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[David Shriver]

The recent thread about sound check order and console patching got me thinking about how I setup a board.  I have a standard practice, but I'm always open to new and better ways to do things. 

So, when faced with singing instrumentalists do you group all the instruments together then all the voices, or do you group the players. 

For instance, if you have 3 singing guitar players, and a singing keyboard player, and a singing drummer do you go

drums, keys, gtr 1, gtr 2, gtr 3, drum vox, key vox, gtr 1 vox, gtr 2 vox, gtr 3 vox..... or....

drums, drum vox, keys, key vox, gtr 1, gtr 1 vox, gtr 2, gtr 2 vox, gtr 3, gtr 3 vox

-d

[Justice C. Bigler]

Probably not the info you are looking for, but when it's left up to me, I go in score order. Voices first, the high strings, low strings, high woodwinds, low woodwinds, high brass, low brass, guitars, electric basses, piano then percussion. I know it doesn't make sense for soundies, but that's how I learned to listen to music in music school so it makes the most sense to my brain and my ear.

[Sam Zuckerman]

For a standard rock set up:
Drums, electric strings, acoustic strings, keys, vox, aux perc/toys. horns, everything else, back tracks. If there is more than one someting (i.e. guitars) I will go from left to right.
Depending on the size/format of the board I will move the vox to the faders closest to the master section.

[Gordon Waugh]

I have not tried out various channel order setups, but I think that a couple of human factors principles are relevant:

1. Dials, meters, etc. (e.g., channel faders) that you want to compare should be located next to each other.

2. Controls (i.e., faders, knobs, etc.) that affect similar things (e.g., vocals) should be located next to each other.

So, that argues for putting the vocals next to each other. You can best see the relative levels of the vocal faders if they are next to each other. You can also best adjust the relative levels of the vocals if their faders are next to each other.


3. On the other hand, it's usually easier to quickly find the correct fader if the left-to-right channel order is the same as the left-to-right physical order of the people on the stage.

If the first two principles conflict with the third in your situation, then you must make a value judgment about what's most important for you and how much advantage one setup gives you over the other. Or a combination might work best. For example,  vocalists in channels 1-5  but then ordered based on their location on the stage, instruments in channels 7-whatever but then ordered based on their location on the stage.

[Paul Dershem]

I find it less confusing to cluster adjacent faders by function, e.g., vocals, drums, percussion, horns, etc. This give me the option of grabbing a handful of similar faders and operating them as a group (my MixWiz doesn't provide groups).

[Samuel Rees]

Definitely, I group by function then stage order from FOH viewpoint. Drums, GTRS, DIs, Vox, Everything else.

[Tim McCulloch]

The recent thread about sound check order and console patching got me thinking about how I setup a board.  I have a standard practice, but I'm always open to new and better ways to do things. 

So, when faced with singing instrumentalists do you group all the instruments together then all the voices, or do you group the players. 

For instance, if you have 3 singing guitar players, and a singing keyboard player, and a singing drummer do you go

drums, keys, gtr 1, gtr 2, gtr 3, drum vox, key vox, gtr 1 vox, gtr 2 vox, gtr 3 vox..... or....

drums, drum vox, keys, key vox, gtr 1, gtr 1 vox, gtr 2, gtr 2 vox, gtr 3, gtr 3 vox

-d

I patch inputs in whatever order the artist's engineer wants them in.  You guys have a choice?

[Ben Johnson]

So, when faced with singing instrumentalists do you group all the instruments together then all the voices, or do you group the players.

Depends on the size of the group (and maybe number of mics).  If there's no drumkit and they are literally standing in a line, then all the mics for that person are grouped together with the groups matching where they are L or R onstage.  But if the channel count gets above 16ish its harder to find a vocal quickly, so they get grouped together as the last channels.

Plus personally I always have the drumkit starting at 1.  Partially just habit, and partially because I sometimes work with inexperienced crews, and having the drum snake patched 1-1 at the main snake makes for 8-10 channels that probably won't be wrong at linecheck.  Unless the drummer is far SR this already kills having the faders match the player's position onstage, so I don't bother and group by type.

Ben

[Dave Aubuchon]

Depends on the size of the group (and maybe number of mics).  If there's no drumkit and they are literally standing in a line, then all the mics for that person are grouped together with the groups matching where they are L or R onstage.  But if the channel count gets above 16ish its harder to find a vocal quickly, so they get grouped together as the last channels.

Plus personally I always have the drumkit starting at 1.  Partially just habit, and partially because I sometimes work with inexperienced crews, and having the drum snake patched 1-1 at the main snake makes for 8-10 channels that probably won't be wrong at linecheck.  Unless the drummer is far SR this already kills having the faders match the player's position onstage, so I don't bother and group by type.

Ben

Maybe it's because I'm left handed, but I always have vocals first. Then guitars,  keyboards and Bass guitar right before 12 drums channels.

[chris johnson]

I patch inputs in whatever order the artist's engineer wants them in.  You guys have a choice?

this

[James A. Griffin]

It doesn't matter.  Do it the way you're comfortable with.    The right way might change over time or for the gig.

[Randall Hyde]

The recent thread about sound check order and console patching got me thinking about how I setup a board.  I have a standard practice, but I'm always open to new and better ways to do things. 

Analog "all in a row" or digital board with layers?
Do you have groups and/or VCA/DCAs available?
Do you "set it and forget it" or are you actively changing the mix during the show?
Do you have scenes available (digital board)?

Personally, I do a lot of "one-off" and festival shows. I usually stick to whatever input list the band gives me. Some of my staff are used to drums starting at channel one; I'm used to drums at the other end of the board. Someday, I will implement layers on my (digital) board and simply organize things by layers (drums, vocals, back line, other junk, on four separate layers).
Cheers,
Randy Hyde

[Patrick Tracy]

K, Sn, HH, R1, R2, Fl, OH, B, G, G, Kz, V, V, V, V.

Modify as needed. Drums then bass, then the rest of the instruments as I see them if possible, then the vocals as I see them if possible. Arrows to indicate what part of stage they occupy (left arrow for stage right, up arrow for upstage etc.). The illogical part is the high hats and toms in reverse order from audience view, but I'm just used to it.

[Rickcperry]

For a standard rock set up:
Drums, electric strings, acoustic strings, keys, vox, aux perc/toys. horns, everything else, back tracks. If there is more than one someting (i.e. guitars) I will go from left to right.
Depending on the size/format of the board I will move the vox to the faders closest to the master section.

This is my preferred setup...

[darkchina811]

This is my preferred setup...

+1

[Jeff Bankston]

i start with my drums > kr,kl,14,16,18,20,snare,hh,oh,oh,bass guitar,guitar r,guitar l,v,v,v,cd player,tape deck

[Samuel Rees]

k,k,s,s,Hh,t1,t1,f1,f2,OHSR,OHSL,bass, elec gtrs SR-SL, DIs SR-SL, other input groups SR-SL, Vox SR-SL. Last page is always talkbacks, FX returns, spares for wireless, etc.

My primary gig is monitors on an SD8-24 so depending on how far up drums and bass take me I'll leave a hole so the gtrs don't get split between banks because I'm paging by 12s. Same with the next bank, I'll move or whatever up to 25 or 37 & etc so they are not split up. I don't mind the banks of 12 at all as long as the breaks are configured logically.

I have snapshots on my default scene ready for headliners and openers so the artist always hears just what they did last time they were on stage and to make transitions easy for me.

[Rob Spence]

i start with my drums > kr,kl,14,16,18,20,snare,hh,oh,oh,bass guitar,guitar r,guitar l,v,v,v,cd player,tape deck

hmmm, whats a tape deck? I just leave the rolls of tape in the workbox :-)

[Craig Montgomery]

I am here to post in this very important thread.

[Jeff Bankston]

hmmm, whats a tape deck? I just leave the rolls of tape in the workbox :-)

your suppose to build the sundeck with it , "tape deck" ! 

[ProSoundWeb Community]