• 19 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Mixing Board

An analog mixer: the whole board, one channel strip from top to bottom, and the master section.

Parts of a Mixing Board

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Channel strip
  2. Master section
  3. Microphone input (XLR)
  4. Line input
  5. Insert jack
  6. Gain knob (trim)
  7. Low-cut switch
  8. EQ knobs
  9. Aux send knobs
  10. Pan knob
  11. Mute switch
  12. Solo switch
  13. Peak light
  14. Channel fader
  15. Main outputs
  16. Headphone jack
  17. Phantom power switch
  18. Level meters
  19. Main fader

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a microphone

All 19 parts on the diagram

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The whole board 2

  1. Channel strip Each input has a column of its own. Each has the same controls from top to bottom. The strips are usually numbered.
  2. Master section It sets the level of the whole mix leaving the board. Some makers call it the main section.

Top of a channel strip 6

  1. Microphone input (XLR) A microphone plugs in here with a three-pin XLR plug.
  2. Line input For line-level equipment, whose signal is stronger than a microphone's. It needs less boost.
  3. Insert jack It sends the channel's signal out to an outside processor. It then brings it back in, so the processor affects this channel only.
  4. Gain knob (trim) It sets how much the input is amplified. It is set so that the peak light comes on rarely, if ever.
  5. Low-cut switch It switches in a filter that removes the channel's unwanted low rumble. Also called a high-pass filter.
  6. EQ knobs The equalizer, with one knob each for high, middle and low tones. They boost or cut them.

Rest of the strip 6

  1. Aux send knobs Each sends a channel copy somewhere other than the main mix. That can be the performers' monitor speakers or an effects unit.
  2. Pan knob It places the channel's sound left or right in the stereo picture.
  3. Mute switch It silences the channel.
  4. Solo switch It lets the operator hear this channel alone in the headphones. That does not change what goes to the main outputs.
  5. Peak light Lights when the channel's signal is too strong and about to distort. It should light rarely, if ever. Also called the clip light.
  6. Channel fader It sets how loud this channel is in the mix.

Master section 5

  1. Main outputs The finished mix leaves here, left and right. It goes to the amplifier and the speakers.
  2. Headphone jack Lets the operator listen on headphones without changing the main output. The knob beside it sets their level.
  3. Phantom power switch It sends power up the microphone cables for condenser microphones. They need it to work.
  4. Level meters They show how strong the signal is, left and right.
  5. Main fader Sets the level of the whole mix going to the main outputs. Also called the master fader.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Two unrelated makers' documents for analog mixers, read as full text on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-119336 (mic and line inputs, channel insert jack, gain, low cut filter, 3-band EQ, aux sends, pan, mute, fader, phantom power, headphone jack, LED meters, XLR main outputs) and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7348822 (channel strip, mic input, line in, insert, gain, low cut, equalizer, aux sends, pan, mute switch, solo switch, clip LED, channel fader, main section, phantom power, phones, level meter, main outputs, main mix faders). (2) Gary Davis and Ralph Jones, The Sound Reinforcement Handbook, https://archive.org/details/YamahaSoundReinforcementHandbookByGaryDavisRalphJones (gain, trim, pad, peak LED, master fader). (3) Wikipedia, text only: Mixing console (channel strip, master section, trim or gain, high-pass filter, equalization, auxiliary sends, pan control, mute, solo or cue, faders, phantom power, headphones), Phantom power and Panning (audio). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's mixer, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a mixer board in four views: the whole board, the top and the bottom of one channel strip, and the master section. Every channel strip has the same controls, so one strip teaches them all.

Read the full guide

Read a channel strip from the top down

The signal runs down the strip. It comes in at the microphone or line input (3, 4), is boosted by the gain knob (6), shaped by the low-cut switch and the EQ knobs (7, 8), copied off by the aux sends (9), placed left or right by the pan knob (10) and set in the mix by the channel fader (14). The master section then takes every channel together: meters (18), main fader (19) and main outputs (15).

  • Set the gain first, so the peak light hardly ever comes on, then mix with the faders.
  • Solo lets you hear one channel in the headphones without changing what goes to the main outputs.

Questions and answers

What is a channel strip on a mixing board?

One column of controls for one input. It usually runs from the input sockets and gain knob at the top, through the EQ, aux sends and pan, down to the fader. Every channel has the same strip, and the strips are numbered.

What is the difference between gain and the fader?

Gain, at the top of the strip, sets how much the incoming signal is amplified. The fader, at the bottom, sets how loud that channel is in the mix.

What are aux sends used for on a mixer?

Each aux send knob sends a copy of the channel to a separate output. Typical uses are a monitor mix for the performers and a feed to an effects unit.

What does phantom power do on a mixer?

It supplies power through the microphone cable to condenser microphones and active DI boxes, which need it to work.

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