Plugging to the mixer / PA during gigs -- how?

[CARABAO]

Hi guys, I'm not sure if this has been asked here before, but I'm hoping I'm in the right forum..

I wanna have my band plug straight to the PA.. so this means having the bass, and two guitars go direct. For stage volume / monitoring, we'll just use the back line. My purpose for this is that I want to sound consistently during gigs. Currently we bring our amps, but it gets tiring after awhile - long setup time, long pack-up time, and of course, the weight.

We're all using Sansamps.. the bassist can use the his bass driver's XLR (for the board) and 1/4" (for the amp) outs. 2 guitars are using Sansamp GT2's, but we're planning to get a DI box each (for XLR - to the board; 1/4" thru to the back line return/input).

Here are my questions:
1) How do we plug to the board? Was considering tapping the mics but we can't lose two mics (one for the singer and one for backing). Should we bring our own XLR cables? (by the way, I'm assuming the amps are not mic'd, so I'm not thinking on tapping those)

2) How does the sound guy feel about this? Will they usually feel irritated if you want to plug to the board?

3) Does the sound guy prefer an XLR or 1/4"?

For amp-less musicians, please enlighten me. Thank you!

[Ralph_Petrucci]

Hello Brother,

if you are looking at this with a high budget, you might want to consider bringing in your own mixer para dun na kayo nakaplug lahat, and then just send the output of that mixer to the house mixer via a balanced signal.

kung lowcost solution, AFAIK, samson and behringer have micro mixers in a DI BOX Enclosure that can take in 4 inputs and output into 1 signal.

to answer your other questions, usually, if you ask nicely and they see that the signal you'll be giving them is a balanced signal (i.e., from a DI), they are more than willing to oblige. approaching them with a nice attitude also helps.

lastly, most sound guys prefer XLRs. but you can always bring an XLR to 1/4 converter anyway so it shouldn't really matter.


hope this helps brother!

[CARABAO]

Hello Brother,

if you are looking at this with a high budget, you might want to consider bringing in your own mixer para dun na kayo nakaplug lahat, and then just send the output of that mixer to the house mixer via a balanced signal.

kung lowcost solution, AFAIK, samson and behringer have micro mixers in a DI BOX Enclosure that can take in 4 inputs and output into 1 signal.

to answer your other questions, usually, if you ask nicely and they see that the signal you'll be giving them is a balanced signal (i.e., from a DI), they are more than willing to oblige. approaching them with a nice attitude also helps.

lastly, most sound guys prefer XLRs. but you can always bring an XLR to 1/4 converter anyway so it shouldn't really matter.


hope this helps brother!

Hi Ralph! Musta bro? Thanks for helping out
Actually yan din sabi sa akin ni Paeng - to bring our own mixer, tapos use it to connect to the main mixer para laging perfect balance.. though I also talked to another sound engineer / tech, he told me that it's better that they have control over our sound. Okay lang naman daw mag saksak, pero yung sana pwede nilang ma-control because they know the room/venue (and other equipment) better than us.

I'm gonna check out the micro mixers though.. Hope I get a lead!

See you soon bro!

[Ralph_Petrucci]

Hi Ralph! Musta bro? Thanks for helping out
Actually yan din sabi sa akin ni Paeng - to bring our own mixer, tapos use it to connect to the main mixer para laging perfect balance.. though I also talked to another sound engineer / tech, he told me that it's better that they have control over our sound. Okay lang naman daw mag saksak, pero yung sana pwede nilang ma-control because they know the room/venue (and other equipment) better than us.

I'm gonna check out the micro mixers though.. Hope I get a lead!

See you soon bro!

ayt bro! IMHO, mas okay talaga pag may sarili kang mixer paps. controlled lagi lahat. bihira naman kasi talaga ang marunong na sound tech except sa mga big venues.

[yekoz]

Here are my opinions:
1) How do we plug to the board? Was considering tapping the mics but we can't lose two mics (one for the singer and one for backing). Should we bring our own XLR cables? (by the way, I'm assuming the amps are not mic'd, so I'm not thinking on tapping those). Best is to have a DI boxes for each instrument.

2) How does the sound guy feel about this?
    Will they usually feel irritated if you want to plug to the board? The sound guy will never agree direct plug on the mixer.

3) Does the sound guy prefer an XLR or 1/4"? He/She would prefer XLR(balance), PL 1/4(unbalanced) prone to grounding.

[titser_marco]

1. Bring XLR cables. Preferred, since this is a balanced cable, therefore less noise than unbalanced 1/4" cables.

2. Most of the time a tech would allow it,  since that's how guys who use acoustic rigs do it anyway. If he is annoyed by this rather simple request, he should quit the job.

3. Best to have each instrument plugged into the house board. Very helpful for situations where drums are mic'd with a very minimal setup. Allows for balancing of each instrument against everything else, including the room.

4. Also helpful: come to the gig early, introduce yourself to the tech, and ask your questions. How many XLR channels are free? Do the house amps already have DI taps (Route 196 has taps on all guitar, bass, and keyboard amps)? If you don't have enough channels, what solution can the tech offer? If he does a good job, buy him a drink and thank him personally.


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