I briefly wrote about finally replacing my old Behringer MX2642 with a Behringer X32 Compact on my last post and have spent the past couple of days trying to figure out how to set up and use the new board. The more I learn about this mixer the more I am flabbergasted with the potential efficiencies it will provide to help me get my music out of my head and into a tangible product. When I finally manage to learn to use all the features that this board provided I will be so eager to apply that knowledge to producing my music that I might not come up for air for several days. Still, the process of learning how to take advantage of this is progressing slowly and despite not wanting to do so, I find that I seem to need to take some breaks to digest everything I am learning.
There are several things that will need to be done to integrate the mixer into my workflow and I anticipate that it will take me about three or four weeks to get reasonably comfortable using it. I'm sure this will happen as I work through the manual, various video tutorials, and spend more time using the mixer. I still haven't connected all my devices or made a firm determination of all the accessories I will need to get and install to make this work for me but I now have a reasonably good idea about how I will be using it and can possibly summarize how I intend to utilize it.
First is the configuration of my inputs. I will obviously be running all my instruments and microphones through it so that I can route the signals to the speakers and my DAW. As I write this, the current inputs are the left and right outputs of the Kawai MP5, the left and right outputs of the Alesis Nitro, one of the Behringer C-2 condenser microphones, and the direct in from the Jaguarcaster. I still have several other microphones that I will want to hook up at various locations throughout the studio and a line from the Hammond RT.
Next is the configuration of the outputs. I don't think I've specifically written about this before but I have been using an Insignia NS-R2000 stereo receiver that my parents stayed in what is now Studio room 1 when they used to be frequent visitors to the house. It has two pair of Philips speakers connected to it and it has been convenient to use as my main studio monitor system for the past several years. The board has 6 Aux outputs and 8 XLR outputs (with 7 and 8 being the main outputs). Because the X32 doesn't have many 1/4' jacks I currently have it connected to the Aux 5 and 6 phono plugs although I am considering changing it to the monitor outs. Aux 1 out is currently connected to one of channels of the K450FX which I'm using as an additional monitor.
I've got a Behringer EP-2000 power amplifier that I occasionally connect to an EV S18-3 keyboard speaker when I want something loud but again, I haven't decided on how I want that configured with the new mixer. Finally there is a 6 channel Head Amp with 2 balanced XLR inputs and individual 1/4' lines into each individual channel but I haven't decided if I want to use it for anything. As far as the future plans for monitoring in the studio I will eventually want to get into surround sound but that can wait for a while knowing that I have enough physical outputs for just about anything I will want to do for the next four years.
For me the most significant feature of the X32 that I want to take advantage of is the 32 x 32 digital I/O USB card. Once I have made a firm decision on configuring all my inputs and outputs I will be able to create multiple scenes to feed to Reaper on my laptop for recording and playback. Not only will the I/O relieve me of the prior limitation to only 4 simultaneous channels where I had to reassign inputs on my various track templates but I can also use the X32 as an OSC controller for Reaper. I am still looking into getting that configured and have found a good resource at X32 - Patrick-gilles Mailot who has written several programs to facilitate the interaction between Reaper and the X32.
Finally, there is the X32-Edit program provided by Behringer that allows me to control the X32 remotely from my laptop. To get this working I needed to connect the Ethernet port to my home router and am not particularly happy with having a 50' Cat5 cable strung from Studio Room 1 to what will become Studio Room 4 when I get it cleaned out and get the acoustic drums in there. And this provides a great segue into the next topic - rearranging and wiring the studio.
The main consideration I have for wiring is to make it as unobtrusive and convenient as possible. What this will require is that I run the lines from a junction box in Room 1 that will be located close to the mixer to various locations in Rooms 1, 2, 3, and 4. I want these lines to be in the walls and run under the floors so I will have to custom build the cables and patch boxes to make that happen. That means that after I decide exactly how many and what types of lines to run to all the rooms I will need to plan on spending about a week, if not more, making patch cords and running cables and connections throughout the house. Although I'm not particularly looking forward to crawling under the house to do the runs, I am looking forward to the convenience and lack of clutter that this would provide. If I get to the point where I might need more I/O then I will likely get an S16 stage box to take care of it but hopefully that will be reasonably far into the future.
I suspect it will take me one to two weeks to get comfortable with using the mixer with Reaper and to understand how to use it for what I want. Then by the end of June I hope to have the wiring of the studio rooms completed and all the rooms cleaned. Thus far I am extremely pleased with this mixer and am looking forward to putting it to use producing my my music. Hopefully, this won't take too much time away from my practice with piano, drums, and all the other instruments I like to play around with, or from making practice videos, or from enhancing my online presence but once it's set up I'm sure it will only help with those aspects of my music making.