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The Fundamental Sound Mixers Cart


Keegan Osburn

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I have tried finding this in previous but have had no luck so far. If I've missed it, I apologize and would be greatly appreciative for a link!

I was just curious: What are the fundamental parts and signal flow of a location sound mixers production cart? How do you personally prefer for your own cart to be set up if you have one?

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This is quite a general question which I don't think has a simple answer. If I had to answer this with a simple and fundamental answer, it would be something that applies to the general signal flow for everything we do: microphone > mixer > recorder > media > deliverable. The infinite number of ways that this signal flow is achieved on anyone's sound cart is not so easy to answer. Maybe I don't understand the question.

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Even though this is a sound mixer forum intended for working professionals, we seem to get an inordinate number of questions along the line of "What gear should I buy to be a sound mixer?" 

Time for a bit of tough love...

If you don't have enough experience to know what mic you need, you're not ready to buy one. If you don't know what gear you need to configure a bag, you're not ready to assemble one.  If you don't know what you need on a sound cart, you're not ready to build one. 

Buying gear grants you neither knowledge nor experience. 

If you're serious about learning this trade, apprentice with someone accomplished.  Keep your mouth shut and your mind open.

Rather than asking what you need to buy to be a pro, learn to listen like one. 

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Yea, this kid wanted to know what bass guitar I recommended, and I told him not to buy a bass, spend a couple years listening to bass first, maybe hum along.



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As a musician, I would strongly disagree with this, and as a sound mixer I would point out that this comparison is not valid.
If you have a love for music and an interest in making music, do not spend years to not make music, what a waste of time! The earlier you start playing an instrument the better you can become. Buy yourself a cheap (or used) bass guitar or find someone who might lend you theirs.
Please, Giraffe, go to that "kid" and retract your advice and turn it into the opposite.
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14 minutes ago, Constantin said:


As a musician, I would strongly disagree with this, and as a sound mixer I would point out that this comparison is not valid.
If you have a love for music and an interest in making music, do not spend years to not make music, what a waste of time! The earlier you start playing an instrument the better you can become. Buy yourself a cheap (or used) bass guitar or find someone who might lend you theirs.
Please, Giraffe, go to that "kid" and retract your advice and turn it into the opposite.

 I believe giraffe was using sarcasm here ...

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My point is that his advice, which amounts to "go be exposed to professionals and watch them and work under them and don't put the cart before the horse"

Is very good advice, but often doesn't apply to people.

Some people are going to learn by going out and doing it, many many people in fact.

For those people, that advice makes no sense.

Those people will need to hop in the pool and accidentally breath some water, and for that they are going to need equipment.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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Some people are going to learn by going out and doing it, many many people in fact.

Yes, but that's not what the OP wants to do. The OP wants us to do his work for him, asking questions instead of just doing it for himself

To, for once, add an analogy, too, this would be like joining a forum of driving instructors and asking them how to drive a car and, more importantly, which car to buy, instead of actually taking driving lessons, or at least finding someone to show them and let them drive on a private road.

Seems obvious that this isn't the way to learn it.

 

Now you are?! How embarrassing to me!

Don't be, it's all on me. That's probably what happens when I post in a forum while at work
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  • 2 weeks later...
On March 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM, giraffe said:

Yea, this kid wanted to know what bass guitar I recommended, and I told him not to buy a bass, spend a couple years listening to bass first, maybe hum along.



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Bad analogy. A better way to say it would be "this kid wanted to play bass, so he asked me how to build one. I suggested he learn to play first"

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  • 2 months later...
On 3/13/2017 at 8:31 AM, John Blankenship said:

Even though this is a sound mixer forum intended for working professionals, we seem to get an inordinate number of questions along the line of "What gear should I buy to be a sound mixer?" 

Time for a bit of tough love...

If you don't have enough experience to know what mic you need, you're not ready to buy one. If you don't know what gear you need to configure a bag, you're not ready to assemble one.  If you don't know what you need on a sound cart, you're not ready to build one. 

Buying gear grants you neither knowledge nor experience. 

If you're serious about learning this trade, apprentice with someone accomplished.  Keep your mouth shut and your mind open.

Rather than asking what you need to buy to be a pro, learn to listen like one. 

Tough love, yes. But a VERY necessary point. It doesn't just happen in location sound but in FOH/festival sound. People with money to buy gear after researching specs, underbidding the pros and over-saturating the industry.

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