Make your live shows sound better, with a multi-channel audio interface.
Have you ever had your live engineer complain that they hate working with backing tracks? Ever had to make that difficult decision to run a mono backing so your drummer can have a click-track at the same time? Would you like to run softsynths but can't compromise on your stage mix?
At iConnectivity, we don't believe that your live shows should have to compromise, and so our interfaces don't either.
The Multichannel Advantage
"So why are more channels better? How will my sound benefit from having more outputs?"
To put things simply, being able to split your sounds into individual outputs gives you and your sound engineer more options and more control when it comes to playing live. There are a great many reasons why multichannel outputs can improve your live performance. Let's take a look at a few scenarios...
Multiple outputs allow your live sound engineer flexibility in creating your ideal mix.
A Better Mix
Recording studios have had the ability to mix from 24 channels for over 40 years; one only has to listen to an album recorded and mixed in the multitrack era to hear the difference. Instruments are more defined, better placed in the stereo soundstage, with the mixes sounding much more cohesive.
The same is true of live sound; all good live sound engineers have experience of mixing with 24, 32 or sometimes even more channels. Indeed, a fully miked-up drumkit can occupy half of those channels with ease.
Giving your front of house engineer individual outputs allows them to tailor every aspect of your sound to suit the room and the audience, in a way a pre-mixed stereo backing track never can. What might sound great in your home studio can transfer very differently to the club or venue.
Better Monitoring
Splitting the individual outputs of your sound into separate channels allows your venue's monitor engineer to provide everyone on stage the perfect monitor mix. What if your drummer needs a whole load of click track and the bass synth? Maybe your singer just wants the pads and backing vocals so they can harmonise better?
None of that is possible with a pre-mixed stereo backing track, and it can soon become frustrating never being able to get a proper on-stage mix when electronic elements are introduced.
Enjoy better stage monitoring and with it, a better gig for you and your audience.
The Ability to Expand
Do you run softsynths and guitar modellers from your computer? Maybe you'd like to? Being able to assign your software plugins to separate outputs allows them to breathe as fully fledged virtual instruments.
Give your engineer a dedicated synth output, give them your guitar feed, or whatever you can think of. Individual outputs free your sounds from being trapped within the computer and allows them to truly live.
Professionalism and a better Presentation
A dedicated, multi-channel interface like the PlayAUDIO12 can really give you the edge in a live performance situation, by providing multiple audio outputs.
As a live-sound engineer who spent years trying to make a decent Front of House mix from stereo outputs, having a band provide individual outputs for all their sources makes a big difference.
If you rely on backing tracks or virtual instruments, do yourself and your band a favour, and make the jump to a proper multi-channel interface. Even four outputs give a lot more flexibility than a simple stereo output.
If you're really serious, move up to a dedicated multi-channel interface like the PlayAUDIO12. It's an investment you, your band, your engineer and your audience will thank you for!