Connecting Playback to your sound system
There are three different recommended ways to connect your device to your sound system.
Simple Analog Setup
(Left output for click and guide, right output for all tracks mono, mixed inside Playback).Advanced Interface Setup
(Multiple outputs for click, guide, tracks grouped in custom buses either in mono or stereo).Networked Audio Solutions (Dante, etc)
(Same as advanced interface setup, just using a network audio solution that can offer more channel counts than most audio interfaces interfaces)
Option 1: Send 2 outputs from the built-in headphone port
If your device's audio output only has a left and right send (for instance, headphones or built-in speakers), Playback's Auto-Pan feature will be turned on by default and automatically separate the Click Track and Guide Cue out the Left channel, and all tracks out the Right channel of the aux port.
Sending the Left and Right channels from the aux port to your sound system requires 3 pieces of gear:
1/8" TRS to dual 1/4" TS audio cable
One Stereo direct box or two mono direct boxes that converts 1/4" to XLR
XLR cable into stage box/sound system.
Alternatively, you could connect the 1/4" TS audio cables to your sound board inputs directly using an available analog input.
If your device does not have a headphone jack, you will need
The idea for the stereo connection is having one of the outputs (L) be the click and guide for your band to hear in their in-ear monitoring system, and the other output (R) the tracks that both your band and audience can hear. Auto-Pan is enabled by default in Playback which does this split for you automatically.
Option 2: Send up to 32 outputs using a supported USB audio interface
Visit our full guide here on connecting Playback to an audio interface. While we do have a recommended list of supported USB-interfaces, most USB class compliant interfaces will work well with Playback.
If your device has a lightning connector, these are the things you will need:
Powered USB Hub*
*If your audio interface does not come with or have an external power supply and/or is bus-powered, you will need to power the interface with a powered USB Hub.Additional need for some setups: Direct Boxes or line-level inputs to connect the outputs on your audio interface, to your sound system.
If your device is USB-C you will need the above but in place of the Lightning Digital A/V Adapter, you will need the Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
Option 3: Networked Audio Solutions
Playback can also utilize networked audio solutions like Dante and Soundgrid, by connecting the Playback device to a network running those particular audio protocols.
The iPad and iPhone operating systems only support two channel outputs over networked audio solutions like Dante and Soundgrid, but the MacOS operating system allows for apps like Dante Virtual Soundcard, to route as much as 32 channels of audio out of Playback digitally to the Dante network.
In-Ear Monitoring
Most of the MultiTracks.com songs' products* used in Playback include 'click and guide' to help musicians and vocalists keep on-tempo and in-time with the backing tracks.
Some type of in-ear monitoring solution is recommended when using click and guide tracks so these do not become a distraction in your worship service. There are a lot of great guides on YouTube for getting started with in-ear monitoring or even people in our Official FaceBook Group that would be glad to help you out. If you're in the US, you can also reach out to a Sweetwater Sales Engineer to get specific advice for your setup.
*Accompaniment tracks do not include click and guide tracks.