Tablet Mixer Cue Playback for Touring Theatre

[cmahlmann]

Hey All,

I'm looking for a replacement mixer for our small touring theatre troop and I'm looking at tablet driven rack mixers. We only need about 12 inputs but we do a lot of audio playback of sound cues and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for tablet controlled mixers that can handle a cue list well. Particularly the ability to auto stop at the end of each track. I'd like to be able to load the sound cues onto a USB stick and be able to play everything from FOH directly through the mixers interface software.

I'm looking at the Behringer X Air Line, the Soundcraft Ui line, The Peavey DR16 and the Mackie DL16S. I could upgrade to the full blown X32 rack or Yamaha TF rack mixers but I would prefer not to spend that much.

I'm open to other suggestions but the goal is to be able to have our SM/Sound tech run everything wireless from FOH without having to switch between apps. Our shows usually go quickly and playback often comes adjacent to entries or exits and we need to be able to move back and forth quickly and seamlessly.

Thanks!

 

[DaveySimps]

I am a fan of the Allen and Heath QU-PAC (or QU-SB) with an ipad. There are a number of additional reliability concerns when you are relying on a wireless tablet for mission critical control.

No matter which platform you decide upon, always have a back up tablet (or laptop in the case of the Behringer / Midas units), and set up the back up every time. Spend money on a great access point. Set that up as a hidden network on 5GHz and get the unit up high over heads to have the best signal possible. Never rely on the built in wireless units. They do not perform well.

~Dave

 

[NickVon]

you'll' want a separate tablet for sfx playback, and mixer control. Qup-PAC is pretty good for very portable and fits your needs. I'd choose it over the Berginger/ presonus/soundcraft alternatives

 

[spiwak2005]

I really love my Soundcraft Ui for smaller scale stuff like this. It has a USB port for playback and it is really easy to use the tablet to play those cues (in Manual mode it stops after each track). There are multiple USB ports and from what I can tell they all do playback as well as recording a simple stereo mix of your session. I don't see any need for separate tablets if you're using the USB drive for your audio files, as the mixer has it's own Player section. The other thing I love about the Soundcraft is that the mixer is not an app - it's just browser based. So you can use any device (iPad, Android tablet, PC or Mac laptop, Chromebook) without having to download or install anything. Sometimes I even setup a Raspberry Pi (hardwired to ethernet) and a small monitor to use as a backup if the wifi fails. I can't speak to the wifi capabilities of the other brands, but if you go with the Soundcraft plan on getting a separate wireless router. The built in wifi antenna just doesn't cut it in most environments. I've successfully used a cheap Netgear wireless router in a gym with over 1000 students (all on their cell phones) but the internal wifi lost signal even when I was standing right next to it.

The Ui 16 has 12 XLR inputs (8 of them are the 1/4" combos) plus the USB ports, plus a stereo RCA line-in. It also has 2 main outputs (XLR & 1/4") and 4 aux outputs (XLR).

It's not for everybody or for every situation and I'm sure lots of folks will have negative things to say about it, but for what it is (cheap) it's really easy to setup and use.

 

[EdSavoie]

I too throw my vote towards the QU System, I use one regularly. Quite a good little unit (they sound good too!)