Analog Mixer/Console

Not at all. At the lowest end of they food chain, they can be a bit noisey but tape hiss ( cassette based multi tracks and such) would be a bigger problem. I mix exclusively through an analog console and there's no hiss in my stuff.
 
All amplification adds hiss whether it is analog or digital. Analog hiss is usually more neutral sounding than digital hiss. But as the others have stated if you use good gear properly the hiss is rarely an issue.

The signal to noise ratio determines how noisy (hissy) a piece of gear is. Currently the highest SNR possible is around 150db on an analog Neve board that is still in development.

So even as digital gets more clean sounding the analog counterparts are also improving and at the top end still better.
 
Like everyone has stated all consoles will generate noise. It depends on the internal discrete electronics. A full Class A console is more expensive but generally has the lowest noise floor, (for a fully integrated analog console).

When you introduce outboard gear into a signal path that's where I find electrical interference and signal noise.

My D&R console is the 'quietest' board on the market. They set up an analog console with the cleanest signal path to date. When I don't have anything plugged into the board and crank the monitors I hear nothing that would make me believe the console is even on, they're that discrete.

OpAmps, transformers, and other components are critical in making a console less susceptive to a noise floor. IC chips for both digital and analog boards have advanced so much within the last 20 years that it doesn't make much of a difference for what you get; as long as you're willing to pay for it.


--AdamLazlo
 
But, once you get into Analogue mixers and such, especially with the addition of other gear, is not gain staging the most important factor when it comes to noise, hiss, distortion and the like.

The point is, any mixer, even I assume an SSL though I never tried this, will have hiss if you plug in a synth (for instande) and open up the gain all the way. So, it is always a matter of degree and always matter of the signal to noise ratio.
 
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