A true recording console is going to be fairly complex, with many options as far as signal routing and monitoring is concerned. At its most basic, it will allow you to input signals from microphones and instruments, route them to discrete outputs and/or sum them together and output them to a recorder (analog tape, hard disk, computer, etc), monitor the outputs of the recorder in real time through separate channels (either in-line or otherwise), mix these signals from the recorder together and sum them to a stereo pair of channels (the 2-mix or 2-buss) for recording to a mixdown device , monitor playback from the mixdown device, insert effects and dynamics processors into the individual signal paths and busses, and send signals out to effects and to the cue system via auxiliary sends and returns.
For example, I use a 16 channel CAD console with inline channels (in line means that each channel as a mic/line input and a tape input, with two separate signal paths per channel). I mic instruments and connect them to the mic preamp inputs on the CAD. I then send these signals to my Alesis HD24 (hard disk recorder) or Otari MX-5050 (analog tape machine) using the channels' direct outputs and/or by bussing multiple channels together and sending those outputs to the recorder (depending on which one I'm using). The outputs from the recorder connect to the 'tape return' inputs on each channel of the CAD. During tracking, the main channel faders on the mixer control the levels for the direct outs and the signals routed to the buss outs. A separate tape return gain pot is used to set the level for the tape return signal. A button on the console allows me to monitor all of the tape return signals. When its time for mixdown, I turn this switch off, and press a switch on each channel that sends the tape return to the channel fader (instead of the mic input), and I use the faders to mix the recorded tracks.
