A bit nervous......

Uh...how did you get the job, if you don't mind me asking?

I suggest getting downloading the manual and getting into the venue asap to run some tracks through the PA and increase your familiarity. Don't wait until the gig.

Good luck! Sounds like a cool gig. You might consider bringing some ear plugs along.

 

Spill it .....whos playing?

 

A lot will be going on that needs your attention when it comes time to do sound check. You don't want to be fumbling around with the board's control surfaces.

You really need to be super familiar with how to get around the console. Usually if I have to mix on a new console, I try to get some time to root around with some recordings to make sure I can navigate between all the menus I need.

System configuration is another thing to look into. Are the mains simply LR with subs inline, or are the subs fed of an aux? Are there lip fills or center fill speakers? How are the effects and EQs patched? What sort of user assigned keys are setup? I mixed primarily on Yamaha LS9s and setup user keys with functions like mute groups, tap temp for the digital delay, a button to bring up selected 31 band EQs on faders.

Also you should be coordinating with the bands to establish mic lists and setting up and saving templates of the board that are as close to dialed in as you can get without actually doing sound check. You should be able to get the channel EQ and dynamics in the ball park. At the very least you should at least set your HPFs and configure/assign dynamics...basically make sure the channel strips are setup the way you want them to be.

If the bands are all sharing the same back line and mics, then you will want to save and recall a snapshot of the board. Typically one band will do sound check and you save the scene. Then the next band comes up and you dial in the system to their needs, and save the scene. Make sure the players know to write down their amp settings so they can get back in the ball park quickly when it is there time to play. Sometimes stage hands do this for the players. When it comes time for the show, you simply recall the correct scene and your ready to rock. Sorry if this seems obvious...plenty of people use digital boards without taking advantage of the ability to save settings to be used later.

 

^^^This

 

Get in touch with the act if you can and ask for a stage plot. If you know where you need your lines that's half the battle done.
I'm happy to be corrected however i think you can run the x32 with a tablet and it'll be very similar operationally to the x18.... just more channels.

 

Names or it isn't happening.

 

Overprepare.
Undermix.
Relax and roll with it.
Crush them with kindness.

 

Famous people get mixed the same as local bar bands. Do what you always do.

Not advancing a stage plot for a touring act is some amateur hour stuff.

If they are famous(ish) you should be able to find some video of the band playing live. That should give you enough to start a scene. Leave channels in between the drums and instrument and between instruments and vocals in case there are special channels you didn't account for.

Have fun. Take pics. Report back afterwards.

 

If I were working with my idols, names are the first things I’d drop.

 

I think this is true, you can use a tablet and don’t actually have to use the physical mixing board. Would be ideal to get the stage plot/input list from the act ahead of time to create your scene.

 

The X32 has a lot more features than the X18...I could be wrong, but I would expect that running an X32 via a tablet would be a bit more complicated.

My only experience with mixing via tablet was with Yamaha mixers. It was definitely a lot easier to use the mixer's regular control surfaces for most functions. IMHO the best strategy was to use both. Set up up the tablet to give quick access to the features that work really well on this sort of interface, and use the hard controls for everything else.

 

What? Is it a Justin Bieber gig or something? Nickelback? Jonas Brothers?

That's what we HAVE to assume. There must be some reason you don't want to tell us.

 

OP is 52. So my assumption is he was a teen between 1979 and 1986.

I used Google and came up with The Tubes on May 18.

 

I love this, but I don't know... anecdotal, but I'm 52 and "filled with musicians that I idolized as a teen" isn't a description that works for The Tubes for me...

Edit to add: Not that one couldn't, of course. But most of us just didn't.

 

Study the console via the manual and possible online videos. Then ask if you can shadow the house engineer a few times before the gig. Don't ask too many questions if s/he's busy at the gig though, take notes and ask them later