Preface: I know very little about live sound. I know even less about mixing equipment. While I’m audio enthusiast, my most recent significant audio purchase was a set of Klipsch speakers for a home theater… in 1999 😲
So when it came time to cobble together some equipment MBI Winds, I did a lot of asking around. There were plenty of people in the area with experience using the Behringer X32. So we got an X32 Rack which would fit in our small audio cart nicely.
When I try to figure out how to do something on the X32, my first stop is YouTube. It’s probably by someone who does sound for their church, so their application might not be the same as yours. They’re also likely using the full X32 console mixer – the OG big boy.
I don’t have the luxury or ease-of-use that comes with the full console that has all the buttons. Instead, it can be even more confusing because I have three options to configure the mixer:
The screen on the front of the X32 Rack (same as the big console, which makes YouTube Videos still helpful)
More choices = better, right?! Well, there’s no consistency in interface between any of them. So I’m starting this series “X32 Rack 3-ways” to show how to get things done. I’ll document a small feature using all three methods which will hopefully be helpful to other X32 Rack users out there. Full console folks can go about their YouTube business per normal 📺
DCA Mutes
My drumline peeps have been telling me DCAs are the way to go to simplifying live mixing. For me (with a much simpler setup than a WGI drumline), it seemed logical to use – if only to get all of the faders on to one (DCA) screen on X32 Mix on my iPad.
What initially confused me is that when I muted the mic to our front speaker from within the DCA group, it did nothing 🤔 This is because the default setup of the X32’s DCA mute button is to mute output to the main L&R channels but keep it in other monitors for adjustments. Our front soloist speaker is a seperate bus from the main L&R channels, so this wasn’t the desired effect I wanted. The solution is a global setting called “DCA Mutes” or “Mute System -> DCA Groups.” This setting mutes every channel that’s part of the DCA group mixer-wide. This was what I needed 🔇
X32 Rack Screen
On the mixer itself you can get to it through the Setup screen, then the Config tab. There’s a “DCA Groups” box that needs to be checked in the “Mute System section.
On X32 Edit you’ll find it in a similar place, but slightly different words: Setup, then Mixer, then the “DCA Groups” box needs to be checked in the “Mute System” section.
X32 Mix on iPad
On the iPad app it’s again named a little differently: Setup, then Global, then the “DCA Mutes” box needs to be checked in the “General Prefs” section.
In Practice
For live mixing I use the iPad. When the “DCA Mutes” option is active there’s a key visual indicator that it’s doing what you want. Press the mute button on the DCA channel and it will light up pink. With our new setting active you can go to the channel you expect will mute across the mixer, and it’s mute button will be blinking pink:
When we were putting together MBI Winds last year, I started asking around about equipment early in the summer. A nearby high school had a plastic sound cart that they hated. They said they were going to throw it away, so it was free for the taking 😲
I picked up the roto-molded SKB Gig Rig and we quickly put it into service. It was worse for wear. Missing the end cover doors, wheels that needed TLC, many latches broken. For the first season we used it as-is and just put a ratchet strap around the whole thing to hold it together since the latches were broken 😂
For the 2024 season I wanted to fix the latches and remove our ratchet strap for a more professional look 🤵 I reached out to SKB and started doing some research on my own. I found this Southco latch and catch plate to be drop-in replacements. However, SKB support was able to send me replacement latches free of charge.
Installation posed a challenge as I’ve never worked with pop rivets before. But I watched a couple youtube videos that I found helpful to remove the broken latches:
Trying it for myself
I purchased a pop rivet tool that included several rivet sizes. I did a couple practices on scrap pieces of metal to get the feel for it. Since the SKB rack is plastic, I don’t want to damage it.
I was able to remove the old rivets fairly easy using a drift/punch and a drill bit as shown in the first video. But when it came time to install the new rivets, there was an issue…
Above the rivet is in place, ready to be installed. The rivet tool pulls on the section of the pop rivet sticking out. But as you can see below, the nose piece gets blocked by the latch hinge:
The quick and dirty solution was to use two small nuts as stand-offs. I could have used washers or something else, but this is what I had laying around that worked. Then the nose piece could be pushed in flush, and there was still enough of the rivet to grab.
Conclusion
I was able to fix all four broken latches with this method. I wound up using the 3/32″ rivets supplied with the tool because they were made of a softer aluminum that seems to get along better with the SKB’s plastic. SKB support included their own pop rivets but they seemed to require multiple pulls of the rivet tool and didn’t always behave like I expected. I chalk it up to first-timer experience, but whatever the case is, this rack is back!
The Long Ranger is dead ☠️ Long live the long ranger! As soon as it went away, another brand stepped in to take its place: The Anchor Audio MegaVox. There’s always a love-hate relationship between ensemble directors and these devices. People forget to charge them. Then in an effort to delegate charging responsibility, they get left in cars and then stolen (true story). They get abused! One of the most vulnerable, and critical components is the speaker cone – it’s what makes the MegaVox MEGA.
The cone is molded with three small tabs of plastic. While the cone is recessed behind the front face of the MegaVox, the fabric case is not enough to prevent damage. Anything that sneaks in an hits the code will surely break it off. On any given equipment trailer, there are many opportunities for things to jostle around and break a cone.
I pulled two MegaVoxes with broken cones off the MBI equipment trailer at the end of the season 😞
I thought about 3D printing a replacement, and I still think it’s a worthwhile pursuit, but the whole cone speaker assembly is less than $60 and it’s an easy fix. Let’s get started…
Replacing the cone
Start with this video that shows you how to replace the battery. We won’t actually remove the battery, but they show you how the back plate comes off to access everything inside:
You can skip Step 4 and beyond as we’re not going to remove the battery. Instead get a big Phillips screwdriver to remove the speaker assembly screw through the back. It’s just one screw!
Then pull the speaker out of the front. Depending on how old or well-worn your MegaVox is, it might have a rubber grommet that goes into the front here:
Make sure to take it off the old cone wire and put it on the new one! Use a small flat screwdriver to make sure it’s secure in the housing.
Put it all back together
Then fasten the new speaker with that big screw, and re-assemble the whole thing in reverse order. While putting it back together, double check the antenna connections. Some had come loose in ours, weakening antenna range. Make sure everything is fastened back up before you re-assemble.
Get back to work!
Spending $60 on these is waaay better than dropping $900 to replace it. It’s super easy too. Now we can get back to rehearsal without skipping a beat.
I did my first tracking block with Phantom Regiment. Well, the first time we called it “tracking.” I had done it at Irondale in high school, but I didn’t have the vocabulary at the time.
That was like 30 years ago, but it is still a very effective tool to increase confidence with simultaneous music & visual responsibilities.
What is tracking exactly? It’s simply playing and moving while in a block, usually a parade block if it’s the full hornline. Sound simple right? Simple and effective!
As a rookie at Phantom Regiment, I didn’t know anything. Veteran members would talk about tracking and how tough it was, especially for us on baritone or euphonium. Members told tales of tracking with Dan “Lord Vader” Farrell. On tour, Dan showed up at rehearsal one day for hornline sectionals. When we split off he just said, “Baritones! Let’s go for a walk” 😉
We made a little parade block with our 20 bari/euphs and started marching down the street. The stories I had heard started to unfold. Did we do exercises where we had to start over if we screwed up? You bet. Did we hold our horns up for a long time? Yeah, but probably no longer than 10 minutes at a time – the same time as our DCI show. The crusher was when my arms were so tired and Dan had us go to up to a high-box angle. I felt crushed like a can🥫🥾
Still relevant
Besides using it as an endurance exercise (mostly for low brass), it’s a great way to coordinate notes & feet. Play some show segments and step-off and halt the same way we would on the field. We’d just go forward together in our little block when we’d normally be moving set-to-set.
At Irondale we’ve been doing some tracking on the field with segments the members aren’t fully confident with. For a field show (if you don’t have a nearby quiet street), you can just block it up on the field. Go forwards until you run out of room. Or go forwards and backwards if you want to get fancy.
I’ve heard noticeable improvements from the hornline after tracking the parts that lacked confidence.
Make it fun…
…I dare you! Later in my junior corps years at PR we joked that tracking “is like a little parade.” In fact, some of my fondest memories came from tracking because Dan Farrell and our brass caption, Bill Peterson, would always have something fun in mind after they busted our butts. One year we tracked with the full hornline through the neighborhood until we were at a grocery store. We arced it up in the lot at the grocery and played Nessun Dorma for folks coming out with their groceries. Classy AF 🎩
…also marching band, WGI, etc. Well we did it again this year at Minnesota Brass. This season’s problem to solve: harmonicas. The 2023 Minnesota Brass production “Speakeasy” used Billy Joel’s Piano Man as the ballad. I thought it would fun to play a little ditty on harmonica, so I worked with our arranger to put it in.
Playing Harmonica
I had never played harmonica, so I did some research. I wanted to make sure it was achievable, and that whatever I ordered would be suitable. I started with this youtube video and some harmonica note charts:
Harmonica Joe provides an easy harmonica tablature on his site for Piano Man. Looking at the tablature (tab), it’s played using two holes at a time. This allows for a nice harmony in thirds. I double-checked the sounds from the youtube video on my piano (in the key of C).
Then I went to our score, suspected a Bb model would do the trick, and then verified with our click track against the piano.
Click Track: For studio recordings it’s a metronome click for folks to use to stay in time with each other. For pageantry it refers to the MIDI output file of the arrangement produced by the computer’s notation software.
I purchased one harmonica in Bb to see if I could do it. For our ditty we used the bottom line from Harmonica Joe’s tab, effectively the 2nd half of the phrase.
It wasn’t too bad to learn! At one point I thought I broke the harmonica but it just got too wet from saliva and the reeds stopped responding 🤤💦 I put in the case and picked it up later – relieved that it still worked after it dried 😰
Then I called my Sweetwater rep and ordered enough Fender Bb Harmonicas for the entire baritone section. $100 later they all had their own harmonicas.
Harmonica Storage
The next issue was going to be: where do we put the harmonicas in our uniforms so they’re easily accessible? A couple of our baritone players also have 3D printers and had some ideas. They skipped thinking about putting it in the uniform, and made a clip that goes directly on their horn:
Super easy! You don’t need to dig it out of a pocket. The harmonica slides right out of the holster and the holster clips to the first valve slide.
They all picked up playing the harmonica pretty quickly. The baritones would play on them at practically every break. It was like trying to get a batterie member to stop chopping on a pad 😅 In the end it paid off – it was a nice touch to our Piano Man performance:
