[ardour-dev] Live Mixdown

[Wolfgang Woehl]

"Urbansound" <urbansound at sbcglobal.net>:

> What is not yet clear to me, is how do I take the digitized data at
> the Audiorail at the FOH, back down to an analog XLR state, for
> inputting into the Ardour machine?  I use an ADA 8000 at each end? 
> $14.38 per port?  LOL even at 28.00 per port on each end, that's
> great.  And all rack mountable. Nice.

You'd need ADAT i/o in your Ardour host box like 2 x RME 9652 for 48 
channels.

But thinking about this I wonder whether going digital on the 
long-distance between stage and foh really makes life easier or just 
adds points of failure.

Matthew's comment about access to AD gains is crucial. Keep in mind that 
for example the ada8000 has potis you need to move physically in order 
to trim, no remote control whatsoever. A similar unit like the Alesis 
AI3 needs trim even before its line level inputs.

The VNC idea: Gets me goosepimples sticker style. I have zero practical 
experience in this field. But the thought of sitting foh and having 
everything including the Ardour host far away! Onstage! Near a bloody 
rockband! ... I mean you'd need bazookas to stay in control when they 
start throwing instruments and smash amps and all that. Messy.

Think I'd go for onstage analog inputs, snake to foh, ad and ardour 
right there. Control, power switch at your fingertip, reliable, proven. 
How do live engineers do it?

Wolfgang