Here are some tips to set up the auxiliaries properly on your mixer:
Your auxiliaries allow you to
send the signal from a channel strip to somewhere else while
maintaining the signal on the channel strip. For instance, you can use
auxiliaries for monitor mixes for performers in a live environment. You
can also use auxiliaries for external effects processors or a number of
different situations.
Set the auxiliaries to pre-fader to allow you to change the level for
the auxiliary with the auxiliary knob but not with the channel fader.
Most mixers have a "Pre" button that allows you to enable pre-fader
mode. If you don't have the button pressed, your auxiliaries are in
post-fader mode, which means your channel fader will affect the signal
level of the auxiliary output. For monitor mixes, you usually want to
use pre-fader so you can control monitor mixes independently from the
front of house mix. Some effects processors will be better to run
post-fader, though, so don't always rely on pre-fader.
Send out your auxiliary sends. On the back of your board, you there are the auxiliary outputs. For a monitor mix, you will use these outputs
to connect to the inputs of the monitors. When using an effects
processor, you will use the auxiliary output to connect to the input of
the effects processor.
Plug in a return if necessary. If you are just doing monitors, you do
not need returns to the mixer. When using effects processors though,
you need a way to get your effected signal back to your mixer. Take the
output of the effects processor and connect that to the return input on
the back of the mixer. Now you will have to adjust the return section
on your channel strip to get the desired signal.
Use the auxiliary knob to set the desired level. Once you know if you
are running pre- or post-fader, and you have your inputs and outputs
all correct, you can start sending signal to your auxiliary output.
Turn up the auxiliary knob until either your monitors are set correctly
or until you have the desired amount of signal going to your effects
processor or other outboard equipment.
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