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[Shawn Burnham]

Hello all:
I am trying to help my church simplify their sound setup, and I would like your recommendations on how to accomplish what I have in mind.  I envision an input sound mixing board that will take all sources (i.e. mics, instruments, etc) and produce a single mixed signal (can be stereo or mono).  This mixed signal would then be fed through processing equipment like compressor, EQ, etc.  Then, this processed signal would be fed into a separate "output distribution board".  This "output board" would have sliders to adjust the signal to different destinations, like house speakers, monitors, audio recording, video feed, etc.  I do not want to use auxiliary or monitor outputs from the input board to accomplish this.  I want the "output board" to be separate for simplification, and so that the number of inputs and the number of outputs can grow independently.  However, I've never heard of something like an "output board", so this is really what I would like your feedback on.  I've attached a drawing of this concept to help clarify, but please let me know if you need more information.
Thanks,
Shawn

[Mac Kerr]

Hello all:
I am trying to help my church

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Mac

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Hello all:
I am trying to help my church simplify their sound setup, and I would like your recommendations on how to accomplish what I have in mind.  I envision an input sound mixing board that will take all sources (i.e. mics, instruments, etc) and produce a single mixed signal (can be stereo or mono).  This mixed signal would then be fed through processing equipment like compressor, EQ, etc.  Then, this processed signal would be fed into a separate "output distribution board".  This "output board" would have sliders to adjust the signal to different destinations, like house speakers, monitors, audio recording, video feed, etc.  I do not want to use auxiliary or monitor outputs from the input board to accomplish this.  I want the "output board" to be separate for simplification, and so that the number of inputs and the number of outputs can grow independently.  However, I've never heard of something like an "output board", so this is really what I would like your feedback on.  I've attached a drawing of this concept to help clarify, but please let me know if you need more information.
Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn...

Welcome aboard.  I can relate to trying to keep things simple, especially for "teams" of volunteers and less experienced folk.  But I must say that your proposed method of simplification goes against some of your stated needs.

You want to have several sends, but most have entirely different purposes and as such require different content.  So using a single mix and sending it out through a control surface to different destinations for different purposes really won't be as practical and workable as needed.

Here are your proposed mixes:

Mains
Monitors
Recording/video
Courtyard (remote location)

You also mention future expansion.

A mains mix will by definition have a lower level of any sound in the room with a significant amount of output, so listening to a mains mix outside of the room in which the "performance" occurs will be unbalanced.

A monitor mix will/should contain only that which is absolutely necessary for reference and keeping the participants in sync.  Using the mains mix for this complicates things and reduces the efficacy of the monitor itself.

Video/recording and remote location audio can well be a single mix, but will be different than both the main mix and the monitor mix.

The standard way to accomplish these tasks is to use a mix console which has "matrix" capability.  This allow the main mix to be sent to the main room PA, the monitors to be tailored as needed for the performers/participants and separate, and other full mixes to be sent to your video, recording and any remote locations such as your courtyard, social hall, kitchen, etc.

Simply using one mix for all these uses means that only one purpose will really be fulfilled.  The rest will suffer to a greater or lesser extent.

If you must use one mix for separate locations, it would be better to have the volume control at the far end of the chain rather than centrally located so the end users/listeners can make it work for them without having to travel to the control location and make changes with no real-time reference.

For analog consoles, something like an Allen & Heath GL2800 series would work for you.  In digital world, almost any of the new offerings will work.

I assist with HOW and other sound delivery system design as a part of my business.  I would never advise the type of setup you propose as the sound quality of the various areas would all be compromised to some degree.   

[Brad Weber]

Dick explained it well in that while what you propose may simplify things by sending one mix to all destinations, that is typically not desired as different destinations have different needs in terms of the related mixes.  You would also generally not want the same processing (comp/limiting, EQ, etc.) for all destinations but rather dedicated processing for each destination.
 
Some examples are that you may not need as much drums or some other sources in the main mix as people in the main space hear those sources acoustically, however that does not apply for recording, video or remote locations that get no natural sound from those sources and thus may need a higher level in the associated mixes.  And you probably want to adjust the equalization for the main mix to optimize the sound in the main room, but that could result in a response that does not sound good for recording or broadcast.  You may want an ambient microphone to pick up ambient noises for the recording or broadcast mixes but to not include that ambient mic in the main room mix.  There are simply many situations where being able to have discrete mixes makes sense while a single mix would require potentially significant compromises.

[Frank DeWitt]

I agree with the above, However if you still want to do it, or if you want to do it for some of the outputs (for example, we send the same signal but at different levels to the north foyer, the south foyer, and the nursery, and the hearing assist you can use a distribution amp. Here is one example.

http://whirlwindusa.com/catalog/headphone-distribution/active/da-2

Our mixer offers this setup as well.  SAC or Software Audio Console.  We used a distribution amp before we got SAC.  It is nice to have all the output faders right there on the same console as all the inputs.

Other outputs such as the record output and IEMs get there own mixers (part of SAC) and these mixers are accessible from the main control screen.  They each also have there own screen.

Frank

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

I agree with the above, However if you still want to do it, or if you want to do it for some of the outputs (for example, we send the same signal but at different levels to the north foyer, the south foyer, and the nursery, and the hearing assist you can use a distribution amp. Here is one example.

http://whirlwindusa.com/catalog/headphone-distribution/active/da-2

Our mixer offers this setup as well.  SAC or Software Audio Console.  We used a distribution amp before we got SAC.  It is nice to have all the output faders right there on the same console as all the inputs.

Other outputs such as the record output and IEMs get there own mixers (part of SAC) and these mixers are accessible from the main control screen.  They each also have there own screen.

Frank

Frank...

I prefer to use a line level distributor like the Rane "Swiss Army" line distro:

http://www.rane.com/note108.html

[Kent Thompson]

Nothing sounds simpler to me than one unit that takes care of it all. All those connections and interactions between units can be a potential source of problems.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

Nothing sounds simpler to me than one unit that takes care of it all. All those connections and interactions between units can be a potential source of problems.

Well, since Shawn hasn't logged in again after correcting his name, I guess we'll have to consider this moot for the moment.  It's been a few hours short of a week and no visible return.

Too bad.

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