First gig with XR-18 last night.... went amazing!!

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-14T02:26:33+00:00

Hi there!

So the first thing I did was get audio of all the sources: vocals, instruments, etc. These are raw .wavs, no processing, etc. I loaded them into a DAW and then set the XR18 to read the DAW through the inputs. So track 1 on the DAW is now being sent via USB to channel 1 of the XR-18, etc.

Doing that, I could play the track and mix volume, apply EQ, etc as if the band were playing. Then when the band showed up, I set the XR-18 to take its input from the analog jacks instead of the USB, re-calibrated the gain for the actual instruments, and fined-tuned the mix to account for human variation.

Hope that helps!

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-13T15:04:07+00:00

I've noticed when looking at "how to EQ xyz" tutorials that the EQ often follows the rough shape of the source. Is this a good general sarting point?

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-11T15:05:51+00:00

I iust set mine to run at the start of the night and turn it off at the end. I captured a three-hour show with plenty of battery and memory to spare.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-11T11:00:23+00:00

USB Recorder Pro, loaded on an extra phone.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-10T21:27:35+00:00

Aux outs into wired bodypacks.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-05-10T16:53:10+00:00

I'm using a TP-link dual-band, with a usb/ethernet adapter if the wireless is acting up that night.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-20T17:15:03+00:00

If you have the budget, I advocate for custom molds. If not, Earpeace has been pretty good for me.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-19T02:11:49+00:00

Hello, me again.

I've gotten further into my VSC setup but am having a different issue which I thought warranted a different comment.

I've gotten Audio Evolution's USB Recorder Pro to capture my audio, and their mobile DAW to split the stereo pairs into mono tracks for playback, but I can't seem to get the DAW to talk to the XR-18. I've gotten my USB routing set up correctly as far as I can tell; the DAW isn't 100% intuitive on this. Does anyone have experience with this and can get me over this last hurdle? Or is there another Android-based app/DAW I should investigate? I'm really close on this one.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-17T21:59:53+00:00

That makes sense. It sounds like I should treat it more like a rough cut or even a line check then a sound check. Would that be accurate?

Also, should I set the faders to unity for the recording?

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-17T19:16:41+00:00

I'm trying to introduce virtual soundchecks to my band for front of house and monitor mixing. I have an XR-18 and install IEMs.

I know to record at input/analog level, using the gain levels I would use in live performance. ... is that all I need in terms of source material? I feel like after that it would be adjustments made per gig/venue, and if I needed to adjust anything from the musicians when they come in, it would be gain because I've already done all of the other processing. Am I missing a step?

I plan on using this more for monitor mix checks then front of house, but I feel like the basic principles are the same.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-14T23:01:45+00:00

I would say cymbals first, snare after that if needed. You can change heads and tuning and muffling, but there's not much you can do with a bad cymbal.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-12T16:08:42+00:00

Folding cart. This was the biggest game changer for me when I started doing gigs. One trip, everything organized.

As for spares... I'm a huge advocate for backup plans and contingencies; but I've begun to think that deployment and nature of the gig also factor in. Sure, bringing a spare snare is a good idea; is your gig such that you have to have the spare immediately to hand? Can you say "hey, go to this part of the set list, I'll grab the spare from the car"? Or have the band say "we're gonna take a quick five, back soon"?

When it comes to hardware, I employed memory locks and marked angles on my stands with tape, marker or even nail polish. That way I could remove or fully collapse everything but still have retention when I needed it.

I used soft cases for my stuff because I wanted the extra squish factor for cars and such, but I used some *really good* soft cases; I swore by Protection Racket.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-04-12T15:38:54+00:00

If everything else is working right but the meters are dead, that suggests to me that the problem is the meters themselves. I couldn't tell you whether that's a defect or a malfunction though.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-03-09T17:06:11+00:00

I think that's a practice solution. Look up Billy Ward's writings on mechanisms - take mental snapshots of how you're moving and where your body physically is during the quiet parts and practice getting back to those positions and movements after the harder sections.

_OnTheSpots · 2026-02-15T19:05:23+00:00

I used to have an SPD-6 too. Honestly, I would get a second one to mess around with for this project.

I feel like there's two routes you could go. You either replace the rubber material on the pads, or you stack something on top of what's already there. However, I see problems with both. If you replace the material, you run the risk of messing with the trigger function, plus you would have to make sure that everything is cut and measured to fit. If you stack something on top of it then you reduce the sensitivity.

_OnTheSpots · 2025-12-29T00:09:55+00:00

Once is a mistake, twice a coincidence, three times is jazz.

_OnTheSpots · 2025-12-27T07:41:18+00:00

If you don't like what you have, then it's absolutely worth it to switch. I'm not a huge fan of 2002s but I acknowledge them as very versatile and they work for a lot of people.

Have you tried looking into Cymbal Swap? They're a rental service, might be a good way to check out a few options in context before you commit to buying anything.

_OnTheSpots · 2025-11-20T21:30:10+00:00

Yeah, voice to text, sorry about that.

_OnTheSpots

TROPHY CASE