Mixing Panels

It is exciting to get your first set of brand-new DJ decks. After all, now you can learn to mix for real. One of the first things you will need in your deck is a good mixing console that will allow you to swift through different tracks swiftly and seamlessly.

Mixing consoles are often very expensive. Because of this, there is no room to make errors and then go and buy another one. Therefore, before buying a mixer, you should know the role of the mixer and what are the features you will need in them. Also, the price range of mixers varies from a few thousand dirhams and all the way up to a few hundred thousand dirhams that are exclusively designed for professional performers. Read this article to know more about mixers. Having a better understanding of them will help you make the right choices when you are making the purchase.

A brief guide to Mixing Consoles

Audio mixers are pretty common for producing clean audio during events and in studios. They help in mixing sounds from different mics, vary the volume of each input, and adjust their effects. But mixing consoles are not the same as audio mixers. In fact, mixing consoles can do everything that an audio mixer can do and beyond. They are much more specialised instruments than regular audio mixers. This article tells you everything you need to know about them. You will also find some really helpful tips that you can use while you are shopping for mixers.

Common features of mixing consoles

Most mixers can do at least two basic things. These include mixing audio from two or more separate sources and matching them for the beat and applying effects to each one of these channels separately and deploying the audio through audio channels. While this is the basic function of them, there are mixers that can do more than this. Some features that you won’t find in regular mixers include crossfaders, option to chop between tracks and beat-match them on the fly, and scratch mixing the tunes to make creative effects.

Beat-matching

Beat-matching means matching a beat that is separate from the live music without feeling out of sync or out of place. To do this, DJs should be able to preview both music and the beat without playing it through the speakers. And then they have to adjust the tempo of either the beat of the music so that both of them match. So, mixers let the DJs here a preview of both the tracks through their headphones. This eliminates the need for a separate monitor speaker. So, now you know why DJs have their headphones on most of the time.

Effects and filters

In fact, regular audio mixers can add effects to the audio. But the built-in features of audio mixers are basic and if you want better features, you will have to patch other hardware into the mixer. The advantage of mixing consoles is that they have all these features already built-in. Therefore, you won’t have to look for an extra piece of hardware in order to apply a specific kind of effect on the sound. Besides low, mid and high-frequency gain dials, they have a slew of other digital filters that you can apply to each channel separately.

Honing the skills

While you can read all the books and watch all the tutorials regarding mixers, using them during a live event is a whole different thing. In a real situation, you have to be fast and accurate. There won’t be a lot of time for you to experiment a lot before deploying an audio mix. So, you should be able to figure out the flaws and rectify it using your muscle memory. This is no joke and will take a lot of experience and practice. So, if you find it difficult to produce a compelling mix at first that simply means you just need to put in a bit more time and effort into it.