Avid Profile
The console that put a full VENUE system in a footprint small enough to fit the venues that couldn't house a D-Show.
Overview
The Avid Profile is a digital audio mixing console and control surface, built by Avid as part of its VENUE live sound line. It's one of the smaller, more portable consoles in the VENUE range, a size-conscious alternative to the flagship D-Show. Plenty of rooms need studio-grade live sound but don't have the floor space, the budget, or the load-in access for a full-size flagship desk. The Profile is for those rooms.
Avid's own documentation describes the compact VENUE Profile as a "size-conscious alternative to its acclaimed big brother, D-Show," aimed at small- to mid-sized environments and applications - houses of worship, theaters, nightclubs, and remote broadcasts. That's a broad target. It covers the big middle ground of live sound that sits beneath arena touring.
The Profile is a 24-fader control surface. It has twenty-four input faders in a single compact console, plus eight output faders and eight rotary output encoders for group masters and plug-ins. Dedicated dynamics and EQ encoders handle both onboard processing and plug-in control, and eight fully assignable function buttons cover the rest. That's a lot of hands-on control for a desk this size.
The console is fully compatible with all existing VENUE I/O hardware and software. Owners can pair it with a FOH Rack, a Stage Rack, or the all-in-one Mix Rack, and it runs the same VENUE software as every other system in the line. Show files move between systems without translation. A band that rehearses on a Profile and plays a festival on a D-Show carries the same file. That portability is why the VENUE Profile became widely used in live sound reinforcement.
Key Features
24 Input Faders in a Single Compact Console
The fader count is the main ergonomic fact: twenty-four input faders, all in one surface. On a console this size, that means mixing a real show without constantly paging between fader banks. Avid's documentation treats the "small footprint" as a feature in its own right, and the two go together. The Profile packs a working fader complement into a package that fits where a D-Show won't.
Eight Output Faders and Eight Rotary Output Encoders
Output control gets its own dedicated section: eight faders plus eight rotary encoders, covering all group masters and plug-in control. The encoders let an engineer reach into plug-in parameters without leaving the output section. That helps when mixing monitors and mains from one surface.
Dedicated Dynamics and EQ Encoders
Processing isn't buried in menus. Dynamics and EQ get their own encoders, controlling both the onboard dynamics and EQs and plug-ins. Engineers coming off analog desks get physical controls right under their hands.
Eight Assignable Function Buttons and the GPI Interface
Eight fully assignable function buttons handle flexible control and programming. The bigger show-control feature is the General Purpose Interface: eight GPI inputs and eight GPI outputs, letting the console send or respond to external equipment through simple switch closures. Avid's documentation calls out the combination of GPI and the VENUE software's Event List as the way to build extensive macros - multiple functions triggered from a single button push, encoder twist, footswitch press, or fader movement. That suits a theater or broadcast gig with cues to fire and gear to sync.
VENUE System Compatibility and Show File Portability
The Profile is fully compatible with all VENUE I/O components - FOH Rack, Stage Rack, and the all-in-one Mix Rack - and employs the same VENUE software as all VENUE systems, running VENUE 2.5 or higher. Avid's documentation states the payoff plainly: complete show file portability between systems. For a current D-Show user, the Profile works with the existing system, so an owner can scale the control surface to the application rather than buying into a second ecosystem.
Personal Q Monitor Mixing
The Profile also supports Avid's Personal Q system. D-Show Main and Profile consoles provide eight built-in 12 x 2 PQ mixers, capable of creating up to eight independent stereo monitor mixes. Once a PQ mixer is set up at the mix position, the mix engineer can control it from the console's Output section, or an onstage performer can control it using a PQ Controller. The PQ system carries control data only, not audio. Monitor mix audio still comes out of physical outputs on the Stage Rack or FOH Rack. It's a monitor-mixing workflow, not a wireless audio path.
Historical Context
The Profile was introduced as part of Avid's VENUE live sound console line, developed by Avid itself. Within that family it sits alongside the D-Show and the Mix Rack as the compact member of the group, the one to spec when the room, the budget, or the truck won't accommodate the flagship.
Avid's documentation frames the Profile as a way to scale the control surface to the application, and specifically notes its value to existing D-Show users as a compact mixing alternative that works with their current system. It wasn't pitched as a replacement for the big desk. It was the second surface in a VENUE rig, the one that goes to the club gig, the house of worship, or the remote broadcast while the D-Show stays home.
Per available documentation, the VENUE Profile became widely used in live sound reinforcement. Pro Sound (February 2014, p.50) listed Avid VENUE Profile consoles in the equipment columns for touring acts and venues across the country - a Carolina Theatre date in Durham, NC, for instance, running Profiles at both house and monitor positions. A later Pro Sound listing (June 2014, p.50) shows the same pattern at a St. Louis venue, with a Profile at house position. These are working desks on working gigs.
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