Auto Mixer Part 2
| Site: | QSC |
| Course: | TouchMix Training |
| Book: | Auto Mixer Part 2 |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Wednesday, 8 May 2024, 8:47 PM |
Description
Lesson Description
In part 2 of the auto mixer training, we walk through the rest of the controls on the auto mixer screen and show you how to fine tune the auto mixer.
Video Transcript
0:07
Welcome to part 2 of TouchMix Auto mixer training. In the last video we got the auto
0:12
mixer up and running on a number of open microphones in a panel discussion. Now let’s
0:16
take a look at how to fine tune it.
0:18
Here we have the Maximum Attenuation knob. This control is unique to TouchMix. The
0:23
Maximum attenuation is essentially a threshold of how much total attenuation is applied
0:27
to any channel. This can be adjusted to fine tune for the particular room you’re in. At its
0:32
default setting of 60 dB, the auto mixer is going to apply up to, but no more than 60 dB
0:38
of attenuation to any channel included in the auto mix. The higher the attenuation, the
0:44
less noise is going to be heard in the system.
0:46
The TouchMix also has the ability to adjust the microphone sensitivity so that it can
0:50
compensate for particularly loud or soft-spoken talkers in the discussion. With multiple
0:55
talkers it is also very likely that the distance from each talker to their microphone will be
0:59
inconsistent. Some talkers might not get close enough to their microphone while others
1:03
will inevitably “eat the microphone” by being way too close.
1:08
By moving the Sensitivity knob from its nominal value, the signal from that channel will
1:12
appear to be higher or lower and the auto mixer will be more or less sensitive to the
1:16
channel. Now the auto mixer will react accordingly for those particularly loud or soft talkers.
1:22
There may be instances where you need the auto mixer to compensate for sudden peaks
1:25
in a channels audio. Let’s say that you notice a panelist is about to sneeze. Being a
1:30
consummate professional, you bring down the fader for that channel. Now the sneeze
1:33
isn’t heard in the system – but the auto mixer will reduce the level of any active talker’s
1:38
microphones. The answer is to engage the “Follow Fader” control. This control tethers the
1:44
sensitivity to the channel fader. Now, bringing down the channel fader will also reduce the
1:48
sensitivity and the sneeze will not affect the mix.
1:52
Just remember to sanitize that microphone before you put it away.
1:56
And next to the Sensitivity Control is the metering mode control. Here, you can set the
2:00
metering mode to show the Channel level and applied gain of the auto mixer, or just the applied gain.
2:07
Now let’s say you have a few aux mixes. Maybe some floor monitors have been set up for
2:11
your panelist and the moderator is using a pair of in-ears. The auto mixer will affect any
2:16
Aux mixes that are assigned post-fader but will not affect pre-fader Aux sends.
2:21
In fact, the Auto-mixer is not going to have any effect on signal routing or processing that
2:25
might be applied to the channels. Put simply, the auto mixer is just riding the gain on the
2:29
channels assigned to it. So feel free to use the auto-mixer with presets and any other
2:33
processing or routing needed.
2:36
Now let’s get into using the auto mixer for musical application. Yes, you heard that right.
2:42
Auto mixer on instrument! Let me explain-
2:45
Now we mentioned at the top of the video that an auto mixer is not going to mix a live
2:48
band by itself. But….because TouchMix has the ability to control the maximum
2:52
attenuation- This auto mixer can be used for specific musical applications such as smaller
2:58
sections of like instruments. For instance- a horn section or backing vocal ensemble.
3:04
For musical applications like this, the auto mixer works best when set to a much lower
3:08
maximum attenuation. Typically between 3 and 6 dB. Let’s say you have a horn section
3:14
that you want to apply the auto mixer to, to help maintain a certain level within that
3:18
group of instruments. Assign all of your horn channels to the auto mixer and set the
3:22
maximum attenuation to 3 dB.
3:28
When all musicians are playing, each of their channels will be attenuated by 3 dB. Then
3:33
when a particular player takes a solo, the auto mixer will allow more gain to that
3:37
particular channel, giving the same effect as the mix engineer pushing the fader for that soloist
3:43
And that’s it! With the power of auto-mixing, your panel discussions will never sound better!
3:48
Thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time.