Lesson 6 - Posted on 2013-03-22 by Griffin Plack

In this lesson I was introduced to the console and further expanded my knowledge on Signal Flow. In professional audio, a mixing console is an electronic device for combining(mixing) routing, and changing the level, tonality and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals depending on the type of mixer. A mixing console can be used for many different purposes such as in a recording studio, public address systems, sound reinforcement systems, broadcasting, television, and film post-production. Each signal that is input into the mixer has its own channel. Depending on the mixer, each channel is stereo or monaural. Each channel on a mixer has an audio taper pot, or potentiometer, controlled by a sliding volume control fader, that allows adjustment of the level, or amplitude, of that channel in the final mix. Because audio is heard in a logarithmic fashion, mixing console controls and displays are almost always in decibels, a logarithmic measurement system. Most but not all mixer can: add external effects, use monaural signals to produce stereo sound by adjusting the position of each signal on the sound stage, provide phantom power, and create an audible tone via an oscillator. Digital mixers are more versatile tahn analog ones and offer many new features.