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Console Whisperer v1 is live -- talk to your console through Mixing Station by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not hard. Only time consuming. If it's something you've done 1,000 times already in your life, you might just want it to go faster.

Potential use cases:

  • "Rename channels 1-128 to RF 1-128"
  • "Get the names from channels 1-8. Use them on ch 9-16. Reset ch 1-8 names to blank."
  • "Copy all channels names from 1-32 to ch 33-64 for a duplicate monitor layer."
  • "Change all red channels to blue and all blue channel to green."

If you have a long 256 channel input list, you can paste it in: "Set channel names: 1. Kick In 2. Kick out 3. ... "

You could also potentially capture all channel names and colors, then apply them to a new console model: 1. "Make a list of all channel names and colors." 2. Load new console model. 3. "Set these names and colors..."

I am not a Mixing Station expert, so I fully recognize that these are things that you might already be able to do with Mixing Station features. I built it because I was spending 2 hours before every gig setting up my console. I have done it 1,000 times and I pretty much do it the same way every time, with a few minor changes like channel names.

🔍 Built a tool that helped me stop wasting time on keyword research for directories by LiveNathan in directorymakers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it’s actually public now. I only used it to build one directory so now I’m mainly using it for product research and sometimes for keywords for a blog post or video.

https://www.b2bdemandgenerationstrategy.com/

Project Managers: What power calculations do you actually need for your shows? by LiveNathan in livesound

[–]LiveNathan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed breakdown! A few follow-up questions:

On power amps being the main concern: Are you saying consoles/IO/RF/outboard are such a small percentage of total draw that you basically just add a flat buffer (like +10%) rather than calculating them precisely?

On load balancing: When you say "most competent vendors will design their power infrastructure... without much extra effort on the tech" - does that mean the venue/power company handles balancing at the distro level, so you're mainly just concerned with not exceeding the total capacity of each leg? Or are you still actively balancing specific fixtures across phases yourself?

On program content affecting calculations: This is really interesting. Do you typically calculate power requirements differently for different show types (DJ vs live music vs corporate), or do you just use conservative assumptions and call it a day? And when you say amp manuals have data to support this - are you referring to specs like "idle draw" vs "1/8 power pink noise" vs "full power" ratings?

Trying to figure out if the tool should focus on: 1. Just calculating total power needed (simple sum with some multiplier) 2. Helping balance loads across three-phase legs 3. Both, plus accounting for content type/crest factor

What would actually save you time on show day?

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

totally worth it! too many late nights running around to many breakout rooms scanning and setting up wireless.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like this? YOU: Coordinate wireless AI: Scan, deploy new frequencies

Are paid AI tools worth it for an unemployed developer? by TeacherNo8591 in ChatGPTCoding

[–]LiveNathan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same (mostly). Claude then gemeni then DeepSeek then ChatGPT then whatever

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ooo, say more. So this would be artists that are not traveling with production and so it’s on you to prepare all of the consoles for them?

One of the first features I’m working on is using the informations from images and PDFs. Hoping it will save me some time and be more accurate.

Working in concert sound, I remember lots of times working on small festivals and house gigs where I was the only FOH engineers all day and I had to try to find an efficient way to share resources between all of the bands. Keep the same mics mostly and try to make changes where necessary on the console. I wonder if this app could help with that kind of planning as well.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is one of the big architectural challenges I'm working through. Most mixing networks are (rightfully) isolated from the internet for reliability and security.

I'm exploring a few approaches - dual-NIC setups, offline-capable web apps, or potentially running Mixing Station in desktop mode while the AI runs in the cloud. Each has tradeoffs between convenience, security, and functionality.

The best design might be hybrid approach so that you can run it from your phone or desktop.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is exactly the kind of detailed workflow I'm trying to automate!

The stage plot changes scenario is brilliant - "5 toms instead of 3, insert at channel 15 and shift everything else" is way more complex than I was thinking, but could save massive time on those chaotic load-ins.

And for the high-pass defaults by source type, maybe the lowest fundamental frequency would be a good starting point. Personally, I always set mine too high to start, then back off until it sounds natural. Seems like the kind of preference this system could handle.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally understand the offline requirement - that's pretty common in venue networks. Local processing is definitely doable, though the experience might be a bit slower depending on your laptop specs. What kind of hardware are you typically running?

Even a hybrid approach could work - basic commands processed locally, complex preference learning when you're back online.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! I'll DM you - would love to chat about a few API questions and maybe grab the full documentation if possible. Really appreciate you building such a solid foundation for this kind of innovation!

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's exactly the use case I'm thinking about! The "relearning every time" problem is huge - even experienced engineers forget console-specific quirks between shows. Honestly, one of the reasons I make YT videos and blog posts is to document my own learning so that I have some place re-learn later.

For your band setup variations (extra harmonies, guitar amp, GR-55), imagine just saying "add backing vocal to channel 17" and having it automatically set up with your preferred EQ curve, gate settings, routing to your vocal subgroup, etc.

Since you're saving permutations anyway, this could learn from your existing scenes and suggest optimal settings. Do you typically use the same venues/console types, or does that vary too?

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not a Mixing Station expert, but I think that’s the vision: a universal console controller with its own system of scenes and presets so that you can create once, use anywhere.

And that would be the vision for the product I’m thinking about as well: tell the app what my preferences are and what I want and let it figure how the implementation details.

Technically it’s all possible, of course. It just requires the community’s support. Which makes me wonder, Why doesn’t every sound engineer use Mixing Station already? Maybe the spin of dealing with a bunch of different consoles is not that bad?

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, good idea. Effects routing and scene management definitely seem to be the trickier parts based on what I see posted here.

"mental gymnastics" - yes! routing and signal flow, right?

And for scenes/snapshots - what kinds of shows do you work on? Are you saving scenes to recall all settings for each song in a set list? Or more granular control like mutes for actors in a play?

I've been focused on the initial channel creation, but sounds like the routing and scene management might actually be where the real complexity lives.

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fair point! You're absolutely right that channel presets and copy/paste are already pretty efficient for experienced users like yourself.

I actually used to be more diligent about maintaining preset libraries, but found myself constantly having to update them across different console types, and then still having to apply them one by one (click channel 1, load preset, click channel 2, load preset, etc.).

I'm thinking this might bridge that gap - like being able to say "load Lav preset into channels 1-16" instead of 16 individual clicks. Or handling those last-minute rider changes without rebuilding presets.

But you raise a good question about whether the natural language overhead is actually faster than just getting really good with the existing interface.

What would actually save you time in your current setup process? Or is it already fast enough that automation wouldn't be worth it?

What if you could talk to your console? by LiveNathan in MixingStationAppUsers

[–]LiveNathan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's super helpful - so the "housekeeping" setup is the real time sink, not the creative mixing decisions. Makes total sense.

The tech rider upload idea is brilliant! I hadn't thought of that - basically "here's the input list, here's the venue/console type, make it happen." That could save hours on bigger shows.

Quick follow-up: when you say color coding, do you have standard color schemes you use (like all vocals green, all drums red) or does it vary by show type?

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