Lesson - Mixing Desks
I am course leader in music technology at Highbury College. These video lessons are intended for educational use only as an introduction to each topic for BTEC students. My email bob.ross@highbury.ac.uk. Highbury College, Portsmouth, UK. www.highbury.ac.uk.
My email bob.ross@highbury.ac.uk.
Highbury College, Portsmouth, UK.
www.highbury.ac.uk
Step 1: Mixing Desks
Hi everyone. This is a video lesson about mixing desks. In the very early days, this phonographic cylinder was state of the art. This was the world's first recording studio. How things have changed. Nowadays you just need a mixing desk, and off you go. A mixing desk connects people, equipment, and locations. It gives you the ability to change aspects of the sound. A mixing desk is essential for any successful recording studio, and is often called a board.
Step 2: Recording Studios
Some recording studios have banks of sick processors. It is a good idea to make your recording area as comfortable as possible. After all, you want the best performances from your artists.
Step 3: Microphone
Whether it's drums, percussion, woodwind, even a string quartet, whatever you want to record, you need to get the sound into the mixing desk. The best way normally of doing this is using the microphone. For that, you will need some cable and some connectors.
Not everything needs a microphone. For example keyboards, you can just plug them in, but always make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing. Connect keyboards with instrument leads connected to the line inputs of the mixing desk.
Step 4: A More Detailed Look at Mixing Desks
Let us have a look at a mixing desk in a bit more detail. This is a channel strip. There are twenty-four on this mixing desk and they all do the same thing. A mixing desk is normally divided out into color-coded sections. Let us take a look at those sections individually, now.
Step 5: Channel Input Section
The channel input section is where we plug sound sources into the mixing desk. We have inputs for microphones and for line inputs. The equalization, or EQ, section allows us to modify the sound by cutting or boosting, high, mid, or low frequencies. Creative use of EQ can really enhance the quality of your overall sound and the best way is to just experiment and try some stuff out. The auxiliary section is mostly used to add effects like reverb and echo.
Step 6: Monitor Section
This is the monitor section. You need to tell the mixing desk what you want to hear through the studio speakers or monitors. You have several options here, and we will investigate them in a more advanced lesson.
Step 7: Tracking and Overdubbing
When you first start a new recording, you will be using the mix-B section of the mixing desk. This is known as tracking or overdubbing. Once you have completed recording all of your performances, or takes, it is time for mixing, so we use the channel assignment section. We set the levels and perform the mix band. You may want to group certain sounds together and that is where the Groups/Buss section comes in. You can group any of the twenty-four channels into any of the eight groups. Mix down is probably the most important part of any recording so it is worth having an ordered approach to this process.
Step 8: Conclusion
Remember the artist is bearing their soul so if you give them a great recording, they will love you forever. Most importantly, take it easy, relax, and always do your best.
Thanks for watching our video
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