Day Two: Getting Ready for The Plug In

Stan spent his lunch hour on the second day of preparations experimenting with equipment setups for our first night at Artemis.

The venue has a drum kit, but it’s not in great condition, and we don’t have anyone lined up to bring cymbals. Instead, Stan plans to bring his Boss RC-505 MkII tabletop looper, which can play prerecorded material, create loops, and send or receive audio from the PA.

The Artemis sound system is mono, so we’ll only be sending one channel to the house speakers. Stan will also bring a floor monitor, giving us the option of experimenting with separate audio signals.

Today’s Experiment

Stan connected his Behringer RD-9 drum machine, MS-1 synthesizer, and an acoustic guitar to the XR12 mixer. The guitar went into channel 11, one of the Hi-Z inputs, which could also accommodate someone bringing a guitar with a pedalboard.

No elaborate effects or programming yet. Today’s goal was simply to work out the connections and get comfortable with the setup.

One thing Stan would love to see is people bringing synthesizers, drum machines, and other electronic instruments. Maybe you’ve got something you bought during the pandemic that’s been collecting dust. Stan certainly accumulated a few himself!

We’re also interested in incorporating acoustic instruments and hand percussion, especially if we can keep the volume manageable.

What Can You Bring?

Tell us what instruments or gadgets you’d like to bring to The Plug In!

Our biggest request is to bring just one thing at first. We want to keep things simple, give everyone a chance to plug in, and spend more time making music than connecting cables.

We’re experimenting, learning, and figuring this out together. That’s what these first few nights are all about.

Bring your ideas, bring an instrument, and let’s see what happens!