It can be hard to choose the right audio mixer for your needs, but a well-gain-staged mixer will make mixing and recording much easier. This chapter will help you choose the best mixer for your budget and set it up so that you get the best results.

At its most basic level, an audio mixer does exactly what its name says: it mixes audio signals. If you have more than one sound source, like five microphones, an electric guitar, a bass, and a keyboard, you need a mixer to combine the audio signals so you can control the balance between them before sending the combined signal to a loudspeaker system, recording device, etc.

Since every signal goes into and out of the mixer, buying a good one is very important and will save you a lot of trouble. In this post, I am going to showcase some considerations before you buy an audio mixer.

However, if you really want to see how a mixer performs or need it for a one-off event, then I suggest you contact a Miami speaker rentals service provider and rent an audio mixer.

Number of Channels

The channel count of a mixer, which is also called its "frame size," tells you how many sources can be plugged into its channel inputs at the same time. For example, a 24-channel mixer will let you connect at least 24 audio sources. It may also have other inputs, such as Tape and Talkback inputs, that are more specialized.

Some smaller-sized consoles have both mono channels and stereo channels. Even if they share a single channel, stereo channels are counted as two inputs. This is something you should keep in mind as you choose.

Types of connections

It's important to know both how many sources you'll connect to your mixer and what kinds of sources you'll connect. If you want to connect mostly microphones, choose a mixer with enough mic preamps.

If you want to connect line-level sources, make sure your mixer has at least a few line inputs so you don't have to use direct boxes.

Aux buses

At least one monitor mix can be sent to the stage from most mixers. Most of the time, this is done with "aux buses," which is short for "auxiliary buses." Each aux send has its own level of control on each channel.

You make your monitor mix by setting the individual aux-send levels for each channel you want to be heard in that mix. The output from the aux bus can then be hooked up to a stage monitor or an in-ear system.

If you only use aux buses for monitors, the number of aux buses you have will determine how many separate monitors mixes you can make. Keep in mind that most aux buses are mono, so you will need two aux buses for a stereo monitor mix for in-ear systems. Figure out how much you need.

Analog or digital

Mixers usually come in two types: analogue and digital. A digital mixer changes the analogue signal into digital audio data that is sent to an onboard processor. An analogue mixer uses electrical circuits and filters.

After the signal has been processed, it is changed back to the analogue domain so that it can be sent to speakers, personal monitoring systems, etc. Both types of mixers have basic controls for level and pan, but each has its own pros and cons.

In general, an analogue mixer will be cheaper and easier to use. A digital mixer, on the other hand, will be harder to use but have more features. We'll talk about this in greater depth later.

Onboard signal processing

Most mixers have some signal processing built right in to each channel, each bus, or both. Less money will have to be spent on extra gear if your mixer can do more signal processing.

In general, digital mixers have a lot more signal processing capabilities than analogue mixers. Most digital mixers have at least some dynamics processing and EQ.

It's also helpful to have built-in reverb and delay effects. Make sure, though, that onboard effects have their own dedicated aux bus. If they don't, you might have to give up a monitor mix to give vocals and instruments reverb or other effects.

Recoding options

Integrated recording is something that a lot of modern mixers can do. This can be anything from a simple two-track recording of the Main mix to a full multitrack recording to an onboard recorder, a computer, or both. Check the recording bit depth and sample rate, as well as the type of bus (USB, AVB, FireWire, etc.), when looking at computer recording options. Most modern mixers that can record do so at 44.1 kHz or higher with 24 bits.