Stage boxes

[Humey]

In our theatre we have 3, 8 channel stage boxres but with only 4 available female and 4 available male. So it goes channel 1 male, channel 1 female, channel 2 male, channel 2 female and so on. Is this normal in theatre use? Im used to just a standard multi core setup of just female inputs.

 

This has caused a lot of confusion when it comes to mixing up in the box. You would expect channel one to be stage box 1 male, channel 2 to be stage box 1 female and so on but it isn't!

 

I just wondered if this is standard practice in theatres? Im presuming these 2x1 channels are used for monitors etc?

[Solstace]

Sounds more like general-purpose tie-lines to me, rather than dedicated sound multi's.

 

Also, I'd expect channel numbers at the desk to match those on the multi's, unless there's a patchbay involved somewhere. That said, everywhere I've worked has done this kind of stuff differently.

[Shez]

The multi at one of the theatres I work at is a bit like that - each line has both a male and female XLR at the stage box end. At the desk end they're all male though; you use as many converters as are necessary to send however many sends you need. It's nicely flexible but I think more common in broadcast circles where every different job needs a different ratio of sends and returns. Certainly the stage boxes I've encountered in broadcast circles have had both genders of XLR on every line.

[mackerr]

In my experience, whether you are in a theater, or any other performance venue, there needs to be lines in both directions between the stage and the FOH mix position.

 

Mac

 

Moderation: Quote from deleted post removed to make sense of the thread.

[J Pearce]

Not always, if you have an installed PA with amp racks at control, or in a remote room, then a sends only multi (female sockets on stage, male outlets at foh, not t'other way round as rtclighting seems to think) makes some sense.

[billy jim]

But what then happens if someone wants a headphone amp on stage?

A mixture is best IMHO.

[J Pearce]

I'd completely agree!

Though in somewhere like a theatre that rarely does music, the odd occasion could easily be accommodated with a gender bender.

 

For non-installed multis I quite like the both genders on a box at both end approach (then XLR looms up into the dogbox), means no worrying about returns, and also makes splits dead easy. It does however make the boxes twice as big and twice as heavy!

[TomHoward]

We've got a sends-only multi - 42 ways between stage and control room, amp racks in control room and 8 speakon ties back to stage. It's not too bad until someone wants to plug in an active monitor - but luckily for us all these ties go back to a gender-neutral patchbay so it only takes an adaptor at the stage end to reverse a line.

 

I don't expect we'd have much use for as many return lines as we have sends, but maybe one return for every six sends would be about the amount I would find useful.

[paulears]

I'll go with the custom approach whenever I can - all my multis have multipin connectors on both ends - and the stage boxes have both sex connectors. Really useful, and you can use it to feed a split to a monitor mixer, or be able to use either end as a send - or comms - or, well almost anything. The boxes are bigger of course, but I can live with that. On top, it's also handy to be able to 'steal' an extra output as a split, bung in a gender bender and connect to two pieces of kit with no messing around.

 

Moderation: Reference to a now-deleted post removed.

[ian.michael.williams]

Humey,

 

This setup is almost always combined with a jackfield patchbay. A venue I work in regularly (Metropole Theatre, Abertillery) has this exact setup, only with 8 channels per patchbox, dotted around the venue. This has proven most useful when running shows that require practicals that have sound sources in, backstage/foh venue foldback or surround speakers that are powered, however, can be a total pain in the A*$e to patch if you're not having a good day, or are in a rush.

 

</2pWorth>

 

Ian

[RoyS]

I have wired the stage at school in a similar fashion as we use active monitors. On the downstage thrust I have a dip box with 10 sends and 6 returns (16 line in total) (together with 13A & 16A outlets). On stage left we have a similar arrangement. The tails of these boxes live with the main house multicore patch (32+8) on stage right.

 

The other benefit is we can use spare lines for DMX send & return – although this might be frowned upon by some. Gender benders are also sometimes.

 

With regard to the OP’s. I would take the cover off the connection box to see what’s what..

 

Roy