_{A mixing console!}

Hello Friends, welcome to Phat Studios, it's jemz here again with another edition on the mixing console. This time, we'll be talking about an important part of the mixer we couldn't fully cover in our previous article:THE CHANNEL STRIP.

To really understand the console that we will be working with, there's a couple of things we need to know :

• What type of console is it? (SPLIT, INLINE, HYBRID?)

• How does the master section work? (ROUTING or SIGNAL-WISE)

• What is on the channel-strip? (ROUTING-WISE, AND WHAT OPTIONS?).

Once we know one of the channels, we basically know all the channel. And that's the majority of the console.

Keep in mind;

That there are a lot of different mixing console out-there and a lot of different brands. Some may have their own features or have fewer. And in our previous article, we were able to explain the various types of a console and also cover the master section so if you missed out on that just follow the link at the end of this article.

Today we will be looking at a very complex type of channel-strip. The one you have could be a bit more simplified or possibly have fewer functions than what we would be using in this article. However, the way that a channel-strip is divided is almost universally the same.

The channel strip is divided into various sections, namely;

• Input section

• Dynamic section (only on really big consoles)

• EQ section

• Insert point (depending on the model as well in a bit)

• Aux section

• Fader section (output section)

N/B: depending on the model we have the routing section on the top or at the bottom of the channel-strip.

And like we discussed in our first article you can visualize the signal flow through a channel-strip going from top to bottom.

Expanding how this works,

Input section:

Normally on the top, we will find the input and output modules. This is where the signal enters the console and can be brought up to a good level which we can process it. Usually, we'll find a mic and a line input there. A mic is a 'low-level signal' so it has to be pre-amplified quite a lot.

N/B: the mic input is usually an XLR connection but this could also be a 1/4 jack in some chipper models. Normally we will find these Input and Output on the back of the console

Looking at the top of a console we first see the meter which is very helpful in checking and monitoring the signal level. We can easily spot clipping or signals that are possibly too soft. On this particular console, we'll find the separate gain control for the microphone as well as for the line input level. Then we have lots of switches which affects the input signals.

+48 volt (or 'phantom')

These knobs/buttons on the console gives a +48 volt phantom power on the mic-input. Turning this on allows you to use, for example, the condenser type of microphones.

Inst. (Instrument input)

This switches the input-channel from the microphone-input
to the instrument input, allowing for direct connection. For example, connecting an electric guitar directly to the console.

Pad (or -20DB)

This attenuates the input signal with -20DB. This can also be referred to as -20DB or -10DB switch. And are really helpful when dealing with very loud sounds. They can also be called '-20', 'pad' or 'attenuation' on other consoles. The attenuation can also be different per console, so you'll need to check the manual to be sure of what it does.

-Phase invert (Otherwise called Phase invert)

This 'Inverts' the phase of the signals angle by 180 degrees offset, or inverts our input signal. The Phase invert allows the line-level output to be controlled with the channel's fader.

Flip

This switches between the line signal and the microphone signal, allowing the line level to be controlled with the channel's fader during mixing.

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Going down the channel-strip we'll find the:

High pass filter (HPF)

This allows us to remove the very low end of the signal, or, we say it attenuates lower frequencies from a set frequency.

Equalizer section

This allows us to change the frequency content of the signal. On some mixing consoles, the EQ has 2 fully parametric bands and it offers 2 different types of EQ circuitry; The send and return circuits.

Insert- send/return

Over an insert send the signal actually leaves the console to be processed by another device, like a compressor. The processed signal returns to the signal path over the insert return port.

N/B: The physical insert point are normally found on the back of the console. Some models have separate ports for the insert send and return while other have one port which you will have to connect a Y cable for the send and return.

Auxiliary section :

From this section, we can send a portion of the signal on the channel to an 'Aux-bus'. An auxiliary send can be either pre-fader (in which the fader-level has no influence on send level) or post fader, (where the fader-level has influence on send level).

Normally, this is indicated by a pre-switch, and if the switch is not pressed then it's a postfader send. Auxiliary send are used a lot to send a portion of the signal to the effect processor. For example, a reverb unit. So instead of using a reverb effect as an Insert, we use that as a sent effect, that means that we can send every channel on the board to that reverb unit when we have that connection to the auxiliary one. So then, the output of the auxiliary one goes into the reverb unit but then the output of the reverb unit needs to go back into the console. And that can either be on maybe a separate channel that we still have open or maybe unto our group return if we have those on the console. From there we can send the reverb to the mix bus and we have the reverb into the mix. We actually have four different auxiliary buses running through the console, but we can actually select two per channel. If we want, we can either select 1 & 3 or 2 & 4 to be the auxiliary send for that channel.

Fader section:

This section has a lot more stuff going on than just a fader. This is the output control of the channel. Besides that many other functions can be found here:
Depending on the model of the console we will now run into two groups of faders. The Microphone-input-path fader and Tape return fader (line-signal father) and they save different functions.

Microphone-input-path fader :

This is the lower fader which controls the output level for the mic signals channel path.

Tape return fader.

This controls the output level for the line signals channel path. But for budget and space considerations, this "upper-fader is very often being control with a knob instead of an actual fader.
The flip switch which we found on the top of this console actually allows us to flip this two channels so that during mixdown, we can actually have the lower fader controlling the tape return.

Also under the fader section we also have

Pan-knob:

We should visualize the master bus as two horizontal lines running through the mixing console, with the left channel connected to the left speaker and the right channel connected to the right speaker. So when we have signals pan into the centre, it means that we are sending it just as loud to the left side of the bus just as to the right side of the bus. So when we pan it a little bit to the left, we decrease the left bus to the right bus. So when we listen over that we feel the sound is coming more from the right.

This pan knob controls the panoramic position of the channel on the stereo bus and/or group bus outputs.

Mute :

This cuts off the signal from the output buses.

Solo :

Depending on the type of console and it's complexity, there are a couple of solo knob that we are going to run into:

Solo-in-place (SIP)

This solo type mutes all other channels which means that it actually cuts them from the stereo bus as well. So it is a destructive type of solo. During a live performance or during the recording of the master, this type of solo will destroy our mix by cutting every other track off the master bus. (this solo actually uses the master bus)

Pre-fader listening (PFL)

This type of solo type uses its own mono bus which takes the channels signal before the fader. This means that the fader position does not influence the level of the soloed signal. And because it is fed to its own mono bus, it does not preserve its planning position in solo.

After-fader listening (AFL)

This solo type also uses its own bus but this takes the channels signal after the fader.
This means that the fader position does have influence on the solo level. After fader solo very often makes use of a stereo bus which then also includes the channel-pan position in the solo.

Routing section:

Here we can select the channels output routing. We can send it to the master L/R bus or perhaps to a group bus. On many consoles, this is found in the fader section.

N/B: This routing section is not in the fader section on many mixing boards, but can be found on the very top of the channel strip.

So just like I stated earlier that when we understand one channel we have basically understood all.

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_{This is where we will be calling it a day with channel strip and like always, be free to drop your questions or suggestions in the comment section. Also so you can catch up with our previous article through this links;}

The mixing console 1
Tips and tricks to setup musical instruments

Thanks for reading,

Until next time!
PHAT STUDIOS