Behringer Digital Mixer X32 User Manual

X32 DIGITAL MIXER Preliminary User Manual

3.  Press any of encoders 1-5 to switch to the edit screen for the specific custom 

control that you have highlighted. The main screen will switch to an editing 

screen where you can assign a console parameter to the custom control.

4.  Adjust the various encoders on the editing screen to make a custom control 

assignment, then press the encoders to make the actual assignment you 

have selected.

5.  When you are finished, you will see that the LCD screen located in the 

custom controls section reflects the assignment you have made in both 

screen color and text.

6.  You are now free to use and enjoy the custom assignments you have made.

In many live sound situations, a single mixing console is used to cover both the 

front of house (FOH) mix that the audience hears, as well as all the individual 

“monitor mixes” that are sent to stage wedges or transmitters for in-ear 

monitor systems. 
However, in larger live sound situations, it is common to operate two separate 

consoles, one that covers the FOH mix, and a second, completely independent 

console that covers just the monitor mixes that are sent to the talent. This makes 

a lot of sense, because the FOH engineer can concentrate 100% on the audience 

mix, while a completely different monitor engineer can dedicate himself to the 

thankless task of crafting great monitor mixes for the different musicians.
With an analog console, operating separate FOH and monitor consoles can be 

quite expensive, because the original stage microphone signals have to all be 

“split” into two copies, using an expensive multi-channel microphone splitter. 

The splitters ends one set of mic signals to the FOH console and the other set to 

the monitor console. Microphone splitters are a specialized piece of equipment 

and ones that work reliably and sound good are very expensive.  
The X32 family of products, however, makes using separate FOH and monitor 

consoles easy and affordable. This is due to the fact that the microphone 

signals, once digitized, can be easily duplicated and sent to multiple locations, 

using a single off-the-shelf Cat-5 Ethernet cable. Now, an expensive and bulky 

microphone splitter can be replaced by a couple of low-cost S16 digital stage 

boxes, and running separate FOH and monitor consoles is within reach of even 

the most modest production.
This is an example for using 2 consoles and 2 stage boxes (possible are up 

to 3 per AES50 port) in a monitor/FOH setup:
1.  Connect the AES50 A port on the first S16 to the AES50 A port on the X32 

on-stage console via Cat-5.

2.  Connect the AES50 B port on the first S16 unit to the AES50 A port on the 

second S16 via Cat-5. 

3.  Connect the AES50 A port of the FOH X32 unit to the AES50 B port of the 

on-stage X32 via Cat-5. 

4.  Now the configuration of the monitor console has to be set. Keep in mind 

that in this configuration, the on-stage console will be the one controlling 

the input gains of the mic preamps, so a good and intensive soundcheck 

should be done.

5.  Press the ROUTING switch next to the display on the on-stage console. 

On the HOME tab select “AES50 A 1-8” as source for “Inputs 1-8”, 

“AES50 A 9-16” for “Input 9-16”, and accordingly for channels 17-32. 

6.  To route the channels through the on-stage console to the FOH console, 

switch to the AES50 B page and set “Output 1-8” to “AES50 A 1-8”,  

“Output 9-16” to “AES50 A 9-16”, etc.

7.  On the FOH X32 console, press the ROUTING switch next to the display. 

On the HOME tab select “AES50 A 1-8” as source for “Inputs 1-8”, 

“AES50 A 9-16” for “Input 9-16”, and accordingly for channels 17-32. 

8.  To get the main out from the FOH back to one of the stage boxes to feed 

the PA, the main outs of the console which are routed per default to OUT 15 

and OUT 16 have to be routed through the on-stage X32 console. To achieve 

this, select the AES50 A tab and set Out 1-8 to “OUT 9-16”. On the on-stage 

console, choose the AES50 A tab and set Output 1-8 to ”AES50 B 1-8”. 

The Main Outputs of the FOH console are now available on the first S16 on 

OUT 7 and OUT 8 to connect your main PA system. 

9.  Ready to rock!

The X32 console provides various utilities that make the console much easier 

and more fun to use, while providing a great deal of flexibility and power. 

Examples Include:
Channel Customization: Various input and output channels can have custom 

colors, names, and icons assigned to them, which are then shown in the color 

LCD screens located on each channel strip. Using these functions, you will always 

know exactly what source and destination is tied to the channel, with no need 

for board tape and sharpie pens. For example, an input channel could be labeled 

“kick drum” while the channel for a mix output could be labeled “Joey’s monitor”. 

Press the SELECT button for a channel you wish to assign a custom label, 

icon, and color for. 

Press the home key, then page right to the CONFIG page. You can also press 

the VIEW button next to the LOW CUT pot to go to the CONFIG page.

Press the UTILITIES button.

Adjust the various encoders to select a color, icon, and type in a name for the 

selected channel. The X32 also provides a long list of preset names for typical 

input sources and output destinations, saving time and effort.

Copy/Paste: The X32 also provides a “copy and paste” function that allows you 

to take settings you have configured for one channel, and copy those settings to 

another channel.

Press the SELECT button for a channel whose settings you wish to copy.

Press the HOME button, then the UTILITY button. 

Press the 5th encoder to copy all settings of the selected channel into the 

copy buffer.

Press the SELECT button for a channel who you wish to paste the settings into. 

Adjust the first encoder to select which aspects of the channel you wish to 

copy from the source channel (i.e. the one in the paste buffer).

Press the 6th encoder to “paste” the copied settings into the currently 

selected channel.

Store / Load Presets: The X32 allows you to save and load presets of channel 

settings, as well as settings made in the internal effects processor. These stored 

settings can later be recalled as needed. Since the stored files can also be stored 

and recalled to an attached USB drive, this means that you can save your favorite 

channel settings and effects on one console, and then quickly and easily recall 

and use them on a completely different X32 console. 

Press the SELECT button for a channel whose settings you wish to store.

Press the HOME button, then the UTILITY button.

Press the 3rd encoder to store all settings of the selected channel. A new 

screen will appear where you can apply a custom name to the saved preset.