This Whole Mixer Thing...

[bdenton]

I've noticed that a lot of noob posts start out "I'm just getting started. I'm planning to buy a mic and a mixer ..."

Thankfully the "old hands" are able to provide them with good reasons why they do not need to buy a mixer, or at least provide them with the questions they need to ask themselves before buying a mixer.

But it seems nobody is asking why all of these noobs think they need a mixer.

An aside...no kid wakes up and thinks, "I'm gonna sell tens of copies of my CD/download a year." They all think, "I'm gonna sell 10 million copies of my debut CD in the first week!" And thank GOD for youthful optimism.

I just watched "Notorious", and I've been watching a lot (too much) of music-oriented TV programming lately.

And one thing I've noticed...you don'tsee more than an occasional shot of an artist in front of a microphone in the live room. What you do see is an artist sitting in front of a 10,000 channel console in the control room, often with his posse and a bunch of hot babes. And you often see the best-celling artist moving the faders and twisting the knobs, "mixing" his latest effort. (You don't see a scene with the poor engineer having to go back in and reset everything after filming/taping is over!)

Keep in mind that most noobs have never been inside a recording studio at all, much less been in one when tracking, mixing, etc is going on (that's why we call them "newbies", right?)

So the picture that gets imprinted in a noob's mind is big hit = monster mixer. And they think that it is one of the recording "essentials". Which we all know just isn't the case.

Maybe we need a "10 Reasons Why You Don't Need A Mixer" sticky...it would probably cut down on some of the repetitive questions...

 

[miroslav]

So the picture that gets imprinted in a noob's mind is big hit = monster mixer. And they think that it is one of the recording "essentials". Which we all know just isn't the case.

Maybe we need a "10 Reasons Why You Don't Need A Mixer" sticky...it would probably cut down on some of the repetitive questions...

But....big hits still DO get mixed on monster mixers....in any cases.

I know where you are coming from, though I don't think it's really just a question of what people "need", as these days you CAN reduce a "studio" down to a small laptop and a USB mic.
It's more a question of "choice" VS "needs"...though the reality for most noobs is that their immediate needs/budgets often drive their choices.

That said...I agree you don't *need* a mixer...but mixers are still in heavy use in many pro studios that have the space, and I’m seeing some pros who for awhile did the “home project studio” thing, now turning back to the big room studios...so we'll keep seeing those great magazine shots of monster mixers for many years to come.
Like when you see a picture of some guy sitting in front of a 12" x 12" control surface and computer monitor...don't you feel somewhat underwhelmed!

 

[cybadaz]

erm not really ,(from a purely noobie/hobbiest / for fun POV )
i looked at the instruments gathered in the garage and asked myself what we needed , to get them into a Computer .

Before reading up on the "problem" it felt normal to assume i needed a Mixer - especially as my AI had 1 useful input .

However further reading on here and clicking those links reveals how , for myself - upgrading the Audio Interface was far more practical .

 

[buzzard bass]

A lot of people still prefer analog, in that case you kinda need a mixer. If you could get an interface that was made into a mixer that would be cool, I think they're simpler. I know there's the Zoom, but only 2 inputs with phantom.

 

[miroslav]

Right...as I said, it's about choices.

If it's reduced to a simple question of "How do I get the signal from point A to B?"...then it can be just about need.
But pros and even semi-pros don't usually approach their engineering purely from a technical need perspective, they consider other things, like the sound and their overall recording methodology…though I can understand why noobs and occasional hobbyists might only think of need when first starting out.

 

[buzzard bass]

And think about it, a pro who's used to working with a mixer for decades aint gonna want to suddenly switch to a virtual mixer on a screen, they're going to integrate digital recording into what they know, are comfortable with, essentially the computer is simply a digital tape deck.

 

[moresound]

And think about it, a pro who's used to working with a mixer for decades aint gonna want to suddenly switch to a virtual mixer on a screen, they're going to integrate digital recording into what they know, are comfortable with, essentially the computer is simply a digital tape deck.

Exactly!!!