Live 2Box FOH & IEM Set Up Questions.

[Cuban]

I am about to start work with a new band which could see us doing 100+ shows a year.
I'll be using the 2Box module and an a to e kit conversion (for visual impact)

I am thinking of doing the following:-

Headphone out > to FOH
Line out > to personal mixer and into IEM

In addition:
FOH full band sound including kit > to personal mixer and into IEM

The reason I want to do this, is I need to adjust some settings on the fly, so by using the headphone out rather than an output channel, is I can turn the sound off from the PA instantly via the volume control, but I can still hear the adjustment via my output to mixer feed.

Another reason to have the module output > mixer feed is I can mix my own drum sounds and volumes over and above the 'full band' feed I am getting if the band happen to change their settings while the show is on.

Are there any reasons or another way of doing this may be better?
Other than needing individual pads feeds to FOH, which don't seem to be required as the band will mix the sound from the stage and leave it pretty much set from the soundcheck.
I'll also 'mix' the kits in advance and at rehearsals to get the required sound levels and eq.

Anyone got any thoughts, comments or suggestions on this or their own 2Box live experiences?

[drum-de]

Dear Cuban,

I am not a sound engineer rather than a technical advanced guy. But I can tell you what I do.

We also mix oneself. The keyboard guy does the mix by listening to his monitor boxes. This works pretty good. He only gets two signals of the e-drum: Master-Mono (incl. Kick) + Kick. This model needs well mixed e-drum-kits! At the end of the show we need more “wums” -> the kexboard-guy rise the volume of the kit + kick. More than two channels can’t mixed by a musician who basically has to play his own instrument.

What about the following:
Get yourself a 10-channel-mixer. Send 8 channels of the 2box to this device and give your bands mixer only one channel. This option also allow to listen to the mix by headphone. FOH can set “off” during this. Changes “on the fly” can made easily. You’ve also got the chance to EQ every channel – wonderful!

One more thing:
As far as I know the Head-Out of every e-instrument is not made for FOH. You should check before setting everything into your vision.

Greets

Sebastian

[pluk2001]

When playing live, I use two different settings; Stereo + Kick, and Individual Outs.  The first setup is mainly for when we are short on time for soundcheck/setup or if we are using an unfamiliar engineer.  The second setup is for when we have more time to soundcheck and we have worked with the engineer before.

When using Stereo + Kick, the module is setup thus:

Out 1 - Kit L (minus Kick Drum)
Out 2 - Kit R (minus Kick Drum)
Out 6 - Kick Drum

In this setup, the headphone out is connected to inputs 1 and 2 of my mixer, with a third channel used for the kick drum (coming back from the DI Box).  This setup gives any FOH guy some flexibility with regards to Kick Drum level in relation to the rest of the kit.

When using Individual Outs, the module is setup thus:

Out 1 - Toms L
Out 2 - Toms R
Out 3 - Cymbals
Out 4 - Hi Hat
Out 5 - Snare Drum
Out 6 - Kick Drum

In this instance, the headphone output is connected to my onstage Mixer in inputs 1 and 2.  This way I can use the internal mixer to suit my monitors and let FOH do their thing.

The reason for the reversed output, is that I can change between the setups quickly (by changing Out 1+2 to the kit mix and then taking out the kick drum in the internal mixer, and vice versa).

On a side note, I'm now using a Roland TD-12 with a VH-11 in conjunction with the 2Box... Will elaborate in a separate post.

Hope this helps!

Ant.

[Cuban]

Thanks for the replies guys, very useful to know. 

Given I had so little time (2 weeks to learn 30 tracks) and only 3 rehearsals, I didn't have an opportunity to play with output options or even sounds.

Beyond taking out some decay, the sound clip below from our first show, is pretty much stock 2Box even though this was simply recorded off the band's monitor feed, making the mix a little unbalanced. 

2Box Live

I think it's a great indication just as to how good 2Box is.