Live sound
What is an input list?
An input list is a numbered table of every sound source your band puts on stage, in the order the engineer will patch them. It is the single most useful page of a technical rider for the person mixing your show.
What the list is actually for
Before you arrive, the engineer uses the input list to plan the patch: how many channels the stage box needs, which channels need phantom power, how many microphones and DI boxes to prepare, and whether the console has enough inputs at all.
On the day, it becomes the shared reference between stage and front of house. When someone says "channel 7", everyone should be looking at the same thing.
The columns, and what to write in them
Channel
The number on the stage box. Keep it stable between shows so the band and crew learn it.
Source
What makes the sound: kick in, snare top, bass DI, guitar left, lead vocal.
Microphone or DI
Your preference, plus whether you bring it or the venue supplies it.
Stand
Tall boom, short boom, clip or none. A small detail that causes a common delay.
Phantom power
Mark the channels needing 48V so nothing arrives silent.
Notes
Anything the engineer cannot guess: shared stand, backing-track channel, spare vocal, stereo pair.
The conventional channel order
Most engineers expect drums first, then bass, guitars, keys, other instruments, and vocals last. It is a convention rather than a rule, but following it means your list can be read at a glance by someone who has never seen your band.
- 1 — Kick in — dynamic kick mic — no stand — we bring our own
- 2 — Snare top — dynamic — short boom — venue supplies
- 3 — Overhead L — condenser — tall boom — 48V
- 4 — Bass — DI — none — post-pedalboard
- 5 — Guitar L — dynamic — short boom — amp mic
- 6/7 — Keys L/R — stereo DI — none — 48V, two channels
- 8 — Lead vocal — dynamic — tall boom — we bring our own
The list has to match the stage plot
Every source drawn on the stage should appear as a channel, and every channel should be findable on the drawing. When the two disagree, the crew stops trusting either of them and you spend soundcheck explaining your own documents.
This is also why the input list belongs inside the technical rider rather than as a separate spreadsheet attached to a different email.
Practical advice that saves time at soundcheck
- Say who supplies each microphone and DI — most confusion is about ownership, not preference
- Give a total channel count at the top or bottom of the list
- Include backing tracks, click and talkback if you use them; they are channels too
- Mark stereo sources as two channels rather than one line
- Keep spare vocal or guest channels explicit rather than assuming room on the console
How ArtistRider builds the list for you
- Channels derive from the instruments and sources placed on the stage plot
- Per-channel microphone, DI, stand, phantom power and note fields
- Reorder or renumber without breaking the rest of the document
- Choose the columns your engineer wants to see, then export to PDF