Contents
- I. Fixed Media
- II. Live Electronics - Laptop
- III. Live Electronics - Effects Pedals
Fixed media accompaniments are the most common by far, with roughly three quarters of the electro-acoustic euphonium repertoire making use of some kind of pre-recorded audio track. Thankfully, these pieces are also the easiest to set up for, requiring at minimum only a playback device, a speaker, and something to connect the two. While there are a number of ways to play audio through a speaker in performance, most are variations on two basic setups: running your audio through a mixer, or running it straight out to the speaker.
Using a mixer has several advantages; it makes staging two speaker stereo setups and monitor speakers much easier, and you can adjust all your audio levels from one control panel. It also allows you to set up for several different kinds of electronic pieces at once, reducing the amount of time required to reset equipment between pieces in performance. You could, for instance, have a piece using guitar pedals running through a mono channel, a piece for fixed media on one of your stereo channels, and a piece for laptop on another stereo channel, with each channel’s audio levels preset and ready to be unmuted in turn.
Running your sound directly from your playback device into one or a series of speakers, on the other hand, is much cheaper and easier to set up. Given that the bulk of the electronic euphonium repertoire is for fixed media, a performer looking to get into electro-acoustic performance would probably do well to start with one or a pair of good PA speakers and the appropriate cables to connect them, and then expand into mixers and other equipment later on as needed.
Setup 1A: Playback Device to Mixer via Aux Cable
If your mixer has a 1/8” auxiliary input, all you need to do is run a standard aux cord from your phone or laptop’s headphone jack into the mixer. Then, you’ll run a 1/4” cable out to both of your mains, and a third 1/4” cable to your monitor, if you’re using one. We’ll talk more about stage monitors once we get to the stage setup section, but for now just know that while a monitor isn’t strictly necessary, it does make staying with the accompaniment much easier. Also, if your mixer has any sort of built-in effects, like delay or reverb, you'll want to make sure those are turned off or all the way down. You'll want to set your audio in channel's level and the main speaker level at a combination that produces the desired volume while also minimizing any humming or hissing from the speakers. Once that’s done, you can set your monitor level to where you can clearly hear the accompaniment while playing.
As for the 1/4” cables, there are two kinds we’ll be working with: TS, or tip-sleeve cables, and TRS, or tip-ring-sleeve cables. With a few exceptions like effects pedals, you’ll generally want to use TRS cables to connect everything. When hooked up to a mono output, as shown above, a TRS cable is carrying what’s known as “balanced audio.”
Inside a TRS cable are three wires: two conductors (hot/positive and cold/negative) and a ground. The conductors are connected to the tip (hot) and ring (cold), and the sleeve is used as the ground. Running from a mono output, the hot and cold carry copies of the same audio signal, but the polarity of the cold signal is inverted; the waveform is the same, but the wave rises and falls by the exact opposite amount from the hot signal. When the signal arrives at the input, this negative polarity is flipped, putting both signals back in phase. This also has the effect of cancelling out noise from any interference the signal picked up along the way. Any electrical or radio interference will impact both the hot and cold signals the same, but when the cold signal is flipped upon reaching the input, the noise on that signal is flipped as well, leaving the original audio in phase but the noise out of phase, and so the noise cancels itself out.
TS cables have only a single hot conductor and a ground, and so tend to be noisier over long distances. For this reason, whenever possible, use TRS cables.
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Setup 1B: Playback Device to Mixer via Stereo Breakout Cable
If your mixer doesn’t have an 1/8” auxiliary input, then you’ll need to use a stereo breakout cable like the one above. This cable has an 1/8" TRS connector on one end, and two 1/4” TS connectors on the other, thereby giving you one 1/4" connector for the left channel's audio and one for the right. Unfortunately, you can’t simply put a 1/4” adaptor on the end of your aux cord and plug it into the mixer, as this will end up cancelling out a much of your audio track when the stereo signal is converted to mono, much like noise is cancelled out when a mono signal reaches the end of a standard TRS cable. For an in-depth description of what happens and why, see the section on Phase Cancellation.
Aside from the stereo breakout cable, this setup is identical to 1A. Note that you’ll need to run the two ends of your breakout cable into one of your mixer’s paired stereo channels (such as 3/4 and 5/6 above). If you’ve got a smaller mixer that only has mono line in channels (like channels 1 and 2 above), you can use one channel for each end of the cable. You’ll just need to make sure you set both channels to the same level, otherwise one speaker will end up louder than the other.
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Stage Setup 1: Mixer, Monitor, and Mains
An ideal stage setup for any electro-acoustic piece includes two mains and a floor monitor. Having a two speaker setup allows you to take full advantage of stereo panning and provides full coverage for your audience, and having a monitor speaker pointed back at you ensures you can always hear the accompaniment. You’ll want to set up so that you’re out of the direct path of your mains, either roughly in line or upstage from them. This is less important for fixed media pieces, but is vital for any piece requiring a microphone in order to avoid creating feedback, and so is a good habit to form.
The angle of your mains and the distance between them will be dictated by the size of your audience. Briefly, you’ll start by dividing the audience in half. Set up a speaker centered on each half, pointing straight down that half’s center line.
If you’re unable to place your mains centered on each half, place them symmetrically and angle them so that each speaker is pointed at the center point of their respective halves. If your speakers are placed on the far side of each half’s center line (further from you), they’ll be angled inward.
If your speakers are placed on the near side of each half’s center line (closer to you), they’ll be angled outward.
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Setup 2A: Playback Device Directly to One or Two Speakers via Aux Cable (Mono)
A less versatile but generally simpler setup is to run your playback device directly into your mains. Ideally you’ll have two, but many fixed media pieces can be performed using a single speaker. This setup and setup 2B are usable with one or two speakers, and can be expanded to include a floor monitor. Even when using two speakers, however, these setups are mono; the same sound will be coming from both speakers. 2C is a two-speaker stereo setup that can also include a floor monitor.
If your main has an auxiliary input, you can simply run an aux cable from your input device’s headphone jack straight into the speaker. Since you’re not using a mixer, you’ll control the audio levels directly from the speaker (and from your output device, but you’ll generally want to turn that all the way up). Once again, you’ll want to set your audio in and main levels at a combination that produces the desired volume while also minimizing noise.
If you’re using a second main, you can daisy chain the speakers using an XLR cable running from the first main’s passthrough output (usually marked “Thru” or “Link”) into the second main's input. This will send an unaltered copy of the incoming audio signal to the next speaker. Since the audio being sent is pre-mix (i.e. unaffected by whatever levels you’ve set on the first speaker), you’ll want to set your second speaker’s gain knobs to the same positions as your first, thus ensuring your left and right speakers are at the same volume.
If you’re using a floor monitor, you can add it to the chain the same way you added a second main.
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Setup 2B: Playback Device Directly to One or Two Speakers via Stereo Breakout Cable (Mono)
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Setup 2B.1: If Your Speaker Only Has One Input Channel
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