Life Cycle of the Analog Mixing Console: The stages in the usage of three example devices

Authors

• Kai Lassfolk University of Helsinki https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6517-6109

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33355/tw.79427

Keywords:

music technology, recording studios, history of music, studio equipment

Abstract

The mixing console is literarily a central device in a music recording studio. It is large in physical size and placed in the center of the studio control room. However, during the last two decades, its role has changed from a mandatory piece of equipment into a relic of the past analog recording workflow and its functions have been taken over largely by computers.

This study focuses on the use and changes therein of the mixing console and mixer technology in general. By examining the various uses of three example mixing consoles (the EMI REDD.51, the Decca WSW mixer in Vienna’s Sofiensaal and the Neve 8028 of the Sound City studio in L.A.), the article introduces a four-stage model for analyzing the life cycle of individual mixers and the development of mixer technology in general.

The theoretical framework and the research approach are based on the concepts of Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) pioneered by Wiebe Bijker, Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco, Nelly Oudshoorn and others. There, the role of users as agents of technological development is a central aspect of analysis. Also, previous studies on the history of music technology, e.g. by Susan Schmidt Horning, are used as part of the conceptual and historical framework.

The study covers the uses and users of mixing consoles in both (Western) classical and popular music productions. The research material consists of film and video documents as well as written studies and descriptions of the mixers and how they were used. As a conclusion, the study argues that the four-stage model is useful for analyzing the users’ effect on technological development and can be applied other genres of music technology besides mixing consoles.