Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
Applications
This section describes how to set up and use the A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing
System in a variety of contexts.
Create a Mix With Console Direct Outputs
The direct output of a live or recording console allows you to take an exact copy of an input channel’s audio and patch it into the A-16T for processing. A typical console’s direct output point is right after the input, meaning that changes made on the console as far as effects, EQ, etc., do not affect the sound of the direct output.
The A-16T can accept up to sixteen direct outputs. You can use balanced or unbalanced cables to connect audio, depending on the configuration of your mixer.
The most likely scenario involves using a multi-cable snake to connect the main mixing board’s direct outs to the A-16T. It’s not a requirement, but rather a convenient method of keeping cable mess to a minimum.
Follow these steps to create a monitor mix with direct outputs:
• Connect a balanced or unbalanced cable from the direct output jack on the main mixer to the first input on the A-16T Transmitter rear panel.
• Repeat this procedure for the other console channels you want to add to the monitor mix.
• Select an appropriate Input Level setting on the A-16T front panel.
• Label the Personal Mixer with Channel names.
• Begin playing audio into the Personal Monitor Mixing System. Select a
Channel and set the volume and panning for each.
• Save the mix as a Preset.
At this point you can use the mix as is, or fine tune it by adding Groups, linking
Channels, etc.
Using Aux Sends to Create a Monitor Mix
An Aux Send (sometimes referred to as an Effects Send) can be used alone or in combination with other audio sources to create a monitor mix.
Using a fairly typical layout of a console with four Aux Sends, here is what you could do to send audio to the A-16T Transmitter to create a monitor mix. Again, remember that you can use any of the different types of audio signals available on your particular audio mixer to create a monitor mix (direct outputs, bus outputs, etc.).
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The example will use a band with a rhythm section (keyboards, bass, drums, and guitar) and a lead singer. Assume that all of the instrumentalists sing background vocals. The example assumes that you do not want to use any other type of output from the mixer. With four Aux Sends available on the mixing board, four independent sub-mixes can be sent to the A-16 Transmitter and then on to the A-16 Mixer units.
The first task is to separate the instrumental and vocal parts into four sub-mixes.
Imagine that we want a separate controllable level for the lead singer, background singers, drums, and the rest of the instruments. So, Aux Send 1 is assigned to Lead
Vocals, Aux Send 2 is assigned to Background Vocals, Aux Send 3 is assigned to the drums, Aux Send 4 is assigned to the instruments. All that’s left to do is connect four cables from the mixing board’s Aux Sends to the A-16 Transmitter.
Turning up the Aux Send 1 level on the mixing console sends the lead vocal to the
A-16 Transmitter. Since there is only one singer, there’s no sub-mixing or balance setting required.
The four musicians who sing background vocals will need to be blended at the main mixer. This will be done by sending audio from each of their microphones into Aux
Send 2. By changing the aux send level, you control the blend of the four singers, without affecting the mix created by the faders on the main mixer.
The same concept used to create a mix of all the background singer’s microphones is used for the drum kit and the instruments. The drums are sent to Aux Send 3, while the instruments are sent to Aux Send 4. At each musician’s A-16 Mixer, a custom mix can now be created. The singer can have more instruments, the drummer can have less background vocals and no drums in the mix, the instrumentalists can have their own background vocal level, etc.
Studio Cue System
In the studio, the flexibility of the Personal Monitor Mixing System will give performers more control of their headphone cue mix. At the same time it allows the engineer to spend less time fussing with the cue mix and more time making the tracks sound great.
Making a cue mix from a recording console is essentially the same as when using a live mixing board. If your board has direct outputs or unused auxiliary sends, you can use the same techniques as described for live audio monitor mixes.
Playback Monitoring
In the studio, performers also need to listen back to tracks they have just recorded.
If each performer is using a different mix while recording, playback of the track will
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
be different in each set of headphones.
If you can dedicate two inputs on the A-16T Transmitter for playback, you can easily provide the performers with a high-quality playback of the track they have just recorded. Here’s how to set it up:
• Set aside the first fourteen Channels of the A-16T for audio tracks to be sent to the performers as a cue mix.
• The remaining two Channels are reserved for the stereo mix that the engineer creates in the studio.
• Connect cables from the console for monitoring the fourteen performer
Channels as described previously. Use direct outputs, aux sends, etc.
• Patch the stereo mix output that you want the performers to hear into the remaining two A-16T inputs.
The idea is that you will create two Presets on the Personal Mixers for the performers.
The first is their standard cue mix. It uses fourteen channels; the last two are muted.
They can change it as needed while they work. The other Preset is the exact opposite.
The performer’s fourteen cue channels are muted and the two channels containing the engineer’s playback mix are on.
For the example, let’s assume that Channels 1 through 14 are used for performer cue playback. Channels 15 and 16 will be used to play back the recorded track.
To complete the setup:
• On the A-16T front panel, set the Link switch on Channels 15 and 16 to the right, linked, position.
• On each Personal Mixer create a basic mix of the fourteen channels of audio.
• Mute Channels 15 and 16.
• Save the Preset (to location #1, for example).
• Create another Preset that has the first fourteen channels muted. (Shortcut:
Start by recalling the All Channels Zero Preset by holding
R
ECALL
and then pressing
M
UTE
.)
• Set a volume for the playback on Channels 15 and 16.
• Save the Preset (to location #16, for example).
When the musicians are cutting tracks, have them select Preset #1. Record tracks as usual, with each musician listening to their persoanal customized cue mix. When you want to listen back to a recorded take, have the performers switch to Preset #16. They now hear the engineer’s mix. All players hear the same mix, that the engineer can control as needed.
Of course the players can create additional cue mixes and save them to the remaining empty Preset locations as needed.
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Using Console Inserts
When you use your console’s insert points to send audio signals to the A-16T Transmitter for processing, you have some options. The patching on the rear panel of the A-16T is designed so that you can still use the insert point on your console for its traditional use—adding an effect to a channel.
There are some special ways that the A-16T can be used to allow this flexible processing. The exact layout of your existing main mixer will influence how many of these techniques you can use.
Y Cable Insert
The A-16T can be used with a console’s insert send/return loop just as if it were an effects processor. If you have a console with a single TRS jack used for send and return of the effects loop, a “Y” cable is used to split the signal into two components. One is the Send, the other is the Return.
To use this type of insert with the A-16T, patch the Send cable into the In jack on the A-16T. Then use the Return cable plugged into the A-16T Thru jack to complete the loop back to the main mixer. The A-16T is now patched into the channel with no change to the audio signal. The console sees the A-16T as just another effects device.
Adding Effects
But what if you need to add an effect such as a compressor to the same channel? There are a couple of options. For both examples, start with the cables set up as just described for the simple insert example. You’ll need one more cable.
Monitor without the effect:
• Remove the cable from the Thru jack of the A-16T.
• Plug it into the output of the effect.
• Connect a cable from the A-16T Thru jack to the input of the effect. The send/return loop is complete and now includes the effect. You do not hear the effect in the monitors.
Monitor with the effect:
• Remove the cable from the In jack of the A-16T.
• Plug it into the input of the effect.
• Connect a cable from the output of the effect to the A-16T In jack.
• Leave the cable already connected to the A-16T Thru jack as it is. It completes the loop.
Using a Balanced TRS Cable
A single balanced cable can be used to complete an insert send/return loop when used with the A-16T Transmitter. In this case, the send and return loop will be completed
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
when you patch a TRS cable into the A-16T Thru jack. This is an important point to
remember, and is not a typo. The upper jack on the A-16T will complete the loop when used this way.
If the same cable were to be plugged into the bottom In jack, only the Send portion of the loop would be connected. Although not an undesirable audio connection, this would not complete the signal loop.
Adding Effects When Using a Single Balanced Cable
The setup described above completes an effect send/return loop with a single cable. To add an insert effect processor using this setup, the In jack on the A-16T Transmitter can be used. All that is needed is a standard insert-style Y cable (TRS on one end, with a split to two mono cables on the other). The effect Send must be on the tip of the cable for this to work. If your mixing board uses the ring for the Send, you can wire a special cable to be used for this purpose.
To add an effect, follow these steps:
• Connect the balanced TRS cable from the main mixer’s insert point to the
Thru jack on the A-16T. This inserts the A-16T into the signal path and completes the loop.
• To add the effect (such as a compressor) connect an insert Y cable’s TRS plug to the A-16T In jack
• Plug the Send cable on the other end of the Y cable to the input of the effect processor.
• Plug the Return cable on the Y cable into the effect’s output. This completes the loop.
You can wire much of the same functionality described above into a patch bay for more permanent installations. Remember to use the same type of cables and patch bays—balanced cables with balanced patch bays, unbalanced cables with unbalanced patch bays.
Using a Patch Bay
The A-16T Transmitter’s input and through connections can be wired into a patch bay for flexible and repeatable connections day after day. This concept can work for both studio applications and live performance.
You can use either balanced patch bays or unbalanced. One point worth mentioning— use matched systems. That is, if you have a balanced patch bay, use balanced audio cables for interconnections. If your patch bay is unbalanced, use unbalanced cables.
A-16T In and Thru Patching
Not to be confused with patching the A-16T into a mixer’s insert send/return loop, this
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
46 is a simple wiring idea for having access to the A-16T rear-panel In and Thru connections. It allows permanent installations to have access to the flexible patching options of the A-16T as needed.
In the studio this allows you to patch direct outputs to the A-16T one day, and then use a combination of aux sends, direct outputs and console bus outputs another day without reaching behind an equipment rack.
This setup is designed for a patch bay that is not normalled. A normalled patch bay is one that automatically sends the signal from one jack of the patch bay (typically the top row) to another jack (typically the lower jack).
To connect a patch bay using this configuration:
• Use balanced or unbalanced cables (depending on your patch bay) to connect the A-16T row of Input jacks to one row of the patch bay.
• Patch another set of cables from the A-16T Thru jacks to another row of the patch bay.
• Patch an audio signal into the Input row of the patch bay.
• The signal is processed by the Transmitter. It will appear in the Personal
Mixers.
• To send the signal elsewhere in the studio, patch a cable into the Thru row on the patch bay.
• Repeat these steps to add additional audio signals to the mix.
Adding Effects to a Monitor Mix
Sometimes you may want to have reverb, delays, etc. sent into the monitor system.
This works for studio cue systems as well as for live applications. There are two ways of accomplishing this:
• Patch the effects returns from the mixer into the A-16T via insert points if available.
• Connect the effects device outputs to the A-16T first and then use the Thru jack on the A-16T to complete the signal chain.
In either case the performers can now decide how much reverb is required in their personal mix. And, they can save up to sixteen mixes with various amounts of effects in each.
Adding Live Ambience to a Monitor Mix
For performers using in-ear monitors in a live-performance situation, it may be desirable to add some room tone into the monitor system to help add a sense of space. This technique can be used with most live consoles. All you need is a way to send the signal from a pair of stage or room mics into the A-16T Transmitter.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
If you are using direct outputs from channels to send instrument and mic signals into the A-16T, you need to dedicate two channels to the mics that are picking up the ambient sound. It is not necessary that the live mics be sent into the front of house mix.
Silent Jam Session
There is no requirement that a mixer be used with the Personal Monitor Mixing System. In fact it makes a great late-night jam session environment for keyboard players, guitarists, and electronic drummers, etc.
To set up a silent headphone system for jamming:
• Connect the outputs from stereo keyboards to inputs on the A-16T.
• If the keyboard player uses a sub-mixer, you can optionally connect the stereo output of the keyboard mixer to two inputs on the Transmitter.
• Patch the output of a guitar amp simulator into a pair of inputs.
• Connect an electronic drum kit’s outputs into the A-16T.
• Set the Link switches on the A-16T for any stereo Channel pairs.
Other Uses for the Personal Mixer Outputs
The stereo audio outputs on the A-16 Personal Mixer can be used with stereo headphones, in-ear monitors, or powered speakers. But, since the outputs are at line level, they are capable of sending the current monitor mix to any audio device capable of using a line level audio signal.
Record a Mix
The output of your Personal Mixer can be used for recording. To connect the stereo
TRS line output to some devices you may need to use an adapter to split the signal into two separate mono outputs—one for the left side, the other for the right. To record the output of a Personal Mixer:
• Create a mix. Use panning, mutes, Groups etc. as required.
• Save the Preset to a memory location.
• Connect the line outputs of the Personal Mixer to the inputs of the recorder. (You may need a special cable to split the stereo signal into dual mono signals.)
• Play back the mix you created.
• Set an appropriate audio level for recording on the device. Use the Master volume control to set a level that does not distort the inputs of the recorder.
Using this technique you can quickly create a variety of recorded tracks for rehearsals, etc. by recording the different Preset mixes saved on your Personal Mixer.
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