Today’s a great day for Hot As A Pepper! You could say we were filled with HAAPiness!
Why? Because new toys arrived and we’re itching to use them for our upcoming shows. We’ve upgraded our audio mixer from the Mackie DL1608 to the Mackie DL32R and put it in a new Gator road rack case with a Furman power distribution system, an Apple AirPort Express Wi-Fi router and a Western Digital 1TB USB hard drive.
The advantages over what we had are more inputs for more players, more outputs for more monitor mixes, additional effect capability and 32 channel record/playback. No, it won’t make us sound or look any better, but who doesn’t love more power!!?!!??
A little history about the evolution of Hot As A Pepper’s audio control system:
A while back we ditched our trusty analog Allen & Heath mixing console in an effort to make life easier on us.
What did the move to digital gain us? By losing the console, we also lost the snake, which presented a health & safety hazard at venues where someone could trip over it. It also meant we no longer had to carry that copper coil of evil around and wrap it up carefully to insure it was not damaged, along with cleaning all the gunk off of it from beer or food spillage, or even worse, the outdoor gigs where there was wet grass and dirt on it.
Another advantage of not having a big console is that the venue does not have to give up a table which could seat 2 to 4 people and make them more money. That comes thanks to wireless connectivity and using a series of tablets to control the mixer.
The audio tech or engineer uses a tablet such as an iPad in our case to sit ANYWHERE in the venue, or to roam around and listen to the sound at various locations. And they no longer control both the FOH (Front Of House) mix AND the monitor mix, they simply control what they hear. The monitor mixing takes place on stage, where the band is.
You can read about our previous transition from analog to the wonderful Mackie DL1608 16 channel digital board here and this is where we found the perfect case to protect the DL1608.
Is the DL32R or any digital mixer system right for YOUR band? Yes? No? Maybe?
If you want to lose the snake, not take up a table in the venue, YES!
If you want to be able to save settings for a venue and recall them and be close to playing without a long sound check the next time you play there, then YES.
If you want to simplify your life, MAYBE!
If you want to save money – no…
Why maybe on simplifying your life? You still need a sound tech out front if you want to sound your best out front. You now need to maintain multiple systems, such as a digital mixer, and a wireless system, and let’s not forget those iPads, which are fragile and MUST be charged and ready to go. Your sound tech may have never worked with a control surface on an iPad, whereas a traditional analog console is a snap to navigate, even if you have never seen that model before! Then there’s the potential for wireless interference which could prohibit you from controlling your audio system! It could come from wireless mics, or heavy 2.4/5GHz spectrum congestion. Oh, and let’s not forget about software updates, which could affect your system’s performance.
Want to save money? Go analog and forget the iPads, and mounts, chargers, racks, etc. Just buy yourself a nice 16-32 channel board and a snake and be done with it!
Nope, it’s not a one-size-fits-all type thing. It might not be right for you, or it may be exactly what you have been missing!
Want to discuss it? Find us out at a gig and we will show you our system and try to answer any questions we can.
You can also find me (John) online and I’ll be happy to tell you all I know.
Rock On!
About John:
John M. Hoyt is the bass player & manager of the Greenville SC based dance, party and event band, Hot As A Pepper. You can reach John at 864-979-1224 or use our CONTACT FORM.