Finally bit the bullet and grabbed an XR18.
I've been running an old Mackie 1604 and a rack full of kit which has been great, but turned up to the gig on Saturday faced with a very challenging space to setup. We could hardly fit our kit in let alone the PA which led to an overly stressful experience and one I want to avoid repeating.
Looks like I need to get a WiFi router given that the built-in one isn't fit for purpose but looking forward to having the flexibility of using an tablet to drive things and have some control whilst we're playing.
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Ebay mark7777_1
Mixing stations is a great app for it, as it lets you customize what controls you get on the main screen
Collision rock band
Ebay mark7777_1
What I will say is with these lower end digital mixers you do sacrifice audio quality for functionality. But I guess that’s the pay off.
I compared my XR18 to my Soundcraft Signature analogue desk, I was curious to compare the mic pres. The difference was night and day. The Soundcraft was just in a different league sound quality wise and really highlighted the XR18’s flaws.
I use my router to plug in my X Touch too, with a long ethernet cable. That way I can leave the rack plus router on stage, and control everything from the X Touch at the back of the room. Bands can then use the tablet I leave on stage to control their own monitor mixes.
My Trading Feedback | You Bring The Band
Just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after youI found my android devices wouldn’t connect to the xr18 if it was already connected to inputs and outputs but if you connect to the internal Wi-Fi before anything else it’s better!
I did take an old laptop and hard wire that for a few gigs to get used to everything and give comfort to band mates, that was very reliable and a good transition to me. Now we are all Wi-Fi with a dedicated router and having my various bands setups saved is very handy. I carry a small 8 ch tapco desk as hardware backup buy I’ve never resorted to it. My big old sound craft desk and outbound racks are in the shed and I can’t imagine using them again.
Paired the XR with a TP-Link AC1200 and all looking good from a Wifi perspective - 5Ghz with WPA2 and hidden SSID so hopefully should be good enough to gig.
Installed X Air app on a laptop which I will wire into the AP and have two iPads with Mixing Station installed for mobile setup and spare just in case..
Got a test with the band tomorrow, small gig on Friday and then biggie (for us!) on 18th.
As an aside it's simply great to be able to get all of the PA into the back of my car (and without breaking sweat!)..