6. Home studio, Podcast & Co.
Analogue mixers have a ton of applications. They’re handy tools for on-the-fly podcast mixing, serving as recording and playback aids in home studios, sub-mixers on stage, or as the main mixing console in rehearsal spaces.
When recording podcasts, a suitable mixer can cut down the post-recording work significantly. Mixing during the recording process and individually compressing the dynamics of different voices can reduce the need for extensive editing later on. Good podcast mixers also make it easy to incorporate music and effects. If the mixer includes a ducking effect, it automatically lowers the music volume when someone speaks into a connected microphone.
Homerecording Studio
Homerecording comes with different challenges. Analogue mixers often prepare signals before they're converted by an audio interface and sent to a computer. For beginners, hybrid mixers that maintain analogue signal paths but integrate an audio interface are even simpler. These mixers convert analogue signals into digital data and send them via USB, Firewire, or Thunderbolt to a computer for further processing in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
In live concerts, analogue mixers work great as sub-mixers. They combine multiple signals and output them on fewer channels than they receive. This makes managing numerous signal sources more manageable. For example, a keyboard player using several synthesizers, a drummer employing various electronic percussion devices, or multiple microphones for background vocals. The FOH mixer handling the venue's sound can neatly manage a stereo sum of synthesizers, e-drums, or background vocals.
Live concert
In rehearsal spaces, mixers with the ability to manage both the main sound mix and sub-mixes or individual monitor signals are quite handy. It's useful, for instance, to provide musicians with personalized monitor mixes or record rehearsals using an integrated audio interface and connected recording devices. This way, no note is forgotten, and spontaneously improvised sections can be listened to and practiced later on.
Rehearsal space
