Edit: A new question for this: Is it reasonable for a band to ask a soundman (small, local venue; not friends with) to provide a soundboard mix for them? It seems like it'd be an easier route to get the band to ask instead of you.
And can the sound guy put it onto a CD or a data DVD, or does he need some device from the taper to record it onto live?
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I understood when you plug in to a soundboard, you are often getting an unbalanced mix; more guitar/vocals than drums for instance. However, I'm reading now that the engineer has the option of creating a separate mix of each channel for your recording, via that output you are connected to.
My questions are is this common for there to be this free output that is able to host a separate mix?
Why are most soundboard mixes not mixed evenly, but rather just the same as the unbalanced house mix?
Is there a common understanding that when you ask for soundboard access that if the engineer is able to/has the will, he can set up a separate mix that would sound good on its own for your recording? Or should you explicitly ask him, politely, to mix your output - or is there another issue I am not aware of that prevents this from happening?