Such as: Which outputs? Which inputs? What type of cable (TS, TRS)? Please explain it like I’m a total noob
Some relevant background notes are below.
Links to reference photos of the BeatBuddy and Aeros in’s/out’s, as well as the connections for the mixer and speakers, are below.
Thanks in advance for any help here!
FYI:
All firmware is up to date as of this post.
The BeatBuddy is correctly configured to serve as the master to the Aeros; and is properly connected to the Aeros using a standard MIDI cable and the Singular Sound MIDI breakout In/Out cable. Works fine.
I have successfully gotten sound out of the BeatBuddy/Aeros system a couple of ways: By plugging the connected BeatBuddy/Aeros directly into an input on the powered speaker using a TS cable from the L (Mono) Out jack of the Aeros; and by plugging the BeatBuddy/Aeros into two inputs on the mixer using a TRS breakout cable from the L (Mono) and R Out jacks of the Aeros. I’m after the best audio quality using the gear and cabling I have on hand.
The PA system is composed of a QSC TouchMix 16 mixer, two K10.2 powered speakers, and one KS112 powered subwoofer.
I’ve searched the Singular Sound forum, website and documentation but haven’t found a clear, complete description of the information I’m after.
The mixer should work the best with the PA, but it may not matter that much.
Not sure about (#2) if the aux in on the Aeros is working, if that’s higher quality than your mixer or the BB’s “mixer”, or if the Aeros does A2D -> D2A on the aux input.
#3 will be the most flexible and you’ll have more control over the levels/mix. A no brainer if you’re going to add another channel of audio.
#1 and #2 have one less device, so that could be a benefit.
On the mixer, you could also experiment with inputs 13-16 versus 17-20 (stereo). Looks like you’d have more control with 13-16. I assume those take unbalanced (TS) line inputs. If you have long cable runs, you could try balanced inputs to the XLR with some form of DI, but not likely to make a difference.
Any of the above could be mono or stereo depending on your preference.
You can ignore the midi for now. It’s not going to matter to the audio.
Adjust your levels to avoid clipping. Looks like your mixer can help you with that.
So to add briefly to his message, the Aux does work, though quality between it and the BB’s “mixer” should be no different.
At home I go Aeros > BB > Speakers.
It’s the simplest option from a cables required perspective as you can use 1/4" cables for the entire setup. Going BB > Aeros > Speakers requires a 1/4" mono to stereo adapter.
Quad, thank you for your prompt, clear, comprehensive response. I value your posts here (and on TGP). Your observations and suggestions around usability hit the mark. Pretty sure you work in IT like me.
Yeah, I was curious to try inputs 17-20, but hadn’t considered inputs 13-16. Will experiment this weekend.
With this setup, I honestly can’t even see myself trying it the other way around simply because this works very well with my synths. I can run the arpeggiator in sync with the BB and then use the Maestro to go into half time, at which point the synths respond in kind while the Aeros loops on playback stay normal. It results in some pretty neat musical possibilities, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.
This also allows me to use the BB’s pause command to pause the aeros as well, which is very cool for doing things like ending a solo strong and bringing everything back at once.
I do think that an update that would allow the Aeros to be master makes a lot more sense (to setup the BPM and choose a stored beat for a song with some recorded tracks) The Aeros does not support pitch preserving tempo changes, and if it did would likely have some artifacts/quality hit.
Not sure how well Aeros could handle the timing of BB intros and transitions.
Perhaps some sort of hacky master-master midi mode that turns the two devices into a single, integrated device. Both devices would send and receive (some) midi from each other at times. This is sure to piss off anyone who holds the midi standard as the supreme truth.
I use BB->Aeros (through the aux in, with recording of that input by Aeros disabled)->PA, but also BB->Aeros->Bass amp through the aux out to provide some extra bass and drums. My acoustic guitar goes to the stereo inputs of the Aeros, after going through either a Boss AD-2 and Boss CE2W stereo chorus, or through a Boss VE-8, depending on the venue. I don’t use the Aeros for vocals, and so the VE-8 is set to feed only the acoustic guitar to the Aeros. When I’m live and using an electric guitar the guitar goes straight into a guitar amp. To prerecord electric guitar backing I feed the guitar pre-amp signal into the Aeros.
This setup suits me because I use the Aeros primarily to prerecord backing loops. If I was looping live then the setup would have to involve switching feeds through some kind of pedal.
like me.