Fast Track Show — architecture of a synced show with no computer on stage

Setlist — 16 songs · 57:00

#	Song	Gtr	Len	BPM	Key
1	0201 Conversión	GEL	3:23	125	B min
2	0203 Huir de las Horas	GEL	3:24	125	B min
3	0208 Parabién o Paramal	GAC	3:15	123	D min
4	0303 Mamá Mira Quién Llegó	GEL	3:54	118	D min
5	0107 Jornalero	GEL	3:34	100	C maj
6	0205 Cansado de Pensar	GAC	3:31	113	D min
7	0112 Hacia el Final	GAC	3:28	140	C maj
8	0210 La Oportunidad	GAC	4:14	103	B min
9	0302 De Volar	GAC	3:22	120	G maj
10	0211 Quédate	GEL	3:29	110	G min
11	0305 Vaga en un Tren	GEL	2:51	138	E maj
12	0304 Intermitencias de la Muerte	GAC	3:09	130	B min
13	0301 Belleza Incorregible	GEL	3:15	155	G min
14	0212 Como Soy Yo	GAC	3:47	84	C maj
15	0306 Fuera de Aquí	GEL	4:06	147	F maj
16	0213 Se Te Hace Tarde	GEL	4:18	126	C min

Mixer channels

Ch	Use	Source
1	Lead vocal	Vocal processor (VL3X)
2	Guitar 1	Fractal FM3 modeler — automated
3	Guitar 2	Own Fractal FM3 · stand alone, no MIDI
4	Bass	Simplifier Bass Master
5–8	Kick · Snare · Over L/R	House microphones
9	Backing vox 1	SM58, house or band
10	Backing vox 2	SM58, house or band
11	Backing vocals	B.Beat Out 1
12	Harmonic backing	B.Beat Out 2
13	Rhythmic backing	B.Beat Out 3
14	Click	B.Beat Out 4
15	Cues (guide voice)	B.Beat Out 5
16	Reference mix	B.Beat Out 6
17–18	Spare AUX	—

MIDI map

Target	Channel	Messages
Fractal FM3	15	PC 1 Crunch · 2 Dist · 3 Wah · 4 Phaser · 11 lead acoustic · 12 strummed acoustic
VL3X presets	5	PC 0–15, one per song in setlist order
VL3X scenes	5	CC115 · 0 base · 1 choir · 2 intimate · 3 huge · 4 distorted · 5 vocoder · 6 quarter delay
VL3X HardTune	5	Song melody as MIDI notes
MIDI→DMX converter	10	Rendered QLC+ cues

Logical split in the MIDI hub: output A = channels 5 + 15 to the FM3, which forwards 5 to the VL3X over MIDI Thru, and output B = channel 10 to the DMX converter. The FM3 never sees lighting traffic.

DMX patch and MIDI CC map

Fixture	DMX addr	CC MIDI	Channels
24PCS LED Wall Wash = central washer	1–8	0–7	8
Side Washer L	9–15	8–14	7
Side Washer R	16–22	15–21	7
Side Head L	23–36	22–35	14
Side Head R	37–50	36–49	14
Back Head L	51–61	50–60	11
— deliberately reserved —	—	61–69	9
Back Head R	—	70–80	11
1500 W LED hazer	—	81–86	6
Total in use		0–86	78

The CC 61–69 gap is deliberate and must not be filled. The converter carries every DMX address as a MIDI CC number, and CC 64–69 are the pedal block of the spec: 64 sustain, 65 portamento, 66 sostenuto, 67 soft pedal, 68 legato, 69 hold 2. A player that does not filter by channel reads those addresses as pedals and mangles the melody. That is why, from Deflator v3.14 on, Back Head R is remapped to CC 70–80 and the hazer to CC 81–86.

Expansion ceiling: CC 120–127 are channel mode messages (All Sound Off, Reset All Controllers, All Notes Off, Omni, Mono/Poly). The usable universe through this path stops at CC 119, not 512.

MIDI Deflator — parameters in use

Block	Parameter	Value / rationale
Global density	Peak ceiling	300 ev/s in the configuration that currently runs without failures. Presets: 30 · 60 · 100 · 150 · 200. Theoretical MIDI reference ~1,041 CC/s.
	Adaptive mode	On. Each file tunes its own parameters until it sits under the ceiling; if it already complies, it is left alone.
Movement	Gap between positions	50 ms. Larger gap = fewer events = more stepped movement on the moving heads.
Fades	Max density in dense zones	20 ev/s. Only thins the zone that exceeds the threshold; already sparse zones are untouched.
	Max gap between events	150 ms. If filtering leaves a bigger jump, intermediate points from the original are put back.
Pulses	—	Removes only exact consecutive duplicates.
Protected channels	5, 15	Channel 5 = vocal processor · channel 15 = guitar modeler. Never touched: one lost message there changes the tone of a whole song.
HardTune	Look-ahead	50 ms (rec. 50–150). Extracts the melody, cleans it (monophonic, vel. 127, Note Off at vel. 0) and merges it back into the same file.
	Minimum gap between notes	20 ms of silence between Note Off and the next Note On.
DMX	Look-ahead	100 ms. Compensates for the MIDI→DMX converter latency and the loopback render latency. Events that would land on tick <0 stay where they are.
	DMX channel	10

Real result over the whole set: 16 files, from 1,162,172 down to 635,521 events, −45%. Per-song peaks between 300 and 320 ev/s.

Fixture profiles — what each channel does

Taken from the QLC+ .qxf files. The “Addr” column is the real address in the universe.

24PCS LED Wall Wash — mode H001, 8 ch

Addr	Ch	Function
1	1	Master dimmer
2–4	2–4	Red 1 · Green 1 · Blue 1
5	5	White 1
6	6	Strobe
7	7	Program / Color Select
8	8	Speed

Side Washer L/R — LED PAR, 7CH mode

Addr	Ch	Function
9 · 16	1	Master dimmer
10 · 17	2	Strobe 0–9 off · 10–255 from 1 to 20 Hz
11 · 18	3	Auto Speed
12 · 19	4	Color Programs
13–15 · 20–22	5–7	Red · Green · Blue

Side Head L/R — RGBW wash, 14 ch mode

Addr	Ch	Function
23 · 37	1	Pan
24 · 38	2	Pan Fine
25 · 39	3	Tilt
26 · 40	4	Tilt Fine
27 · 41	5	XY Speed
28 · 42	6	Shutter 0–7 off · 8–134 dimmer · 135–239 strobe · 240–255 open
29–32 · 43–46	7–10	Red · Green · Blue · White
33 · 47	11	Colour 0–7 RGBW mix · 8–231 macro · 232–255 jumping
34 · 48	12	Colour Jumping Speed
35 · 49	13	Mode 0–7 manual · 8–127 auto · 128–255 sound
36 · 50	14	Reset 150–200 resets

Back Head L/R — gobo spot, 11CH mode

Addr	Ch	Function
51 · 71	1	Pan
52 · 72	2	Pan fine
53 · 73	3	Tilt
54 · 74	4	Tilt fine
55 · 75	5	Color
56 · 76	6	Gobo
57 · 77	7	Dimming
58 · 78	8	Master Dimmer
59 · 79	9	Speed
60 · 80	10	Model
61 · 81	11	Dimming Mode 0–20 Standard · 21–40 Stage · 41–60 TV · 61–80 Building · 81–100 Theatre

1500 W LED hazer — 6 ch

Addr	Ch	Function
82	1	Oil Pump Power fires the haze
83–85	2–4	LED Red · Green · Blue
86	5	Strobe 0–3 no flash · 4–255 slow→fast
87	6	Model 0–9 manual (enables 83–86) · 10–89 jump · 90–169 gradient · 170–255 pulse

Stage layout

Row	Content
Upstage	SCREEN / portable cloth
1	Back Head L · Show Brain (mixer, IEM, B.Beat, MIDI hub, DMX converter) · Back Head R
2	Side Head L · BASS · DRUMS + B.Beat · Side Head R
3	BACKING VOX · LEAD VOX / GUITAR · GUITAR 1 (musical director)
4	Side Washer L · Central Washer · Side Washer R — on truss
Downstage	AUDIENCE · minimum stage 5×3 m · 13–14 mains outlets

Load-in order — 13 steps

#	Step	Detail
1	Show Brain, B.Beat and its audio	Rack centre of row 1 with the B.Beat installed, and immediately its 6 XLRs from Out 1–6 into mixer channels 11–16, in that order — a swap here sends the click to the PA. It needs its 3 mains outlets from the start. The number of tracks per song varies; the grouping into these 6 outputs is already defined inside the B.Beat.
2	Screen and orientation decision	Rig it where the video is meant to go and decide the orientation there, against the real space: portrait (2.3 m image width, projector at ~3.05 m) for small rooms, or landscape (3 m width, screen flown, projector at ≥3.96 m) for large ones. In portrait the 16:9 image is 2.3 × 1.29 m and cloth is left over top and bottom: decide at what height the projected band sits.
3	Truss and front washers	Rig the band's own truss (two tripods + horizontal bar + T-bars), or the house one if it exists and is allowed. The 2 side washers and the central washer go on it. Each tripod needs ~1 m² of clear floor on each side, outside the 5×3 m working area. Level and ballast the legs before loading anything.
4	Projector flown	Hung from the truss with a clamp and a safety cable, aligned to the orientation chosen in step 2. HDMI straight from the B.Beat. Needs one outlet at truss height. Align it after loading the rest of the lights: the structure settles under weight and the image drifts.
5	Drum kit	If the venue has no kit, or the band chooses not to use it, set up its own with cymbals, with the B.Beat mounted at that position.
6	Engineer — stands and cabling	Vocal stands and cable runs from the Show Brain to every position. It can start in parallel with the drum build, no need to wait. Vocal channels: backing vox 9 and 10.
7	Engineer — drum miking	Once the kit is up, rig its stands and mics: kick 5 · snare 6 · over L 7 · over R 8. From here on, soundcheck can begin.
8	Place and address the lights	Side Heads to the sides, Back Heads upstage high, hazer upstage left. DMX receivers on every fixture. Check addresses against the patch before powering up: one mis-addressed fixture shifts the whole universe.
9	Full power	13 outlets (14 if the projector is used). Mixer direct · processors on their own supplies · 12 V/5 A adapter + splitter for the IEM transmitters and the router · USB-C charger for the MIDI hub, the DMX converter and the wireless transmitter · B.Beat on a power bank. The hazer, 1500 W, on its own circuit.
10	Run the loom to the centre position	It is a single bundle held together with cable wrap, from the Show Brain to the position where the vocal processor and the guitar modeler live. It carries: MIDI ×2, vocal XLR, guitar XLR and both power feeds. Run it whole, not cable by cable.
11	Verify the MIDI chain	It travels already patched and is stored that way inside the rack. All that is needed is to pull it out, position it and confirm it is still solid: B.Beat MIDI OUT → MIDI hub IN · output A → FM3 MIDI IN · FM3 MIDI THRU → VL3X MIDI IN · output B → DMX converter → wireless transmitter.
12	Hand out IEM packs and check batteries	Buses and transmitters travel already patched: no cabling needed. What does need doing is measuring with the voltage tester and handing packs out: cells ≥ 1.4 V · 9 V blocks ≥ 9 V (raising the cut-off to 9.3 V for shows is recommended).
13	Power-up and final check	Power-up order: projector first, B.Beat second. Always. If the B.Beat boots without a live display on the other end of the HDMI it never negotiates video output and the show runs blind. Then: channel 16 (reference mix) muted, channel 14 (click) to auxes only and never to the master, and run one full song checking audio, lights and video together.

Mistakes that cost you the show

Powering the B.Beat before the projector. HDMI is negotiated at boot: if the B.Beat finds no display, it outputs no video.
Back Head dark: check both dimmers. They have separate “Dimming” and “Master Dimmer”. If either sits at 0 the fixture stays dark even with colour and gobo correct.
Side Head dark: check the Shutter. Between 0 and 7 it kills the fixture regardless of RGBW. It must sit at 240–255 or inside the dimmer range.
The hazer ignores your colours when the Model channel rises. It must stay between 0 and 9 for manual control. Above 10 it enters jump, gradient or pulse and takes over the LED.
Aligning the projector before loading the truss. The structure sags a few millimetres with every fixture you hang. Align first and you end up with the image off the cloth.
A 9 V block reading exactly 9 V is already half spent. A fresh block reads 9.5–9.6 V unloaded and sags under load. Raising the cut-off to 9.3 V avoids mid-set dropouts.
Click to the PA. The click channel goes to auxes only. Let it into the master and the audience hears the metronome all night.
Reference mix left open. It is the whole band, recorded. Left open, it plays on top of the real band.
Swapping the B.Beat outputs. Out 1–6 must land on 11–16 in order. One swap and the backing vocals come out of the click channel.
Forgetting the guitar modeler's MIDI Thru. The vocal processor hangs off it: without that cable it changes no presets and gets no HardTune melody. It is the only serial link in the MIDI chain.
Power bank charge. It feeds the B.Beat, which is the entire show. Charged to 100% before leaving.

Visual load-in reference

Photos of the real rig. They answer patching questions without anyone having to ask.

**Rear rack — the whole Show Brain**
IEM transmitter on top showing its two frequencies in parallel, a second IEM system above it, and the mixer below with all 16 channels patched. This is the main load-in reference photo.

**IEM transmitter, rear — the 4 inputs**
Labels 1, 2, 3 and 4: this is where you physically see why one chassis yields four independent mixes. Bottom left, the MIDI hub peeks out.

**B.Beat — the 6 labelled outputs**
Numbered 1 to 6. They go in that same order to mixer channels 11–16. To the right of the panel: MIDI, VIDEO OUT and ETHERNET.

**MIDI hub — the logical splitter**
The input marked IN 1 receives the entire B.Beat stream. Inside, channels 5 + 15 split to the modeler and channel 10 to the DMX converter.

**MIDI→DMX converter + 2.4 GHz transmitter**
MIDI IN below, DMX OUT above. The transmitter plugs straight into the output XLR. It is the least obvious link in the whole chain.

**Floor processors — guitar and vocal**
The two units that receive MIDI automation. Bottom right, the inline preamp of the vocal chain.

**Own truss on tripods**
Portable structure with two tripods, a horizontal bar and T-bars. It carries the 2 side washers, the central washer and the flown projector.

**Stage rigged**
2D silhouettes projected on the upstage cloth, colour wash over the band and front washers in position. All of it fired from a single play.

The edit-time process, step by step

These eight screenshots are the real edit-time process, in order. They exist so anyone can reproduce this architecture: which tool does what, how they connect, and what each stage actually looks like on screen.