A Virtual Mixer is a software application that runs on a computer or other digital audio system. Providing the same functionality of a digital or analog
mixing console
A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic inst ...
, a virtual mixer takes the audio outputs of many separate tracks or live sources and combines them into a pair of stereo outputs or other routed subgroups for auxiliary outputs.
History
Around the mid 1990s, computers achieved a level of processing power that allowed for professional recordings to be done digitally. In the following decade, many artists began recording their own music in home studios with the aid of DAW (
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...
) software like GarageBand or ProTools. It was this move away from high end studios and the rise of computing power in personal computers that gave rise to virtual mixers that required minimal to no physical interface.
Design
The design of most virtual mixers is modeled after physical mixers. The individual channel strips are arranged side-by-side and the user is given control over level and pan. There is also a single master fader for the stereo output. The actual controls are also modeled after physical mixers, featuring faders and knobs that can be controlled using a mouse and keyboard shortcuts.
Each channel displays a
decibel
The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...
meter and slots for optional third-party plugins. These plugins range from built-in effects to EQ,
compression
Compression may refer to:
Physical science
*Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces
*Compression member, a structural element such as a column
*Compressibility, susceptibility to compression
*Gas compression
*Compression ratio, of a c ...
, and gates. These plugins can be implemented a number of ways. Each channel allows for plugins to be added via dropdown menus from a number of slots. Through this method, plugins are applied to individual channels. Alternatively, plugins can be applied to a number of channels by busing the desired channels to another track. In this case, the effectiveness of the effect can be controlled through the fader of the bused channel.
See also
*
Digital Mixing Console
In professional audio, a digital mixing console (DMC) is a type of mixing console used to combine, route, and change the dynamics, equalization and other properties of multiple audio input signals, using digital signal processing rather than an ...
*
Music Sequencer
A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...
*
MIDI Controller
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
*
Plugin
*
Audio Units
Audio Units (AU) are a system-level plug-in architecture provided by Core Audio in Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems. Audio Units are a set of application programming interface (API) services provided by the operating system to generate, ...
*
VST VST may refer to:
* Vancouver School of Theology, a theological graduate school in British Columbia, Canada
* VST, Stockholm Västerås Airport in Sweden (IATA airport code)
* Vehicle safety technology
* Virtual Studio Technology, Steinberg's stand ...
External links
* http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug00/articles/usingvmixers.htm
Audio engineering
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