This is how I set up my DCAs on the Behringer Wing, and it’s the same way I do it on the X32. The console is different but the workflow is identical. If you’re not sure what a DCA is, think of it as one fader that controls the volume of a whole group of channels at once, without actually routing the audio through it. It’s a control, not a bus.
The three DCAs I actually use
I keep it simple. I run a drum DCA, a band DCA, and a vocal DCA. Those three are what I work off of all service long. On the Wing, go to setup, then the surface tab, and turn on DCA spill. Now when you tap a DCA it’ll show you every channel that’s assigned to it. To assign channels, get on your DCA layer, hit select on the DCA, and then just tap the channels you want in it. That’s it.
Why I let the DCAs control my input channels
Here’s the part that matters. I set my DCAs to control my input channels, not the buses. All my inputs are already going out to their buses like normal, but the DCA is riding the input faders. I do it this way because I also turn on DCA mute groups, so whatever I mute on a DCA acts as my mute group. That means I don’t bother setting up separate mute groups at all. I’m sure there are more clever ways to handle mutes, but this is a habit that works for me, so I don’t overthink it.
Put your effects on DCAs too
I do the same thing with my effects. On my buses, 11 through 16 are my time-based and space-based effects, and each one is controlled by a DCA. So my drum verb DCA is actually riding both my drum verb and my gated verb at once, each sitting at its own level, and I control them together as one group. My aux verb DCA rides the aux verb and the shimmer together. Vocal verb has its own, and delay has its own.
The trick there is I keep the actual bus levels a little lower than I want, then push them up with the DCA. That way the DCA has room to move in both directions and I’ve got my nuance range right at my fingertips. I like to keep my delay and vocal verb sitting close in level so I can grab them side by side, but still independent for different parts of a song.
Why I keep it this minimal
Honestly, part of it is that I like to be a little lazy. I want to work off one tight group section for most of the service, and then grab individual channels only when I need to. Keeping it to three input DCAs plus my effects DCAs lets me do that. It’s fast, it’s simple, and it keeps my hands where they need to be when the moment matters.
If you want my full Wing setup with all the presets already built and ready to load, they’re in my Wing Worship Preset Pack.
