Sound engineer has issues with AXE--suggestions?

barhrecords said:
I am thinking of switching from the PreSonus to the X32.

Would be interested to hear how it goes for your band.
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Well, i can tell you that the the layers can be confusing, but once you get used to them, it's OK. Adjusting the IEM mix has a few more key presses on the X32 than it does on the Presonus.
We've used the X32 on 2 gigs.. they were smaller and not our regular club gigs, so we did not use monitors or IEM's. I could have head-butted the speaker stack if I had leaned over - that kind of small.
We have 2 gigs next weekend (were supposed to be in the studio this weekend, so did not book gigs) where we WILL be going IEM's, and we have practiced using them, so it should not be too tough to swap over.
Will let you know.
 
i have an x32 rack. lemme know if you have any questions. gonna setup some iem/headphone situations for rehearsals next week. first time doing multiple stereo iem, but i've pretty much used the x32 in all the normal situations you'd come across already.

i LOVE it. best purchase next to the axe-fx. presonus boards are cool, but there's a reason "studio" comes first in the name of the product.

basically to adjust a monitor send on the x32, on the main ipad app, press "Sends on Faders" then select the Aux you want to adjust. the normal faders now adjust the monitor mixes. with the iphone/ipod app, you can only adjust monitor sends, so open it up, select the monitor feed and adjust. it's nice that you can make 4 groups/DCAs, so you can adjust drums all at once, or vocals etc.

FYI the x32 uses "Buses" as monitor/foldback sends, not "Auxes." the Aux term is reserved specifically for the 6 In/Out 1/4" connections.
 
Chris,

the BL considered the X32 rack but didn't like the idea of only being able to mix via iPad - we mix from stage when we use our own PA.
I've not had a single issue with the Presonus on live gigs. Did one where I was FOH and used my board. Band I've run sound for on-and-off for the last 6 yrs was playing at a state Senators fundraiser. They brought PA + snake + monitors. I brought my 16.4.2.
Took me about 5 mins to zero out the board, load up some presets for kick, snare, bass, vox and keys, and prep each of the 4 monitor mixes they needed.
The rest was tweaking and pushing faders.
 
yeah i eventually would also like a x32 compact.... mayyyybe the producer. producer doesn't have the LCD scribble strips tho.

for "real" sound gigs, i don't trust wireless connection. i can actually do a bunch from the x32 front panel once the gig is going - pressing the Channel Select button jumps to the next group of bus, aux, channel, etc.

that said, i ran a wedding reception and 2 bands from the rack and ipad only - went great and i had to actually setup and line check the 2nd band while adjusting the Emcee mics for the cake cutting etc... that would have been a disaster if i had to stand at the board!

i also had my macbook wired via ethernet to the rack just in case wireless dropped for some reason. i wish they'd allow a wired connection for the ipad, similar to the mackie, but they don't.

the hardest part was figuring out a reliable router. for some reason, the apple airports don't really work well. eventually got an asus rt66, the ac model, though i don't have any ac wireless devices yet... way better connection for some reason. but there's always an irritating "you don't have any internet, wanna still use it?" message.

i guess i misstated a bit. the studiolive is definitely a capable board for "regular" gigs - the Graphic EQ addition a bit ago really helped. but it does lack some "basic" features that advanced setups require, routing flexibility, etc. also the lack of moving faders is really tough if you're used to digital boards. the x32 of course lacks things from the next step up in gear. but i think it has a great set of features for the price and the quality is great. whatever has the features you need, that's the one to use of course.
 
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Chris@KatsuKuriMedia said:
yeah i eventually would also like a x32 compact.... mayyyybe the producer. producer doesn't have the LCD scribble strips tho.

for "real" sound gigs, i don't trust wireless connection. i can actually do a bunch from the x32 front panel once the gig is going - pressing the Channel Select button jumps to the next group of bus, aux, channel, etc.

that said, i ran a wedding reception and 2 bands from the rack and ipad only - went great and i had to actually setup and line check the 2nd band while adjusting the Emcee mics for the cake cutting etc... that would have been a disaster if i had to stand at the board!

i also had my macbook wired via ethernet to the rack just in case wireless dropped for some reason. i wish they'd allow a wired connection for the ipad, similar to the mackie, but they don't.

the hardest part was figuring out a reliable router. for some reason, the apple airports don't really work well. eventually got an asus rt66, the ac model, though i don't have any ac wireless devices yet... way better connection for some reason. but there's always an irritating "you don't have any internet, wanna still use it?" message.

i guess i misstated a bit. the studiolive is definitely a capable board for "regular" gigs - the Graphic EQ addition a bit ago really helped. but it does lack some "basic" features that advanced setups require, routing flexibility, etc. also the lack of moving faders is really tough if you're used to digital boards. the x32 of course lacks things from the next step up in gear. but i think it has a great set of features for the price and the quality is great. whatever has the features you need, that's the one to use of course.
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Funny, the airport actually worked better than anything else I tried with the studiolive (using 5ghz).
 
My only issue with the PreSonus 24.4.2 is the UI is hard to read in direct sunlight. Even under an awning, if its a bright day I have to cup my hands to read the thing.

I love the moving faders of the X32 and also I think the X32 has the edge, not but much, sound wise. The mic pres on the X32 seem to have more clean headroom to me. I like the way the X32 is going with their efx / plugins too. I'm on the fence but leaning toward selling the PreSonus in favor of the X32.

To me both the PreSonus and X32 are way above the Mackie Onyx stuff in terms of mic preamps, eq etc.
 
So, I want to know how this gig went, and did OP win over the stubborn sound guy, or did it go to fisticuffs?
 
Best sound I've EVER had as a performer was at Camp and Jam last year in Amsterdam, NY (well, Perth, NY, if you wanna get picky). Guy did all the mix, at sound check and DURING all of the bands performances, while walking around the audience, controlling his Presonus from a tablet wirelessly. It worked Great!
Chris@KatsuKuriMedia said:
yeah i eventually would also like a x32 compact.... mayyyybe the producer. producer doesn't have the LCD scribble strips tho.

for "real" sound gigs, i don't trust wireless connection. i can actually do a bunch from the x32 front panel once the gig is going - pressing the Channel Select button jumps to the next group of bus, aux, channel, etc.

that said, i ran a wedding reception and 2 bands from the rack and ipad only - went great and i had to actually setup and line check the 2nd band while adjusting the Emcee mics for the cake cutting etc... that would have been a disaster if i had to stand at the board!

i also had my macbook wired via ethernet to the rack just in case wireless dropped for some reason. i wish they'd allow a wired connection for the ipad, similar to the mackie, but they don't.

the hardest part was figuring out a reliable router. for some reason, the apple airports don't really work well. eventually got an asus rt66, the ac model, though i don't have any ac wireless devices yet... way better connection for some reason. but there's always an irritating "you don't have any internet, wanna still use it?" message.

i guess i misstated a bit. the studiolive is definitely a capable board for "regular" gigs - the Graphic EQ addition a bit ago really helped. but it does lack some "basic" features that advanced setups require, routing flexibility, etc. also the lack of moving faders is really tough if you're used to digital boards. the x32 of course lacks things from the next step up in gear. but i think it has a great set of features for the price and the quality is great. whatever has the features you need, that's the one to use of course.
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FractalAudio said:
Vocal monitors aren't designed for accurate sound reproduction. They're designed to let the vocalists hear themselves. The frequency response is anything but flat and they have high directivity.
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should be true, but every singer I've ever gigged with always says "I need more me in the monitor"

lol
 
javajunkie said:
Funny, the airport actually worked better than anything else I tried with the studiolive (using 5ghz).
Click to expand...

There is a known issue with the airport express and the x32 series. I spent days trying to get it work consistently.....never happened. Just threw one of my d-link routers in the rack and never looked back.

I use the x-rack every gig with just an iPad. Haven't had a problem yet.
I was super reluctant to give up a control surface, but now that I've been doing it this way, I'm very comfortable with just the iPad. Of course I bring an extra router and an extra iPad to every gig....but so far I haven't had to use either.
I also bring a laptop to track the audio, so I also have the option of connecting that with an Ethernet cable if wireless just isn't working. Last but not least, I have the front panel. 4 options is plenty for me.
I also love that behringer has a master volume knob on the front as an emergency way to cut the system if something is tragically going wrong.

Almost forgot, behringer is releasing some new control surfaces that will work with the x rack via an Ethernet cable.

Love the xrack......when I see my axe on top of it, it makes me wish the axe had a nice color screen like that.....
 
A small wedding gig should be no problem to run direct unless your band is really loud and for this occasion you shouldn't be. It can be tough dealing with sound guys that have already made up their mind before they've even heard you. Maybe he's used to POD people?!?!? Tell him it "works for Metallica" or "It works for (insert famous axe user). Don't be obnoxious because a mad sound guy can really ruin an event. Hopefully you will have enough time to help him get it dialed in. You could always say that you "sold everything you had to get this and it has to work".
 
Gig went well, actually ended up being a lot of fun. Sound guy had plenty of issues of his own--everything was clipping/distorting up front as you can hear in the clip below. During the Heartbreaker solo you can hear when he just gives up and takes me completely out of the mains, which is how he left it the rest of the night. Ended up being a pretty nice guy all said though and commented several times about how good the AXE sounded.

 
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