Mixing/Recording in a Mixer - getting out of "In the box Mixing"

Question

Hello Audio pros,

I would like to learn about mixing, recording in a mixer. Ive been in the field for quiet a while & ive only been mixing in the box all these years.

What would be the best way to learn about mixer's in & out.

Many would suggest me to work in a studio or assist a good sound engineer, but my problem is that i work from home & getting a full time asst job would be difficult when considering my freelance work schedule.

So i thought of buying a small format mixer & learn it myself.Is this s good idea?

What would you guys recommend me to buy " a Digital or an Analog mixer?

Any mixer/s in particular?

Kindly give me your thoughts.

Cheers,

Answer 1

Professionally I spend most of my time recording and editing, and only get to mix small projects "in-the-box" on the side. I just got—and am now deeply in love with—a PreSonus FaderPort, which uses the Mackie HUI protocol to control ProTools. It has a transport section, some other useful buttons, and a motorized fader that's quite good for the meager $129 I paid.

This is serving a dual purpose for me. One, I'd like to get better at out-of-the-box mixing myself, and I'm starting to get used to working with motorized faders again. Two, it's actually helping me work faster—specifically, I can do volume work in a fraction of the time it takes to draw a bunch of break points, check my work, fix it, check again, etc.

So in a broader analysis, yes, I would recommend getting a small motorized-fader control surface and forcing yourself to learn it and use it on your projects. That's a good start.