Tech Crew
Build the rig. Patch the show. Earn the soundcheck.
Equipment rental shelf
Patch from an output to an input. Click their sockets below, or use the dropdowns. Choose the cable and press Connect. Stage-to-FOH cable length must cover this venue’s run.
Patch list · 0 connections
Progress and working patches save automatically in this browser. No real purchases or audio hardware are involved.
Description
You are the tech crew for twelve increasingly demanding productions. Read the ensemble’s rider, rent a suitable system, connect its signal paths, and configure the console. Pass the soundcheck by delivering every source to an adequate PA, meeting the monitor and effects requirements, and staying inside the rental budget. Cleared productions unlock the next stage.
Instructions
- Read the venue, audience size, front-of-house distance, genre, and performance brief. The first production includes its mixer and speakers; later levels start with the performers’ sources.
- Add equipment from the rental shelf. Vocal and choir microphones are supplied with the ensemble; the guitar-amp package includes its cabinet microphone. Equipment can be removed and rented again with no penalty.
- Choose an output, an input, and the correct cable, then Connect. A digital network link joins two TC-Link ports. RF pairing joins a wireless microphone to a receiver; it does not represent a physical cable.
- Use Console settings to enable phantom power, pan stereo keyboard channels, choose pre-fader monitor or post-fader effects aux buses, and enable the channels that belong in each bus.
- Run soundcheck. The checklist explains each unmet condition. Repair the setup, check again, and move to the next production when every requirement passes. Hints are optional and do not prevent progression.
Know the connections
XLR carries balanced microphone or line-level audio here; the connector alone does not determine signal level. ¼″ TS is the short, unbalanced instrument/keyboard lead. ¼″ TRS carries balanced mono line audio on the modeled aux and effects ports. A balanced TRS–XLR lead connects those line outputs to an XLR monitor or return input.
A DI box interfaces an instrument or keyboard output with a balanced microphone input. A stereo DI has two separate paths. A snake bundles individual analog channels and return channels; numbered sockets still need individual patching. The game’s digital stagebox and console use the same fictional TC-Link protocol: Cat5e is the cable, and does not make arbitrary digital protocols compatible.
Sends, returns, and radio
A pre-fader aux supplies a performer’s independent monitor mix. A post-fader aux sends selected vocal channels to the effects rack. The rack’s wet left and right outputs must return to the console’s stereo FX RETURN. Its dry inputs already reach the main mix.
RF receiver channels need matching transmitter groups and their corresponding wired outputs. Simultaneous wireless mics use different A1–A4 groups in this simplified puzzle. Phantom power is required for the supplied choir condenser microphones and is relayed to the matching remote stagebox inputs.
This is an educational signal-routing puzzle. Rental prices, PA audience ratings, RF groups, and digital protocol are game abstractions. Real system design also depends on loudspeaker coverage, acoustic conditions, gain before feedback, electrical power, wireless coordination, manufacturer limits, and other factors not simulated here. All gear is modeled as powered; the task focuses on audio signal paths. A successful soundcheck is a checklist result, not synthesized ensemble audio.
Background reading: Shure: microphone, line, and instrument levels; Yamaha: aux sends and returns; Yamaha: a matching digital stagebox system.