Founded in London in 1973, Soundcraft defined the sound of classic British rock with analog mixing desks like the Series Two, Ghost, and MH4. In the digital era, Soundcraft teamed with Studer to create one of the most intuitive, fast-mixing interfaces in live audio history: **Vistonics II and FaderGlow** on the **Vi Series (Vi7000, Vi5000, Vi3000, Vi1000)** and the versatile **Si Series**.
1. The Vistonics II Interface: Rotary Encoders Directly on Glass
On most touchscreens, adjusting an EQ frequency requires tapping a virtual slider and turning an assignable encoder somewhere else on the surface. Soundcraft’s patented **Vistonics II** physically mounts 16 rotary potentiometers directly onto the surface of the touchscreen glass.
- Knobs Where You Look: Graphic EQ parameters, preamp gains, gate thresholds, and aux send levels appear directly underneath their respective rotary hardware knobs. You adjust what you see with instant muscle memory.
- FaderGlow™ Optical Illumination: Fader tracks glow in distinct optical colors depending on their function: Orange for Aux Sends, Green for Matrix Outs, Blue for FX Returns, and Red for Graphic EQ bands. During high-pressure festival changeovers, FaderGlow prevents you from accidentally grabbing the wrong bus fader.
2. Integrated Harman DSP: Lexicon, BSS & dbx
- 4 Independent Lexicon FX Engines: Studio-quality Lexicon 480L and PCM plate, hall, and chamber reverbs running inside dedicated DSP hardware.
- BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ: The legendary hardware dynamic EQ built directly into master busses for transparent harsh-frequency taming.
- BSS Graphic Equalizers: 30-band graphic EQs on every single output bus with direct FaderGlow fader control.
3. Soundcraft Console Product Catalog
| Model | Fader Count & Screens | Mix Capacity & Processing | Target Deployment | Official Product Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundcraft Vi7000 | 44 Faders | 4x Vistonics II Glass Touchscreens | Up to 128 Inputs | 32 Busses (SpiderCore 40-bit Floating Point) | Major Touring Productions, Arenas, Broadcast | Vi7000 Official Page ↗ |
| Soundcraft Vi3000 | 36 Faders | 4x Vistonics II Screens (All-in-One Console) | 96 Inputs | 24 Busses @ 48 kHz (Onboard Dante & MADI) | Touring Theatres, Shed Tours, Festival FOH | Vi3000 Official Page ↗ |
| Soundcraft Vi1000 | 16 Faders | 2x Vistonics II Screens (Compact Touring) | 96 Inputs | Full Vi Processing in Compact Chassis | Theatre Pits, Fly-Dates, Corporate Production | Vi1000 Official Page ↗ |
| Soundcraft Si Impact | 26 Motorized Faders | FaderGlow | 32 Local XLRs | 40 Inputs | 32x32 USB Audio Interface | Regional Live Clubs, Houses of Worship, Schools | Si Impact Official Page ↗ |
| Vi Stagebox (32/16 & 64/32) | Modular Stagebox with Soundcraft Preamps & Dual Redundant MADI/Dante | Ultra-Low Noise Microphone Preamps with Optical Splits | Touring Stage I/O Backbone | Vi Stagebox Official Page ↗ |
4. Network Protocols: Dante & MADI Integration
Vi consoles feature dual built-in MADI and Dante option cards, enabling simultaneous 64-track virtual soundcheck recording into DAWs and seamless connection to Harman HiQnet and BSS Soundweb London network infrastructure.
(Check out our live RTA Spectrogram Tool to check room linearity during soundcheck).
