Over the past few years, you may have noticed (or been bombarded by) the availability of more and more mixing consoles that don’t have traditional control surfaces. By “traditional,” I am not referring to the now-standard operational model of a digital desk with one set of selected channel controls. I am referring to the proliferation of console-less mixers — mixers that are housed in what is essentially a stage box, often with little more than I/O connectors and a network port. What does this mean for engineers, software developers and manufacturers? There are some obvious, and some not-so-obvious answers.
The Obvious
For musicians and engineers, one of the obvious points regarding use of a mixer-in-a-box-with-no-faders is that…you’ll need some faders! Duh. The popular way to control a mixer without a console (MWAC) is to use a tablet or iPad, and most manufacturers are happy to furnish the requisite software free of charge. Many such mixers permit simultaneous use of multiple control devices, enabling musicians to use smartphones for creating their own monitor mixes. As an alternative, PreSonus offers an optional control surface (the StudioLive CS18AI) that has little in the way of audio I/O, but is really designed to provide a familiar mixing surface, and the same applies to Crest Audio’s Tactus.Control system for its digital console package.
A rear-panel Ethernet port is probably going to be the way in for networked control. A few select devices support direct connection to a Wi-Fi network via wireless USB key, but make sure that’s the case before you head for the gig. Ethernet routers aren’t particularly expensive, but you don’t want to be stopping at Wal-Mart on your way to a gig frantically searching for a Wi-Fi router. While you’re at it, pack a Cat-5 or Cat-6 cable of sufficient length (see below). Depending upon the manufacturer, you may need a crash course in networking, but configuration of some units is easy. Yamaha’s TF-Rack automatically acquires an IP address if it is attached to a router, as long as you turn on the router first, and then power up the TF-Rack. Open any of the Yamaha control apps for the TF-Rack, and the mixer appears. Setup for other products may require you to manually assign IP addresses.
One thing that you won’t need is a heavy copper snake. Placing the mixer/stage box on the stage (what a concept!) can eliminate the snake completely. Most of your audio sources are onstage, so why not patch your mic cables directly to the mixer’s I/O panel? And, the aux send monitor paths terminate at the stage, so there’s little sense in running them from a FOH location all the way back to the stage. Ah, how nice it is not to drag 100 feet of 24-pair cable in and out of venues.
Think about this: what if, by some unexpected phenomena, your iPad takes a poo. You will no longer be able to control the show, although almost all MWACs will continue to run when the controller is disconnected. Your phone makes a great backup plan, but not all phone apps support access to the main L/R mix — some only allow access to aux sends for monitor mixing. Of course, you should have that backup app installed on your phone before the gig — you really do not want to be scrolling over to the app store in the middle of a show, after your tablet goes south.
The beauty of wireless mixing is that you can stroll around the venue, impressing the audience with the advanced technology you hold in your hands and — more importantly — getting an idea of what the mix sounds like in various locations of the room. Of course, you should walk the room with your iPad during sound check to ensure there are no areas where the wireless signal drops out, thus disconnecting the control surface from the network. The headphone jack on a MWAC (if there is one) will now be at the stage, so you will lose the ability to PFL in headphones when controlling via tablet.
Security to the Front Row, Please
These days, there’s a lot of activity in the 2.4 GHz band where Wi-Fi routers live — and that includes not only local routers used for Internet access in a venue but also wireless microphone and instrument systems. The fact that routers have a passcode is only part of the security issue. I prefer a MWAC where one device manages permissions for every other device on the network. For example, some musicians may want to run their own monitor mix. It is far better for you to arrange permissions so that musicians have access only to their own mix. Can you imagine the ensuing chaos if, for example, the bass player had access to the keyboard player’s monitor mix? (Not to mention the inevitable frat-boy pranks).
Not-So-Obvious
Losing the hardware mixer can be liberating, but there are two important aspects of a show that need to be worked out ahead of time: talkback and walk-in/walk-out/break music. It makes sense that the same tablet used to control the show would be the source of break music. This is a great arrangement for working bands in bars or clubs, but it can be somewhat clumsy if there’s a house engineer who needs access to incidental music at “front of house,” because there may not be a way to connect the device at FOH. That’s why some control surfaces, such as the aforementioned PreSonus CS18AI, provide a few “local” inputs — input channels that are physically on the control surface but can be routed up to the stage box via Cat-5 cable. Other manufacturers solve the issue by providing a dock for the device that charges it and connects audio from the device into the mixer.
Ditto for the Talkback microphone. You’ll want to make sure that your wireless controller can access the talkback on/off switch, and that the TB mic can be routed where you need it (e.g. the aux sends). You’ll probably lose the ability to use talkback when strolling the venue with your tablet unless you carry a wireless talkback mic with you.
MWACs have changed manufacturer responsibilities for product support. My guess is that manufacturers are happy that they’ll no longer need to maintain inventory for replacement faders and mute switches, but they will need to be responsible for maintaining software updates that ensure compatibility between their products and the ever-changing operating systems used by the control device. In my cynical world, it’s a bit scary to entertain the idea of purchasing a MWAC and then finding out a few years down the road that software support has waned, and you can no longer use your iPad to control it. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
Owners of small venues will love you for not taking up space with that behemoth 48-input analog desk that wiped out ten seats (at $50+ per seat plus food and drink revenues), and pastors love the fact that there’s no spaceship-looking control panel smack in the middle of the congregation, distracting them from the sermon.
Steve “Woody” La Cerra is the tour manager and front of house engineer for Blue Öyster Cult.
