Later in the article, we’ll look at ways to mitigate this… 1 – How To Connect 2 Audio Mixers Using Balanced 1/4” Cables The main thing to understand is that an audio mixer’s output is more powerful than a mic input expects to receive.

The outputs of all audio mixers are line level, XLR inputs are generally mic level, and some mixers have 1/4” line-level inputs. It can be problematic to provide a line level signal into a mic level input – this can overwhelm the channel and cause the signal to peak and become distorted. Microphone inputs are designed to receive a tiny input signal from microphones. The second concept we need to touch on is line level vs mic level. You shouldn’t use unbalanced cables for runs over 15’, so unless you’re connecting a guitar to an amp, we always recommend using a balanced TRS cable.

Unbalanced Cables: Cables with only one ring are unbalanced instrument cables.

Balanced Cables: Cables with two rings are balanced TRS cables.

So, what’s the difference? 1/4” cables come with various connection types. The first is balanced and unbalanced connections.

The groups will be completely self-sufficient but need to connect to the main audio mixer to access the speaker system.īefore we jump into the 3 ways to connect audio mixers, we need to cover a couple of concepts.

Working at festivals – Similar to the venue scenario above, festivals will provide the main audio mixing console that is there to bring in the audio mixing console of each group that performs.Working in a venue with bands – If you’re working in a venue with a band that takes care of their own mix, they’ll need to connect their audio mixer to the house mixer in order to access the speaker system.One way to get around this is to use a second mixer to apply a different effect and then send it to your main mixer for output to your speakers. You want to use multiple effects – An audio mixer like the Yamaha MG10XU has 24 built-in FX, but you can only use one at a time.

Audio mixer multiple outputs