# Live Rig idea - input needed



## BentAnat (May 16, 2017)

So I am planning on making the step from bedroom setup to a more professional level live rig in the near future, and, as these things go, there's some planning involved.

Allow me to bore you with some background:
In Namibia, Live engineers are, in short, a difficult subject. Monitoring is almost always a nightmare (using wedges), Tech riders often get ignored, lineups with multiple artists on the same day change stage setup between bands, compromising things quite dramatically.

I recently lost my cool a little bit about these things, and decided to invest in some equipment that makes me less dependant on the factors I can control, thus ensuring a more consistent performance.

The plan is to become as independent from stage techs and hands as I can, without making their lives more difficult.

I know I want a Kemper, preferably a Powerrack, since it has more options and can be rack mounted with the rest of the gear.
If needed, the Powerrack can be hooked up to a 4x12 without any extra requirements.

The next piece of the puzzle seems like it'll be the Sennheiser EW300 setup. I know the ear pieces are a bit rubbish, but the actual system seems solid.
This should allow me more reliable monitoring (more below) and allow me to move out of the sweet spot I am normally forced to stand in if I want to hear a thing.

To go with the wireless IEMs, I'll probably go Line6 G30 or something like that. De-Cable completely.

This is where things get a bit more complex, and where I need your input:

The plan is to run Stereo into the IEMs. Right side is the "monitor-mirror" from the kemper. Left side is normal monitor mix.
Ideally, since Stage techs that can set up proper IEM setups are difficult here, I'd want a signal split that takes the lead from the wedge, and Y-splits into the left channel of my IEMs and back into the wedge. This way, the rest of the band (who won't go IEM with me) can still use the monitor (though that mix is normally mine), and there is a fallback should something go wrong.

This way, IDEALLY, i can deal with the sound engineer the same way i always do and always have my own sound in the right ear.
I can play like that fine, often using a similar setup when tracking ideas in my home studio.

The question is: how best to achieve that Y-split, without causing any sound engineer to have a heart attack.
Ideally, a piece of rackmount kit would be a good thing here.

Another thing I am clueless about is power conditioners. I would want the whole setup to be running off one power lead, while minimizing the risk of power related issues.

Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.


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## domsch1988 (May 16, 2017)

On In-Ear Setup:
Get a simple 2xmono to stereo mixer. There are small rackmount headphone mixers. Something like this
Be wary though. Some Monitors are not active. Splitting the signal is not possible there since it's coming from a poweramp.

On Conditioners:
I don't have much experience, but anything that's "budget" isn't mroe than a glorified powerstrip really. If you want something that really "conditions" your power, you are looking at something like this on the low end. Those can go above 1500$ quite fast...


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## BentAnat (May 16, 2017)

domsch1988 said:


> On In-Ear Setup:
> Get a simple 2xmono to stereo mixer. There are small rackmount headphone mixers. Something like this
> Be wary though. Some Monitors are not active. Splitting the signal is not possible there since it's coming from a poweramp.



I hadn't thought about using a mixer for that. Clever.
How would one go about it if you're getting a powered signal (rather than the cabs being powered), though?
Versatility is key here.



domsch1988 said:


> On Conditioners:
> I don't have much experience, but anything that's "budget" isn't mroe than a glorified powerstrip really. If you want something that really "conditions" your power, you are looking at something like this on the low end. Those can go above 1500$ quite fast...



I was expecting something like that, so that's fine.


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## BentAnat (May 16, 2017)

thinking about this some more,
Wouldn't a simple Patch Bay (effectively patched to be a simple Y-split) solve the signal split for line and powered inputs?


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## domsch1988 (May 16, 2017)

BentAnat said:


> I hadn't thought about using a mixer for that. Clever.
> How would one go about it if you're getting a powered signal (rather than the cabs being powered), though?
> Versatility is key here.
> 
> ...





BentAnat said:


> thinking about this some more,
> Wouldn't a simple Patch Bay (effectively patched to be a simple Y-split) solve the signal split for line and powered inputs?



IF the monitors on stage are passive and powered by an Amp up front, there is no real way for you to split the signal out. You'd have to use a Loadbox of sorts to bring the signal down to line level. This would then mean the monitor isn't getting power anymore. So, unless the house provides a line mix, you're out of luck i guess.
You could bring a mic with you and use it as a stage mic to feed some ambience into your in-ear mix though. Better than nothing i guess 

A patch bay would work, but you can't controll the levels... BUT, if you're getting a kemper anyways:
The Kemper has Aux Inputs with seperate levels. You can Stereo Input the Houses mix into the Kemper and get you're in-Ear Monitoring from the kemper directly. I'm doing that at home for Rocksmith playing. Works really good 
So, if your only problem is getting a monitor signal from the kemper and the house both on the in-ears, the kemper can do that alone. Even in full on Stereo


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## BentAnat (May 17, 2017)

More good input.
I cam to the conclusion that the challenge lies in handling setups where the monitors are passive.
I suppose the fallback for that is to NOT plug "in between", but rather then ask for an additional line level monitor feed.

Thanks, guys.

Super helpful, as always!


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