Is this a good idea for a "talkback" system?

[VDeGou]

Hey guys, looking to build a relatively cheap and efficient talkback system from the control room to the live room.

I was thinking of getting a small mixer like this ( Amazon.com: Behringer XENYX502 5-Channel Mixer: Musical Instruments ) and just plug a mic to it that will be used inside the control room, and have it output to some speakers inside the live room.

I was thinking this is simple and works fine, but are there any small mixers like this with a mute button so I could simulate a push-to-talk system?

Thanks guys.

 

[miroslav]

Well....if you can solve your cue/headphone needs for everyone, then the talkback pretty much takes care of itself.
All that is needed then is a mic in the main room so the musicians can talkback to you....though often, there is already more than one hot mic in the main room, so if they just talk loud enough, you can hear them....otherwise, just put up a mic in the middle of the room, set it to Omni, and feed it back to your control room/headphone system...that way you hear them, they hear you and everyone hears each other without always having to remove their headphones.

Otherwise, yeah, a small mixer is great for both the cue/headphone system and the talkback.
You don’t necessarily need a built-in talkback mic if the mixer has none…just add a cheap mic to one of the channels and route it accordingly, and then mute/unmute as needed.

 

[ecc83]

Yes, you can make a talkback setup with a mic, mixer and powered speaker..

But the systems stands a bit of thought.
1) You really want the mic going into an XLR-XLR box with a "push-to-talk" switch on it. Having the chance of leaving a comm' mic live means one day you will say to someone, "And don't get that ***ker of a drummer here again!"

You can get even more clever and have a 2way lever switch with PTT and keep talking but with a flashing LED (power from spook juice).

2)If the TB feed a speaker in the studio you will need some form of interlock to avoid howl-round.

Dave.