How to Write an Input List (and How It Pairs With Your Stage Plot)

The input list is the document a sound engineer works from most directly, yet plenty of bands never write one. They hand over a stage plot, then explain the channels verbally while the room fills up. A written input list removes that scramble by laying out every signal in order, so the engineer can patch and check without stopping to ask. Paired with your stage plot, it turns a slow setup into a quick one.

If you have not built the visual side yet, how to make a stage plot step by step covers it, and this post handles the channel list that sits alongside.

Number Every Channel in Order

An input list is numbered from one, and the order follows a convention the engineer expects. Start with the drums, working from kick and snare through toms and overheads. Move to bass, then guitars, then keys, then vocals, and finish with any playback or effects returns. Keeping to this order means an engineer can read your list and know roughly what each channel is before they even reach the label.

For each line, give the channel number, the source, and how it connects. “4, floor tom, mic” or “9, bass, DI” tells the engineer everything they need in a few words.

Name the Source and the Connection

Vague labels cause line-check delays. Writing “keys” for a stereo rig that needs two channels leaves the engineer a channel short, so spell it out: “12, keys left, DI” and “13, keys right, DI”. Note whether each source needs a microphone, a DI box, or arrives as a line out from a modeller or interface. If you supply your own DI or mic for a particular source, say so, since it saves the venue setting one up.

Flag anything that behaves unusually. A vocal with heavy effects, a track feed that jumps in level, or a wireless pack all deserve a short note so the engineer is not caught out mid-song.

Line It Up With the Stage Plot

The input list and the stage plot describe the same band from two angles, so they should match. If your plot shows the keys player stage right, the input list channels for keys should make sense next to that position. Number the vocal mics on your list in the same left-to-right order they appear on the plot, and the engineer can connect diagram to desk at a glance. The guide to what to include on your stage plot explains how the two documents share information.

Keep It With the Plot and Share Both

The Dashplan Stage Plot Builder lets you attach your input details to the visual plot and share them as one link, so the venue never receives half the picture. Update your channels and the link reflects it. For sending it on, read how to share your stage plot with a venue.

A clear input list is the fastest way to earn an engineer's trust, and a trusted band gets a better mix and a smoother night.

Create your input list and stage plot in the Dashplan Stage Plot Builder.