STARTING OUT
A. What does a Mixer do?
No matter how sophisticated or expensive, all mixers carry
out the same basic function - to blend and control the
volume of a number of input signals, add effects and
processing where required and route the resulting mix to
the appropriate destination, which could be power
amplifiers, the tracks of a recording device - or both. A
mixer is the nerve centre of these sources, and therefore the
most vital part of your audio system.
B. Guidelines in
Choosing a Mixer
Audio mixers come in many different sizes and at all price
levels, so it’s little wonder that people are confused as to
what type is actually needed for the job in hand. However
there are several questions you can to ask yourself that will
help you narrow your search to the most appropriate
models.
• What am I going to be using the mixer for - i.e.
multitrack recording, live PA work or both?
• What is my budget?
• How many sound sources do I have? As a guideline your
mixer needs to have at least as many inputs as sound
sources. If you are likely to be buying more equipment in
the future you should budget for extra inputs.
• What particular mixer facilities
must I have
for my
application? i.e. plenty of EQ, auxiliaries, or Direct Outs
for recording.
• How portable does the mixer need to be?
• Will I be doing any location work where there won’t be
any mains power available?
• Have I read the Soundcraft Guide to Mixing from cover
to cover?
Once you can answer these questions satisfactorily you
should have a fairly accurate specification for the mixer you
need.
C. The Controls -
A Description
This is where we get into the nitty-gritty of
what controls and inputs/outputs you’ll find
on a typical mixer. For this example, we’ve
used a Spirit SX .
If you are already
familiar with what the controls on a
standard mixer do, then it’s OK to skip to
section 2.
If you find a term particularly
difficult, further explanation can be found
in the Glossary (Section 8).
MONO INPUTS
A Mic In
Use this "XLR" input to connect your
microphones or DI boxes.
For Mic Input Wiring Explanations see section 7.
B Line In
Use this connector for plugging in "Line
Level" instruments such as keyboards,
samplers or drum machines. It can also be
used to accept the returns from multitrack
tape machines and other recording media.
The Line Input is not designed for
microphones and although it may be used,
will not provide optimum performance with
them.
For Line Input wiring explanations see section 7.
C Insert Point
This is used to connect external signal
processors such as compressors or limiters
within the input module. The Insert Point
allows external
devices to be
placed within the
Input Path - see
Fig. 1.1.
See Section 2 and 3
for more detail on how to use processors, and
Section 7 for information on wiring.
SECTION 1:
Starting Out
3
10
0
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
10
0
0
5
10
20
30
40
50
-60dBu
5
5
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
0
DIR
LINE
INS
MIC
SENS
100Hz
MID
LF
10
0
10
0
HF
AUX
1
PRE
AUX
2
POST/
PRE
AUX
3
POST
PAN
10
5
0
5
10
15
20
30
∞
0N
MIX
SUB
PFL
8
INSERT
MIC/LINE
EQ
PROCESSOR
- COMPRESSOR
- NOISE GATE
- LIMITER
- EXPANDER
A
B
C
FIG. 1.1
13924 Inners 7/8/01 2:56 pm Page 3
Summary of Contents for Spirit SX
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