How to Route Monitor with M32: Avoid Rookie Mistakes
Chasing that perfect mix for your monitors can feel like wrestling an octopus in a phone booth. You’ve got your stage setup, your performers are ready, and then you start trying to send the right mix to each wedge, each IEM, and suddenly your brain feels like scrambled eggs. I’ve been there, more times than I care to admit, staring blankly at a digital console trying to figure out how to route monitor with M32.
Sound engineers often get bogged down in the theory, the manuals, the endless forum threads. But honestly, a lot of that is just noise. You can read about signal flow until your eyes bleed, but until you’ve actually sat there, faders in hand, and heard the glorious or disastrous result, it’s just words.
My first tour, I spent nearly $500 on a fancy personal monitor system that ended up being more complicated than the console itself, all because I didn’t understand the fundamental signal path. It was a humbling, expensive lesson.
So, let’s cut through the fluff and get to what actually works when you’re trying to route monitor with M32.
Understanding the M32’s Bus Architecture
The Midas M32, and its digital cousins like the X32, are beasts. Powerful, flexible, but that flexibility can feel like a straitjacket if you don’t grasp the core concept: buses. Think of buses not as separate channels, but as destinations. You send your audio sources *to* a bus, and then you send that bus *out* somewhere. For monitors, you’re primarily concerned with the Aux (Auxiliary) buses, but even the subgroup buses can be pressed into service.
My first M32, fresh out of the box, felt overwhelming. The sheer number of buttons and screens made me want to go back to my analog snake. I spent about three days just mapping out what each button *actually* did, not what the manual said it *should* do. It felt like learning a new language, but once it clicked, everything else fell into place.
The console has 16 Aux buses, and frankly, that’s more than most bands will ever need for their stage monitoring. These are your primary targets for sending individual mixes to musicians. Each Aux bus has its own set of faders, its own EQ, its own dynamics processing if you want to get fancy, and its own output assignment. The trick is getting the *right* signal to the *right* bus, and then out to the *right* physical output.
Sources: What You’re Actually Sending
Before you can send anything, you need to know what you *can* send. On the M32, your sources are virtually everything connected to the console: your input channels (microphones, instruments), stereo returns, subgroups, even the main mix itself if you’re feeling adventurous. The key is understanding the ‘Sends on Faders’ mode. This is where the magic happens, or where it goes horribly wrong. (See Also: How To Capture Snes Gameplay With 1 Monitor )
When you’re in Sends on Faders mode, you select an output bus (say, Aux 1), and then the channel faders on the main surface control the *level* of that channel going *into Aux 1*. This is profoundly different from controlling the channel’s main output level. It’s like having a separate set of hands for each monitor mix. My mate Dave, bless his analog heart, refused to use Sends on Faders for months. He insisted on using the matrix sends and the aux send knobs on each channel strip. Took him twice as long and his mixes sounded like muddy puddles. He finally gave in after I showed him how much faster it was to dial in a guitar player’s monitor mix with one fader.
The physical outputs on the M32 are assigned in the routing menu. You can send any of the 16 Aux buses to any of the physical outputs on the back, including the XLR outs, the AES50 ports (for digital stage boxes), or even the headphone bus. This is where you physically connect your wedges, your IEM transmitters, or your personal monitor control systems. The visual cues on the console, like the brightly colored Aux bus buttons, are your best friends here. They glow when active, a small but vital piece of visual feedback that can save you from sending a loud drum mix to the lead singer’s vocal mic.
The number of Aux buses available for stereo monitoring is also important. You can link adjacent Aux buses (e.g., Aux 1 & 2, Aux 3 & 4) to create stereo monitor mixes, which is a game-changer for in-ear monitors. This is usually done in the routing menu under the ‘Bus’ tab. You’ll see options to link pairs. It’s a surprisingly simple process once you locate the correct submenu.
Assigning Outputs: Where Does It All Go?
This is where the rubber meets the road. You’ve built your mixes on the Aux buses; now you need to tell the M32 which physical output those buses should feed. In the M32’s routing section, there’s a dedicated ‘Output’ tab.
Here, you’ll see a grid. On one side, you have your console’s physical outputs – the AES50 ports, the Ultranet ports (for Powerplay personal monitors), the analog XLR outs, and the onboard headphone output. On the other side, you have all your internal buses and channels. You simply drag and drop, or select, to assign. For example, to send Aux 1 to physical output 1, you’d find the ‘Aux 1’ source and assign it to ‘Out 1’.
My first live sound gig with an M32, I totally missed this step for the drummer’s monitor wedge. I spent a good five minutes, sweat dripping, fader flying, wondering why his wedge was silent. Then I remembered. I had built his mix perfectly on Aux 5, but I hadn’t assigned Aux 5 to any physical output. It was sitting there, isolated in the digital ether. The band’s drummer, a stoic character, just gave me this slow, knowing look. The look said it all: ‘you forgot the output, mate.’
It’s also worth noting that you can assign the same bus to multiple outputs. Need to feed two identical monitor mixes to different locations on stage? No problem. Just assign Aux 3 to Out 7 and Out 8. The sonic clarity of these outputs, especially the digital AES50 connections, is surprisingly good. You can push a lot of gain before feedback if your EQ is set correctly. Always use the graphic EQ on the output of the bus you’re sending to monitors for that crucial feedback control. (See Also: How To Monitor Firefighter Box With Android Phone )
The ability to assign the main L/R mix or subgroups to monitor outputs is also a powerful tool for specific scenarios. Sometimes a lead singer just wants to hear the whole band at FOH mix levels. You can easily route the Main Mix to an Aux bus, then assign that Aux bus to their IEM.
| Output Type | Typical Use Case | My Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Aux Buses (1-16) | Individual or stereo monitor mixes for wedges, IEMs, personal monitors | The workhorses. You’ll live and die by these. Get them named correctly! |
| Subgroups (1-8) | Can be used as additional monitor buses if Auxes are filled, or for specific matrix mixes | Generally overkill for standard monitor routing, but useful for complex FX sends or zoned mixes. |
| Matrix Mixes (1-6) | Creating zone mixes, broadcast feeds, or recording sends | Less common for direct stage monitoring but great for feeding different rooms or an engineer’s personal mix. |
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Beyond forgetting to assign an output, the most common mistake I see is naming. You’ve got 16 Aux buses, and if they’re all just labeled ‘Aux 1’, ‘Aux 2’, etc., you’re doomed. Take the extra 30 seconds to name them something useful: ‘Guitar Wedges’, ‘Keys IEM’, ‘Singer Vox’, ‘Drum Submix’. It’s a tiny detail, but it saves you from panic in a live situation.
Another trap is signal path confusion. People often try to build their monitor mixes by adjusting the main channel faders while in Sends on Faders mode. Remember: the faders you’re moving *only* affect the selected monitor bus. The main channel faders control the main mix. This is why reading the manual, even just the section on routing and bus sends, is incredibly valuable. The Midas M32 manual, while dense, does have some good diagrams that clarified this for me after about my fifth reread.
Overuse of processing on monitor mixes can also be a problem. While it’s tempting to slap a compressor and EQ on every single monitor bus, it often just muddies the waters. Start clean. Get the levels right first, then add processing sparingly, only where it’s truly needed. I saw a band once where the singer’s IEM mix was so heavily compressed and EQ’d, it sounded like it was coming through a tin can. He couldn’t hear himself at all. They were using six different dynamics processors, which is frankly absurd for a monitor mix.
Don’t be afraid to use soloing. Soloing an Aux bus lets you hear *only* what is going to that specific monitor output. This is invaluable for troubleshooting or just for getting a clear picture of what a musician is actually hearing. It’s like putting on noise-canceling headphones and just listening to one instrument in the mix. It helps identify issues like muddiness, excessive sibilance, or a lack of low-end before the artist even complains.
Finally, remember that the console is just a tool. The ultimate goal is to give the performers what they need to do their job. Listen to them. If the guitarist says they can’t hear their amp in the wedge, don’t just assume your mix is perfect. Go check the amp. Go check the wedge. The Midas M32 has a powerful routing matrix, but it can’t fix a faulty speaker or a turned-off amplifier.
What Are the Different Monitor Outputs on an M32?
The Midas M32 offers a variety of outputs for monitoring, primarily its 16 Aux buses, which can be individually assigned to physical outputs like the rear XLR connectors, AES50 ports for digital stage boxes, or the Ultranet ports for digital personal monitor systems. You can also link Aux buses to create stereo mixes for in-ear monitors. (See Also: How To Extend Monitor With One Hdmi Port )
How Do I Set Up Stereo Iem Mixes on the M32?
To set up stereo IEM mixes, you’ll need to link pairs of Aux buses (e.g., Aux 1 & 2, Aux 3 & 4) in the console’s routing menu under the ‘Bus’ tab. Once linked, you can pan individual input channels within that stereo bus to create a left-right image, and then assign the linked stereo bus to a stereo output pair.
Can I Use Subgroups for Monitor Mixes on the M32?
Yes, you can use subgroups for monitor mixes on the M32 if you need more outputs than the 16 Aux buses provide, or for specific routing scenarios. You would assign the desired input channels to a subgroup, and then assign that subgroup’s output to an Aux bus or a physical output connected to a monitor system.
How Do I Prevent Feedback When Routing Monitor Mixes?
Preventing feedback involves a multi-pronged approach. First, use the graphic EQ on the output of each monitor bus to surgically cut problematic frequencies. Second, ensure adequate gain structure throughout the signal path. Third, avoid excessive volume on stage and keep monitor speakers aimed away from microphones. The M32’s onboard EQ is a powerful tool for this.
Final Verdict
So, you’ve wrestled with the routing matrix, you’ve named your buses, and hopefully, you haven’t sent a deafening kick drum into the lead singer’s vocal mic. Getting how to route monitor with M32 down is less about arcane knowledge and more about methodical assignment. It’s about understanding that each Aux bus is a destination, and you control how much of each source gets there.
The real test isn’t the blinking lights on the console; it’s the performance on stage. Are the musicians hearing what they need to hear to sound their best? Are they fighting their monitors, or are they locked in?
My advice? Spend an hour after soundcheck, just with the band members present, tweaking those monitor mixes. Don’t be afraid to hand the faders over for a moment. Their ears are the final arbiters, and a happy band is a band that plays better. Get those monitor mixes right, and you’ll be surprised how much smoother the whole show flows.
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