What is a stage box and how do I use it?

A stage box is a portable piece of equipment that allows you to implement more channel ports to anywhere on the stage. It allows flexibility in your placement of microphones and instruments, as you don’t need to be restricted by the placement of the floor boxes and wall racks.

One way to handle a band is to place them on top of a two metre rostra. (image will be added here)

How do I set it up?

1. The stage box is best set up before the turning on the sound desk, alternatively you can set it up after but you would have to restart the sound desk so the sound desk can find the stage box inputs.
2. Get the stage box out from the sound store, its in a cardboard box ( should be on the top left shelf, will insert image), an ethernet cable long enough from the centre stage floor box to the desired location you would like to place the stage box and a power cable (kettle plug).
3. Open up the centre stage floorbox and you will see a port labelled network, plug the ethernet cable into the port and the end into the stage box.
4. Move the stage box to where you want to place it and plug it into a power socket.
5. Power on the stage box using the button on the side, and a red light will show when it is on.
6. Turn on or restart the sound desk (make sure to save your work if you are restarting).
7. Plug in a microphone using an XLR cable into the stage box like how you would into a floor box.
   1. Note - the stage box has return and send section - the return has 8 ports and send has 16 ports. When you want to plug a microphone in, you want to send the microphone signal to the sound desk and to the FOH speakers for the audience to hear so you plug it into the the send ports.
   2. Also it doesn’t matter whether you do this step before or after 6.
8. On the sound desk, you would want to the change the input of the channel that you want to assign the mic to, to the dante section and then find the channel that the microphone is on. This should start on channel 16, but we will double check and update this page.
9. And you’re done!! You have a working microphone routed through the stage box

Notes

• On the stage box you may notice some light next to each send channel. When that is red it means you are sending phantom power to that channel.

How do I pack this away?

Packing up a stage box is quite simple:

1. Remember and record which microphone or instrument is assigned to which channel from the stage box, we usually do this by putting tape below/above each plug and marking it with a pen.
2. Save the show file on the sound desk.
3. Power off the stage box and unplug everything and place everything back where you found it.
   1. Tip if you have another show the next day you can leave all the cables plugged into the stage box and leave the ethernet cable in the floorbox so it easier the set up the next day - just make sure everything is safe and it doesn’t damage any equipment.