Playback Rigs for Click Tracks, Tracks & Show Files
MacBook + interface + MIDI controller, with a click track aux to the drummer's IEMs and timecode out to lighting.
Playback rigs aren't complicated, but they have to be flawless. Solo artists, drummers running tracks, and music directors running click + cue audio for the band all share the same architecture: a show computer, an interface with enough channels for click + tracks + cue, and a transport controller they trust. IEM Rig's catalog covers the boring-but-essential pieces: the Mac mini, the MOTU 16A, the BomeBox MIDI router, the UPS that keeps the laptop alive when the venue brownouts mid-set.
Redundancy is the conversation that separates a good playback rig from one that bites you on tour. The planner doesn't auto-build a failover topology yet, but the gallery has primary+backup playback rigs you can remix as a starting point. Pair with the auto-generated BOM and your insurance underwriter knows exactly what's in the case the night the venue wants a Certificate of Insurance.
What this rig needs
- Reliable show computer (MacBook Pro / Mac Studio / Mac mini)
- Multi-channel audio interface (MOTU 16A, RME UFX III, Apollo X16)
- MIDI foot controller for the music director / drummer
- Click track output that doesn't bleed into the FOH mix
- Redundancy story — what plays the show if the laptop crashes mid-set?
How IEM Rig helps
- Catalog has the full MOTU, RME, and Universal Audio interface lineup
- MIDI controllers from Behringer, Akai, and BomeBox in the catalog
- Auto-wire models the show-computer + interface + redundancy paths
- Power calculation includes the show laptop's draw alongside rack gear
- PDF export documents the playback BOM next to the FOH rack
Solo artist playback rig with redundancy
- · Mac mini (M2 Pro) — primary playback computer
- · MOTU 16A — primary interface, 16 channels of analog out
- · Mac mini (M2) — backup computer in failover mode
- · BomeBox — MIDI router + transport over Ethernet
- · CyberPower OL1500RTXL2U UPS — keeps the rig up through brownouts