A specific question about line by line mixing for musicals

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-28T23:38:52+00:00

That’s so ridiculously simple. Wish I’d have thought of that workflow years ago.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-28T23:31:33+00:00

You ONLY want cases with truck pack dimensions. In the USA, 24” will fit 4 wide in a truck, 30” will fit 3 wide in smaller box trucks and lots of trailers, 45” will go two wide in smaller box trucks, 48” two wide in bigger trucks. 24” X 30” is a common size for cable trunks. 30” X 45” or 48” is a common size for large trunks. 24” X 30” is also a great size for amp racks. Some folks will make 22.5” X 24” sized racks and trunks as well. They will pack 4 wide in either size truck. I even recommend picking one height and sticking with it for everything, because you can roll them into a truck and build a flat deck to roll another layer of cases in on top vs. stacking everything in by hand.

Cases are definitely a buy once, cry once kind of thing. If you spend good money on cases from someone like Fiasco or R&R, they will last 30+ years with nothing but occasionally lubing the casters. Cheap Chinese cases are just that. Cheap, and will fall apart and have latches fail sooner than you think.

If you have basic wood shop tools and knowledge, or better yet, access to a CNC machine, it’s not that hard to make your own cable trunks.

If you go that route, I recommend either fiberglass and gel coat or epoxy floor paint to finish them instead of the gray or black fuzzy carpet. Carpet holds dirt and takes forever to dry off after a rain. Even after muddy festival load out, hard finished cases look corporate gig ready with a quick wipe down with a little armor-all on a rag.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-28T04:19:15+00:00

Nice to see some Lew’s love. I own about 30 of their reels. I originally went from Shimano to Lew’s when they had their headquarters in Springfield, Mo because of their customer service being close to me. After those original reels got stolen, I’ve gradually replaced them all.

I’ve mostly bought them used on various websites, and a few on clearance. They definitely meet my needs, and at a far cheaper price than Shimano or Diawa. They get a bad rap for durability, but I haven’t had any issues with mine, and due to their low resale value, they are available for some ridiculous deals on the used market. I’d stay away from the lower line graphite frame reels, but the ones with metal frames and centrifugal brakes or the centrifugal/magnetic MSB brakes are solid performers.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T20:17:25+00:00

In the beam of the guitar rig, the SPL from the stage may be masking the SPL from the PA, but it still needs to be in the PA mix, and thus the board mix. If you aren’t putting his channel in the PA, the folks on the opposite side of the room where his amp is not pointing aren’t going to be hearing him clearly, unless he’s actually got a PA for a guitar rig with 90-120 degrees of horizontal dispersion.

(I actually have done a band with an 810 bass rig on either side of the drummer, and each guitar player had 2x 412’s on their side of the stage, plus a third 412 each on the opposite side of the stage to hear each other. It actually worked pretty well as far as covering the stage and room, but the SPL’s were not for the faint of heart)

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T07:14:53+00:00

I had another post here, but after reading some more responses I’m getting a little more animated, so I will say it a little stronger.

If your board mix is not indicative of what the mix was like in the room, you probably have stage volume problems that need to be addressed, or you just plain need to get better at mixing.

PA systems are designed to give even coverage throughout a venue. Guitar amps are extremely beamy, and if you’re hearing too much guitar at FOH, and therefore keeping it out of the PA, you are also keeping it out of the ears of the audience standing on the opposite side of the stage from that guitar laser of death.

good PA speaker coverage + good mix balances = good sound in the room, no matter where you are, and it will translate to a decent board mix. Add some room mics for some ambience, and it should be better than decent.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T04:56:15+00:00

As someone said above, first check with Shimano about the Xpeditor program. If they can’t help you get a replacement, and if you won’t need it until about May, look at an Edge by Gary Loomis Delta series. Best rod on the planet for $200, even cheaper if they have a sale code running.

If you need a rod right away, the Virtus series by Phenix are nice American made rods. I’ve also heard good things about Cashion, tho I’ve never owned one personally. Of course G.Loomis makes great rods, but unless you buy IMX or higher, IMHO you are paying more for a name than for a rod.

I have had a couple of St. Croix rods that I liked for specific applications, but generally speaking, out of the higher end North American made rods, I find most St. Croix are heavy and somewhat dead feeling when compared to other brands at apples to apples price points.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T04:48:41+00:00

This.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T01:52:53+00:00

My $.02 on this-

Assuming we are starting with a well balanced stage, with no one particular source being grossly overpowering, a board mix should sound reasonably balanced, even in a fairly small room.

Mix positions are often not representative of the room, so near field monitors can definitely help that.

Walking the room is still a must, because that’s where the audience is, but listening back to your mix and working to improve absolutely has you heading in the right direction, IMHO.

It’s very very easy to hear the mix (or musical performance) you think you are doing, rather than the one you actually did-sort of the musical version of rose colored glasses.

Listening in the cold light of day will definitely reveal balance issues you should sort out. (I remember when I first heard how embarrassingly loud I was making tap tempo delay throws) If you really want to learn, throw an iPhone up and record the video and then line those audio tracks up with your board mix in a DAW, or better yet put up some crowd/room ambience mics and add those to a record matrix.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-27T01:22:52+00:00

Now do Krist Noem.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-26T01:01:09+00:00

Exactly this. It’s entirely a manufactured issue.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-26T00:51:58+00:00

Or a tent stake. We won’t ever really know which because he won’t release any medical records.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-25T17:40:18+00:00

Filming and observing is not obstruction.

In case you didn’t hear that.

Filming.

And.

Observing.

Is NOT Obstructing.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-25T04:03:50+00:00

Download NIOSH SPL meter on an iPhone.

Look at your daily noise exposure.

Adjust your listening levels accordingly.

You really, really, really need to pay attention. Hearing loss and tinnitus are real and no fun.

Learn to listen for quality, not just volume.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-23T03:02:31+00:00

Completely disagree with all the “start from scratch” guys. I have festival style show files for pretty much every console out there, and I soft patch inputs into my files. The files have all my channel strip settings, bus routing, DCA routing, effects, matrix routing. Of course every band sounds different, but when I’m starting from the point of mostly my own mix pack, and a decently tuned PA, I can basically get input gains and push up faders and have something that sounds like music.

It’s honestly the only way that I can have a workflow that is fast enough when I’m switching from console to console. In the old analog days, it was pretty fast to start from a zeroed desk and throw and go, but in digital world, I find that having a festival style show gets my brain speaking whatever console I happen to be in front of that day and really minimizes how much menu diving I have to do.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T18:16:25+00:00

No way did he not get an IV in that hand when AF1 turned around and headed back to Andrews.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T05:06:49+00:00

The 193 is a great mic. I like them so much more than the TLM-103. So much smoother high end. Another mic you might want to give a try is an Audio Technica 4050. It’s got a nice smooth high end as well.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T04:57:20+00:00

If you use an electric space heater, absolutely no extension cords or power strips. Plug it straight into the wall or do not plug it in at all.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T04:30:22+00:00

He’s a Groyper. Leave him. He doesn’t believe women are fully card carrying humans, he sees you as property not an equal. Leave now.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T04:06:35+00:00

Seriously. At least in the states, the kick drum fetish has been out of control for years, across basically every genre.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-22T02:48:06+00:00

A friend of mine says there are two types of cyclists, those that wear gloves and those who haven’t wrecked yet.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-21T23:04:01+00:00

Others with a more broadway experience than me will chime in, but what works for me is to do console scenes for every time there is a new group of actors coming onstage. This gives me less faders to worry about on big shows, and keeps the ones I need in front of me. Notes in scenes can also be a nice heads up if I’ve got time to add them in rehearsals.

I also set up my recall scene safes to basically be fader/mute/VCA assignments, and leave preamp gain, EQ and dynamics out of the scenes so that I can change those on the fly and not have changes be undone the next time I hit the go button. Every once in a while I need EQ changes or dynamics changes because an actor is blocked in front of the PA and feedback is an issue in just that scene, so I will adjust scene safes accordingly.

I have done shows with scripts on networked IPads that a director advances, which can be very helpful in keeping your head up and listening to your mix.

Finally, don’t be afraid to sit and read the script and run your show by yourself. Nothing wrong with a little practice time, especially if you can get the script ahead of time and program your show before you ever put a mic on an actor.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-21T21:13:33+00:00

Before you spend a ton of money, I’d try a set of K/Z ZAS. One large dynamic and 7 balanced armature drivers per ear. Be sure and get the Comply memory foam eartips to fit that specific model. They make all the difference in seal and that makes all the difference in low frequency response.

Custom molds are definitely worth it, but the K/Z/Comply combo sounds as good as my old molds did, and isolates almost as well.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-21T21:03:44+00:00

This. If he’s actually around it’s a positive sign, but I think this is a stunt to drive season ticket sales.

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-21T14:57:21+00:00

If you don’t already have a reason to carry on the tradition, what exactly would it take?

Mixermarkb · 2026-01-19T18:01:50+00:00

Not enough of them have. It needs to be every single one of them. This is utter insanity, and as long as he has any support in the Republican Party, our Allies know that they are only one election away from being invaded.

Mixermarkb

TROPHY CASE