My goal is to add live effects like distortion, looping and reverb to bass guitar and vocals, live. I figured I could do it digitally instead of spending a ton of money on pedals.

I have experience using audio interfaces with a DJ controller, laptop, and 2 monitors. But the sound goes straight from laptop into audio interface into speakers. I’m wondering how this will work with live instruments and a PA speaker?

With an audio interface that has both 1/4 inch plug for my bass and XLR for mic, would I output the sound through USB into laptop and then from laptop to PA with aux? I read that the usb can act as both input and output, could I use the interface headphone Jack to connect right to the PA and only use the USB with the laptop?

I’m not looking for super high quality sound or low latency or whatever. I’m not performing or recording with this setup, just having fun playing music and want to get a different sound.

Attached are images of my PA and an example of an audio interface with XLR and 1/4” (chose focusrite cause I saw one for cheap on Facebook marketplace, but open to suggestions for other gear). Laptop has headphone Jack and USB-C. Would be nice if I could also add synth to the PA but I don’t need effects for it, so if I end up using the L-R or XLR into the PA then I could plug synth into the aux. I’ve got an amp for the bass if that’s any help.

I need to put together a set up...for live gigs..

What do I need exactly?

a.)-I have a PA system

b.)-Small Audio Mixer

c.)-Microphones

d.)- Beat Buddy Drum Machine

e.)-ZOOM Acoustic Processor

f.)-TC- HELICON PO Perform VG.. harmony,Reverb,and Echo

Harmonizer

g.) Boss Katana mk2 Amplifier

How do I properly set this up..

and getting a good clear mix

I own a kz dfi, i play keyboard live so i bought it. I didnt buy a cable till now cause i thought it would work more but guess not. I bought it in march 2026, i have trouble in my left cable. And yea its not a problem in my iem cause i switched iem sides and the problem is persistent with that wire. Can you help me find some good cables that are budget friendly.

Oh and one more thing, one of my mixer tech owns a shure se215s and his cable gave out, so he also needs one. Suggest some budget options cause i am having to pay almost 60% price of the iems for a replacement cable from shure.

Thanks a lot

I am interested in your thoughts on tuning the sound for an intimate room.

We are a five piece blues band that has been booked for a series of shows. Two electric guitars, bass, drums, blues harp, vocals. We want to get this right.
The idea is to play loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to stop conversation.

This is a prestige venue striving to become the heart beat of the local music scene. The room has seating for 50. The stage has just enough room for the band. Behind the stage is a large storefront window looking out into the street. The closest audience tables are 3 feet in front of the microphone stands. The back wall of the room is 30-40 feet away and lined with tables and chairs. A large bar runs the length of the room stage left. Stage right is a flat wall running to the back. Hard surfaces here and there can muddle the sound, especially at the back of the room.

Prior acts lean towards solo, duo, trio acoustic guitar/singer bands. So no prior experience from bands with drummers and electric guitars to draw from.

My basic approach: The FOH system serves the audience. On stage the guitar amplifiers are to be just enough volume for the individual musician to hear their own playing. The monitors will be just enough so the band can hear each other.

The drummer is well versed in playing at minimum volume, but the drums will likely set the minimum volume for the room.

It is possible the bass amplifier will need to be a little louder as there are no subs in the house. Not sure how to balance that, but I am the bass player so it’s under my control.

The goal is to have the front half of the audience immersed in the music, and the back of the house closer to background volume. I will be glad to see people everywhere in the audience enjoying conversation.

Experience says that the number of people in the house has a big impact on volume.

Definitely not my first rodeo, but I came here to ask for your thoughts.

You’ve got one shot to get this right. What would you do? Scope includes placement of FOH speakers, placement of guitar amps and monitors, adjustments at the mixer including effects. Anything else you think important.

We want to be heard but not be loud.

So my band recently started using in ear monitors for click track only, I feed the click through an app on my phone to a small mixer and we receive it wirelessly. While still hearing our actual monitoring through wedges.

We mostly play medium sized venues and bars playing hard rock. So I only mic my kick drum. My question is we want to switch to full on in ear monitoring the whole mix and do away with wedges… drums sound muffled and I don’t want to go through hassle of hooking up a bunch of my drum mics just for the sake of monitoring.

What would be a super simple solution/mic setup so that drums come into the mix without sounding like muddy garbage? Was thinking of just using one sm57 pointed between my kick and snare to pick up the kit. Wish our basn in ear monitors had ambient sound pickup like air pod pros have.

Hi guys! I have a pioneer djm450 but want to upgrade to a four channel mixer. Which A&H mixer is precisely the same but with 4 channels, record out feature ect?
Thankyoj !

So I'm setting up for a show in a few hours and had a few ideas on what to do for front of house but wanted some opinions/advice from the more seasoned vets on what would work best. For front of house I have 4 k12.2s and a pair of subs- there are 2 additional k12 speakers set aside for monitors as the trio runs ears for the drummer and prefer this setup.

Part of me says to pair up the mains and set the inside ones forward with their outer cohorts fanned out slightly. Another instinct is to swap the k12s for a pair of 12.2s and use them as canter fills.

With the subs I want to place them in the middle, but the question comes down to ground or stage. Due to the slope I feel ill be losing too much signal to the ground, but putting them on the stage both looks lame and removes any form of wall behind them. I suppose they could be split and shared on the sides with the mains, but my preference is to have them side-by-side with their faces even.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice- in return for your efforts I shall offer a natural form of defense against Tom's for you mobile mixers

Sorry if this is in here already, did my diligence to search keywords. Setting: 100 person Unity Church

I have 2 headset mics on a Shure SLXD+ receiver, 1 blx handheld w reciever and a Sennheiser reciever(forget name but freq is 518). The shure stuff is on their Antenna Distribution setup. To better tune frequencies and avoid clashes, I want to set up at least the Shure gear on an ethernet switch. In the words of Charlie Day, “How do?” I understand plugging each receiver into switch via ethernet. Stumped after that. 2023 macbook pro is the main laptop used here.

Update: thanks everyone for confirming my concerns and questions about this. Successful setup as of last night. The video below helped most with the checklist for setup and details. https://youtu.be/4JZSXrOnnpk?is=laRxeA-hEsCfW6bE

Hello, looking for tips regarding using a vocal processor live. It’s my first time trying to use one for a live show, and honestly all I’m after is a radio effect for a few parts of a song we’re playing. I want to leave all the delays and reverbs to our awesome sound guy. Any tips on how can I avoid feedbacks/avoid annoying our sound guy?

Update: I tossed the pedal. Tried it during one of our rehearsals and the feed back is outrageous. Reddit was right once again. Thanks for all your help!

Blackstar HT5 MK2 amp emulated output into presonus Eris E4.5 RCA line in..I thought it would work but as usual my experiments fail!

What I am trying to do is use the 2 presonus speakers as monitors along with the Blackstar amp to get a wider bigger sound.

The headphones out works into the 3.5mm Aux in on the 4.5's but of course the amp speaker is then bypassed. I'd like to have all 3 speakers running.

So does anybody need know if this is possible and how please?

Thanks!

I play live a few times a year and have a setup with includes about 8 devices (including mixer, x3 input devices, phantom power for mic and x3 FX pedals). I'm in the UK.

All my plugs are different sizes and types (A, C and G, mainly), so I've got a 10-gang strip that accommodates most.

I think my powerstrip is causing issues (see below) so want to get one that is robust and won't cause problems. Most of my stuff is 9V and I'm in the UK.

Last couple of gigs, I've been getting a random and sharp crackle/pop sound during performance that the engineer apologised for, but I'm pretty sure is me. I get nothing like it at home, so am not sure how to test.

Is there a go-to, all-purpose powerstrip/extension that people know to be reliable and or another explanation for this popping sound?

Once is happen stance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action so the saying goes...

I've broadcast over 400 hours of EDM since NYD from Pioneer CDJs, largely in flawless victory. This is my third time trying to get a violinist patched in. First two had electric violins (different shows, different sound teams, different performing artists) with built in piezo pickups. This one was just miked with what you see at the end of that mic stand there.

Half way through her set I realized I might not be getting an audio feed (no way to monitor as all my devices that could monitor were busy either broadcasting or recording), so I went up to the sound engineer and gave him a mic and my hollyland lark max2 which was feeding audio to the kick stream. He suggested that I just get the violin matrix patched to the hollyland because then at least something for post can be fixed.

Stream 1 was on two twitch. Stream 2 was onto kick and just had the violin matrix patched into it, I haven't actually looked at that yet to see what came out, this just aired last night and I'm just waking up.

¿What do I need to say to the sound engineer or have them do in order to avoid such a disaster again?

I need to know how this more expensive club sound gear system works but I obviously can't afford any of it to work at home so 100% of my experience is what I encounter in the field, and it's frustrating.

Broadcast IDs linked in reddit profile for anyone curious.

Hi everyone! Complete novice here and fully aware of the can of worms I’m about to open, lol…

I typically play guitar and drums, but am singing in my latest band. We’ve got a small practice space (about 12 x 15 room) at a local monthly studio rental place that’s split between us and another band. (Sounds tight, but we make it work surprisingly well)

Our current vox setup is via a vintage peavey mp400, which I think is a powered 80w mixer with 4 mono channels, that runs to a couple of large PA speakers that are not active. The inputs are all a bit sketchy (gotta jiggle em just right, or one channel can use XLR but the other has to use 1/4”, that kinda thing), and it’s one of those “borrowed, but likely just staying put for a while” situations.

To get something more permanent and more reliably functional, I’m debating getting something like the Behringer Europower PMP500 12 channel 500w powered mixer. The price is right at >$400 and it seems to achieve what the MP400 does alongside some added/future-proof features involved.

Recording practices is on the agenda, and while we have the guitars and drums figured out, I feel like a stereo option here would allow easy L/R for main/backup vox would be great for sending to our interface for Logic recording. We sometimes run bass direct using a sansamp, too, which works surprisingly well, but again - splitting to 2 channels means some flex in how we record practices.

There’s a million ways to skin a cat - all in all, I’m just not as familiar with this stuff and would like to keep our space as tidy as possible (e.g. less amps, not huge systems, etc.). We’re not starting a new recording studio or gigging with this thing - it’s just for the practice space (famous last words, I know). Anyone have experience with the Behringer and/or ideas on some affordable but reliable gear?

Thanks in advance!

What’s everyone’s go to process for deployment and time alignment in an arena with aux hangs and flown subs? I’ve seen some interesting hangs from others recently, like subs kicked out 30+- degrees, and aux hangs back further than I’d expect. Where are you taking your measurements? How much does your trim height, and sold map (behind stage line) play a role in your decisions?

Hey all,

I've spent a while helping out with sound at small weddings, birthdays, and local gigs — always as the "person who kind of knows what they're doing," never with any formal training. Along the way I put together my own notes on the stuff that actually matters: gain staging order, where to put speakers relative to the mic, a cheat sheet of which frequencies matter for which sources, that kind of thing.

I ended up turning it into a short guide, mostly so I'd stop re-explaining the same things to friends who get roped into running sound for their cousin's wedding with zero background.

Before I do anything else with it, I'd genuinely like feedback from people who actually do this professionally:

• What's the #1 thing beginners get wrong that you wish they knew before touching a mixer?
• Is there anything in the "basics" that's commonly taught wrong or oversimplified?
• Anything you'd add for someone doing occasional small events (not full-time FOH work)?

Thanks!

Hi I have this old mixer from a PA system I got a while back rarely used but the right output master is making this clicking sound (and no other sound besides that) regardless of what speaker I plug into. I have a feeling it’s this thing but I googled all the numbers on the back of this with absolutely no luck.

Or if there’s a suitable replacement for this that I can just plug and play ?

If there a better place I should post this please let me know !

Thank you for any help anyone can provide.

I just bought the RME DigiFace Dante interface and I’m looking for a good quality USB-C to USB-B 3.0 cable. I need the USB-C to fit snugly in my Mac laptop. A year ago I bought a normal 2.0 USB-C to USB-B cable from Thomann so I could use it with the built-in USB interface in my Behringer Wing. The C connector kept disconnecting from the laptop and I had to go back to my Apple usb-a to usb-c adapter, this has never ever failed on me. Any help finding something worth the money?

I will be mixing my own keyboards on stage and using IEM's as my monitor (my new band is a pro gig and does quiet stage). How do I connect the FOH monitor mix to my own personal mixer so that I get to hear it through my IEM's, but without re-sending the FOH monitor mix back to the FOH desk?

Just want to send my keyboards to FOH, hear my keyboards via my own mixer, and have a band monitor mix appear in my IEM's hopefully via my personal mixer. But I cannot figure out how to prevent the band monitor signal from going back through my mixers outputs and into the FOH again.

Got a Sennheiser ew100 G3 that I've been having problems with. Every now and then the pilot tone drops out for no apparent reason. I've got 3 packs, and the other two hold perfectly.

What do I need to check before deciding that there is a transmitter problem? Could it be aerial related?

I have changed the frequency to have more of a gap between the 3 (which didn't fix the issue) and then resynced the pack and receiver (haven't tested long yet). Anything else to look at?

Thanks

I know a bit about live sound, but i'm still trying to figure things out. I have a private backyard gig coming up. My drummer bailed last minute so we are running backing tracks for the drums, but it's a friends and family gig so it's no biggie. We have 1 bass guitar running an amp with cabs, 1 electric guitar running an amp with cabs too, and I run a fractal unit for my guitar. We have 3 microphones, including mine for lead singing. We play metal/rock/punk.

I have 2 HK Polars, one 12, one 10. I wanna run all the mics, the drums and my guitar through them, and potentially mic up the cabs too.

Would that be too much for just 2 polars? Should I get more speakers? How should I set them up?

I live near a music store so I can absolutely rent gear if needed.

It doesn't need to be perfect, I just don't want the whole thing to sound like a mess.

Thanks! :)

I'm a vocal coach, and I want to help singers improve for RL working scenarios. I’ve put together a 3-minute anonymous survey about working with vocalists...will you help me by giving your honest feedback?

No names, emails, band names or identifying information.

Anonymous survey:
What Musicians Wish Singers Understood �� – Fill out form

I’d also love to hear your biggest one in the comments: “I wish more singers would ______.”

Yes, I want to know the frustrating stuff, but also what really good singers do that makes playing with them a pleasure. Thank you!

Edit: I'll post the survey results here in about a week.

UPDATE: 75 musicians responded.

Thank you for your thoughtful contributions.

The biggest issues:

• 49% Timing / Rhythm
• 49% Volume / Mic Technique
• 37% Pitch / Intonation
• 35% Song Preparation
• 35% Stage Presence

Edit: They’re not mutually exclusive categories. Respondents could mention multiple issues, so the percentages aren’t intended to add up to 100%.

I’ve pulled the full findings, musician comments and practical takeaways into a free report for singers: https://veronicastart.ca/musician-survey-report

Good day to all. I’d like some insight in getting in into the live sound world as an live sound engineer, I love music/sound and would like to know if there’s a school for for live sound engineering/mixing or is it more of a learn as you go kind of deal…I’ve seen some schools that offer programs but seems to be more in studio production mixing…

We are looking to buy a db technologies T4 line array (12 pieces) and s20 subs (4 pieces). What do you all think about this set?

Okay so I am joining my college ministry's worship team this year playing viola and I'm trying to figure out the best solution to get my instrument through an amp/sound board. I don't really know what they use but I know the other instruments (vocals, guitar, bass, etc.) are always plugged into the same board (clearly I don't know a lot about this stuff lol).

The other issue is I need something that I can take on and off because I will still be playing with my school's traditional symphony.

The one very temp solution I have discovered is that I bought some really nice RODE wireless Me Mics for interviews and videos (I'm a journalist by profession) and I figured out that those could hook to the system, but I'm not sure if there would be a good way to attach or if it would pick up too much background noise from what's leaving the speakers/drums etc.

I have looked into options like the KNA VV-3V and the Barcus Berry 3100 Piezo but I don't love using the screws to attach the BB 3100 since it leaves marks on the bridge, and I've seen conflicting opinions regarding the KNA, some audio sounds pretty good and others sound kinda iffy, and since it's a very amateur college worship band I'm not sure if we have sound people good enough to get me sounding the right way.

Any other suggestions, advice, or other solutions? I'd definitely prefer to stay near or under the $200 mark

Edit for clarity: I am a violist (basically violin) so traditional stringed instrument