and subgroup buses . Therefore , direct buttons would find limited use on a board designed for live performance .
23 . Assign buttons . When pressed , the Output Assignment buttons (# 23 ) routes the channel signal to one or more of the primary output buses or subgroups . The output assignment sections of a mixer are typically designed to serve either a studio application or a live application . Some , but not many , can serve both applications at once . Some mixers also include a separate button to send the channel to the main left-right output . Recording mixers typically position the assignment buttons at the top of the channel strip and the number of buses equates roughly with the number of recorder channels , depending on how the studio has been set up . The illustrated channel strip has eight possible bus / subgroup assignments , which is a functional amount for most live purposes . However , a mixer with eight separate channel outputs can also function well in a recording application , too . Most people who use a mixer at home aren ’ t doing large sessions that demand that more than eight tracks at a time are recorded — and the mix is usually monitored from a separate stereo output — so there is little downside to using a mixer with only eight bus outputs .
24 . Output buses . In this illustration , it ’ s easy to see that the assign busses are indicated , but it ’ s also easy to recognize that the aux and PFL buses are shown . If there are questions about how mixer circuits are routed , simply look at the block diagram . If you question whether the input channels automatically send to the main FOH stereo output , check the diagram . In our sample illustration , it doesn ’ t show the channel fader being routed to anything other than the assign button , so we could conclude there is not a normal send to the stereo FOH mix . A mixer like this requires that two of the eight bus assignments are used to feed the stereo mains .
25 . Mute button . On this input channel illustration , does the mute button cut the signal just after the preamp , just after the pan pot , or just before the signal gets to the bus ? We have no way of knowing from this diagram .
If there ’ s a question about something that isn ’ t included in a block diagram , there ’ s a good chance there will be another block diagram that includes it . Become familiar with the manual for the mixer ( s ) you use and look at the diagrams they provide . Remove the guesswork and black-box magic from the equation . Learning just a little bit about how to read a block diagram makes the job easier and will help you be a better , more effective , and more confident sound operator .
Bill Gibson Teacher at Berklee College of Music Online , content creator for LinkedIn Learning , and author of more than forty books and videos about live sound and studio recording . Most recent book releases : The Ultimate Live Sound Operator ’ s Handbook , 3rd Edition , and The First 50 Recording Techniques You Should Know to Track Music . He also recently self-published an eBook / Audiobook combo called Stream Great-Sounding Audio : Guide for Streaming Church Services and Other Events .
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