History - Mixing Consoles

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Mixing Console History 1950s During the 1950s bands were usually recorded using just one large membrane microphone , when there were more microphones then they were generally directly merged using very simple mixing gear . The sound was instantly recorded onto a mono or eventually a stereo tape, leaving only very little room for later changes. 1960s Mixing as we know it today emerged with the when the first multitrack tape machines appeared . These were usually 4 or 8 track machines , and first simple mixing consoles were used to mix the track after the recording. A Studer J37 4-track recorder was used to record the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album in 1967 for example. 1970s In the 1970s the first large 32 channel mixing consoles appeared. Mixing consoles now featured EQs and FX sends on all channels , and it became also possible to route signals from one channel to another (such desks are also called " inline mixing consoles" ). In the mid 1970s Neve developed NECAM, the first computer-controlled moving fader automation . Many popular mixing console manufacturers debuted in the 1970s. Famous mixing console companies in the 1970s included AMS Neve, Solid State Logic, API, Harrison and Raindirk . 1980s The 1980s were dominated by the Solid State Logic SL4000 series, which largely defined the entire sound of the 80s . The Solid State Logic SL4000 became famous because of several new features. Its great build-in stereo bus compressor allowed to create compact sounds directly in the studio, something that was only possible during the mastering stage earlier on. The console also offered very popular full parametric EQs and really good compressors on each channel. Incredible routing options, including the possibility to use channels as sidechains , allowed for drum sounds with more power than ever bofore. The Solid State Logic SL4000 series is said to have created the "clean" 80s sound , and Solid State Logic claims that the Solid State Logic SL4000 has been the mixer behind more platinum selling albums than all other consoles combined . Both the E/G series compressors and the famous stereo bus compressor are still avaialable as outboard gear today , and the stereo bus compressor can still be found in todays Solid State Logic Duality and AWS900 consoles . The Solid State Logic 4000 remains a very popular mixing console even today , many consoles are now available on the second hand market . Solid State Logic doesn't repair the consoles anymore, therefore people are often using several defective units to build new consoles now. 1990s During the 1990s computers replaced tape-based recording in many home studios while DAWs (digital audio workstation) became more and more popular in the professional environment. In the beginning these were often custom made computer systems and hard disk recorders, in the mid 1990s the Apple PowerMac finally offered enough power for professional audio recording on standard computer hardware. Solid State Logic introduced the 9000 J and K series as a successor to the SL4000, this console has been widely used in R&B, Classical and Pop genres. But at the same time digital mixing consoles started to become more popular, and many professional studios started to move from analog to digital mixing consoles . 2000-today After the 1990s many amateur bands and artists started to record their own music at home , as DAW systems became more powerful and less expensive . It was now often possible to achieve the quality of low end studios at home, forcing many small studios into bankruptcy . At the same time many high end studios had to close their doors because of the music industry crisis. A lot of large high end consoles from the 1980s and 90s became available on the second hand market at very low prices. The number of companies producing large scale consoles also diminished, while digital consoles started to become more and more important and the new generation of engineers and producers already grew up with pure DAW systems. Many hits were now produced in smaller, producer owned project studios using DAWs. One of the companies that proved to remain innovative in this age was Solid State Logic, continuing to deliver high end analog mixing consoles offering DAW control features , such as the Solid State Logic Duality and AWS900 consoles. During the late 1990s and early 2000s it looked like analog mixing consoles would soon be completely replaced by digital consoles . Today it looks like this is not the case, and some people now even think that digital consoles could disappear one day . Many studios are now using DAWs in combination with controllers , while others go back to analog consoles , following the retro trend . Mixing console manufacturers like Solid State Logic follow this movement by offering high end analog mixing consoles combined with DAW controller features (such as the Duality and the AWS900).