Playback Rigs: Top Troubleshooting Tips
Playback Rigs: Top Troubleshooting Tips
What to do when things aren’t working
Take a Deep Breath
Here is perhaps one of the most important tips we can give you; stay calm! When things go wrong, it’s very easy to feel panicked and make poor decisions. That pressure is even greater when you’re under time pressure or when people are looking over your shoulder.
Take a moment to gather your composure, and if people are looking over your shoulder, maybe ask them to grab a coffee backstage while you sort the problem out. Work through in a methodical manner and use the most important tool you own: your mind and your common sense!
Taken a deep breath? Feel a bit more in control of the situation? OK, then let’s start getting things fixed!
Check Your Power Connections
Let’s start off with the most simplest thing to check; your power connections. As with any troubleshooting, let’s start from the basics.
Is your playback rig receiving power?
Firstly, check that power from the venue is actually reaching your rig. Has a venue tech turned the stage feed off between soundcheck and the gig? Has someone pulled the power feed to your rack from the wall? Is the main power switch to your power board or power conditioner switched to “on”
Are your interfaces and power supplies plugged in?
Once you’re certain power is getting to your distribution board, check to see if your power adaptors are plugged in properly. Next check that the power input to your interfaces is correctly plugged in.
Are you using the right power supply?
It’s vital that you use the correct power supply for your iConnectivity interface; in short, that means using the one that came with it, in the box! Of course, it’s not impossible for power supplies to get damaged, replaced or even mixed up.
If you’re in any doubt as to if you’re using the right power supply for your interface, check out this knowledgebase guide.
Check Your Cables
By this point, your iConneectivty interface should be happily powered up with the lights on the display illuminated. Are things still not working properly? Well, then it’s time to check your connections!
Ethernet Connections
If your Ethernet plug is properly inserted at both ends, then you should see a solid light on the Ethernet port of both devices. A flashing light means that data is being transferred too. Don’t see either of those? Well then make sure the Ethernet plug is properly seated home. You should feel a “click” from the locking tab when it’s properly inserted.
USB Connections
One of the most common sources of problems we see are bad or faulty USB leads. Firstly, make sure your USB leads are fully seated home and that everything is connected as it should be. If you’re happy there, then simply change out one USB lead at a time for a brand new replacement lead.
Top Tip: buy a number of replacement leads from different sources. That way if you end up with a bad batch of leads from one supplier then you have another stock of good leads to go at!
Restart Your Computer
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?” is not just a comedic quote from The IT Crowd, it’s genuinely one of the most useful methods of clearing any short term faults. For whatever reasons, your computer might need a quick reset for everything to work as it should.
If that doesn’t work, then you might want to consider doing the same for your interfaces, too. The easiest way to reset your interface is just to pull the power lead and plug it back in again. Alternatiely, you can remotely reboot your interface via Auracle for X Series.
Reset MIDI Studio
Still having problems huh? OK, not to worry, we still have a few tricks left in the bag to try!
If you’re on a Mac, then let’s head over to MIDI Studio; MIDI Studio stores a record of every MIDI device that’s ever been connected to your computer. Sometimes, especially following firmware updates, that can cause issues with devices not being successfully found.
What we recommend is to go in and delete all references to any MIDI device ever connected, and then re-connect your MIDI hardware. For a step by step guide on how to do this, check out the video at the end of this blog.
Check Your Project File
Sometimes problems with your playback rig not working can be down to issues with your DAW’s project file. This can be a common problem when files are regularly updated on the road, and perhaps in a hurry, settings may have been inadvertently changed.
Here’s some tips to try if you suspect your project file may be at fault:
Roll back to a previous version of the project
Swap project files between playback machines
Perform a Factory Interface Reset
As a last resort and if nothing else seems to work, then we suggest trying a factory reset of your interfaces. This is something you should do only by proceeding with extreme caution. Performing a factory reset will clear all of your settings, all of your routings and put you back to “square one” with your interface.
With this in mind, only perform a factory reset as a last resort. Ensure that you have all your settings written down/backed up as appropriate and only then proceed with a factory reset.
If you’re in any doubts regarding performing a factory reset, contact iConnectivity support before going ahead.
Have a Backup Plan
Perhaps the biggest tip we can give is, “have a backup plan”. No matter how well any of us prepare, of however good our gear is, things can and do go wrong.
With that in mind, make sure that you have an emergency backup plan you can execute if something goes wrong.