Q1) Equalisation (EQ) can come as software or hardware and it's role is to make instruments sound more clearer in the mix and for taking out frequencies you don't want or need while mixing. EQ is very good for instruments, live instruments, sounds and vocals. EQ can make so much difference to what you are mixing down. EQ is the most important thing to use while you are mixing because it can really improve your song and to ensure that nothing sounds quiet or flat in the background. For example if a kick drum doesn't sound strong and punchy you can add an EQ and adjust the lo end frequencies until you get a strong and aggressive hit from the kick. You can also use the EQ to take out some of the air if you can hear it in the mix.
In the early days digital equipment wasn't invented. Mixing and mastering was used with analog equipment. The equipment used in the early days wasn't good quality. This meant that the records that were mixed and mastered were not mixed and mastered to a high quality standard. The EQ that was used in the early days wasn't efficient enough to make the instruments sound as clear, bright and clean as possible. Maybe the reason why the EQ wasn't efficient enough is because the frequency limit wasn't high or there wasn't many band frequencies. This meant that no matter how hard the engineer tried to make the instruments sound as good as they should, The EQ wasn't efficient enough for the instruments he/she was mixing down. In today's world digital EQ has become very popular in sound engineering. Digital EQ is much more efficient for mixing anything whether it's audio or midi, digital EQ will give you the right sound that you are listening for. There are three types of EQ and they are filter, shelf and parametric.
Q2) The polar patterns on the U47 are cardioid and omni directional and the polar pattern on the RCA 44 ribbon is a figure of 8. The U47 mic helps the vocals sound clear, mostly in high end frequencies and it doesn't let the vocals become dull in after recording. The U47 mic is now a frequently used mic in today's world and is industry standard for recording mainly vocals. The figure of 8 polar pattern picks up sound and ambiance from opposite sides, so this didn't make recording vocals easy whereas the U47 was and still is perfect for recording vocals because it the when the vocals were recorded using this mic, the engineers were satisfied with how the vocals sounded. The hi ends of the vocals were clean and bright and they do not sound dull in the actual mix. This microphone was used for recording Frank Sinatra's vocals.
Q3) A software mixer is a mixer that contains effects, mixing plugins, faders and master output and a hardware mixer is a mixer that contains faders, headphone buses, auxiliary buses, pan knobs, phantom power and daw switches, etc. On a hardware mixer you can only use it for recording live instruments and vocals and listening back to what has been recorded. On a software mixer you can use it for a numerous amount of things such as EQ'ing, compressing, limiting, automating, adding effects, etc. Software mixers are good for mixing and mastering any track to a high standard whereas on a hardware mixer you can't mix and master properly unless the studio contains a high standard of hardware mixing equipment. So in theory software mixers are best for EQ'ing, mixing and mastering and hardware mixers are best for recording live instruments and vocals. On a hardware mixer there a limited amount of channels you can use to mix down and you would need to rig up hardware plugins if the studio has any whereas on a software mixer you can mix unlimited channels and you can instantly select which plugin you want to use. However on a hardware mixer you can control headphone gain and turn phantom power on whereas on a software mixer you can't do any of those things.
Q4) I would choose a software mixer because when I have finished recording audio or midi data I can listen back to the recording and I can think about what sounds good and what can be improved. With the software mixer I can instantly choose what plugin and I can play around with it until I can hear a change that sounds perfect. For instance I can play around with the EQ on a kick drum until the kick sounds strong and punchy in the mix, finally I can use a compressor to squash the kick drum down so that it doesn't clip or become more dominant in the mixing process.
Q5) The good thing about DI boxes is that you can hear the sound of an instrument directly rather than a mic being put near the amp. When you listen back to a recorded guitar it does sound dull and and flat but you can instantly EQ it make the guitar sound more like a bright and clean. DI boxes are perfect not only for recording guitar but are good for record bass and synth keyboard. If a producer is recording one of these instruments and doesn't want to put a mic near the amp, he/she can instantly grab a DI box, jack - jack and XLR cables and set it up straight away. It doesn't take long to set up a DI unless you know how it's set up. If I was recording guitar, bass or keyboard I would definitely use a DI box because I know what they are used for and I don't find it difficult to set up. To set up a DI box you would need to grab a jack to jack cable and plug one end into the whichever instrument you are recording and you would need to plug in the other end into the DI box's input. Then you will need to grab an XLR cable and plug one end into the DI box and the other end into the box that leads into the main mixer. Finally you will need to turn the phantom power on because a DI box is a condenser piece of equipment. DI boxes pick up unbalanced audio from the input section of the DI box and balanced audio comes out of the XLR output and goes into the main mixer.
Q6)
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