Two Consoles

[MainEventSound]

We are doing a show this weekend and I have a question. We are taking our sound system into a church, replacing the church system for the night (Racks and stacks). We are using our console for the headliner. The house console will be used for the other bands. The show isn't paying enough to bring in a monitor rig, so both bands will be using the church's monitor system. Do we run our snake also (only for headliner) and re-patch return drive lines to our main amp racks and church's monitor rack OR run the headliners console's aux AND master outputs into the church's sound console so there will only be one snake?? My vote is run another snake and replace drive lines at the amp racks. I know it's a little confusing! Thanks in advance.

[agedhorse]

Run 2 consoles, 2 snakes but route the house console's outputs into the your console either via bus ins (if the console has them) or into channels, 1 channel for each output used on the house console into yours. You will then route the signal to the appropriate output at your channel strip.

 

You will not use the house snake drive lines, nor their amps and speakers. Only your console and outputs and drive lines and amps.This way there will be no repatching during the show. That's where the most catastrophic errors can happen.

 

This is most typically how large shows with multiple consoles are handled. One console will be the production console and handle the other consoles, plus any inputs that must be available at all times, like video playback, walk-in music, announce mics, etc.

[MESL-Mgr.]

I agree with agedhorse.

 

Whenever I've been in this situation, I'll use one console for all my returns.

 

In the situation you're in however, it sounds like the mains should be ran back through your console and you're snake and the monitors through the house console/snake. Same situation with those as with the mains; Take the output of the monitor outs on your console into channels on the house console and route them on the channel strip to the corresponding aux.

 

The only caveat is to make sure that those channels are always on and aren't routed to the mains so that, for example, a VOG mic can be active at all times throughout the system, but at the same time you don't want a guitarists wedge mix blasting through the mains.

[dennis a]

http://www.apb-dynasonics.com/products/Products_MixSwitch.html