Point1: You can adjust levels in your monitors without affecting the levels at FOH any time you like *provided you use the channel>bus level controls as opposed to the preamp gain control.* The problem is if you need to adjust preamp levels (gain.) Preamp gain affects the signal coming into the console, before it goes through any processing or to any monitors or outputs for FOH. The preamp gain will affect everything downstream of it (both IEMs and FOH,) *unless* you have a splitter (like the ART S8s I recommended later,) which splits the mic signal before it hits the console's preamps, allowing monitors to use their own preamps without affecting FOH, and FOH to use their own preamps without affecting monitors. If you don't have a splitter and you need to adjust *preamp* gain (not channel>bus level, but actual preamp gain) mid gig, that's when you could have an issue. If you're fairly consistant throughout the set you can generally set and forget preamps, and you won't have a problem. However if there are big changes to signal levels during or between songs (eg at some stage a guitarist invokes a wah pedal that boosts his signal by +20dB, or perhaps that's the setup you've already gained for and the guitarist then bypasses that pedal so his signal goes really quiet mid-gig,) you're going to want to adjust the preamp gain to accommodate that. If you're using a splitter, you can adjust your own preamps and FOH can adjust theirs without annoying each other. If you don't have a splitter, then FOH has to cope with your adjustments as and when you make them, so you need to communitcate well. Point2: You can stereo-link the buses on the X32 (in odd\even pairs.) You assign the left bus to one output socket (they're mono TRS balanced) and the right bus to another output socket. You have 6x TRS aux out sockets, so use 1+2 for IEM1, 3+4 for IEM2, and 5+6 for the drummer (he'll probably need a headphone amp.) Point3: Typically if you're sending a signal to multiple destintions (eg monitors, foh, recording, broadcast etc) you'd want to use the cleanest (as in no processing) signal possible. The means you tap as early in the signal chain as possible. That way each destination can have its own processing appropriate to that destination, and they won't impinge on each other. (Unless you use a splitter) the X32 is built such that if you want to mix different input types (eg USB+preamps) to 2 blocks-of-4 XLR outs (like those on the rear of the X32Rack) you can't tap straight off preamps, instead you have to tap off the channel strips, and the earliest tap point will involve the HPF processing. You can mix and match though, eg 4 signals could run straight off preamps for 4 XLR outs, and your remaining 3 (2x USB+ 1x preamp) would tap off channelstrips with HPF. The other workaround would be to use the preamp signals only (not the backing tracks from USB) on XLR outs, allowing you to tap straight off preamps for all 5 preamps in use, but then to get backing tracks to FOH you'd have to use the TRS aux outs. However this impinges on your stereo IEMs, unless the drummer goes back to using the headphone socket, but that sacrifices the console's solo ability. Point5: Fair enough if you're sure every gig you do will have a drum kit + drum mix return from FOH available for you. However as mentioned below, having your own splitters will be more flexible. Point6: You're correct that the S8s are more expensive (the 2-way ones as opposed to 3-way would be cheaper, but messier in terms of the outputs being at the back.) However using proper analogue splitters will make your setup a lot more flexible (though you will have to tune the drums in your own mixes rather than rely on FOH. You might also have to provide your own drum kit. It really depends on the venue.) Are you sure you need the feedback destroyer on the vocal mics? The console itself has a fair bit of processing power that you shouldn't need it. Perhaps getting rid of it could offset the cost of the S8s?
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