Chapter 4
Meet the Mixer
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding the different types of mixers
Deciphering channel strips
Exploring routing and busing
If you’ve ever been to a recording studio and watched a great recording engineer create a mix, you’ve probably been entranced by the way that he or she interacted with the mixing board: a dance around the mixer, a twist of a knob here, a push of a slider there. All this works to the beat of the music. It’s like watching a genius painter paint, or a great orchestra conductor conduct, or a brilliant surgeon surge … er, operate. I’ll even bet that one reason that home recording caught your interest is the chance to play with those knobs and sliders yourself. Go ahead and admit it — you’ll feel better.
Well, you get your chance in this chapter. Not only do you discover what all those knobs and sliders do, but you also begin to understand all the functions that the mixer fulfills in the studio. You discover what makes up a channel strip and how it’s used. You get a chance to see how busing and routing work and even discover what these terms mean. But first you start by examining the different types of mixers that are used in home studios.
Meeting ...
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