| Shure AuxPander Auxillary send expander. List: $990
by Rudy Trubitt
January 23, 2001
"We sound great, but I should be louder--" how often have you heard that? Whether tracking a band in the studio or performing on stage, helping each band-mate hear the mix THEY want is always a challenge. As more groups avail themselves of the latest in-ear or "personal" monitoring systems, this mixing dilemma only multiplies. While building a multiple-mix monitor system requires many components (stage wedges, power amps, equalizers, or sets of ear-buds and wireless gear) the mixing console still lies at the heart of your sound system. And few small- to medium-sized mixers are capable of creating individual mixes for the whole band.
Tucked away in Shure’s booth is a four-rack space box that aims to fix this problem. The AuxPander hooks up to your existing mixer and produces four stereo output monitor mixes. These would be fed to stage wedges or personal monitor rigs for your band-members. Now, if the drummer wants more (or less!) of the lead singer, that vocal can come down in the drummer’s mix, while remaining the same for the musicians on the front-line. All the while, the audience mix remains entirely unaffected by level changes on stage.
 |
|
(Click for a close-up) |
In order to work, your mixer must offer insert points on its individual channels and optionally, on its subgroups. The AuxPander simply "taps" a bit of signal off an insert point. You can still patch individual effects into each channel, either before or after the AuxPander, depending on if you want them to show up in the monitor mix or not. Then it’s just a matter of dialing in each musician’s individual mix. The rest of your mixer operates just as it did before the AuxPander was connected. Your soundperson will then be free to make adjustments to suit the audience and each band member as needed.
Technically speaking, the $990 list AuxPander is an 8 x 8 matrix mixer. While lacking the flash of a lot of new gear shown at NAMM this year, the AuxPander has found a need and filled it. That’s always a welcome development. For more information, visit www.shure.com. | 
