SoundCraft Spirit SX, Manual To Mixing

Page: 7 / 40

D. Signal Flow
Now the typical mixer features have been explained in
detail it is important to understand how they form
together. The route which a signal source takes through a
mixer is normally shown using one of two devices:
a
block diagram or a signal flow diagram .
Both diagrams provide a ‘visual’ description of the key
elements of the mixing console. They allow you to identify
which components are used in the audio path and help the
engineer to “troubleshoot” when signal sources don’t appear
to be doing what they should! In simple terms, they are
electronic maps.
An example of a signal flow diagram is shown here. This
is the most basic representation of console layout, showing
a how a single sound source may pass through an input
strip to the various other parts of the mixer.
Block diagrams are slightly more complex, showing more
detail, electronic information, including the location of
resistors and capacitors, and the structure of the entire
console including bussing:
an example is shown on page
37 . Block diagrams also use a number of symbols to
represent electronic elements. A few minutes spent
understanding them some time during your journey
through this booklet will most definitely pay-off in future
mixing projects.
SECTION 1: Starting Out
7
FADER
PAN
MIX
FADER
AUX PRE
AUX PRE
MASTER
AUX POST
AUX POST
MASTER
SUB GROUP
FADER
SUB GROUP
TO MIX
AUX PRE
OUT
AUX POST
OUT
SUB GROUP
OUT
MIX
OUTPUT
MIC
LINE
MIC
PREAMP
HI PASS
FILTER
INSERT
EQ
ON/OFF
SWITCH
ROUTING
SWITCH
A Typical Signal Flow Path
FIG. 1.6
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