As if changing patches, adjusting tempo, editing velocity and volume, modifying the duration of notes...as if all this were not intoxicating enough, software sequencers now provide an opportunity to assume the role of a full-fledged audio engineer! Granted that virtual mixers are not the equivalent of huge hardware consoles, they do nonetheless enable us to improve our modest recordings.

So, we pretend that we're behind the glass partition in the recording studio, and we brashly load a song and the mixer display (which might be labeled “Faders.”)

The mixer is another feature that offers a wide perspective of the MIDI recording, since it shows all tracks. Accordingly, every song file in your library can profitably be viewed through this image. What do we see?

Well, you should see all the tracks, and the specific patch number in each track. The volume-control knobs (“faders,” “sliders”) are prominent, just waiting for you (the renown engineer) to experiment with levels. The readout of volume levels will change as you manipulate the controls.

Try some other stunts, like enhancing a stereophonic effect. Given two instruments on separate tracks, shift the Pan control for one patch in one direction; shift the control in the other direction for the other patch.

Play with the reverb controls. You will remember that reverb refers to the depth of an echo, such as the difference between the acoustics of a small room vis-à-vis a concert hall.

A mixer is a neat place to audition instrumentalists, like evaluating the performance of the guy blowing clarinet on track 5. Mixers have the capacity to mute tracks and to solo instruments, thereby endowing you with the awesome power of deciding fates.

Ultimately, however, the mixer gets us thinking about balance, the relative emphasis of each patch in an instrumental arrangement. Proper balance is defined as a stability resulting from equalization of opposing forces. It contributes to an enhanced recording.

Copyright © 1995 Eugene A. Confrey, PhD. All rights reserved.