Is there a way to use VCAs in monitor mixes?
I'm wanting to set up a simple way for some of the users to easily mix their monitors. For example, I have set up a VCA for the drums so that the singers can easily turn the entire drum mix up and down in their monitors. The problem is, it's only raising and lowering the level of the drum effects.
What gives?
You need to be understand the fundamentals of what a VCA does: essentially, it "remote-controls" the channel faders, relative to their set positions. Most important: a VCA acts ONLY on the main mix (LR) faders, NOT on any aux channel faders.
This means: if a singer pulls on the drum mix VCA fader, he/she pulls down the drums IN THE MAIN MIX - the soundman will kill you for that!
The only effects a VCA has on aux mixes:
* if an aux is routed post-fader, it will be affected by VCA changes
* if an aux contains effects that are fed post-fader (typical for reverb), these effects will be affected by VCA changes (as you described)
But - most importantly: any use of VCAs will first and foremost affect the main output - something you definitely don't want to use in controlling monitor feeds!
A possible solution on some desks is to route the drums to a subgroup and then control the volume of this subgroup in the aux channels via the aux sends on this subgroup. Unfortunately, the DL mixers don't allow subgroups to be routed to aux channels, only to the main LR or to an individual physical output.
That is where Dan's workaround comes in: essentially, you create a sub-mix of the drums in a subgroup and send this to a physical output and feed it back via cables in via a free channel pair. This gives singers the option to control the volume of this specific channel pair in their monitor mixes. Of course, they need to mute the original drum channels in their monitor mixes and only hear and control drums via this new subgroup stereo pair. And, as Dan wrote, the output of this drum subgroup to the main mix needs to be muted
The downside of this approach is that with the drum mix into this subgroup being fixed, singers/instrumentalists can only control the aggregate volume of the drums, not the individual channels anymore. So, once you commit to this mixed drum channel pair, you can't suddenly decide that you want more hi-hat or less snare.
This is the reason that my aux mixes keep the drums as individual channels - the keyboarder wants a different drum in-ear mix than the singer or the guitar player.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Torsten
