General Mixer learning materials ?

[JohnW63]

It seems I have fallen into being "the audio" guy for the school district I work in. Of course, I am supposed to be one of the IT guys, but since I also have "electronic equipment" in my repair categories as well, sound systems seem to get handed to me.

I really appreciate all the help you guys ( or gals, if you are one. ) have given me so far with the D8B mixer system one high school has.

What I need now are some links or books or videos on mixers. I'm tired of relying on the users telling me how to do things, when often the teacher or student is not correct or only knows what buttons they always push to make it work. Looking at the piles of wires and rack of HD Recorders and amps and EQs and wireless mics and the rest can be intimidating, when you are called on to fix it, when your not sure how to run a mixer.

So, do you have any suggestions ?

[Bruce Graham]

Hi JohnW63;

I have been mixing for a few years, (started in 1976), and also taught audio (theory and practical) and would suggest that you start at the beginning, understanding audio, then learn how to mix it.

Books I recommend are
1- Yamaha Sound Re-enforcement Handbook.
2- Modern Recording Techniques (SAMS publication). Drop the stuff that doesn't apply like Analogue tape machine etc.
3 The Recording Studio Handbook (John M. Woram). This was the bible in the day and still has a lot of useful info.

Ear Training
There is an ear training/listening course called "Golden Ear". Not sure who created it but it is very, very good. Be prepared to invest a lot of time here, or is that hear?.

Video's
Not sure where to start here. There is tons of stuff out there. Google and the internet may be a good place to start.

Practical
Try to get your hands on multi track recording of various bands and mix your heart away. Not sure where you can get them. Perhaps others on this forum, who subscribe to my thoughts on learning audio, could offer some suggestions!

Audio Systems (books)
Audio Systems, Design and Installations (SAMS, Philip Giddings), is about the easiest to understand book on this subject that I have read.
There are many other great books out there but this is the place to start.

Other topics of interest are
- Acoustics,
- Microphone design and application,
- Digital Audio systems
- Stereo audio
- Multi Channel Audio (surround if you will)
- Compression and expanders and EQ, and Gating, and Reverbs, and MIDI
- and on and on and on.

I find it so confusing and frustrating that our bosses think that audio is something one can learn quickly by telling you it falls within your job specs.
"Well your an IT person so audio is technical so you can do that too! And hey while we are at it you can do the lighting control systems for the theatre and light all the shows too! That's technical! And when your done could you get me a fancy coffee from Starbucks cause you sure need a technical degree to order a coffee from them".

OK, that was my rant. I feel better now! All is right in the world. Ask more and you learn more!

Good luck!

Cheers
Bruce

[kderector]

Here is a site that I have been using to practice. I find it rather cool that this is out here.

http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm

Have Fun,

Ken

[JohnW63]

Thanks Bruce !

I think they feel that because I can solder connectors back on cables and have repaired or facilitated the repair of a number of speakers, and.... there is no one ELSE on staff in our k-12 district that knows much beyond how to teach... the job fell to me.

Maybe I can actually become the expert and get a pay increase ?

[JohnW63]

My school district has paid for a subscription to Safari Books Online.

http://techbus.safaribooksonline.com

If I do a search of "Audio Mixing" I get quite a few hits. If I can find something good there, I don't have to pay to read it. There are LOTS of titles. Many of program specific like Garage Band or AVID or others, but some are about theory and hardware.

If anyone has time to do a search, which you can do without a subscription , and sees a book or two worth checking out, so I don's have to slog through the 4882 hits I got on my search, I would appreciate it.

[JohnW63]

Oh, by the way, I HAVE had to fix the stage lights in the past. So, your prediction of lighting systems was accurate !

[Bruce Graham]

Hi JohnW63;

To funny! I guess I had skills I didn't know I had!

I will take a look through your website and see what I can see as a recommendation for bed time reading.

I had a quick look at the book titled "Mixing" and thought the TOC covered the basics and some other more advanced skill sets. But then I couldn't get past the TOC.

I'll get back to you ASAP.

The post from Ken gets you right into mixing but I couldn't figure out how to get the tracks to my HDR. Another task for later.

Cheers.
Bruce