Mixing Desks

Mixing desks

Digital consoles.

< >Gain pad phase levels pan control, gate. Compressor/expander and four band fully performance EQ a greater number of aux and group[s than an analogue console. these can be configured on the fully the fly to allow for mono/stereo operation and pre-post fader mixer.

Which is particularly useful on live desks where different gigs call for different arrangements of monitoring and FX. FX that can be inserted on a single channel or utilised across the desk by inserting them on an aux bus. “Full recall”. This function takes a snapshot of a position of every control on the desk and allows it to be recalled at any time.

This is incredibly useful. Allowing you to rapidly switch between projects or mixers in the studio, save settings for the different venues, or save mixes for different bands playing on the same stage. At a festival for example. You could even synchronize your scene changes with a lighting desk for theatrical work.

Analogue desks.

Intuitive “set up and go”

On-board EQ and level adjustment

Multiple outputs in master section for flexible studio/live routing

Usually cheaper than a digital console mixing desk.

Consoles tend not to feature integrated effects, which is a down side.

Metering and monitoring.

Stay away from clipping and the noise floor.

All audio material has certain dynamic range, the difference between the highest and lowest acceptable levels. We typically arrange for the loudest peaks to be below the maximum level which the system can handle and floor the quietest signals to be kept well above the noise floor.

PFL- pre fade listen- allow the engineer to view and monitor a single channel inputs top the consol.

VU ( volume unit) meter.

Been used since first broadcasts.

Measures the RMS of the volume.

Measures average levels

A sustained sound reads higher than a short sound even though they are at the same level.

PPM

Peak programme meter.

Instant registration of the levels.

Will measure peaks as short as 5ms accurately if type 1

The quickest transients will not be read but will often be inaudible. Clipping is when 3 or more samples hit or reach 0dB

Exist in analogue and digital systems.

Gain staging

Gain staging is the process of setting the gain of each stage of a mixer, or of a sound system, to achieve the best compromise between noise and distortion.

The goal is to have every stage on the mixer (or the sound system) operation at its optimum signal level.

What optimum> the loudest peaks of the signal should be a few dB below clipping in each stage. Even f you apply a boost in an equalizer, or a makeup gain in a compressor. That way, the peaks are not audibly distorted, and the signal is well above the noise floor of the mixer.

In every stage you want the signal level high enough to cover up the noise, but low enough to avoid distortion. Every audio component works best at a certain optimum signal level, and this level is usually indicated by a meter or LED built into the device.

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