Elevating my music domain, I've crafted a seamless ecosystem. MacBook Pro hosts Stage Traxx3 for efficient setlist and backing track management. On iPad Pro, X Air delivers precise audio control, of the digital mixer X Air XR 18, while iClip displays lyrics & chord sheets. This integrated setup refines my studio, rehearsal room, and stage configurations, offering streamlined efficiency and creative precision. It's a harmonious blend of technology, enhancing every aspect of my musical journey.

Together with my bandmates from D!kS - the coverband with the exclamation mark - I developed a stage setup enabling seamless integration and control of audio signals and mixes, backing tracks, scenes of the main Fantom workstation and, last not least - the lyrics & chords and setlists.

On iPad Pro (11", 2023), the X Air software (Behringer) controls via WiFi connection the digital mixer console X Air XR18 giving full audio control while performing on stage.

The components and software tools are additionally illustrated in the schematic.

In the rehearsal room the setup is slightly different to the stage configuration. However, the main components are identical.

Since we often do online rehearsals, there is a need to connect to the internet effectively using a high-speed connection to a special server. Until recently, we were using the worldwide distributed servers and software provided by KOORD live. This infrastructure provides both, private rehearsals and low latency in the order of 15-25 ms total cycle time. In August 2024, KOORD informed us that they are going to quit the service soon.

Therefore, we were looking for an alternative solution. Finally, we selected SonoBus (https://sonobus.net/) which is even more powerful than KOORD (or Jamulus) and offers some additional advantages:

• Audio-quality selectable from different compressed to fully non-compressed (16bit / 32bit) versions 
• Screensharing option (useful for trouble-shooting)
• Chat function
• Private or public rehearsals possible
• No IP-adress / server needs to be setup
• Easy to use Recording option (configurable sources / tracks)
• Integrated Video capability without impacting the audio quality or latency (very important!)
• Easy setup process (comparable to KOORD / Jamulus)
• No firewall adaptations necessary
• Cross platform (Mac OS (Intel / Apple silicon), iOS, Android, Windows, plugins for DAWs

With these additional options, we started an online rehearsal and the result was really mind-blowing! The 16bit CD-quality was substantially better compared to KOORD or Jamulus. The stability throughout the 4 hours rehearsal was amazing. The video signal worked right away and at good quality without impacting the audio-quality at all. The latency values were ranging between 13-17 ms, even better than KOORD or Jamulus. With that result, SonoBus is clearly our favorite and recommended solution for online band rehearsals in exceptional quality and extremely low latency.

It is though worth mentioning that it is equally important to connect the audio equipment using low-latency interfaces (here: X Air XR18 digital mixer) to the Mac/PC, which in turn should offer as well high-speed I/O-interface to the Internet.

The configuration of my home studio called "LakeView Studio" in Switzerland has been described in details in a previous blog article (see reference section). In the schematic, the different components, electronical devices and keyboards as well as their connections are depicted.