The digital world is very flexible, but sometimes a bit confusing.
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I’ve spent a good deal of time in the last few years running into various patching/ routing problems. A few of them were my own, but many have been other folks who got tripped up. All of them that I can easily remember had to do with digital consoles.
I think I have an idea why.
The analog world tends to be very – shall we say – 1:1. If you plug a microphone into mic-pre 1, then it’s very likely that mic-pre 1 easily and automatically shows up in channel 1. Further, you tend to have a general alignment between the number of inputs available and the channels for those inputs to flow through. Yes, it’s true that you might have a fancier console with separate mic and line inputs on each channel. You might even have to switch between them. Even so, the tendency is for [input point n] to belong to [channel n], with a change to that scheme requiring a very obvious and very physical patch.
Digital consoles are also ubiquitously 1:1 when just “out of the box,” of course, but there are more and more consoles at accessible price points that don’t have to be that way at all. They might have a great many input options available, and those inputs may outstrip the channel count by far. For instance, the Behringer X32s in my inventory have something like 168 inputs available, but only 40 channels (32 first-class and 8 “auxiliary”) to run them through. That is, they have 32 analog inputs on the back, plus 48 inputs from AES A, 48 more inputs from AES B, 32 inputs from the USB card, and 8 “aux” inputs on top of that. With such an array of possible input points, and the very non-physical nature of the digital input matrix that chooses what input points are actually connected, the logical divorce from the channels available is – potentially – very great. Channel 1 might be handling audio from AES B 9. Channel 16 might be onboard mic pre 1. Unless you look at the totality of the input matrix and the channel’s source assignment, you can’t be sure.
The same is true of outputs. Folks invested in analog mixers are used to the idea that mix bus 1 very likely shows up on an output tied forever to that bus. Furthermore, terminology is tied strongly to fixed routing choices. E.g., a “bus” is fed from the channel, post fader, at unity gain, whereas an “aux” might be fed from either a pre or post-fader point, at a user-selectable gain.
Now, we go to digital world, and it’s increasingly more likely that “bus” is used as a generic term for any signal line that can be fed from multiple channels. That bus might be fed as pre-fader, post-channel-eq on channel 1, post-fade with user-selectable gain on channel 15, and sub-group style with post-fade unity gain on channel 31. So…what is that bus, then? A subgroup? Yes. A post-fade “aux” mix? Yes. A pre-fade “aux” mix? Also yes.
And now, which output stream does that bus feed? It’s entirely possible that there are far more buses than physical outputs. Again, an X32 has 16 configurable buses, 6 matrices, two main mix buses, a mono mix bus, 32 channel direct outs, 8 aux channel direct outs, 8 FX rack direct outs, the monitor mix bus, and the talkback. That’s 76 output sources, but an X32 only has 16 output streams…which can connect to 16 analog output “ports” if you have a full-size console or stagebox. Otherwise, you might only have 8 ports available. You can patch the streams to different physical outputs as well.
I don’t want to overplay my hand here. Most of us try to set things up so that inputs and outputs aren’t patched around in utterly mind-boggling configurations. Even with that being so, I think you can see that the flexibility and complexity of digital routing can catch a person off guard. I confuse myself sometimes, and I’m almost a native resident of digital consoles. (I’ve been around them, and have preferred them, for a very long time.)
So, what’s my point?
My point is that a full-featured digital mixer requires thought and understanding to operate. You have to have a clear idea of what you want from your signal flow, and avoid “flailing about” at all costs. Randomly banging away at the various patching matrices available to you is likely to make things worse. You have to go in with a plan, and make any changes deliberately. If you don’t, you’re likely to dig yourself a pretty deep hole.