PC to Mixer

[garlicfingers]

I am working on a sound effect for Hounds of The Baskervilles in our HS Theatre. We want to use the 2 stage speakers and add 4 more in the house so the Howling dog FX can have 6 sources and the sound can move through the house. It was suggested that I use a PC to mixer input device so I can run the FX off my PC and have up to 8 outputs to send signals to the individual speakers.

We have a Mackie 808M mixer (2 speaker outs, 2 monitor outs in rear and 2 line outs in front) , 2 house speakers on stage, 2 active PA speakers and 2 small monitors on stands.

I am looking for suggestions on a specific product or line that I may go to ebay or other source to make this happen.

thank you

 

[DaveySimps]

You will want to look into some sort of sound playback software for your computer like SFX, Show Cue System or others. That paired with multi channel sound card will give you several outputs and a method to route them / cue everything. Hypothetically you could possible bypass your mixer with this set up if you do not need the mixer for anything else in the show or your venue. You can connect the outputs of the sound card directly to the sends to the speakers (depending on the particulars of your set up).

~Dave

 

[jonliles]

I'll second that. I am use show cue system now (with a professional liscense) and a M Audio FireWire 410 (8 mono outputs). It allows me to route the signal how I need/want it to go for the effect I am trying the achieve. For instance, I have geese audibly flying from DR to UR to USC for one . I have also used it to send a signal to select a speaker to achieve the directionality of a particular sound effect.

 

[museav]

We want to use the 2 stage speakers and add 4 more in the house so the Howling dog FX can have 6 sources and the sound can move through the house. It was suggested that I use a PC to mixer input device so I can run the FX off my PC and have up to 8 outputs to send signals to the individual speakers.

We have a Mackie 808M mixer (2 speaker outs, 2 monitor outs in rear and 2 line outs in front) , 2 house speakers on stage, 2 active PA speakers and 2 small monitors on stands.

The 808M is a mono powered mixer and effectively has two mix buses and two amplifier channels, one for main/program and one for monitor. All of the other outputs noted are simply those two signals at different points in the signal chain - the Tape Out is the main program audio signal before the master level and EQ, the Mixer Line Out the main program audio bus after the master level and EQ and before the amplifier and the Monitor Line out the monitor mix after the monitor level control. So although you could get six separate physical outputs off the mixer you would be limited to their being related to just two signals. So running six channels of audio through your mixer is not possible.

Based on that, it is very possible that your two 'stage' speakers currently both get the same signal and the same for the two monitors. That means that each speaker receiving different audio might require some rewiring or at least altering where they connect.

It may be possible to do what you want, but with the existing system it may be more involved than you think to do it. Sounds like it might be time for your school to start considering upgrading the house system to be more flexible.

 

[garlicfingers]

Thanks for your help. I should have specified "laptop" over PC. I have been working on an initial solution by adjusting the monitor and main outputs using the knobs. Is there a way to do this from a laptop?

 

[garlicfingers]

Thanks for the response can this be run from a laptop? Are you controlling the movement of sound through Show Cue system and that sends the signal to the specified outputs? I am new to sound here and scrambling to catch up.

Thank you

 

[hsaunier]

If you are attempting to create a sound effect in which the audience is supposed to feel as though they are in the middle of a pack of dogs, you will need to have individual dog barks coming from different speakers in the venue. This means that you would need a significant amount of gear. Adding more speakers to the system will indeed spread out the sound but your current Mackie will not make an individual dog sound like it's bark is coming from one specific area of the house. You would need to think in terms of an individual dog bark recorded on it's own audio track, with multiple dogs on multiple tracks and then a method for playback where only one track is sent to an individual speaker. Since Brad has pointed out that your sound board is only mono, you have along way to go, to arrive where I think you hoped to be.

 

[museav]

Six discrete output channels would require Show Cue System Pro (Lite is limited to two channels, Standard to four channels). SCS can control the levels to the outputs however multiple pans or crossfades between outputs may require multiple cues, which you can configure to trigger one another or after set times. However, I think you may need to make sure your sound system can actually support six separate SFX channels before going too far along that path.

Having six discrete audio channels with six speakers requires that each speaker receive a discrete audio signal. Your having a mono mixer may mean both mains receive the same signal and the same for both monitor speakers so I would start by finding out whether the two main speakers are wired to receive the same signal or if they can two different signals (and the same for the two monitor speakers). If the speaker pairs (two mains and two monitors) are wired to both receive the same signal then that could make using them as four discrete channels difficult.

If you will also be using the mixer for other sources then that could add another level of complexity as you would need to figure out how to integrate the SFX audio with any other audio.

 

[garlicfingers]

Thanks for your response. Originally I wanted 6 individual sources for the howling hound, but since I have limited gear I'm going for 4, or worst case 2 pairs. I will investigate my speaker and monitors to see if they are receiving separate signals. There are 2 main and 2 monitor outs on my mixer. I will see if there is any way to isolate the signal to right and left. I am currently setting up a Thunder FX and will see how much I can get out of my system with it.

I am looking at M-audios 410 interface with 8 outputs are there any other devices that anyone can recommend for this multi speaker idea?

 

[hsaunier]

Quick down and dirty would be locate an audio rental house that has self powered speakers and run signal from the outputs of the 410 straight to the powered speaker. That way your SFX are a total seperate system from you main PA. That may have some advantages.

 

[museav]

There are 2 main and 2 monitor outs on my mixer.

There are two main and two monitor connections but they are apparently just wired in parallel, see Page 5 in http://www.mackie.com/pdf/ppm808m_ss.pdf. It may be that the two main speakers are wired to the two "Power Amp 1/Main" jacks and the monitors to the two "Power Amp 2/Monitor" jacks but that would mean that both mains are in parallel off one amp channel and both monitors in parallel off the other amp channel.