First live use of DL32R - Reactions

[jneau]

First...what I came from.  I HAD:
- A hard mixer case containing a Mackie 1604VLZPro, a Furman power module, a dbx Driverack PX, a dbx 215s dual-band EQ (for monitors), an XLR patchbay in the rear and a couple pounds of patch cables
- A hard 8U case containing four dbx266xs modules, a Lexicon MX200, a Furman power module, a TRS patchbay and a couple pounds of patch cables.
- Two 10-foot 8x8 TRS patch cables for connecting the two cases
- A 150 foot 16x8 XLR snake

All that is replaced by:
- The same 8U case containing the DL32R, Furman power module, dbx Driverack PX, XLR patchbay, a wireless router and a few XLR patch cables

OMG

What's better, specifically:

Van space and equipment weight
I think that goes without saying.  Much less to carry.

Room logistics and time savings
Normally, my band gets to our venue on Thursday, practices all after Thursday, all day Friday and then performs Saturday evening.  Our sound guy rolls in Saturday afternoon.  That meant a lot of running back and forth between the stage and the mixer for me.  Now, I just put my iPad on my keyboard and do everything from there.  Then when the sound guy shows up I give him the iPad and he sits wherever makes sense.

So not only did setup go faster, but we were able to spend a lot more time rehearsing.

Monitoring
We've always had three monitors, but one of them was slaved off of another because the 1604 only really had two monitor outputs.  Now we each get our own dedicated monitor mix with what we require.  Plus, we can control our own monitor mix without bugging the sound guy.  My singer downloaded the MyFader app and was overjoyed within one song.  She's never been able to hear herself so well.  She also loved the ability to decide how much reverb she got in her mix.

Recording
I just gave my buddy who opened for us with an acoustic show the multi-channel recording from the hard drive.  He is overjoyed.

More everything!
More channels!  Compressors and gates anywhere I wanted with presets!  A separate mix for each monitor!  EQ for each monitor built in!  We had nearly ZERO feedback issues.  I attribute that to being able to gate and shelve each channel with ease...along with everyone controlling their own settings and leaving the sound guy to focus on the main mix only.

Views
I took advantage of the views for everyone.  Singer had only visibility into the channels she'd care about.  Same with me.  Same with the drummer.

Things I could have improved
- Based on what I'm hearing in the recordings and seeing in Audacity, I probably should have had the gain turned up so things were peaking in the yellow.  I erred on the side of staying away from the red...but a little too far.
- I miss the ability of the sound guy to be able to talk directly to us.  I realize that could easily be accomplished with a wireless mic...or even just a long "single-channel snake" for the talkback mic.  However, the lack of one did stop him from continually saying things like, "That was awesome!!!"
- I'd prefer stuff like this didn't happen:

[jneau]

Also, I had been contemplating the purchase of a wireless in-ear monitor system like the Sennheiser.

No longer needed!

[dpdan]

I share your joy!!!

[RoadRanger]

A really cheap wireless mic is fine for talkback - there are some I've seen for like $20-30. The batteries will last a long time because you can turn them off when not talking. I was using a cheapee Gemini for an audience/announcement mic at a fundraiser last Sunday - if it was to disappear I'd not cry near as much as losing my $300 Line6 .

[jneau]

Well, I think I came up with a solution for the mic.

I was going to get a long XLR cable anyway for the PX mic.  I'll just use the same cable for running a talkback mic from the light board.

[dpdan]

I still can't believe that someone has not made an App that allows the iPad's microphone to route through to Airplay,
if there was such a thing, then Airplay's output could go into an input on the DL mixer,
then the user could route that channel to the mix output/s of their choosing.

There is an app called Talkback Mic and it works fantastic, except Airplay that was advertised NEVER worked. 
   

[gerenm63]

I still can't believe that someone has not made an App that allows the iPad's microphone to route through to Airplay,
if there was such a thing, then Airplay's output could go into an input on the DL mixer,
then the user could route that channel to the mix output/s of their choosing.

There is an app called Talkback Mic and it works fantastic, except Airplay that was advertised NEVER worked. 
 

It's an Apple prohibition. I'm sure someone could make it, but Apple would never allow it on the app store. It's actually explained on the Talkback Mic description page.

[Michael Welter]

I share your joy. I've been delighted with my DL32R. I use a Sennheiser wireless mic for talkback. It works perfectly, for those few times I need to talk to the band.

[Ampli]

Talkback mic works through airplay if the receiving device has an audio input
To bad the expres has only an output
It should word with a mac book