Mixing by Remote Control
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009Over the weekend I had two gigs. I used the remote functions of my SAC system for the first time. I have a netbook on which I installed the remote software. This was a fun way to work.
Neither of the gigs lent themselves to a conventional set-up. The first was a band gig playing for a fund raiser. At fundraisers the producers never leave space for a mix location. I set the computer up at the side of stage and then went out front with the netbook. It is a great situation. I can mix from anywhere in the room and take up virtually no space. The second was a hip-hop show in a dance club. I could set up a mix location there without a problem, but the crowd would be all over it. I set up the computer on stage, and when it came time for the show I stepped out front with the netbook and mixed the show. At the end of the show I left the venue without worrying about my equipment. It is a beautiful thing to have full control of the mix without being tied to a board.
It would be very nice to have a bit more screen real estate for this, but the netbook is a perfectly viable option. The battery was up to the task as long as I plugged it in during the breaks, although I think that I might get a bit nervous about it if I was doing a 90 minute show. I hope to be able to manage a real laptop at some point.