App Store.

Remotely control S6L functions

VENUE | S6L enables you to perform up to 128 custom actions/events instantly using its function keys/switches. With the free VENUE | Function Pad iOS app, which puts wireless remote control of your S6L function keys at your fingertips, you can organize, navigate, and trigger Snapshots and Events from anywhere in the venue using your iPhone or iPad.

Take tactile control of immersive live sound mixes

Give audiences the most engaging and immersive aural experience possible with new AAX DSP plugins of Flux:: SPAT Revolution, d&b Soundscape, and L-Acoustics L-ISA that provide intuitive and deeply integrated tactile control over all surround parameters from the surface.