Lesson Description
Auto Mixer Part 2
3m 53s
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
Auto Mixer Part 2
3m 53s
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.