You’re revolutionizing live audio in ways that seemed impossible just a few years ago. Brad Madix joins Dave Hamilton to break down how you can now mix a 186-channel concert in ATMOS from thousands of miles away with only 125ms latency, using nothing more than the public internet and cloud services. Whether you’re handling a seven-minute festival changeover with 256 live channels or capturing audience ambiance with DPA 5100 surround mics, the technology exists to stream professional-quality audio anywhere. The game-changer? REMI (Remote Integration Model) eliminates the need for massive OB trucks by letting you send a simple box that plugs into the internet and streams everything to your remote mixing suite.
Your mixing philosophy matters as much as your technical setup, thought, so remember to Always Be Performing by keeping your eyes up and watching the actual show instead of staying glued to your console. When someone complains “it’s too loud,” they usually mean the vocals aren’t cutting through the mix—a psychoacoustic principle that separates amateur from professional engineers. Document everything your band does, mix the first song in your mind before showtime, and understand that live music’s ephemeral nature means some magical moments will never be captured again. As AI tools like Suno emerge for songwriting, they’ll likely serve as assistants rather than replacements, but the human touch remains essential for reading the room and adapting to those unexpected MIDI malfunctions that can threaten to derail even legendary acts like Rush.
00:00:00
Gig Gab 498 – Monday,
September 8th, 2025
September 8th:
National Ampersand Day
Guest co-host:
Brad Madix
00:02:10 Mixing FOH this for Florence and The Machine
Festival NAPA Valley
00:03:18 Recorded the Ozzy / Sabbath concert in Birmingham
First, rehearsals in
Redditch – Fly By Nite
MADI from Bands
Elgato Stream Deck
00:07:23 Doing a Seven Minute Changeover
Total of 256 live channels of inputs
3 sets of 64 channels of analog inputs
32 audience mics, plus presenters mics, plus a DJ, etc
And then the band on stage
00:10:44
What is MADI?
Most live consoles allow a MADI output (some via add-on connector)
The Rival Suns at Ozzy / Sabbath in Birmingham sent pre-mixed drums, etc
Using
DPA 5100 Mobile Surround 5.1 microphones for audience capture
Brad and team were submixing the live audience mics
00:22:29 Live Music is Ephemeral
Some things don’t get recorded
Robert Scovill’s Back Lounge
00:26:38 Document everything your band does
00:28:44 Rush felt like it was important to have something “in the can”
00:30:56 SPONSOR:
Claude.ai – Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude today and get 50% off Claude Pro, which includes access to Claude Code, when you visit
Claude.ai/GIGGAB
00:32:53 SPONSOR:
Mechanical Licensing Collective – Are you a songwriter, music publisher, or administrator?
