10
Making the Most of Your Mixer
Mixer Basics
MG124CX/MG124C Owner’s Manual
Ambience
Your mixes can be further refined by adding
ambience effects such as reverb or delay. The MG’s
internal effects can be used to add reverb or delay
to individual channels in the same way as external
effects processors. (Refer to page 16).
Reverb and Delay Time
The optimum reverb time for a piece of music will
depend on the music’s tempo and density, but as a
general rule longer reverb times are good for
ballads, while shorter reverb times are more suited
to up-tempo tunes. Delay times can be adjusted to
create a wide variety of “grooves”. When adding
delay to a vocal, for example, try setting the delay
time to dotted eighth notes corresponding to the
tune’s tempo.
Reverb Tone
Different reverb programs will have different “reverb
tone” due to differences in the reverb time of the
high or low frequencies. Too much reverb,
particularly in the high frequencies, can result in
unnatural sound and interfere with the high
frequencies in other parts of the mix. It’s always a
good idea to choose a reverb program that gives
you the depth you want without detracting from the
clarity of the mix.
Reverb Level
It’s amazing how quickly your ears can lose
perspective and fool you into believing that a totally
washed-out mix sounds perfectly fine. To avoid
falling into this trap start with reverb level all the way
down, then gradually bring the reverb into the mix
until you can just hear the difference. Any more than
this normally becomes a “special effect.”
The Modulation Effects:
Phasing, Chorus, and Flanging
All of these effects work on basically the same
principle: a portion of the audio signal is “time-
shifted” and then mixed back with the direct signal.
The amount of time shift is controlled, or
“modulated”, by an LFO (Low-frequency Oscillator).
For phasing effects the shift is very small. The
phase difference between the modulated and direct
signals causes cancellation at some frequencies
and reinforces the signal at others and this causes
the shimmering sound we hear.
For chorus and flanging the signal is delayed by
several milliseconds, with the delay time modulated
by an LFO, and recombined with the direct signal. In
addition to the phasing effect described above, the
delay modulation causes a perceived pitch shift
which, when mixed with the direct signal, results in a
harmonically rich swirling or swishing sound.
The difference between chorus and flanging effects
is primarily in the amount of delay time and
feedback used—flanging uses longer delay times
than chorus, whereas chorus generally uses a more
complex delay structure. Chorus is most often used
to thicken the sound of an instrument, while flanging
is usually used as an outright “special effect” to
produce otherworldly sonic swoops.
Compression
One form of compression known as “limiting” can,
when properly used, produce a smooth, unified
sound with no excessive peaks or distortion. A
common example of the use of compression is to
“tame” a vocal that has a wide dynamic range in
order to tighten up the mix. With the right amount of
compression you’ll be able to clearly hear whispered
passages while passionate shouts are still well
balanced in the mix. Compression can also be
valuable on bass guitar. Too much compression can
be a cause of feedback, however, so use it
sparingly.
Most compressors require several critical
parameters to be set properly to achieve the desired
sound. The MG compressor makes achieving great
sound much easier: all you need to do is set a single
“compression” control and all of the pertinent
parameters are automatically adjusted for you.
(Min)
(Max)
INPUT
OUTPUT
