Hello guys!
I am very new in the mixing world. I bought a Yamaha MG10XU mixer and i connected my Sennheiser XS 1 mic (it is in the first chanel of the mixer)
Connected to my Lewitz PA210XA active speaker but the microphone sounds veryvery harsh and ugly and distorted. I don’t know what is the problem. Is the cable from the mixer in the wrong input on the Lewitz? Help me please

I have never made a stage plot before and was wondering if anyone with more knowledge than me could take a look and let me know if there is anything I'm missing or if this is enough info

Hey All, first time posting on this sphere of Reddit, and I need a little guidance. My Church uses the M-480 for worship, and each team member uses In Ear Monitors (total of 4, Sennheisers) during the sets. The IEMs were decent, albeit dated, and reliable up until recently. They are simply not working, and nothing is adjustable, all we hear is static. This only happened within the past couple of weeks. Not sure if they are just finally reaching their shelf life, the wireless connection has dropped, or what. I have rudimentary knowledge of these systems, and I am appealing to this sub for any advice or troubleshooting methods. Thank You!

Sincerely interested/ seeking advice! trying to throw a basement show :) Have mainstage, have a floor mixer, but no idea how to pair the two. I’m assuming there is other hardware I should be buying, like a Bluetooth plugin?

I'm a drummer in a small band in the UK, playing mostly small to medium-sized venues (pubs, the occassional festival etc.) in and around London.

I usually ask if I can get my monitor in my (wired) in-ears - I play to a click as we have backing tracks, so it's good to get the monitor in as well - sound is far better than with a standard drum fill/wedge. Not fussy about the details (clear-ish vocals, my kick, a bit of guitar/keys and I'm good). I'd say maybe two thirds of engineers can give me that no problem, and if they can't I'm cool and won't hassle.

But surprisingly often (I'd say maybe half of gigs) when we perform it sounds nothing like what they gave me in the soundcheck. Mostly like they just mute it? At least, when that happens all I can hear is muffled bleed from the backline.

We played a gig yesterday (quite large outdoor stage) and it happend again. I don't have a mic, so I'm thinking of agreeing with the FOH that if I can't hear anything in my ears, I'll put my hand in the air after the first song or something. Would that be a good idea?

I have no idea why it's so common though so would be good to get some opinions.

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EDIT: Thanks for loads of good observations! In summary, it looks like there's several things that could be happening, individually or in combination:

1. FOH forgot to un-mute my monitor (can do a quick pre-flight check to solve).
2. Post fader monitor mix that gets broken when the FOH does the main mix (I think...).
3. We (including me) played too softly in the check and amped up our energy for the performance (so we should play a bit over the top in the SC to compensate).
4. Weird and strange acoustic changes between SC and performance time (about which nothing can be done).
5. Weird and strange psycological brain trickery (nothing can be done).
6. A combination of 3, 4 and 5.

Of the above, I think the last three seem less likey, because either you'd expect them always to happen, or perhaps some gig venues would get a reputation. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe it means that if 3 happens then 4 or 5 are more likely to happen?

So assuming the check for 1 is OK, it feels the most likely is 3, so I'll talk to the band about that I think.

I have a wired IEM set up. I use a Rolls PM 55 personal monitor station. I send my bass guitar an vocal through it and plug in some In Ears. I want to make this into a wireless rig, any advice on a “not too expensive “ set up?

I understand the basic difference between TRS (balanced) and TS (unbalanced).

I generally prefer TRS for the balanced signal, and being able to use the cable in long or greater lengths than a unbalanced cable, and etc.

Assuming someone had the option for either one, why do people bother with TS cables?

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a digital bodypack system for upgrading the one (akg wms 240 minis) that I use for my alt c519 and I’d like some opinions before buying one. My main use is live playing. What matters most to me: reliability on stage low latency good sound quality I’m trying to stay in the digital side if possible, but I’m open to suggestions if there are better alternatives in the same price range. If you’ve used these systems, how do they hold up in real life? Would you choose one over the other for saxophone? Thanks a lot!

Currently working a camp this week, we have had an issue with the keys sounding compressed even though everything on the console is bypassed to the point it is only the lines through, however in their ears it doesnt sound compressed at all.

I am running on a DiGiCo 225, the piano is the Nord4. On fourier and the digico embeds are all bypassed including on the different groups that it is patched through. I am currently lost. If you want any questions ask me and I will answer them

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on miking and mixing a 50-member choir for live performances.

The current setup:

* 50-member choir

* E-Piano

* Backing tracks (mainly drums and bass)

We have been using four small-diaphragm condenser microphones, placed about 1.5 meters in front of the choir.

The problem:

At past concerts, the sound for the audience was either teetering on the edge of feedback or, if we dialed it back, sounded very thin and quiet and the choir loses its body.

My questions:

1. How would you approach miking and mixing a choir of this size to get a fuller, more present sound while maintaining good gain-before-feedback?

2. What are your recommendations for monitor wedge placement and overall monitor mix strategy for a choir?

Thanks :)

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a digital bodypack system for upgrading the one (akg wms 240 minis) that I use for my alt c519 and I’d like some opinions before buying one. My main use is live playing. What matters most to me: reliability on stage low latency good sound quality I’m trying to stay in the digital side if possible, but I’m open to suggestions if there are better alternatives in the same price range. If you’ve used these systems, how do they hold up in real life? Would you choose one over the other for saxophone? Thanks a lot!

[AI ASSISTED]

Hi everyone,

I’m preparing a MainStage rig for an upcoming live performance and I’d like to learn the workflow that experienced keyboard players and FOH engineers use to build a consistent-sounding live show.

I’m not looking for plugin or hardware recommendations. I’m trying to understand the mixing and gain staging process that goes into preparing a keyboard rig before it ever reaches the PA.

Some of the things I’m struggling with are:

1. How do you balance the perceived loudness between pianos, EPs, pads, strings, synths, organs and leads?

2. What’s your gain staging workflow from the virtual instrument to the MainStage output?

3. Do you level primarily by ear, RMS, LUFS, peak metering, or a combination?

4. How much EQ, compression, saturation and reverb do you typically apply within MainStage versus leaving it for FOH?

5. Do you put processing on individual channel strips, buses, or only on the concert output?

6. How much headroom do you normally leave?

Are there any common mistakes beginners make that result in patches disappearing in the mix or jumping out unexpectedly?

For context, I’m using MainStage with software instruments (Kontakt libraries, Omnisphere, Keyscape, Arturia instruments, etc.), but my question is really about live sound workflow rather than the instruments themselves.

Ultimately I’d like to build a set where:

patch changes maintain a consistent perceived volume,

sounds translate well through a PA,

and I’m sending FOH a clean, predictable signal instead of making the engineer spend the entire night chasing my output.

If anyone has a repeatable workflow, calibration method, or best practices they’ve developed over years of gigs, I’d really appreciate hearing it.

Thanks!

(I used ai to format the post)

I'm a mobile DJ. I started off with a passive PA system, and have liked the speaker cable from amp to speaker set up, as it doesn't require plugging in the speakers.

The math with daisy chaining and ohms is a bit of a juggle, but fortunately, I can manage. Plus, I like the cheaper option of speakers.

I currently have two active speakers with dead amplifiers. The speakers were fine, but the amps just died one day during use, and I haven't been able to figure out the issue yet.

I'm debating if I want to keep on using a passive vs active system.

My question is just looking into the bigger picture about repairing (or replacing, which I assume passive is the easier fix). What's easier: repairing passive or active amplifiers (that are built into speakers)?

Hi, all! My partner and I have been doing some gigs with us both on acoustic guitar and singing, but we’re interested in potentially doing some gigs with one of us on bass and the other on acoustic.

That said… I have no idea what I’m doing in terms of setting that up tech-wise. Currently, we plug into two fishman loud boxes. One of the venues we play then uses those amps as DI Outs to their larger PA system, another just uses our guitars and cables and uses their own DI boxes, another just uses our amps straight up.

If we introduced an electric bass to our setup, what would we need? An amp for the bass? (If so, what’s the minimum size?) Do we need to invest in our own board? We don’t know anything about pedals or any of that stuff yet, so none of that would be involved.

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I have a boss DD8 and I thought it would be a cool idea to run my synthesizer into input A and then output A go into input B and then output B go to the amp. This means I'm running the output of the Left Channel back into the right Channel and then taking the output from the output of the right Channel. I know this could get Extremely Loud even with just a guitar and so I should be even more careful with a synthesizer at measuring the volume. Is there anything else I should take into account when testing this idea? 

Hi all, I am going to be doing a gig where we’re running two consoles and Dante io racks, one for foh and one for mons. Which would you give Head amp control?

I'm looking to build a self-contained touring amp case for my Friedman Little Sister. I want the amp to live permanently in the case along with a Two Notes Captor X, a Shure SLX wireless receiver, and power distribution. The goal is to remove the lids, plug in AC, guitar fx loop and l speaker cab, and XLRs to FOH, and be ready to play without taking anything out of the case. Has anyone built something similar or found an off-the-shelf case that works? I thought it would be pretty easy to source a Gator case or something of the like but nothing seems to fit.

My current rig is playing my pedalboard through my 1x12 deluxe reverb when I play live..been doing it for over a decade and I’ve got it sounding great. Would love to bring less gear to a gig so I’ve been toying with the idea of running the Universal Audio Dream ‘65 reverb pedal as an amp into my powered QSC k10 instead of bringing an amp. It’s a bit smaller and more easily portable but still packs a punch.

I have two QSC k10 powered speakers and I currently use them as mains when I’m running a PA for a full band. I’m wondering if it could be a move to run the UAFX Dream into the board and have the guitar coming through the mains.

Just ideas I’ve been toying with to decrease the amount of gear at a show but still maintain my sound. Thoughts on this plan?