BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PA MIXING
There w as a tim e w hen the P.A. system and the op erator
existed only to increase the overall volu m e of the p erform ers,
so that they cou ld be heard in a large room or above high
am bient noise levels. This ju st isn’t tru e any m ore. The sou nd
system and the sou nd engineer have becom e an integral p art
of the p erform ance, and the artists are heavily d ep end ent on
the op erator’s skill and the qu ality of the equ ip m ent.
The follow ing introd u ction to the basics of m ixing are
inclu d ed for the benefit of those u sers w ho m ay not have any
significant fam iliarity w ith sou nd equ ip m ent, and w ho are
baffled by the end less jargon u sed by engineers and artists
alike.
The fou r Ou tp u t Grou p s p rovid e su bm ixing to the Mix L/ R
ou tp u ts or m ay feed external equ ip m ent d irectly. Each
incorp orates stereo p anning and PFL m onitoring or bargrap h
m etering and inclu d es an external Retu rn inp u t for effects or
su bm ixing from external sou rces.
The Master section p rovid es m aster level control for the Left,
Right, Mono and Au xiliary Send bu sses, w ith sep arate AFL
m onitoring on each Au xiliary Send and the Mono ou tp u t.
The Mix L/ R and Grou p ou tp u ts all have insert p oints for the
connection of external signal p rocessing.
Com p rehensive Talkback facilities are p rovid ed , w hich allow
an external talkback m icrop hone to be rou ted to Mix L/ R,
Grou p s and Au xes 1 & 2 as requ ired . Six 12-segm ent, 3-colou r
p eak read ing LED bargrap h m eters p rovid e clear d isp lay of
Mix L/ R, Grou p and PFL signals. Pressing any PFL or AFL
sw itch p u ts the selected signal onto both sid es of the
head p hones ou tp u t, and the right bargrap h m eter.
SPIRIT Live 4 is d esigned to be as u ser-friend ly as p ossible,
bu t a few m inu tes sp ent read ing throu gh this m anu al w ill
help you becom e fam iliar w ith the p rod u ct aw ay from the
p ressu re of a live session, and allow you to gain fu ll benefit
from the su p erb p erform ance offered by you r new m ixer.
Above all, rem em ber that you r SPIRIT m ixer is d esigned to
extend you r creativity. The m ore you exp lore the controls
and the effect they have on the sou nd ou tp u t, the m ore you
w ill ap p reciate how you can influ ence and enhance the final
sou nd .
Pa g e 3
