How Touring Engineers Mount Their Stream Decks

Geoff Plourd, monitor engineer for 311, asked me a simple question: "Is there a way to mount this on a mic stand?"

He was talking about his Stream Deck. At the time, the answer was no — not professionally. There were gaffer tape solutions, case lid solutions, and the universal audio engineer answer to all gear problems: "I'll figure it out."

So I built one. That was the deckFrame.

Geoff wasn't the only one improvising. If you've been on a monitor world in the last three years, you've probably seen it: a Stream Deck sitting on a flight case lid, balanced at an angle, gaffer-taped to the side of a stand. Maybe it's yours.

The Stream Deck has become a genuine tool on professional touring audio rigs. Monitor engineers use it for console macros, IEM routing, RF monitoring, talkback control — whole pages of it. FOH engineers use it for scene changes, recall functions, REAPER control. The workflow is real. The mounting situation is not.

This is a guide to the four ways engineers currently solve the Stream Deck positioning problem — and the one way that actually works.

Why a Stream Deck in Monitor World

The short version: speed and clarity under pressure.

Running DiGiCo, Avid, or SSL for a 40-channel touring show means you've mapped your console to muscle memory. But triggering macros, switching between IEM mixes, calling out RF states to backline techs — all of that still requires you to leave the fader surface to click through menus.

Stream Deck with Bitfocus Companion changes that. You get physical, labeled, RGB-lit buttons that trigger exactly the commands you set up in advance. No menu diving at 110dB and zero sleep. The monitor world becomes faster, and you make fewer mistakes.

For a deeper dive on how to actually wire this up, Josh Cruz at Space Bear Audio wrote the best field-level breakdown of a full Companion + Stream Deck monitor world setup.

The Four (Wrong) Ways Engineers Currently Mount It

Before deckFrame existed, there were four improvised answers to the positioning problem.

1. On the case lid.
Flat, stable, accessible. Until someone kicks the case, you need to reposition the stand, or the lid needs to close. On festival days with multiple changeovers, the lid never stays open long enough.

2. Gaffer-taped to the stand.
Functional. Until you need to tour it, adjust the height, or peel the tape off at the end of the run. Every gaffer tape application is a small act of faith that the device will still be there when you look up.

3. Leaned against the rack.
Gravity-based positioning. Works at FOH with a static setup, falls apart at monitors where you're constantly stepping around gear. Also: at angle. Always at angle.

4. Zip-tied to something.
Creative. Permanent. Not something your touring director wants to see when they inventory the gear case.

All four have the same problem: they're workarounds for a problem that has an actual solution.

What the Right Mount Looks Like

Mic stands speak in 3/8"-27 thread. Every clip, arm, holder, and mount in the live audio world connects to that thread. It's a universal language.

A proper Stream Deck mount for live audio should use that thread — so it integrates with the existing stand ecosystem rather than requiring its own separate stand, bracket, or zip tie. It should also:

• Hold the Stream Deck at eye level on a straight stand
• Allow angled positioning for desktop or seated use
• Travel flat in a gear case between shows
• Set up in seconds, not minutes

That's what the deckFrame does.

deckFrame: Built for the Monitor World

The deckFrame is a mic stand mounting frame for the Elgato Stream Deck Module, which is the bare naked (buttons only) version of the Stream Deck. It ships with a standard 3/8"-27 microphone thread — the same thread on every boom stand, desk stand, and mic clip in your rig — and a 45° angle clip for desktop and straight-stand use.

Two versions:

• deckFrame(32) — for the Stream Deck Module (32 Keys). $40.
• deckFrame(15) — for the Stream Deck Module (15 Keys). $30.

Both versions also work with magic arms and boom accessories via standard thread adapters — so if your monitor world has a magic arm already, deckFrame drops right in.

Available direct at stagestrike.com and at B&H Photo Video.

Where It Lives on the Tech Table

Caleb James, monitor engineer for Wu-Tang Clan, mounts the deckFrame in his monitor world via a K&F Concept magic arm — Stream Deck at eye level, buttons mapped to IEM routing macros and RF states.

Load-in to working: under five minutes. And it travels with the rest of the rig in the same case.

The mic stand approach also solves the cable routing problem — you're already running cables up and down stands all day. Stream Deck USB routes the same way.

The Gaffer Tape Era Is Over

Stream Deck was designed for a streaming desk in a bedroom. It turned out to be one of the most useful tools on a touring monitor world. The accessory ecosystem never caught up.

deckFrame exists because the people who build this gear are the same people running the shows. If you've been making it work with tape and goodwill, there's a better option now.

deckFrame(32) — $40 →
deckFrame(15) — $30 →

Castor Milano is a Venezuelan audio engineer and founder of StageStrike. He builds audio workflow gear for the people who run the show.