TheAudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourse

MODULE10MODELANSWERS

MIXINGCONSOLES

Whatisthefunctionofthegaincontrol?

Thegaincontrolisusedtobringuptheinputsignaltoasclosetotheoptimumlevelaspossible,maximising
noiseperformancefromthechannel.

Whatotherswitchedfunctionsareavailableclosetothegaincontrol?
Atypicalconsolewillincludeoneormoreinputselectswitches,andaphaseswitchtoinvertthesignal.A
filtercanbeswitchedintocutlowfrequenciesbelowaround100Hz,andapadcanbeswitchedinto
attenuatethesignal.

Whatisaninsertpoint?

Aninsertpointallowsanexternalsignalprocessortobeinsertedintothesignalpath.Onlyasinglesignalis
processedandthewholeoftheprocessedsignalisusedwithoutanyoftheunprocessedsignal.

Whattypeofprocessingwouldaninsertpointbeusedfor?
Aninsertpointwouldbeusedtoconnectanexternalprocessorsuchasacompressor,noisegateor
equalizer.Theonlyconstraintisthattheexternalprocessormustbedesignedtoprocessthewholesignal,
asitisnotmixedbackinwiththeoriginal(asyouwouldwithanauxsend)butreplacesit.Theinsertpoint
wouldhardlyeverbeusedforreverb.

Whatismeantby'prefadeauxiliary'?

Aprefadeauxsendisusedtocreateanadditionalmix.Thesignalsaretakenfromapointinthechannel
beforethefader,sothattheprefadeauxmixiscompletelyindependentoffaderlevels.Itistypicallyused
formusicians'foldback.

Whatismeantby'postfadeauxiliary'?

Apostfadeauxsendisusedtocreateanadditionalmix.Thesignalsaretakenfromapointinthechannel
afterthefader,sothatthepostfadeauxmixisaffectedbyfaderlevels.Itistypicallyusedforthesendtoa
reverbunit.

Describethetwosignalpathsinthechannelmoduleofaninlineconsole?

Thetwosignalpathsofaninlineconsolearetheinputpathandthemonitorpath.Thesignalfromamic
wouldgothoughtheinputsignalpathandeventuallytoonetrackofthemultitrack,withtheoutputofthe
multitrackcomingbackthroughthesamechannelstripinthemonitorpath.

Ifthesmallfaderisusedtocontrolthesignallevelsenttothemultitrackrecorder,whatisthelargefader
usedfor?

Thelargefaderisusedforthealternatepathtothesmallfader,sointhiscaseitwouldbeusedforthe
monitormix,controllingthesignalcomingfromthemultitrackmachine,bethatthemultitrackinputorthe
signalofftape(ordisketc).

Whatisthemeaningof'flip'?

Module10ModelAnswers
Theterm'flip'referstoexchangingtherolesofthelargeandsmallfadersforallchannelssimultaneously,
forinstancewhengoingfromtrackingtomix.Itcanalsomeanselectingacertainchannelfacilityonan
individualchanneltothereverseoftheconditionsetbythemastermodule.

Commentonthesharingoffacilitiesbetweeninputandmonitorsignalpaths.

Thechannelfacilities(eq,dynamics,auxsends)canbeindividuallyswitchedbetweenthemonitorand
inputpaths.Theprocessingcanthereforebeappliedbeforeorafterthemultitrackasappropriate.Ifa
certainfacilityisswitchedtotheinputpath,itcantbeusedonthemonitorpath.

DescribetwousesofPFL.

PFLcanbeusedtolistentoachannelinisolationforfaultfindingorcloserscrutiny,andcanalsobeusedto
helpsettingthecorrectgainbyusingthemainmeterstoviewthelevelofachannel.

Commentonthedangerofsoloinplace.

Soloinplaceworksbymutingalltheotherchannels.Thiswillthereforesilencethemcompletely,therefore
itwouldbeverydangeroustohavethisfacilityinaliveorbroadcastconsole.

Whatis'solosafe'?

Solosafeisamodethatachannelcanbeputintothatwillexcludeitfromtheeffectsofsoloingother
channels.Ifusingachannel(orpair)asaneffectreturn,thisenablestheeffectreturntoremainfunctional
whenanotherchannelisputintosolomode,sothatthesoloedchannelisheardwiththeeffectintact.

DescribetheuseofRecordstatus.

Recordstatusisintendedfortherecordingofbasictracks.Thesmallfadersareusedforlevelcontroltothe
multitrack,whilstthelargefadersareusedtocreateamonitormix.Themultitrackwillbeinsyncmode
(whichmeansthatforananalogrecorder,theplaybacksignalistakenfromtherecordheadandthusisin
syncwithtracksthatarebeingnewlyrecorded),andthestudioloudspeakerswillbeoff.

DescribetheuseofReplaystatus.
InReplaystatus,themultitrackisswitchedtousetheplaybackhead(onananalogrecorder),andthe
studioloudspeakersareturnedon.Allthelargefadersareswitchedtotapetracks,overridinganychannel
settings.

DescribetheuseofMixstatus

ThetapepathinMixstatusisidenticaltothatinReplaystatus,exceptthatthetapesignalcomesinviathe
lineinputsasopposedtothetapeinputs.Thisleavesthesmallfadersavailabletobeusedforroutingthe
signaltochannelgroupsetcasadditionalauxsends.Sincethesmallfadercanbeautomated,itcanbeused
asanautomatablesend.Theycanalsobeusedtobringinadditionalsignalstothemix.

DescribetheuseofRecord+Mix(Overdub)status.

OverdubstatusisidenticaltoMixstatus,exceptthatindividualchannelscanbeswitchedintoRecord
mode.

Whyis'statuslock'importantforsometypesofuseoftheconsole?

Foranylivesituation(whetherinvenueorbroadcast),puttingtheconsoleintoStatusLockhelpsto
safeguardagainstunintentionalconsolechangesthatwouldaffectthefinalsoundoutputbytheconsole.
Manyfunctionsarelockedintotheircurrentstate,andcouldonlybealteredbyremovingtheStatusLock.
Thefunctionslockedarethosethatwouldnotnormallyberequiredorbechangedduringlivework.

Module10ModelAnswers
CommentontheoptionsprovidedbytheMonitorSelectionandControlsection.

TheMonitorSelectionandControlsectioncontainscontrolsthatareglobaltothewholeconsole,affecting
thingssuchasmonitoring,metering,consolestatusandcommunications.Themonitoringcontrolsallow
differentmixestobemonitoredincludingFXbuses,stereobuses,andexternalsources.

Whatis'SoloinFront'?
SoloinFrontdoesnotmutenonsolochannels,butinsteaddimsthem,suchthatthesoloenabledchannel
isheardstillincontext,butliftedoutofthemix.

DescribetherelationshipbetweentheFXSend1controlinthechannelmoduleandtheFX1Level
controlintheCue/FXsendssection.
TheFXSend1controlonanindividualchannelcontrolsthesignallevelsenttotheFXSend1busbythat
individualchannel.TheFX1LevelcontrolintheCue/FXsendssectioncontrolstheleveloftheFXSend1
bussenttotheexternalunit.Itisamastercontrolinotherwords.

DescribethemainmeteringoptionsintheSL9000Jconsole.

Therearetwosetsofmeters.Onesetisthechannelmeters,atoneperchannel.Thesecanbeswitched
(globally)tometerdifferentpointsinthechannelpath,withachoicebetweentheinputsignalandeither
fader.TheballisticsofthemeterscanbeswitchedbetweenVUandPPM,andpeakreadingscanalsobe
storedanddisplayed.Additionalexternalmeterscanbeconnected,andtheirsourceselected.Themain
meterscanbeusedtomonitoreithertheconsolemainoutput,themonitoroutput,oroneoftwoexternal
sources.

DescribethemaincommunicationfeaturesintheSL9000Jconsole.
Communicationfeaturesenabletheengineertotalktoandlistentothestudioarea.Thetalkback
microphonecanbeconnectedtoanyfoldbackmix,thestudioloudspeakersandoneexternaldestination.
Therearealsocontrolsforacuelight("Action!")andaredlight("Donteventhinkaboutcomingin").The
talkbackcanbesettoautomaticallyswitchonandoffaccordingtomultitrackstatus.

DescribetherelationshipbetweenVUanddecibels.

Achangeof1VUisthesameasachangeof1dB.

Whatsignallevel,indBu,isrequiredtoproduceareadingof0VU?

+4dBu

WhatisthedrawbackoftheVUmeter?

Itisslowtorespondandunderreadsfastchangingsignals.

DescribetwodifferencesinthePPM,comparedtotheVU,thatmakeitmoreaccurate.

Itiselectronicallycontrolledandtheneedlecanmovefaster.

Commentonthedifferenceintheneedle'srisetimeandfallbacktime.

AlthoughthePPMhasafastrisetime,thefallbacktimeismadeslowertomakethemetereasiertoread.

AccordingtoBBCpractice,whatelectricallevelisindicatedbyPPM4?

0dBu

AccordingtoBBCpractice,whatisindicatedbyPPM6?

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Peaklevel,or+8dBu

MIXING

Whatisa'monitormix'?

Amixusedduringtheoverdubbingprocesstoapproximatewhatthetrackwilleventuallysoundlike.

Commentonthevalueofworkingononetrackatatimeandmixingitbeforeproceedingtothenext
trackofanalbum.

Themonitormixcandevelopasthetrackbuildsup.Whenoverdubbingiscomplete,themonitormixcan
beusedasastartingpointforthefinalmix.Itislesslikelythattherewillbeaconsistentsoundfromtrack
totrack.

Commentonrecordinganalbuminstages:allthebasictracks,alltheoverdubs,allthemixing.

Itismoreefficienttoworkinthisway.Forinstance,thestudiodoesnotneedtoberesettorecordthe
basictracksforthenextsong.Itislikelythattherewillbeaconsistentsoundfromtracktotrack.

WhyisitusefultocopymonitormixestoDAT(orCD)?

Sothattheartistorbandcantakecopiesawayfromthestudioforlisteningandgeneratingnewideas.

Commentontheintendedlisteningapplicationsofvariouskindsofmix.

Mixesmaybemadespeciallyforcertainmedia:radio,TV,TV(minustheleadvocal),vinyl,CD.Themain
requirementforaradiomixisthatitshouldsoundasgoodaspossibleonalowqualityplaybacksystem.
TheCDmixcanhaveawiderdynamicrange,anditisgenerallypossibletorelyonthelistenerhaving
reasonablygoodlowfrequencyreproduction.

WhyisDATnowgenerallyconsideredinadequateformusicmixing?

StandardDATisonlyasgoodasCD.Thereisnomarginofextraqualityforfuturedomesticformats.

Whyishalfinchanalogtapestillusedasamasterformat?

Someproducerslikethecharacteristicsoundofanalogtape.

Commentontheprocessesofremixing,inthemodernsense.

Remixingistheprocessoftakinganoldrecordingandrecreatingitinthecurrentlypopularstyle.Thismay
beasdrasticastakingtheoriginalvocalandrerecordinganentirelynewbackingtrack.Alternatively,new
instrumentsmaybeaddedtotheoriginaltrack,perhapsincludingheavierandmorerhythmicallyprecise
drumsamples.

Whyisitmoredifficulttomixamultitrackrecording,wherethetrackshavebeenrecorded
independently,thantomixamultitrackrecordingofaconcert?

Itcanbepresumedthatthearrangementandoverallsoundattheconcertwasgood,thereforethemix
consistsofrecreatingthatsoundandperhapsimprovingonitalittle.Incontrast,wherethevarioustracks
ofthearrangementarerecordedseparately,thereisnoguaranteethattheywillsoundgoodwhenthe
mixingprocessstarts.Thereforethemixingengineerhastoworkhardertoachieveasatisfactorybalance.

Howmuchcanatopmixengineerearn,persong?

IntheUSA,uptoaround$2000.Thereareveryfewengineerswhocanearnthisamountofmoney.It
indicateshowdemandingthisworkis.

Module10ModelAnswers
Brieflydescribemixinginthe1960s.

Therehardlywasanymixingprocessinthe1960s.Iftherecordingwasmadeon4trackmultitrack,then
certaininstrumentswouldbemixedasoverdubbingtookplace,simplytofreeupnewtracks.Bythetime
therecordingwasfinished,theleadvocalmightbeononetrack,backgroundvocalsonanother,solo
instrumentsonthethirdandtheentirebasictracksonthefourth.When16trackrecordersbecame
available,itwaspossiblemostlytohaveoneinstrumentpertrack.Duringthemixingprocessitwasnot
uncommonfortheengineer,theproducerandmembersofthebandeachtocontrolafewofthefaders.

Whyisautomatedmixingnowconsideredessential?

Therearesimplysomanytracks.48trackrecordingiscommonplaceandnoengineercancontrolsomany
fadersliveduringthemix.

Commentonhowautomatedmixingallowstheengineertolistentothemixmoreeffectively.

Byallowingtheautomationsystemtoperformfadermovesthathavealreadybeenworkedout,the
engineerisfreetoconcentrateonthesoundfromthemonitorsandperfectnewmoves.

Whatwouldyouexpecttobeautomatedonananalogconsole?

Fadersandmutes.

Whyareotherfeaturesofanalogconsolesnotautomated?
Itistooexpensivetousepotentiometersandswitchesthatarecapableofbeingcontrolledbyan
automationsystem.

Describetheaudiopathinamovingfaderautomationsystem(theportionrelevanttoautomation,not
theentirepath).

Theaudiosignalgoesthroughtheresistivetrackofthefader,justasinamixingconsolewithout
automation.

Commentontheusefulnessofautomatingmutes.

Duringthemultitrackrecordingprocess,particularlyoflivemusicians,itisnormalforalotofunwanted
soundstobuilduponthetapethevocalisthummingthefirstnotebeforestartingtosing;aguitarsolo
wheretheguitaristplaysafew'trial'licksbeforethesoloitself;thecountinbeforethetrackstarts.Any
unwantedsoundscanbemutedsothatonlythewantedaudioremains.Muteautomationisalsousefulfor
silencinginactiveportionsoftracksotherwisetheywouldcontributenoisetothemix.

Whatare'snapshots'?

Amixcanbemadespeciallyfortheverseofasong,andanotherslightlydifferentmixforthechorus.These
canbestoredassnapshotsandautomaticallyrecalledforeachverseandeachchorus.

Commentonthedifferencebetween'corrective'and'creative'levelcontrol.

Correctivelevelcontrolisused,forexample,toevenoutthelevelofavocal.Asingerislikelytobequite
variableinlevelsothisistobeexpected.Oncethisisdone,theengineerandproducercanconcentrateon
balancingthevocalagainsttheotherinstruments.

Howis'update'or'trim'performedonamovingfaderconsole?
Thefadertobetrimmedisassignedasaslavetoanotherfaderthatisdesignatedasthemasterinafader
group.Theslavemayalreadybeperformingacomplexseriesofmoves,andthesemoveswillriseorfallin
levelaccordingtothepositionofthemasterfader.Whenalliscorrect,thefadergroupcanbedissolved

Module10ModelAnswers
andthesumofthemovesassignedtowhatwastheslave.

DescribetheaudiopathinaVCAconsole.

Theaudiosignalpassesthroughavoltagecontrolledamplifier,notthroughthetrackofthefader.

Howis'update'or'trim'performedonaVCAconsole?

TheleveloftheaudioiscontrolledbyaDCvoltagefedtotheVCA.Whenthefaderisintrimmode,the
computersendstheoriginalsequenceofvoltagestotheVCA,towhichisaddedthenewvoltagefromthe
fader.TheVCArespondstothesumofthevoltages,whichofcourseisalsostoredbythecomputer.

Endofmodelanswers.

Module10ModelAnswers