Soundcheck Diaries

“What’s your favorite mixing console to work on?”

Whenever I’m talking with other audio engineers, this question seems to come up eventually. And sometimes, it almost feels like a rite of passage—as though your answer says something about your credibility as an engineer.

Maybe you’re supposed to name the most expensive console. The one you see on the biggest tours. The one with the most impressive feature set. Somehow, if you name the “right” console, you’ve earned your place in the club.

My answer has always been pretty simple:

My favorite console is whichever one I’m working on.

That’s because the console itself doesn’t make someone a good audio engineer.

The console is a tool. The engineer is the one making the decisions.

A mixing console gives us the tools to mold and shape the sonic landscape in front of us. Manufacturers may organize those tools differently. Buttons may be in different places. One console may use a touchscreen while another relies more heavily on physical controls. Some manufacturers even use slightly different terminology.

But underneath all of that, the fundamental concepts are remarkably similar.

Different Console. Same Toolbox.

Walk up to almost any modern digital console and you’re going to find the same basic building blocks:

Input Gain/Preamp — This is where we establish the incoming signal level. Good gain structure gives us a healthy signal to work with without clipping the input or burying it in unnecessary noise.

High-Pass Filter — One of my favorite tools for cleaning up a mix. It allows us to remove low-frequency information that doesn’t need to be there—stage rumble, handling noise, HVAC noise, and low-frequency buildup from sources that don’t need to occupy that part of the spectrum.

Equalization — Whether it’s a four-band parametric EQ or something more elaborate, EQ allows us to shape the frequency content of a source. We can remove frequencies that are creating problems, improve intelligibility, create separation between instruments, and help each source find its place in the mix.

Dynamics — Compressors, gates, expanders, and sometimes limiters give us control over the dynamic behavior of a signal. A compressor can tame a vocal that jumps dramatically in level. A gate can help control unwanted bleed or noise. These aren’t buttons that automatically make something sound better—they’re tools for solving specific problems.

Auxiliary Sends — Auxes allow us to send a signal somewhere other than the main mix. That might be a musician’s wedge, an IEM mix, a livestream feed, a recording feed, an effects processor, or even a dedicated subwoofer bus.

Panning — Pan determines where a source sits within the stereo field. In some live situations it may be used sparingly, while in broadcast, livestream, and recording mixes it can become an important tool for creating width and separation.

Routing and Buses — Groups, subgroups, matrices, DCAs, mute groups, and other routing tools allow us to organize and control increasingly complex mixes. The names and implementation may vary from console to console, but the underlying concepts remain the same.

Effects — Reverb, delay, chorus, pitch effects, and other processing can add depth, space, and character to a mix. Again, the interface may change, but a 100-millisecond delay is still a 100-millisecond delay no matter whose logo is printed on the console.

Fader — And finally, perhaps the most obvious control of all. The fader determines how much of that signal we’re putting into the mix. After all the technology, processing, routing, screens, and buttons, sometimes the solution really is simply: turn it up or turn it down.

Learn the Concept, Not the Console

This is why I’ve always believed that one of the most valuable things an audio engineer can do is learn the concept instead of memorizing the console.

If all you know is where to push, you’re dependent on that particular mixer.

But if you understand why you’re pushing it, you can figure out almost any mixer.

You may have to spend a few minutes hunting for the compressor. You might need to figure out how that manufacturer handles sends on faders. You may have to dig through a menu to find the matrix section.

That’s okay.

Because you’re not trying to figure out what you need to do.

You already know what you need to do.

You’re simply figuring out where this particular console lets you do it.

And that is a very different skill.

A good engineer isn’t someone who knows every button on one console.

A good engineer understands sound well enough to walk up to an unfamiliar console and start asking the right questions:

Where’s my gain? Where’s my EQ? How do I get to my dynamics? Where are my aux sends? How is this console routed?

Once you understand the tools and, more importantly, what you’re trying to accomplish with them, the logo printed above the faders becomes a lot less important.

Final Thoughts: The Toolbox Matters More Than the Logo

Whether I’m training musicians who need to mix themselves from the stage, church sound engineers, venue engineers, or aspiring engineers who hope to someday mix on major tours, this is the mindset I encourage them to develop:

Learn the toolbox. Don’t become dependent on the console.

Yes, some consoles offer incredible features beyond the basics. There are sophisticated plug-ins, advanced processing, automatic mixing, AI-assisted tools, elaborate routing capabilities, and plenty of features that can make our jobs easier or give us more creative options. And there’s nothing wrong with having a favorite console or getting excited about what a particular piece of gear can do.

It’s also fair to acknowledge that not every console is built the same. The quality of components can vary—from preamps and converters to processing, internal architecture, and overall build quality. Higher-end consoles may offer better components, greater processing power, more flexibility, and features designed for demanding professional environments.

Those differences are real, and they can absolutely matter. But they don’t change the fundamental principles of mixing. Better components, more processing power, and advanced features can expand what we’re able to do, but they don’t replace the knowledge required to use those tools effectively. And a skilled engineer who understands the fundamentals can create an excellent mix even when the console in front of them isn’t the most expensive one in the room.

At the end of the day, it still comes back to the fundamentals.

Gain is still gain. EQ is still EQ. Compression is still compression. An aux send is still an aux send. A fader still controls level. And the decisions we make with those tools are ultimately what the audience hears.

Sound is sound, regardless of the name printed on the console.

If you understand the basic toolbox—what each tool does, what you’re hearing, and why you would choose one tool over another—you can walk up to almost any console and find your way around. You might have to learn where a manufacturer put something or what they decided to call it, but the underlying principles haven’t changed.

That’s the difference between learning how to operate a piece of equipment and learning how to be an audio engineer.

So don’t measure your ability by the console you know how to use. Measure it by what you can do with the tools you’re given.

Because when you truly understand those tools, you can build a fantastic mix on just about any console in front of you.