I was literally complaining about this with my other engineer at a show today. My phone must have heard me because now this video is here. It’s rare that the band’s are this considerate of us sound guys. Also kind of shocking how few bands think of the split snake for their ears. When you’re doing a festival, and a band in the middle of the day comes in with an unexpected ear rack and no split snake, we’re in for a bad day. It’s also great that you put every input through it, because a lot of bands ask that we don’t put certain things in the ears and just homerun them to our split, which irks me more than I’d like to admit when I have a 10 minute change over on a dark stage. Like, just don’t put it in your ears! Anyway, always a pleasure to see a band that understands what the hell we do
@@DavidPaigeMusic it’s always a learning experience, for sure. And to be honest, my bands from before I learned how to run sound were pretty clueless, in hindsight lol. I tortured sound guys in ways that I now cringe at. Your band just sounds like a pleasure to work with, so props to you guys for all the work that goes into this, and also taking the time to share it with others.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do more vids on tech set up! You have a great sound and some great gigs - i really love hearing about how you set up / sound check / band song choice and order for gigs… keep up the hard work - we are watching and listening. Thanks!!
@@DavidPaigeMusic sure - we work a lot on the sets. 1 set is traditionally easy listening and warm up with second set ramping up to a finale like Alive (Pearl Jam). Interested in how you work out what songs to do and what order 👍
I’ve run monitor world at a few festivals for several years. My favorite acts are ones like yours with their own iem rig or the bluegrass guys that do the single large diaphragm condenser mic with no monitors.
DUDE THIS VIDEO WAS SO HELPFUL 😍😍😍😍 Have been searching far and wide for something like this. We have a 10 piece band. Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to make a video like this. Big love from Down under 🇦🇺
Just wanted to say great job on the editing man; I was impressed at the intro in particular. I'm sure this type of content will help a lot of people too, so thanks for putting it out there!
Why not simply get the sound guy to take one (or more) aux out from his desk to the input on your wireless IEM transmitters. The sound guy can then mix your IEM mix (which you set up in sound check). In my experience, many sound guys don't like bands using split snakes, especially because the sound guy would then have to unplug the mics for the drums and plug them into your split snake (so you can mix the drums through your IEMs) - most sound guys would find this a lot of hassle. Unless you absolutely NEED to mix your own IEMs or record your own multitrack audio at a festival, ditch the split snake and just get the sound guy to plug an aux or 2 from his mixer to your wireless IEM transmitter(s). I'd be interested to know how you deal with the issue of drum mics when using a split snake at a festival because if there's a shared drum kit and the sound guy has already miked it up and connected to his multicore/desk, he's not gonna love having to unplug all the drum mics and plug them into your split - how do you get round this?
We play 100s of shows every year for over 10 years and I’ve literally never met a sound guy who had a problem with our set up. Our sound checks and set ups (even on a multi-band bill or festival) are lightning fast. We set up our cabling and inputs offstage so it’s almost done before we even get our gear in place. Our sound check is already complete because our in-ear monitor mixes are saved and ready to go. The drum inputs are ultimately up to the sound engineer on how he or she wants to set it up, but most of the time, they’re fine with us using our mics and cables and then taking the signal from our snake. It causes very little disruption to their signal flow. Sometimes, the really prefer using their mics and cables, so we set up the split snake near their snake, and make it very convenient for them to plug and go. Many sound engineers get a reputation for being cranky, but they’re not unreasonable or lazy. They are just likely frustrated with people who are inconsiderate of them and who do not show proper appreciation for their art. We get around this issue you’ve posed in your comment by advancing our tech via email, showing up early, clear and kind communication, and being respectful. Buying them a beer doesn’t hurt either.
As FOH at a Very Busy Club in Iowa, I work with around 50/60 different Bands in a year's time, with around 130 shows a Year. ( Summer Season brings 4-5 shows a week...), The "Split -Rack" is the Absolute BEST thing EVER!. I dont mind running Wedges for you, (..IEM's are a Different Ball-Game..) but if you have a SPLIT..., well, you just made a New friend!! I've Personally gone through the effort to build My Own 32/64 Splitter for Artists the don't have a Splitter, ..(..you get Direct Outs from Me for your own Desk, but that still requires You to Manage your Own Monitors.). I know that there are Digital Solutions with Advanced Routing Options to this Issue, with many different scenarios, .... but to have Your Own IEM Rig is IDEAL!!! Have a 'Friendly/Familiar FOH Engineer' help you set up your 'Rig', and just hand the Festival-Bar-Club-Stage Mgr a "CLEARLY LABELED !!!!!!!!!....whip", and they will patch Your stuff into Their system with little issue...(..I don't always "patch" the same as You do..) But with Your Own Rig, you can adjust your IEM's without affecting the FOH Mix in any way. Find a 'Common' Software/App to control your MonMix and have everyone in your Group LEARN IT!!, that way you can Help the Other Guy when they have an issue. This is a WISE Investment in your bands future. And with Some rigs, you can SAVE up to 100 Different Scenes for Different Scenario's of your Band.. Duo/Trio, Solo, Full Band..ect. Load Appropriate Scene, Input-Patch Correctly, hand Output-Patch whip to Stage...Done! "You have an IEM Rack....Cool, half the Work, ALL the $$$"
I stage managed a small festival for a few years and I wish any of the bands wee had were 10% as prepared as you. I was lucky if we got an input list or a stage plot. Most of the time we had to chase down the bands in the catering tent to even find out how many members they had in the band, let alone what instruments they had...
@@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup Sometimes you have to accept the reality that you might not know until a band shows up at the backstage gate. And even if you *do* get a list in advance, it's not unheard of for it to change on the day. As much as we might try to be prepared, flexibility is a key skill for the sound department at any festival.
Yeah, good luck! I hope the bands come through and get that info to you! However, I wouldn’t hold your breath lol Most bands don’t do the prep work that we do. That’s why we put a video together - to try to help out!
@@DavidPaigeMusic well my band is a vocal group so most of the time I'll be setting up for them from the beatboxed to all the other parts. But from time to time I'll also be doing sound for venues so these videos of yours will help me is setting up for a band as well as shooting video for them. If I could I'd fly you out here so you could just give me the information first hand 😂
As a FOH engineer this is very good advice. I come across lots of touring acts that are setup just like this and I'm thankful. I'm especially thankful I dont have to fool with the bands monitor mix. But their are still plenty of knuckle heads out their that just don't seem to get it. My only advice would be to use higher quality slitter. If you use cheap cabling your just gonna start having cables on your fan tail crap out. Believe me I have learned the hard way.
Thanks for watching Allen! I love hearing the perspective from the sound engineers! Communication and labeling are critical! I’ve experienced the tails failing before on the seismic audio splitter, but only after about 6 years of use. Then I replaced it and have been using this one for maybe 4 years now! This one is still kicking so far 🤞🏻
Man that would be the setup of my dreams.. Thanks for sharing the knowledge! How would you use a splitter if you're the only one using iem as a drummer? Touring mainly with European airlines, so you can't even carry lot of stuff on board..
Hey David, great video, very helpful tips for a band trying to get their hands on one of these systems. I have one question if you would be kind enough to answer: We're a progressive metal band and we use synths/samples and back vocal tracks on our live shows. The synths/samples and vocals usually go in a DI box and then hit a stage box. My question is: If we have this system with our splitter and a mixer, would we still need our own DI boxes for the synths/samples? Or can I just plug them straight from my audio interface outputs to the splitter and send one signal to the sound engineer to mix for the audience? Also, If we don't plan on sending the drums into our ears, we don't really need to worry about getting our own drum mics right? Thank you very much in advance!
Thanks so much for watching! I’d love to help you out, but I feel like the back and forth with the questions I have about your gear might make it tough to do in the comments. Please shoot me a message on instagram @davidpaigemusic and let’s get you squared away!
If you want to keep the sound company happy, the very first question to ask is "how can I make it easier and faster for you and still be able to mix our own IEMs?" Most times, your split snake will be the answer, but there are times when it won't be. Also be sure to tell them what mics you are using, especially on drums. At many festivals, change over and sound check needs to be done in 15 minutes. If your gear is widely different than what they have used all day, there won't be much time to dial them in for FOH, so, just know the first few songs might not sound the greatest in the house, although your mix will be good in your monitors. Good job trying to make things run smoothly.
Thank you! We always advance with the sound companies when possible and check in when we first get there with an input list and stage plot in case they didn’t have it. I agree that the sound company knowing the mics and having the option to tell us how they like to run it is the best policy! Thanks for watching!
Bringing your own mics seems to be the only way to deal with this setup quickly in a festival type situation. Otherwise you’re unplugging all the drum cables from their setup and plugging them into yours, then plugging half your snake back into the house sound. Lots of work if you’re one of many bands playing that night
I can see why it seems like it’s excessive when you’re just one of several bands in a line up, but I can tell you from experience that the sound team prefers to work with a quick team that has a split snake and in-ears to a band that is disorganized and needs them to run monitors. We have done this using our mics or using the sound team’s mics. I always prefer using our mics because it keeps out in-ear sound consistent - using different mics immediately changes the mix.
@@DavidPaigeMusic Good to know you’ve been able to pull off both! I guess the other option is you could ask for a drum mix from front of house.. but then you’re not quite as in-control as would be ideal. Might simplify the setup though
@@DavidPaigeMusic keep in mind that while it may keep things consistent for your personal mix, it has the complete opposite effect for FOH. Now, they’re the ones who have a whole different set of mics to deal with. I’ve found the most ideal situation to be one where both sets of mics (excluding vocals) can be set up comfortably along side each other. Cuts down on transition time not having to patch as many inputs from the split snake to FOH + keeps that consistency for both the IEM rig and FOH. Yeah the vocal mics may be different but there’s no more wedges to deal with and thus not as much (if any) ringing out to do etc. and FOH should be expected to make it work EDIT - that does require more cable runs of course but realistically that shouldn’t be a huge deal. Just have the ones you definitely need on hand with your IEM rig (and make sure they’re labeled so they don’t get mixed up haha)
I hadn’t considered running parallel to the FOH sound! That’s honestly a great win-win! We travel with our mics and XLRs in the same box together, so it’s a non-issue for us and if we can help reduce friction during a quick turnover, that’s helpful! I think that when it comes down to it, communication between the band and the sound techs is critical to ensure everyone gets what they need!
hey @davidpaige, thanks for the vid! are you satisfied with the seismic audio splitter? I've read some different opinions about it and consider to buy one for a similar set up. Cheers, from Amsterdam!
This was really helpful, although it did leave one question for me. What do you do when the drummer has to play with the house-kit? Do you just use your own mics additionally to the FOHs and just don't split the drums, or do you connect the FOHs mic to your rig?
Thanks for watching! I’m glad you found it helpful. In a scenario like that, we will use the house kit and mics, and then just re-route the drum xlrs into our split snake before it goes to front of house
How has the Seismic Audio split snake held up for you? We purchased after this video, but then saw tons of reviews saying DONT BUY SEISMIC AUDIO SPILT. What are your thoughts??
I’m glad you purchased it. It’s a great product. I’ve had two over the course of the past 12 years. They hold up great. I keep things in road cases, but I’m not meticulous about being neat inside the road case. They’ve held up well considering the amount of use has been something around 150-200 shows a year.
That’s a good question. It is not possible. They’re sold as a pair. If you were to purchase a new pack that is the same brand and model, you could possibly ADD that to the receivers that would receive that signal, but you wouldn’t be able to mix and match with another brand. Having said that, radio frequencies are funny and occasionally, interference or signal crossing may happen, but that’s not anything that can be relied upon.
I’m sure someone with a degree in audio engineering can tell you all the sciencey shit, but realistically, we use this mixer daily. Never had an issue and the sound quality both through mains/monitors and through the recording interface sound amazing.
Would you be willing to share your input/channel order? Do you need to organize your board in a "standard" way to make this easier for everyone (Ch 1 - kick, Ch 2 Snare, etc). Or, if you are using your own board for IEMs and just handing a labeled split to the sound engineers, does it even matter what order the inputs are in on your board? Also, thank you for a great video!
Thanks for checking this out! I’m happy to share! I just want to say this upfront, the order doesn’t matter too much as long as everything is clearly labeled and similarly treated items go together (drums vs vocals vs guitars, etc) 1. Vocal 1 stage right 2. Vocal 2 3. Vocal 3 4. Vocal 4 stage left 5. Keys 6. Guitar stage right 7. Acoustic guitar 8. Guitar stage left 9. Bass 10. Talkback mic (marked as an X on the whip that goes to front of house) 11. Kick 12. Snare 13. Rack Tom 14. Floor Tim 15. Overhead Left (often used as high hat) 16. Overhead Right 17. Mono signal for us to run Spotify through a phone for set breaks 18. Unused
How many rack spaces does the splitter take? Can the trunks store neatly behind the splitter itself or will I need to sacrifice more rack space? Thanks for the video by the way. It's very informative.
5ft and 15ft. The short one just goes to my mixer and I keep them together, so I knew I needed a short whip on one side. But you can order them at different lengths if you’d like
Hi! Thanks for watching! The biggest difference is that the Seismic Audio SARMSS-16 splitter that we use has 16 channels, where the Behringer ms8000 has 8. Additionally, you will need to supply the XLRs that come out of the ms8000, while the two signal tails coming out of the SARMSS-16 are included and always attached. There are benefits to both options, so it would be important to figure out which set-up fits your needs better.
@@DavidPaigeMusic fair warning for you mate, Seismic gear degrades quickly on the road. Those direct connections are convenient for you now, but you’ll wish you had connectors on both ends when it starts failing. Shouldn’t be more than a few solder joints, but it’s no fun when you show up to a gig and suddenly channel 5 doesn’t work and channel 9 has a buzz… Great video though
If you go with 2 MS8000’s it is a good idea to install something like a Millenium PB16 XLR Out too, that way you have easy acces to the returns. I would also bring several looms to make it easyer when the stage has several stageboxes. Like one for vocal mics and one on each side of the drum riser for drums and backline. In addition another loom if the band uses a playback/click rack at the drums, since most venues want monitor racks on the ladies side (left). And label all XLR, not only with numbers but also which instrument they are used with, like snare top, kick in etc.
Hey - thanks for the question! I’m using the XR-18 mixer to send Phantom power to the Sennheiser e914s. The fun thing with with a split snake is that either the Front of House mixer or the Monitor mixer can send phantom power. Since we know which mics will need it and we have our settings saved, we just send the phantom power from our monitor mixer. Are you guys recording live shows or do you usually use OHs for in-ear/FOH mixing?
@@DavidPaigeMusic Thanks for quick reply! We are planning out our iem rig for live shows mainly, but will probably use it for videos/rough ideas as well. Looking at going the xr-18/Seismic route as well
I’m not sure. I’m reading up on this now. It seems like Dante does a lot to consolidate flow, but I don’t know if it splits signal or not. It also may not be helpful for giving signal to the FOH (front of house) if they are not already set up for that. I’ll be back with more thoughts on this soon.
@@DavidPaigeMusic it doesn’t really, especially since Dante is not something that’s as easily throw-and-go-able. Requires configuration, networking etc… all stuff you really don’t want to be dealing with in that situation. Things can screw up pretty easily. Analog in this case is really the way to go for reliability and ease of setup etc.
I was literally complaining about this with my other engineer at a show today. My phone must have heard me because now this video is here. It’s rare that the band’s are this considerate of us sound guys. Also kind of shocking how few bands think of the split snake for their ears. When you’re doing a festival, and a band in the middle of the day comes in with an unexpected ear rack and no split snake, we’re in for a bad day. It’s also great that you put every input through it, because a lot of bands ask that we don’t put certain things in the ears and just homerun them to our split, which irks me more than I’d like to admit when I have a 10 minute change over on a dark stage. Like, just don’t put it in your ears! Anyway, always a pleasure to see a band that understands what the hell we do
Thanks for watching!! It’s been a lot of trial and error. We’ve been the band who had no clue before. More time than I’d like to admit.
@@DavidPaigeMusic it’s always a learning experience, for sure. And to be honest, my bands from before I learned how to run sound were pretty clueless, in hindsight lol. I tortured sound guys in ways that I now cringe at. Your band just sounds like a pleasure to work with, so props to you guys for all the work that goes into this, and also taking the time to share it with others.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do more vids on tech set up!
You have a great sound and some great gigs - i really love hearing about how you set up / sound check / band song choice and order for gigs… keep up the hard work - we are watching and listening. Thanks!!
Thank you so much! More it is!
What’s your bands lineup like? Is there anything specifically you’d like me to cover?
@@DavidPaigeMusic sure - we work a lot on the sets. 1 set is traditionally easy listening and warm up with second set ramping up to a finale like Alive (Pearl Jam).
Interested in how you work out what songs to do and what order 👍
I’ve run monitor world at a few festivals for several years. My favorite acts are ones like yours with their own iem rig or the bluegrass guys that do the single large diaphragm condenser mic with no monitors.
DUDE THIS VIDEO WAS SO HELPFUL 😍😍😍😍 Have been searching far and wide for something like this. We have a 10 piece band.
Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to make a video like this.
Big love from Down under 🇦🇺
Thanks so much!!! I’m so glad you got the help you were looking for! If you need more help, shoot me a message on Instagram @davidpaigemusic
Just wanted to say great job on the editing man; I was impressed at the intro in particular. I'm sure this type of content will help a lot of people too, so thanks for putting it out there!
Thank you! I appreciate that!
@@DavidPaigeMusic also grats on breaking 1k! That's awesome.
@@dahunlee_acousticguitar_covers thank you!!! Big day for us over here on Monday!!
This was super helpful! Thank you a ton! 🙏
Thanks Dillon! Glad it was useful!
Why not simply get the sound guy to take one (or more) aux out from his desk to the input on your wireless IEM transmitters. The sound guy can then mix your IEM mix (which you set up in sound check). In my experience, many sound guys don't like bands using split snakes, especially because the sound guy would then have to unplug the mics for the drums and plug them into your split snake (so you can mix the drums through your IEMs) - most sound guys would find this a lot of hassle. Unless you absolutely NEED to mix your own IEMs or record your own multitrack audio at a festival, ditch the split snake and just get the sound guy to plug an aux or 2 from his mixer to your wireless IEM transmitter(s). I'd be interested to know how you deal with the issue of drum mics when using a split snake at a festival because if there's a shared drum kit and the sound guy has already miked it up and connected to his multicore/desk, he's not gonna love having to unplug all the drum mics and plug them into your split - how do you get round this?
We play 100s of shows every year for over 10 years and I’ve literally never met a sound guy who had a problem with our set up.
Our sound checks and set ups (even on a multi-band bill or festival) are lightning fast. We set up our cabling and inputs offstage so it’s almost done before we even get our gear in place. Our sound check is already complete because our in-ear monitor mixes are saved and ready to go.
The drum inputs are ultimately up to the sound engineer on how he or she wants to set it up, but most of the time, they’re fine with us using our mics and cables and then taking the signal from our snake. It causes very little disruption to their signal flow. Sometimes, the really prefer using their mics and cables, so we set up the split snake near their snake, and make it very convenient for them to plug and go.
Many sound engineers get a reputation for being cranky, but they’re not unreasonable or lazy. They are just likely frustrated with people who are inconsiderate of them and who do not show proper appreciation for their art.
We get around this issue you’ve posed in your comment by advancing our tech via email, showing up early, clear and kind communication, and being respectful. Buying them a beer doesn’t hurt either.
As FOH at a Very Busy Club in Iowa, I work with around 50/60 different Bands in a year's time, with around 130 shows a Year. ( Summer Season brings 4-5 shows a week...), The "Split -Rack" is the Absolute BEST thing EVER!. I dont mind running Wedges for you, (..IEM's are a Different Ball-Game..) but if you have a SPLIT..., well, you just made a New friend!!
I've Personally gone through the effort to build My Own 32/64 Splitter for Artists the don't have a Splitter, ..(..you get Direct Outs from Me for your own Desk, but that still requires You to Manage your Own Monitors.). I know that there are Digital Solutions with Advanced Routing Options to this Issue, with many different scenarios, .... but to have Your Own IEM Rig is IDEAL!!!
Have a 'Friendly/Familiar FOH Engineer' help you set up your 'Rig', and just hand the Festival-Bar-Club-Stage Mgr a "CLEARLY LABELED !!!!!!!!!....whip", and they will patch Your stuff into Their system with little issue...(..I don't always "patch" the same as You do..)
But with Your Own Rig, you can adjust your IEM's without affecting the FOH Mix in any way. Find a 'Common' Software/App to control your MonMix and have everyone in your Group LEARN IT!!, that way you can Help the Other Guy when they have an issue.
This is a WISE Investment in your bands future. And with Some rigs, you can SAVE up to 100 Different Scenes for Different Scenario's of your Band.. Duo/Trio, Solo, Full Band..ect.
Load Appropriate Scene, Input-Patch Correctly, hand Output-Patch whip to Stage...Done!
"You have an IEM Rack....Cool, half the Work, ALL the $$$"
Which club in Iowa??
@@DavidPaigeMusic I work at CAPTAINS GETAWAY in Arnolds Park
I stage managed a small festival for a few years and I wish any of the bands wee had were 10% as prepared as you.
I was lucky if we got an input list or a stage plot. Most of the time we had to chase down the bands in the catering tent to even find out how many members they had in the band, let alone what instruments they had...
Thank you! It works so much better for everyone if we all show up prepared and communicate effectively! Wish we had the opportunity to work together!
I'm still trying to get a list of members and instrumentation for a festival gig I'm running sound for in August!
@@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup Sometimes you have to accept the reality that you might not know until a band shows up at the backstage gate. And even if you *do* get a list in advance, it's not unheard of for it to change on the day.
As much as we might try to be prepared, flexibility is a key skill for the sound department at any festival.
Yeah, good luck! I hope the bands come through and get that info to you! However, I wouldn’t hold your breath lol
Most bands don’t do the prep work that we do. That’s why we put a video together - to try to help out!
The quality of your videos are top notch bro🔥I'm about to get the X18 so these videos of yours are really going to help me
Thank you so much!! Tell me a bit about your project. I’d love to hear how you’re gonna use it!
@@DavidPaigeMusic well my band is a vocal group so most of the time I'll be setting up for them from the beatboxed to all the other parts. But from time to time I'll also be doing sound for venues so these videos of yours will help me is setting up for a band as well as shooting video for them. If I could I'd fly you out here so you could just give me the information first hand 😂
@@JoshSingsBW are you on insta? Shoot me a dm and I’d be happy to chat through anything you might be working on
As a FOH engineer this is very good advice. I come across lots of touring acts that are setup just like this and I'm thankful. I'm especially thankful I dont have to fool with the bands monitor mix. But their are still plenty of knuckle heads out their that just don't seem to get it. My only advice would be to use higher quality slitter. If you use cheap cabling your just gonna start having cables on your fan tail crap out. Believe me I have learned the hard way.
Thanks for watching Allen! I love hearing the perspective from the sound engineers! Communication and labeling are critical!
I’ve experienced the tails failing before on the seismic audio splitter, but only after about 6 years of use. Then I replaced it and have been using this one for maybe 4 years now! This one is still kicking so far 🤞🏻
Man that would be the setup of my dreams.. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
How would you use a splitter if you're the only one using iem as a drummer? Touring mainly with European airlines, so you can't even carry lot of stuff on board..
Hey David, great video, very helpful tips for a band trying to get their hands on one of these systems. I have one question if you would be kind enough to answer:
We're a progressive metal band and we use synths/samples and back vocal tracks on our live shows. The synths/samples and vocals usually go in a DI box and then hit a stage box. My question is:
If we have this system with our splitter and a mixer, would we still need our own DI boxes for the synths/samples? Or can I just plug them straight from my audio interface outputs to the splitter and send one signal to the sound engineer to mix for the audience? Also, If we don't plan on sending the drums into our ears, we don't really need to worry about getting our own drum mics right?
Thank you very much in advance!
Thanks so much for watching! I’d love to help you out, but I feel like the back and forth with the questions I have about your gear might make it tough to do in the comments.
Please shoot me a message on instagram @davidpaigemusic and let’s get you squared away!
If you want to keep the sound company happy, the very first question to ask is "how can I make it easier and faster for you and still be able to mix our own IEMs?" Most times, your split snake will be the answer, but there are times when it won't be. Also be sure to tell them what mics you are using, especially on drums. At many festivals, change over and sound check needs to be done in 15 minutes. If your gear is widely different than what they have used all day, there won't be much time to dial them in for FOH, so, just know the first few songs might not sound the greatest in the house, although your mix will be good in your monitors.
Good job trying to make things run smoothly.
Thank you! We always advance with the sound companies when possible and check in when we first get there with an input list and stage plot in case they didn’t have it.
I agree that the sound company knowing the mics and having the option to tell us how they like to run it is the best policy!
Thanks for watching!
@@DavidPaigeMusic Right on. It was more of a comment for others, rather than you. You know how it goes.
Bringing your own mics seems to be the only way to deal with this setup quickly in a festival type situation. Otherwise you’re unplugging all the drum cables from their setup and plugging them into yours, then plugging half your snake back into the house sound. Lots of work if you’re one of many bands playing that night
I can see why it seems like it’s excessive when you’re just one of several bands in a line up, but I can tell you from experience that the sound team prefers to work with a quick team that has a split snake and in-ears to a band that is disorganized and needs them to run monitors.
We have done this using our mics or using the sound team’s mics.
I always prefer using our mics because it keeps out in-ear sound consistent - using different mics immediately changes the mix.
@@DavidPaigeMusic Good to know you’ve been able to pull off both! I guess the other option is you could ask for a drum mix from front of house.. but then you’re not quite as in-control as would be ideal. Might simplify the setup though
@@DavidPaigeMusic keep in mind that while it may keep things consistent for your personal mix, it has the complete opposite effect for FOH. Now, they’re the ones who have a whole different set of mics to deal with. I’ve found the most ideal situation to be one where both sets of mics (excluding vocals) can be set up comfortably along side each other. Cuts down on transition time not having to patch as many inputs from the split snake to FOH + keeps that consistency for both the IEM rig and FOH. Yeah the vocal mics may be different but there’s no more wedges to deal with and thus not as much (if any) ringing out to do etc. and FOH should be expected to make it work
EDIT - that does require more cable runs of course but realistically that shouldn’t be a huge deal. Just have the ones you definitely need on hand with your IEM rig (and make sure they’re labeled so they don’t get mixed up haha)
I hadn’t considered running parallel to the FOH sound! That’s honestly a great win-win! We travel with our mics and XLRs in the same box together, so it’s a non-issue for us and if we can help reduce friction during a quick turnover, that’s helpful!
I think that when it comes down to it, communication between the band and the sound techs is critical to ensure everyone gets what they need!
@@FOHFILMS I’ve never seen that done and would never want to do that for any type of festival.
hey @davidpaige, thanks for the vid! are you satisfied with the seismic audio splitter? I've read some different opinions about it and consider to buy one for a similar set up. Cheers, from Amsterdam!
Hey there! I’ve not had an issue with it at all. It holds up to constant use and touring. It’s a great budget-friendly option
This was really helpful, although it did leave one question for me. What do you do when the drummer has to play with the house-kit?
Do you just use your own mics additionally to the FOHs and just don't split the drums, or do you connect the FOHs mic to your rig?
Thanks for watching! I’m glad you found it helpful.
In a scenario like that, we will use the house kit and mics, and then just re-route the drum xlrs into our split snake before it goes to front of house
Preched this to the powers for years. New system: monitors post gain/mutes… 😢
Hey cool I just played chocolate fest with the same set up
Nice!! What’s the band?
@@DavidPaigeMusic Eliminator!
How has the Seismic Audio split snake held up for you? We purchased after this video, but then saw tons of reviews saying DONT BUY SEISMIC AUDIO SPILT.
What are your thoughts??
I’m glad you purchased it. It’s a great product. I’ve had two over the course of the past 12 years. They hold up great.
I keep things in road cases, but I’m not meticulous about being neat inside the road case. They’ve held up well considering the amount of use has been something around 150-200 shows a year.
I am new on in-ears topics, I have a question, do you know if its possible to connect to X transmitter a body pack receiver from another brand ?
That’s a good question. It is not possible. They’re sold as a pair. If you were to purchase a new pack that is the same brand and model, you could possibly ADD that to the receivers that would receive that signal, but you wouldn’t be able to mix and match with another brand.
Having said that, radio frequencies are funny and occasionally, interference or signal crossing may happen, but that’s not anything that can be relied upon.
Wait... you Tring to bootleg a monitor mix? Ha. That would be kinda interesting.
Are DI boxes needed for every input or what would you use them for?
Good question. We do not use a DI for guitar, bass or click/tracks. We do use a DI for keys though.
I’m sure someone with a degree in audio engineering can tell you all the sciencey shit, but realistically, we use this mixer daily. Never had an issue and the sound quality both through mains/monitors and through the recording interface sound amazing.
Would you be willing to share your input/channel order? Do you need to organize your board in a "standard" way to make this easier for everyone (Ch 1 - kick, Ch 2 Snare, etc). Or, if you are using your own board for IEMs and just handing a labeled split to the sound engineers, does it even matter what order the inputs are in on your board? Also, thank you for a great video!
Thanks for checking this out! I’m happy to share! I just want to say this upfront, the order doesn’t matter too much as long as everything is clearly labeled and similarly treated items go together (drums vs vocals vs guitars, etc)
1. Vocal 1 stage right
2. Vocal 2
3. Vocal 3
4. Vocal 4 stage left
5. Keys
6. Guitar stage right
7. Acoustic guitar
8. Guitar stage left
9. Bass
10. Talkback mic (marked as an X on the whip that goes to front of house)
11. Kick
12. Snare
13. Rack Tom
14. Floor Tim
15. Overhead Left (often used as high hat)
16. Overhead Right
17. Mono signal for us to run Spotify through a phone for set breaks
18. Unused
@@DavidPaigeMusic Thank you so much for the reply!! I read it months ago, but forgot to log in and say thank you!
How many rack spaces does the splitter take? Can the trunks store neatly behind the splitter itself or will I need to sacrifice more rack space? Thanks for the video by the way. It's very informative.
I have a seismic audio 16ch splitter and I believe its 3u. Worth it
How long are the trunks on your splitter?
5ft and 15ft. The short one just goes to my mixer and I keep them together, so I knew I needed a short whip on one side. But you can order them at different lengths if you’d like
Hi, what's the difference between using this and using a splitter like the behringer ms8000? Thanks.
Hi! Thanks for watching! The biggest difference is that the Seismic Audio SARMSS-16 splitter that we use has 16 channels, where the Behringer ms8000 has 8. Additionally, you will need to supply the XLRs that come out of the ms8000, while the two signal tails coming out of the SARMSS-16 are included and always attached.
There are benefits to both options, so it would be important to figure out which set-up fits your needs better.
@@DavidPaigeMusic fair warning for you mate, Seismic gear degrades quickly on the road. Those direct connections are convenient for you now, but you’ll wish you had connectors on both ends when it starts failing. Shouldn’t be more than a few solder joints, but it’s no fun when you show up to a gig and suddenly channel 5 doesn’t work and channel 9 has a buzz…
Great video though
If you go with 2 MS8000’s it is a good idea to install something like a Millenium PB16 XLR Out too, that way you have easy acces to the returns.
I would also bring several looms to make it easyer when the stage has several stageboxes.
Like one for vocal mics and one on each side of the drum riser for drums and backline.
In addition another loom if the band uses a playback/click rack at the drums, since most venues want monitor racks on the ladies side (left).
And label all XLR, not only with numbers but also which instrument they are used with, like snare top, kick in etc.
Is that seismic audio rack mount splitter trustworthy? The reviews are very mixed.
Very much so. I’ve used the same splitter for about 10 years. I had another splitter from SA for a long time before that one too.
What model split snake are you using?
Seismic Audio - SARMSS 16x515
@@DavidPaigeMusic very good
Helping a friend put an IEM rig together soon.
How are you supplying power to your OH condensers?
Hey - thanks for the question!
I’m using the XR-18 mixer to send Phantom power to the Sennheiser e914s.
The fun thing with with a split snake is that either the Front of House mixer or the Monitor mixer can send phantom power. Since we know which mics will need it and we have our settings saved, we just send the phantom power from our monitor mixer.
Are you guys recording live shows or do you usually use OHs for in-ear/FOH mixing?
@@DavidPaigeMusic Thanks for quick reply! We are planning out our iem rig for live shows mainly, but will probably use it for videos/rough ideas as well. Looking at going the xr-18/Seismic route as well
@@brightfiresmusic can’t recommend this set up enough! It’s fantastic!
Happy to answer any questions you have about the set up :)
Is a Dante card solve this?
I’m not sure. I’m reading up on this now. It seems like Dante does a lot to consolidate flow, but I don’t know if it splits signal or not. It also may not be helpful for giving signal to the FOH (front of house) if they are not already set up for that.
I’ll be back with more thoughts on this soon.
@@DavidPaigeMusic it doesn’t really, especially since Dante is not something that’s as easily throw-and-go-able. Requires configuration, networking etc… all stuff you really don’t want to be dealing with in that situation. Things can screw up pretty easily. Analog in this case is really the way to go for reliability and ease of setup etc.