Ever wondered, “What does an audio mixer do?” It’s a question we’re often asked by first-time users who know they need audio equipment for their event but don’t know exactly what it does. In this article, we’ll answer that question and explain some of the things that an audio mixer will help with at your event.
Quick Answer: An audio mixer allows you to take audio from multiple sources and balance their volumes to produce pleasing audio for your event guests. They also give you tools to deal with common event audio problems.
The Main Functions of an Audio Mixer
An audio mixer has two main functions:
- To adjust the volumes across multiple inputs
- Shape the tone of the sound
To make sure that the multiple inputs sound good together and the overall output sounds great to the guests at your event.
Inputs on a Mixer
There are a few different types of inputs on audio mixers. Let’s look at the Yamaha MG10 mixer as an example. In total, it has 10 inputs which are broken down into:
- 4 XLR inputs – Great for connecting XLR Microphones & XLR Cable
- 3 Stereo inputs – Good for line-level inputs (phones, computers, keyboards, etc.)
Each stereo input has a left and right channel, so there are 10 inputs in total.
Using Multiple Inputs At The Same Time
With the 10 channels on the Yamaha MG10 mixer, you could plug in an iPod, a laptop, a mobile phone, and 4 microphones all at once. Then you can mix the volume, so it sounds great and balanced to your guests.
If you have a speaker talking over music, the mixer allows you to turn down specific frequencies in the music to make sure that guests can clearly hear the speaker’s voice.
Feedback Control
Wireless lapel microphones are notorious for causing feedback, especially if you have a few of them on at the same time. If your speakers are wearing these microphones, you can use the mixer to eliminate the frequencies causing this issue.
What Does an Audio Mixer Do? Equipment Pricing & Specs
- Yamaha MG10 Mixer: https://currentprice.io/yamaha_mg10
- Yamaha MG10XU: https://currentprice.io/mg10xu
- Allen & Heath QU16: https://currentprice.io/qu16
- Mackie ProFX10v3 Audio Mixer:https://currentprice.io/profx10v3
What Does an Audio Mixer Do? | Beginner Overview Topics
- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:22 The main functions of an audio mixer
- 0:39 Inputs on a mixer
- 0:54 Using multiple inputs at the same time
- 1:35 Feedback control
- 2:20 Final thoughts
