best way to set a mixer

[mixaholic]

what is the best way to set a mixer. only really use the mixer to record my vocals so only use one channel and i turn all the other faders down. i have a yamaha mg/10 and i wanted to know what was the best way to set it. it has gain, summing gain, and output. I read the manual on how to set it up which says set the gain till it clips and back off a little and set the master output to the nominal but my mixer doesnt even have any number markings on them so i dont know where nomial is and it doesnt even explain how to set the summing gain. i read on one of these forums that it isnt good to set a mixer by setting the gain till it clips and backin off a lil bit cause it eats up alot of headroom so i'm not sure how i should set the mixer. can someone assist me please and how do i find the nominal output if there is no marking on the mixer . also here's the link to where u can download this mixers manual pdf so jus scroll down a lil and please read it so maybe u can help me out. thanks

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-MG102-Stereo-Mixer?sku=630048

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Start by turning down the input gain (the white knob at the top of the channel strip) fully counter-clockwise.

Then set the channel level knob (the big white knob at the bottom of the strip) to that point at about the 3:00 position that has the thicker/bolder hash mark than the rest. Do the same with the big red Main Level knob on the right of the mixer.

Now start turning the Input Gain at the top of the channel strip up, watching your meters on the right. Turn it up until the peaks are just barely registering "-1" or "0" on the meters, which looks to be the 7th and 8th LEDs up from the bottom, respectively.

At that point you should have a decent signal to record. It's possible you may want to push the level slightly, depending on how fast and accurate those meters are. Maybe - just maybe, mind you - you might want or need to turn the Input Gain just a bit higher, pushing the peaks just a little past zero. This may give you a cleaner signal with better signal-to noise ratio, but you'll have to play with that yourself and see what works best.

*IF* with the above instructions you have to turn the Input Gain almost all the way down or almost all the way up (i.e. you have to turn it below about 8:30 on the left or past about 3:30 on the right), then you might want to adjust your channel strip level knob up or down just a bit in order to try and keep your input gain (this is your mic preamp contol, BTW) in a "sweet spot" somewhere between those extreme values. This is not a given, but it's something to keep in mind if you're hanong trouble dialing in a good sound.

HTH,

G.

 

[mixaholic]

thanks alot glen that was some very good detailed advice.

 

[MastaChief]

well i'm having exactly same kind of problem.. I got Phonic MU-1002 mixer with gain, 3 band EQ, Peak level knob and Master fader.. I really can't tune that s**t by myself but if you guys could help me a bit..

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

well i'm having exactly same kind of problem.. I got Phonic MU-1002 mixer with gain, 3 band EQ, Peak level knob and Master fader.. I really can't tune that s**t by myself but if you guys could help me a bit..

Well, the general principle of this technique is the same for all brands and models of mixer. While your controls may be labeled slightly different from mixaholic's, and you may (?) have sliders instead of knobs for the channel faders, the above recipe should stay basically the same.

The main idea is to set your individual channel faders at "unity gain". This is the spot on the fader control, usually specially marked by the number "0" or a thicker or different-colored hash mark, that its typically about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the slider (or in the case of a knob like mixaholoics, about the same amount rotated clockwise). This spot is where that fader control is designed to provide zero cut and zero boost to the signal; i.e., lets the signal pass out of the channel strip without increasing or decreasing the volume.

Whn you have the channel strip set to unity gain, then you adjust the input control for the channel strip - usually the top-most knob on the strip, and can be called "Input", "Gain" or "Trim", depending upon the make and model of the mixer. Adjust that input gain until you are getting a peak reading somehwere around 0 for that channel on your meters. Note that on mixers with a single set of meters and not a seperate meter for each channel, this reading should be taken with that channel soloed (or with all other channels muted) so that you are getting the level reading just for that one channel you are adjusting.

G.

 

[Dani Pace]

The set up you described sounds more like the way to set a mixer for "live sound" which is a little different from a recording set up. With live you have to worry about controlling feedback, with recording you should be more concerned with clarity and controlling peaks.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

The set up you described sounds more like the way to set a mixer for "live sound" which is a little different from a recording set up. With live you have to worry about controlling feedback, with recording you should be more concerned with clarity and controlling peaks.

It's all about gain staging with that technique. If your channel is riding around 0VU you *are* insuring clarity by running your voltage where the curcuitry wants it to be and controlling peaks by setting your peaks by the meter. At the same time you're keeping your levels in the sweet spot for the next link in the signal chain.

The more channels you sub or sum, the more complictaed it gets in getting the right balance between channel levels and buss levels (keeping the faders for all in the sweet zones, trying to keep everything staged well). How much to weight the levels on the channel side versus the buss side depends greatly upon the character of the mixer itself.

But for mixonic's situation of one channel at a time it's real easy; initially set the mixer itself to unity gain all the way through and then set the preamp gain to pump at 0VU. Then make balance adjustments between the preamp gain and the channel gain *only if* unity gain means having to set to preamp way low or way high, or if the preamp just plain sounds better at an extreme setting; but that last one is - to my expereince, anyway - rare amongst integrated mixer preamps in smaller mixers.

G.