Ultra-Portable Tech Setup for Churches
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video, Jake unpacks the Behringer X Air 18 Mixer to create a hypothetical setup that is extremely portable and small. This setup could be perfect for a small church trying to keep things simple yet highly effective, using only the X Air, an Ipad, and a powerful computer to create a robust sound system for your worship ministry.
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Just something to consider if someone is in the market for this type of setup. We have been using Mackie’s version of this wireless system. I’ve never had a problem with the internal router. Also, it has a lot more devices that can be connected to it than the Behringer does. The DL16 allows you to 20 devices. The DL32 allows up to 10 devices. Every musician in the band can have complete control of their IEM mix with their smart phone. The DL32R even has a Dante slot.
👀
Note!!!! Do not use the X air Wifi it will cut out. If you run it with an external router that has 5gh you will be fine and it will be amazing! But learn from my mistake :)
Also I’ve used this to record a full band and it uses the same pre amps as the x32 its great as an interface and mixer.
Clutch! Thanks for the tip!
Great to know. I haven’t run this for long periods of time to experience any cut outs. But even as it starts up I notice it can be laggy.
A cheap Wifi router works great is and recommended over using the built in Wifi.
Truth. Been using it for a little over 2 yrs. buy a cheap $20 router in amazon. Works wonders.
Amazing little start up into the digital world of mixers
The internal wifi is really terrible, it almost ruin the service, i can't unmute the instrument channel after the sermon the wifi SSID its completely disappear LOL then i need to bring the laptop to the stage and control it through lan cable to unmute the instrument channel. External wireless router is must 😁
I use this set up at church Xair 18. And from your videos I also got the powerplay Ha8000. Best setup that is budget friendly in my opinion. Not all churches can get a X32 and personal mixers but with this you can have 5 musicians have their own mic and then get a micro amp 4 channel and have 4 people share a mix. Awesome set up. This is how I got to be able to use multitracks at church. Also having a MD with talkback makes the band sound tighter.
My church uses this and we love it! We have it rack mounted and hooked up to an external router.
I played in a small worship band that was part of my larger worship team
We MiKe’d up a full drum kit with 6 inputs 2 electric guitars 2 vocalist a bass player and keys and ran tracks all on the XR18! We ran our tracks as a stereo out out of 17/18. We also all had stereo mixes our guitar players on the back line used P16 and out front line singers had wireless IEM. It worked out great I think Jake forgot to mention that you can use the p16’s for extra IEM mixes and in this case it makes sense to have the extra mixes available.
Do you want to know the real meaning of small worship band ? lol..
we use a Yamaha PSR 770 keyboard and guitar plugged into my keys .then output from my keys to a stranger where we had other two inputs with mics..
that's all we were good to go.. Anything to glorify his name with whatever we have :) End of the day we should know that God's presence is important than anything ..
Have been using this at my church. Has been working well for like at least 5 years I think, church planting all blends together haha. There is a part of me that kinda wishes to have gone x32Rack just to have expandability down the road but we are able to connect everything thus far. Like others have said external wifi is a must. It can work just like at home fine but anything more it just gets overloaded.
We are a mobile church, and have been using the XR18 as our mixing console for going on 4 years now. It replaced an analog yamaha mixer and matrix mixer, 75lb snake and stage box. We use a PC at FOH connected to the XR18 with a 75' USB cable and ethernet for rock solid wired connection. I would strongly recommend an aftermarket router, as the onboard wireless networking is not strong at all. The XR18 has been super reliable for us, and easy to use, and I would recommend it for any small mobile churches.
Been using XR18 at church for 2 yrs. because booth had analog snakes sent to it already, the mixer stays in the booth, and everything is connected on stage with underground snakes.
This connects to pc in rack via usb, and multitrack service is recorded in Reaper via 18 in, 18 out XR18 interface. Mix can be set using pc or iPad (the booth is in the back corner, so the iPad is ideal to hear what it actually sounds like in the room). This works great! Crazy value!!!
Oh, and the Ultranet connection is ridiculous! We use P16M, personal monitor boxes, so everyone gets their own mix. We use Aux1 for floor wedges for special events, Aux2 for sub, Aux 3&4 as camera L & R, Aux5 as feed for the rest of the building (outside the sanctuary), and Aux6 as redundant sermon recording into Zoom H2.
I own an X32 rack, and our mobile church uses a Presonus 32R. We went "console-less" (referring to a traditional console form factor) as soon as we could for the sake of setup and simplicity. I don't think I would ever want to go back as long as we are mobile. If we ever have a fixed worship venue, we will reconsider. :)
...I also own an XR18 and XTouch for secular gigs. I can run queues and tracks from the same laptop I record the shows with, using the XR18 as my audio interface. Paid less than $900 for all that, a 5u rack, and 16 outlet power conditioner.
I bought a $17 Ethernet hub, and connect my laptop, XTouch, and XR18 via Ethernet, so they all speak to each other using DHCP.
The XR18 uses the same preamps and effects as the X32 (only 4 slots vs. 8). Amazing product!
This is our setup at my church! I got it about a year ago after watching your videos and wanting to go digital. We were only using about 10 inputs on our old analog mixer, so I thought 18 would be perfect. It has been great and the low cost allowed us to make the jump but of course I now wish we had more inputs. I had to learn everything from scratch so I still think this was the right decision but I can see us going to an x32 rack in a year or so as we grow our worship ministry. We run a really long USB cable to the sound booth in the back and it works great. Also, it has the ultranet system built in so we use the p16m's for personal monitor mixes (iem). It's been a game changer for sure. Everyone online recommends not using the built in xair wifi since it will drop out on you at the worst possible time. We've always connected it directly to our router over Ethernet and never had a problem. The next step for us is figuring out lighting but we have the Ableton and livestreaming stuff figured out. 😁
That's awesome,. Sounds like a beast. I'm looking to buy this mixer for church and can you please tell me how you use it for live streaming?
@@joeledward6668 We connect the XR18 mixer to our Livestream computer through USB for the audio. Then we use XSplit Broadcaster software to handle the streaming that goes to our FB and TH-cam. It's been working well for us during this crazy time.
@@mwallace002 Got it! Thanks
Been using the XAir18 for toward a couple of years. We're a small church meeting in a school hall - typically 50-60 people inc kids. We have specific channels configured for 4 vocalists, 2 guitars, pads, Keys L/R, 2xRadio Mics, Line-in and Bass but don't use them all every week; each week, those playing just plug into their channel. We don't mic the drums/perc or Sax.
As others have said we run an external router. Use an Android tablet for the main mixing device. Also android phones to control the 2 foldback channels; it's nice that you can login to the mixer and only access the send faders to your own foldback channel.
The Android and iPad interfaces are quite different, and I gather the full MacBook version enables you to access a pile of other features...
We don't use any automation/click tracks etc. (Lyrics software also use the WiFi to send to Android & Windows devices.)
Really should get round to saving scenes for each band configuration...
Our portable mixer is the Yamaha equivalent of that Behringer mixer. We have it expanded to 32 channels. A rig like that is not only useful for its portability, but if you have a larger church, they make excellent submixers to add channels for special events. You can set one up at the stage and not have to run a snake or make room for another board in the nest.
Just got the X-Air - it will double as my band’s rack mixer as well as my church’s when we do occasional full band music for services in a larger space. Your vids have been super helpful! 👍
If you get a 1/4" mono splitter you can solo 2 FX Buses and pan them left and right, creating 2 more IEM mixes. You can also daisychain Behringer P16M's through the XR18, and even use the USB interface to monitor. I run this for large bands, and we've got 10 unique mixes.
This is the perfect setup for a secondary environment. This year, we are thinking of ways to boost and improve our children's ministry, and this setup would be a perfect way to take all the same quality and gear and flow of our main worship service into the children's ministry wing.
We bought soundcraft ui 24 r, for our church in Ukraine 🇺🇦 on my opinion it’s better then xr18... we have 10aux, 22 channels and 4 virtual channels if we use Mac by usb for multitrack and midi keys... so it’s actually has 26 channels and multitrack recording by flash card - it blows up your mind.... x32 rack much more expensive and for x32 you need the stagebox so we chose soundcraft
I use the XR18 in a small Spanish church and I run tracks through Abelton.
Hi, what version of ableton should I chose? Our church would use 18 inputs.
Bro this couldn’t have come at a better time! I just received my xr18! I’m helping my church to go digital with the xr18. I am a complete amateur and just gonna learn as I go.
Love the X-Air (but yeah, don't rely on the onboard wifi - you'll get bitten). Used one in my last church, though only a few times. Was a tough decision to go with the Zoom L-12 at our new church startup, but really appreciated the onboard sd card multi-channel recording with the Zoom. Comes in handy, plus it's not necessary to have an iPad or similar to run the board. Would love to have the X-Air also though.
Random tip, if you want your sound to be better, go from the xr18 to mr18. You'll get the midas pro pre amps
i dont use it for church, i dont go to church. but i do use the xr18 and realy like the device. i use it for in-ear system for a metalband and it a great device for the price. i have it almost 3 years now but i must say the more i understand of the mixer the more limits i reach. i'm more looking now for the x32 it just has allot more busses, and aux'es, AES connection.
This is the system we use at our church. We're REALLY tight on space, so it's been a great alternative to having a traditional mixing board. As I've seen also commented on here, the wifi does tend to cut out or disconnect after a certain amount of inactivity. The wifi signal also does not have a very long range, we barely had a signal in the back of our worship space. So we have also had to use an external router to boost the signal. Other than that, it's built like a tank and have had no issues.
We use the x18 every Sunday and it sounds great !! Pair with the x touch and it’s a winner
Me with 2 xr18
We are using the XAir 16 currently while we build funds to upgrade. You can get around having to have the computer right by the mixer by using an external wireless router. We actually hooked ours up through the wireless router and then via cat5 to a pc so that we can control the sound via the computer and still use an ipad on stage. Love this system and will more than likely upgrade to another Behringer product when the time comes! Thanks for the video. Hope to use the USB option soon!
Echo on the WiFi for the XAir; get a router and use it for the WiFi. Second, if you plan on using this as a portable setup, we did Easter in the Park one year, remember that iPads overheat in direct sunlight often. We got mid way through worship and could not un-mute the pastor or adjust volume.
Thats my setup!!! Great choice!!
Matias Molina mine toooo
Been using he Midas cousin, MR18, for a mobile church setup. Jake, your comments are dead on to my use and experience. Not a ton, but small band use is solid. Only wish it had output delays. Pretty unique product in the price/performance/value. One MaJOR suggestion…if you use WiFi, get an external router. The antenna is wimpy and interference is often an issue. My rack has wireless units, a furman, as well as a Behringer UltraDrive. One suggestion…since this posted a year ago, have there been any more recent alternatives?
I use the X Air 12 mixer at my church. Super small church with a small band (+cajon). It works well. Haven't tried the audio over usb, though.
Jordan Bradbury hi Jordan would you ha e a scene along with vocals you could share with me? I use mine for vocals using tracks only.. would you have a setup saved along with fx I could use? I’d really appreciate it
The 12 does not have the full USB interface ability. Only the 18 has that.
Alan Slaughter can you help me with a decent vocal scene for the xr18 Alan ... as in the whole scene with effects, compression, gains... the whole scene just for a male vocal... after three years trying to achieve a good vocal presence I got close wen a friend of mine wiped everything! To start from scratch ?! 👀
@@gobrad I am still only a beginner, so there are probably some things that aren't good. I used lots of info from Drew Brashler on YT, check his videos out. This is my scene, with effects and everything. I would take a look and compare it to yours, to see what you might want to use - but not take my scene and work from that, as it is set for my venue. drive.google.com/file/d/1lzKSA9ZZ3BuWOg_c4x2UCdG5Gd4osioh/view?usp=sharing
@@kg4gav Well, that's that. Thanks for the heads up. One less thing to think about.
The set-up we use in for our small youth room is very similar to this. We use the Behringer X Air X18 compact and a laptop backstage. We aren't using any automation software yet, and our projector is mounted for rear projection to our screen from a backstage area. So, if someone was going to run lyrics for us, they would have to be back stage the entire service. Since this is obviously not ideal, we wanted to find a way to make our lyrics remotely controlled just like our mixer. We fortunately had access to another tablet (my personal Surface Pro), and I found a free software called TeamViewer that allows me to control my laptop remotely from my tablet over WiFi. This has been the ideal tech solution for our ministry, because now we can have our sound and lyrics run from the front of house with a fully wireless rig on two tablets. I got my mixer used for $450, my iPad used for $200, and then already owned the other pieces of our set-up.
Just remember that the gear is only on part of the equation. Other factors include how well it is setup (gain structure), how well it is maintained, room acoustics and noise floor. If operators are poorly trained, if the room has acoustic issues or if the gain structure is poor (setup), no amount of purchasing gear will fix these things. IME, churches focus on the wrong solutions.
This type of portable solution is probably OKish for a tiny church group just getting started and possiby renting a worship space. However, at some point you have to realize that there are many different types PA setups that are appropriate for different situations. There is no such thing as a one size fits all solution.
A portable system focuses on speed of setup over sound quality and using Behringer audio gear gets the job done at a bargain price but also at a bargain basement production quality. So this is not really an appropriate level for a medium to larger church that you own. For that, you need to consider that the venue is an auditorium and sound reinforcement is the key definition to the sound quality you you need to aim for. I guess that to most people that just sounds like it means amplification, but it means much more than that. The aim of sound reinforcement is that the system must be as unnoticeable as possible so that people are not distracted by the electronics, no hum or buzz, no radio stations leaking into the system, no unnatural sounds, bumps, pops or plosives, everybody should sound just like themselves with no alterations in tonality etc. We are going for natural sound here, no thumping bass, no telephone sound or sibilance... it goes on. What this means is you basically have the exact same goals as any quality audio system. Reproduce the sound with clarity and without alteration. While that may sound expensive, it can be achieved with research and attention to details.
Hi, thanks for making this video 👌🏻
Here's my question :
Is it possible to send music from your mac to the x air 18 and then sending it back to your mac for streaming purpose ? 🤔
I have the X air 18 at home in my music room/studio. Works great in a small setting or for portable events. As others have mentioned, the on board wifi isn't reliable. Use an external router. In my set up at home I have it connected to my home network by ethernet and use my home wifi if I want to use my phone or ipad to control it. Mostly I use my imac to control it which is also connected by ethernet to my home network. It would be possible to set it up the same way in a small permanent church setting. In a portable situation an external dedicated router is best. If you have a bit more money to spend, the midas version has better xlr connectors. Other than those minor things I would recommend the X air 18.
I use the XR18 and I love it.
We just installed this for our Student Worship Team. It's been a great addition for us and really easy to setup! I paired it up with some nice powered EV's, sounds great for our smaller venue.
Wow! That is a POWERFUL little setup!!! Thank you for video Jake! I have gotten so much from your videos! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
If u use Soundcraft ui 24r for a similar price u will have so much more quality and options , here at my church we use a full band and 12 channels of multitracks with a similar budget!
Jake, use the mixing station app for the ipad. Its much more configurable for the xair/x32 then the actual behringer xair app...
I’ve got a Soundcraft Ui24r in leu of the x-air & it does great, it’s a good alternative if you want to use non Apple products in your setup :)
Beringer Works to with android an other staff, my setting takes to of dem one for inear and one vor pa, with split "y"-kables.😉 Works wery well
How do you like their web-based control app? Looks interesting to me.
@@robertsimpson5801 it's intuitive, & works just as well as any app out there. I've never used it to mix FOH personally (I'm up on stage), so I'm not sure of how easy it is to navigate on the fly, but it's been great for IEM & recording.
@@jwstout007 sweet! I like that they went with a web based app, because it removes the concern of platform compatibility (Mac, PC, Android, iOs, etc.).
Thinking about getting this for out man camp, weddings, memorials, outdoor events, etc. My only concern is can you play background music from the ipad and also record the sermon on the ipad? That would make this the perfect thing I need.
Xair is cool and all. But have you ever looked at the Ui24r? I don't think it would be a waste of time to give it a quick search.
I use the ui24r currently, & I’ve used a DL32R & a QU16 as well. I like the Soundcraft the most since you don’t need an iPad to operate it ;)
my church uses the x air and we love it!
The X-Air 18 was on sale at alto music for under $500 over the holidays... I think it was around $469.
Great tutorial Jake. We own an XR18 and need to know if we can use four (4) Audinate AVIO Dante 2 Channel Analog Output Adapter to connect our XR18's eight (8) outputs (6 AUX and Main L&R) to a Dante Network.
Thank for the info 💜
What about an iPad only setup with interface
Hi guys planning to have this xr32 for our church live performance as well as live streaming. But i am also looking for zoom l20r rack version. Can i have some idea from you guys on what should we get? Thank you for helping me and our church.
Going to buy one nex month
Hi I recently got the xair 18 and I have ableton but for some reason only 1 channel is coming through can you show us a step by step tutorial on how you got each trach on Ableton please
With this option can your team use the app on their phones like on the x32 to have personal in ear mixes
Nice work Jake, thank for your time and blessed disposition to teach and guide many around the world (like me in Australia) in TechWorship! I have the same set-up, just wondering if you can provide the presets of XR18 that you're using in this video... It would be interesting to compare with mine and check if can improve something! Again God bless you and all your work! Cheers
I use the XR18 for our church with laptop, tablet and also using the X-Touch Universal for both the XR18 control and Reaper.
Now... if only there was a XR24..... or X24....... or Wing 24......
As for computer.... I am using a basic 15" Win laptop and it's more than capable of running both X-Air and Reaper at the same time. I spent less than $250 for the computer. The 10" tablet was the cheapest Android I could buy.
Everyone is on IEM, and control their own mixes via the Android cellphone app.
Since we have a snake to the stage that was installed with the old analog mixer, everything is located at the back of church making FOH sound mixing great.
We use electric drums. Everything is customizable on it and it takes up just one input. Also, "real" drums just will not work in our "echo chamber" church.
Which android app do your IEM users use to mix?
@@RachelSmith-ie4ok They use the one from Behringer for Andriod. It's the X Air app in the Google Store, Behringer X Air. This app also can control the mixer itself, but they mix on the AUX that they are using. It allows them to adjust their specific AUX settings the way they want. If it doesn't sound right, they can adjust it themselves.
I do not use the built in Wifi on the XR18, but have a router that connects the laptop, X Touch, and XR18, and use the Wifi from it for the tablet. Everyone connects to the Wifi on the router to access the XR18 and control their mix.
They are informed to only adjust their mix only. The app is free and does what it's suppose to do.
Getting rid of the stage monitors was one of the best things I've ever did for the worship team, myself, and the church.
Livestream: Mackie onyx 24-4 analog mixer(insert out) > xair18 > reaper > OBS > castr.io > TH-cam and Facebook
If someone were to use this for IEM could you theoretically run straight out of the console? Also could each member using the IEM mix their own bus from the app?
So glad you made this video! Needed it
can each aux out have different eq parameters set up for the same channel??? example: input 1 having multiple separate eq parameters per aux out??? i want to have different eq's set for the live stream and different eq's set for front of house!
Great option! Thanks for sharing bro!!
Thanks Jake for the awesome video! This is something I've been considering in getting for our small mobile church as a way to begin moving away from the big heavy analog systems. I had one question though, for the AUX sends, can I still use the PM1 or will it need to have battery power or route to an amplifier first? Thanks!
A year late but yes the PM1 will work directly out of the Aux
Ordered the behringer over six months ago and was notified that as of today they are canceling all orders. Can you recommend a replacement please?
Hi, I use behringer x18 in my church. I can use behringer x18 mixer at the same time for church audio and separate control for live streaming ?....Thank you
what app can I use for MR18 Midas mix station or native behringer /Midas app
Hi all! I live in Pakistan. We have our church here but we don't have sound system due to financial problem. Can anyone donate a system for Church.?
Behringer xr18 or soundcraft ui16 please suggest better option
I want to know how I’d use a midi keyboard and main stage using only the XR18 and my laptop
Hi Jake! Can I use X Air 18 to run livestream sound and front of house sounds?
Worship Tech Savvvyy indeed!
Hi Jake, just subscribed to your channel, and getting a lot of helpful inside already. Our church is considering upgrading the sound system, and I think xr18 is a good choice, but the most difficult thing is to choose the loudspeaker size/power. Our church is very traditional looking rectangular building with high ceiling and have about 150 people worshipping. We are building up a band for modern style worship. How big do the speakers need to be? Is size of the speaker, 12”, 15”, etc more important than power? Or vice versa? Any info would be a great starting point. Thanks!
I use the xr18 but I’m struggling to get a good vocal sound... I spent three years tweaking on every line gig and finally got a nice sound when a guy recently fiddled round with the settings as I left a set list playing he wiped everything!! I use it for two piece live vocal using tracks... would you have a scene you could share with me?
Wow, I had NO IDEA Ableton can be used to output keyboard sounds, just like Mainstage 😱
Thanks for sharing 😊
Hope you figure out how to automate ptz camera somewhere in the future...
Can u the x air run wave software
It’s out of stock in Amazon.
Just get x32 Compact, before you run into iPad charger not working or pc crushing etc....
Hey man, are the channels on the XR18 pre fader? I'm just wondering as to how you were able to connect the click track straight into the mixer, won't the congregation hear it? Or is it pre fader so even when the volume is set to 0, those who are using IEM's can regulate the sound via the buses? Also, I think there is an ethernet connection for P16's right?
Can someone donate this for our church in Pakistan?
xr18+ laptop(withtouchscreen is better) + xTouch..=.mini console with moving faders
Interesting
Need a 32 input rack,any suggestions?
Hiya a couple of options to consider would be the behringer’s x32 rack and the Midas m32c. Both are built by the behringer group however the Midas has the world class Midas preamps and the x32 has the inspired by Midas preamps. The Midas is more expensive as it requires stage boxes like Midas’s dl16 and dl32 to use it in a live band environment
could you go through a setup that doesn't involve having to buy Ableton for clicks.
Joshua Miller whatever you use for tracks, send it to any input on the console, like a regular instrument.
The x18 is the one of the most underrated piece of gear. Mainly cuz everyone jumps straight to the bigger channel consoles. But i can throw a concert with that thing. Also one of my favorite features is that i mix remotely from my laptop without a cable, in case you don’t have a iPad.
LoopCommunity.com for the Prime app (free, iPad only). You can build the click tracks yourself in GarageBand (Mac/iPad only), or you can buy prebuilt clicktracks (about $30 each). Not associated with them in any way except as a contented user.
You can get a lot of your tech questions regarding Behringer X Air mixers answered here: community.musictribe.com/t5/Worship/bd-p/ct32
Didnt know Harry Kane is also a good FOH engineer
Great video and set up: kinda wish you would drop the lighting stuff however. Dramatic lighting isnt required for ‘gospel-centered’ worship, much less in a church plant. My 2 cents
Would it be possible to get your email address? I wanted to ask a question or if you could point in the right direction. Our church is trying to extend the audio/visuals into our basement for moms as they take care of their children. We don’t have any WiFi network, so would this be possible?
Harry Kane look alike
But.
Note the x air sounds terrible buy the Midas mr better