ABSTRACT
In the modern audio studio, the spotlight is often on computer editing rather than the control board ; however, the audio console is still a primary piece of equipment in most production facilities. It can sometimes be more difficult to understand than other equipment, but it is important that you are familiar with its operation, because most other pieces of equipment operate in conjunction with the audio console. Therefore, unless you can operate the audio console, you can’t really utilize other studio equipment, such as a CD player or audio recorder. Audio consoles can range from a simple field mixer (see Figure 5.1 ) to a typical on-air radio console (see Figure 5.2 ) or a complex control board used for music recording (see Figure 5.3 ). Note that a console, used in on-air studios at broadcast stations, is quite often referred to as a “board.” Typically, the term “mixer” denotes a smaller console, particularly those employed in remote applications. A typical on-air board performs fewer functions than a production console and is fairly easy to understand, while a larger production
console can be intimidating and difficult to understand (based solely on the expanded functions it can perform). Regardless of their complexity, all control boards have basic similarities. Even though you may run across many different audio consoles in your production work, a thorough knowledge of any one should enable you to use any control board after a brief orientation.
