Channel strip

Hi everyone! The topic we'll see this week is about the Channel Strip. Remember, this is according to lesson for week 3 of Introduction to Music Production at Coursera.org. The main purpose of this lesson is to teach how does a signal flow through a channel strip both in a DAW as in an analog mixing board, detailing every component, usage and position of the knobs.

¿What is a Channel Strip?

A Channel Strip is a device that allows the amplification of an input audio signal, and the control of sound effect levels applied to this one. A Channel Strip also allows the user to monitor critical listening and adjust equalization.

This device may be a stand alone unit or one of many units built into a mixing board (each one of the columns we see in there).

Parts of the Channel Strip: Analog Mixing Board and DAW

As we said before, an mixing board is composed by many channel strips, and we can find them analog (Mixer) and digital (DAW). The Channel Strip is normally composed by:

Input Section: This section contains XLR and Line inputs, which allows to introduce a input sound signal to the Channel Strip.

Trim knob: This knob is basically a preamp. Controls the input level of the signal.

Insert Section: The Insert Section allows to add or insert an external audio input to the original input signal, creating a species of mix in a single Channel Strip.

Aux sends: This knob controls a separate output for the current Channel Strip, being ussualy headphones or another mixer.

EQ Section: This section is composed by some equalization knobs which allows to manipulate the parameters of the input signal. We can see usually three knobs (High, Mid and Low equalization).

Pan knob: The Pan knob allows to control the relative level of the stereo (right and left) channels. It means that the input signal can be "moved" to the left speaker or to the right speaker according to the position of the knob, lowering the level of the opposite side. 

Mute button: This button silences or mutes the current Channel Strip.

Solo button: This button isolates the signal of the current Channel Strip, muting all others.

Fader: Controls the level of the output signal, which is sent to the master bus of the mixer, and controlled again by a master fader.

Another important thing to have in mind is that ussually a Channel Strip works with the signal flowing from the top to the bottom, but is not always this way. My personal mixer, a Peavey XR 680E Powered Mixer is a proof of this (sorry about the dust):

As you can see, this is a basic mixer. The input section (Line and Mic) at the bottom of the Strips. This mixer doesn't have a Trim knob, Insert Section, Aux Sends, Mute button and Solo button. But has an Effects Level Section, which adds some Reverb to the Channel, perfect for using in voices.

On the other hand, the DAW I use is Cubase 5. To open the Mixer we can select it from the Devices Menu or just pushing F3. The Cubase 5 mixer is like this:

The Channel Strip of the Cubase Mixer is visibly complete than my analog mixer, having all the sections already mentioned, and allowing a wider control over the signals worked in the DAW project. 

Reflections

The Channel Strip is a really important tool not just in the recording area; when we use a mixer in live performances or rehearsals, we should know at least the basic controls of these devices, to ensure a better mix and a great sound for the listeners. Thanks very much for reading again. This material wasn’t new to me but thanks to the reading and researching about this topic, I clarified some terms and concepts. I hope this you enjoyed this info and that this may be useful like it was for me. Comment!