Mixing Console Mixer
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Mixing Console Mixer
Working Out What You Need for Your Home Recording Studio
An important consideration when looking to set up a 'home recording studio' is how you will use it. You will need to work out how many things you want to record or plug in at any one time or you might wind up with uneccessary gear-or not enough!
Let's look at a typical example of 'Vinnie' the guitarist who has a desire to show his 'band' how the songs should be played.
No matter how many times he's tried to explain, they never quite get it right, so the only way he can see to achieve this is to record it all 'properly' himself.
What does Vinnie need?
He needs to record a basic drum pattern - nothing fancy - he wants to record two electric guitars, an acoustic guitar, he wants to record a bass guitar and record a main vocal and two backing harmonies.
Vinnie of course will not do all this at once, so even though he needs to record 9 things does he need 9 channels?
No.
All he really 'needs' is a maximum of 4 inputs- two with pre-amps. He will also need a microphone to sing into and to record his acoustic guitar, we will asume he has a guitar amp simulator to record the electric guitars and bass and that he has a physical drum machine or one inside his computer or stand alone hard disc recorder.
Vinnie could easily walk down to his music store or get online and find what he needs to get the job done. He could look at a computer recording package with appropriate software and specialised sound card for audio recording. Some companies provide these all in one packages Lexicon, M-Audio, Pro-Tools and Presonus are good brand names to look at as a starting point, but be aware that recording onto a computer can be a frustrating experience if you're not computer savy.
Vinnie's other alternative is the stand alone hard disc recorder with a built in mixer section. Any of the offereings from Fostex, Yamaha or Boss/Roland would take care of his needs, at this point Vinnie just wants to get his ideas onto the physical plain as quickly as possible so others can hear them- so he'll probably need a CD burner thrown in to the equation unless his machine can link up to a computer-as a number of them now can do.
Now let's look at another example of Barabra who plays in a four piece folk/rock group. They want to record a couple of songs for CD release. All the instruments her band uses are acoustic; Double Bass, Violin ,Guitar and Banjo.
Three of the group also sing. Now Barabara is lucky enough to have a large secluded garage space available for her group to rehearse in and given they don't annoy the neighbours by making too much noise she wishes to record the band as a 'whole' for the best vibe-what will she need?
4 X Instrument Microphones or D.I. [direct injection] boxes
3 X Vocal microphones
8 inputs with Microphone Preamps
Capacity to record on 8 channels at once.
There are some limitations with stand alone recorders, some of them will only let you record on 2 channels at once, another thing to be aware of is the 'quality' of the recordings.
Some years ago during the 'compression algorythm' wars, clever boffins discovered that our ears can 'fill in' missing information, in the same way that you can look at the scrambled letters of a word but are still able to decipher what it is.The boffins kept removing bits of what our ear was hearing until they came up with a formula [algorythm] that fooled our ears most of the time. These are known as 'compressed' formats as they 'squish' the sound in such a clever way that we don't notice.
Almost all commercial and home recording computer software will record 'linear'[non-compressed] files to your computer hard disc. Pro-tools,Logic Audio, Cubase, Sonar all do this. Later on when you 'mix-down' your songs you can turn them into mp3 files for podcast or to load to your portable digital music player. Adobe Audition and Steinberg's Wavelab are two programs I can think of that record direct mp3 files- but they are not 'full function' multitrack programs.
When we deal in compressed formats- mp2 mp3 etc, 'unneccessary' information is removed making the file sizes smaller [and hence downloads faster]- so these are 'compressing' the files. The advantage for the home recordist is that less hard disc space is needed.
A consideration when looking at stand alone recorders is to ask the question- do I want compressed or uncompressed audio. If you have any intention of turning these recordings into something for release then the uncompressed format is the best- you will lose some quality by using a compressed format, but your ideas will be captured quickly for you to work on later. Also bear in mind that a number of hard disc recorders can later transfer data to a computer software system for more elaborate processing so if you use a non-compressed recording format you will retain the quality of your recording.
Now when Barabara popped down the music store to express her needs she told the sales person that, "she wants a high quality recording of her group but I have no idea about computers" so the salesman suggests a stand alone unit with eight inputs that records the data in a non-compressed format. As she doesn't have a huge budget she chooses to hire in most of the microphones for this recording session. The man at the shop suggests she uses condensor microphones for the instruments and dynamic Shure sm58's for the vocals.
A crucial quality consideration at this point is the 'pre-amp'. What does that do and why is it so important you ask?
After your microphone has done the incredible job of sorting out sound pressure waves and converting them into electrical signals, they arrive via microphone cables at the 'pre-amp'-a short way of saying pre-amplifier. For years I struggled to really 'get' what a pre amp did, unitl I understood this:
When the microphone puts out a signal it is very very very very tiny. I now call this 'mouse level'. Once it's gone through a pre amp it becomes 'elephant level', something that our mixing consoles and digital recorders can use easily.
Hear this:
Depending on the quality of the compoments used, this amplification process can make or break the quality of the recorded sound. A bad pre-amp will add hiss and noise to your recording
Most stand alone recorders and computer sound card interfaces have 'adequate' microphone preamps. To make your recordings 'shine' I would suggest getting an 'outboard'[separate component] pre-amp, though having said that the pre-amps in high end Yamaha consoles are gaining a very good reputation. Focusrite/Joe Meek/Avalon/Tc Electronics are great brands. Currently I use a Focusrite Twin-Trak pro, a device specifially for home recording enthusiasts.
To sum up, our friend Vinnie will probably be quite happy with an off the shelf hard disc recorder with 4 or so inputs that records 'compressed' files because he is only trying to show his band colleagues a 'rough' idea of how he hears things.
Barbara who is not computer savy is looking for a more polished end product and wants to record her group in the best quality for a CD the band will release, hence she needs to record 'linear' [non-compressed] data and will look for a unit with the best quality pre-amps she can buy.
About the Author
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mixing device question?
I dont know anything about dj-ing, but love trance musics and hope to produce my own music someday.
so my question is..
Hercules DJ Console RMX Mixer
HERCULES Portable 2-deck DJ mixer
what exactly do these do? i heard they are good for dj-ing...but are they also good first step for producing good musics? i only have keyboard...what's rmx mixer and dj mixer?
and really question is which one of them are better than the other? i like rmx mixer better,,,just because it seems like it's god more buttons?
Here is a video demo on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-dnsy5VVLE
There are other choices too
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hercules+mixer
Maybe the top choice would be good enough, and it is a lot cheaper. The reviews say it is fun, but not very precise.
Good luck
Home Project Studio Audio Using a Mixer / Mixing Console 1
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Soundcraft GB4-32 Mixing Console $4499 The Soundcraft GB4 Mixer sets a new standard in affordable high-end mixing. The 32-channel mixer is laden with capabilities and quality features: GB30 mic preamps, reengineered circuit topology and EQ designs, rigid steel chassis, high-quality vertically mounted fiberglass PCB channel strips, individually nutted potentiometers, angled rear panel that allows patching from the front, and more--above all, the quality, engineering, and design for which Soundcraft is famous. The GB4-32 is 32-channel, 4-bus console designed and constructed to ensure rugged reliability under stressful tour conditions. All input modules have individual vertically-mounted PCB's fitted to the steel chassis.The mixing console is designed for performance venue installation or small touring system applications. The dual-mode topology allows it to to be used for FOH or monitor duties, with fader control of group or aux outputs.Although largely conventional in layout, the Soundcraft GB4 does have some unique mechanical features. The rugged steel chassis has a sloping rear connector panel so that it is easier to configure from in front of the desk, while the integral power supply has a link option for an external backup PSU.4 mute groups allow several channels to be muted simultaneously. Another unique feature is the limiter on a set of dedicated record outputs that makes it easier to create a stereo recording of the mix.The Soundcraft console also features an output matrix with 7 feeds to 4 outputs, fed from the group buses and main L, R, and C (mono) outputs.The GB4 Mixer offers a comprehensive set of functions in a small and cost-effective footprint, and delivers the high performance and reliability you expect from a Soundcraft mixer. |
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Soundcraft GB4-16 Mixing Console $2599 The Soundcraft GB4-16 Mixer sets a new standard in affordable high-end mixing. It is laden with capabilities and quality features: GB30 mic preamps, reengineered circuit topology and EQ designs, rigid steel chassis, high-quality vertically mounted fiberglass PCB channel strips, individually nutted potentiometers, angled rear panel that allows patching from the front, and more--above all, the quality, engineering, and design for which Soundcraft is famous. The 16-channel, 4-bus mixing console designed and constructed to ensure rugged reliability under stressful tour conditions. All input modules on the GB4-16 have individual vertically-mounted PCB's fitted to the steel chassis.The audio mixer is designed for performance venue installation or small touring system applications. The dual-mode topology allows it to to be used for FOH or monitor duties, with fader control of group or aux outputs.Although largely conventional in layout, the Soundcraft GB4-16 does have some unique mechanical features. The rugged steel chassis has a sloping rear connector panel so that it is easier to configure from in front of the desk, while the Soundcraft mixer's integral power supply has a link option for an external back-up PSU.4 mute groups allow several channels to be muted simultaneously. Another unique feature is the limiter on a set of dedicated record outputs that makes it easier to create a stereo recording of the mix.The console also features an output matrix with 7 feeds to 4 outputs, fed from the group buses and main L, R, and C (mono) outputs.The GB4-16 offers a comprehensive set of functions in a small and cost-effective footprint, and delivers the high performance and reliability you expect from a Soundcraft mixer. |
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Yamaha IM8-40 Mixing Console $5399 This kit includes the Yamaha IM8-40 Mixing Console and the Yamaha PW8 IM8 Series Power Supply.Solid performance and superior sound forprofessional applications. The Yamaha IM8-40 brings experience and know-how accumulated over 35 years in the production of industry-leading mixing consoles to bear in three a mid-size console that cuts no corners when it comes to overall performance and sonic quality.Yamaha IM8-40 Mixing ConsoleThe Yamaha IM8-40 brings experience and know-how accumulated over 35 years in the production of industry-leading mixing consoles to bear in three a mid-size console that cuts no corners when it comes to overall performance and sonic quality. In addition to no-compromise design and development aimed at delivering the finest performance and most useful feature set available in this class, production and assembly are carried out at Yamaha's own domestic facilities — the same factories where the legendary Yamaha PM series consoles are produced — to ensure unrelenting quality control throughout. Every inch of these extraordinary consoles is well thought out and built for a purpose. There are no unnecessary features, and nothing is out of place. The IM8 series consoles deliver a basic but plentiful complement of features plus truly transparent, high-resolution sound with tireless reliability.These are consoles for serious sound applications, and will provide eminently professional performance, sound, and control in permanent installations or on the road.Input ChannelsPrecision Mic/Line PreamplifiersMicrophone preamplifiers are one of the most critical sound-defining circuits in any mixer. That's why professional who are serious about their sound often spend thousands of dollars on just a single channel of microphone pre-amplification. The microphone preamps built into the IM8 series consoles inherit technology from Yamahas top-line professional consoles, and have been painstakingly designed to deliver superior sonic performance with any source. They offer low-noise, transparent amplification with the widest possible range of dynamic and condenser microphones as well as line-level signals, which means cleaner, better sounding mixes overall.Input SectionAll mono input channels have both balanced XLR type and TRS phone jacks for versatile input connectivity. Individual +48V phantom power switches on each mono channel provide phantom power for condenser microphones, and input levels can be optimally matched over a broad -60 dB through +10 dB range with a 26-dB pad switch and gain control. Other input section facilities on mono channels are a phase switch and 80 Hz high-pass filter switch. Stereo input channels provide L and R phone jack inputs as well as pin jack stereo pairs. A gain control allows matching to stereo input signal levels from -34 dB to +10 dB.One-knob Compre |
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Numark iDJ Mixing Console for iPod $139.92 Numark's iDJ mixer for iPod is a 2-channel mixing console that provides mobile DJs and iPod enthusiasts with a way to integrate their portable music with their sound reinforcement systems. The Numark iDJ transforms the iPod from a mere personal music player into a source playback device. With a compact form, comprehensive features, and blue-on-white design the Numark iDJ blends perfectly with the iPod. |