The Mixing Console in Worship
A mixer may have 12, 24,
36 or upward of 56 channel strips. That's a lot of knobs! But remember
that most channel strips are exactly alike, and once you learn the features
and operation for a single channel strip. Therefore you can simply repeat
the process for the input, aux send and eq for each channel strip, bearing
in mind that each instrument or vocal will require it's own unique adjustments.
One of the best ways to become
familiar with a console is to spend a some time in practice. First, you'll
need a sound source, or a selection of sound sources. There are two types
of sources you could use: one is an acoustic source picked up by a microphone;
the other is a direct source, such as tape or CD. I suggest you begin by
using a tape or CD player, connected to a line input of your mixer.You'll
also need decent headphones or some good quality studio monitors connected
to the control room or main mixer outputs. By monitoring the console output
as directly as possible, you will be able to hear qualitative changes as
you make them - including subtle differences room acoustics or ambient
noise would otherwise obscure.
The idea is to send your
program source through an input channel, play with the various channel
controls (EQ, pan, etc.), and monitor the results. You may want to connect
your source to a stereo channel to do some of your tests and then connect
to a mono input to discover the differences. The stereo and mono inputs
may differ, for example, in the EQ control available. Also, listen to how
the pan (or balance) control differs on a stereo channel from the pan on
a mono channel.
The area you'll want to spend
the most time with is the EQ. Listen to a variety of program material to
determine how your mixer's channel EQ affects the sound of the signal.
Some of the best recordings to use include male speaking voices and solo
recordings of piano, violin and guitar. The higher the recording quality
the better, but almost any recording will give you some idea of what your
EQ will do.
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