Automatic microphone mixing apparatus

An automatic sound mixing apparatus for use with a relatively substantial number of vocalists and/or instrumentalists, comprising:

• a plurality of microphones, each of said microphones for receiving sound generated by one of the vocalists or instrumentalists and outputting an audio signal;
• a plurality of regulating means, each of said regulating means responsive to only a corresponding one of said microphones, each of said regulating means including:
• detecting means for providing a peak audio signal,
• reference means for providing a predetermined, fixed reference level signal,
• first means responsive to said detecting means and said reference means for outputting a volume control signal, and
• second means responsive to the volume control signal and one of said microphones for outputting a modified volume audio signal, the level of the modified volume audio signal depending upon the magnitude of the reference level signal;
• summing means responsive to each of the volume control signals outputted by each of said regulating means, said summing means outputting a volume control restoring signal;
• mixing means responsive to each of said modified volume audio signals for outputting an audio sum signal;
• and
• restoring means responsive to said summing means and said mixing means for controlling the level of the audio sum signal, the level of the audio sum signal being dependent upon the level of the volume control restoring signal.

A method for combining sounds generated simultaneously by a relatively substantial number of vocalists and/or instrumentalists, comprising the steps of:

• providing a number of microphones, the number of microphones corresponding to the number of vocalists and instrumentalists;
• regulating the level of each of the audio signals being outputted by each of the microphones to generate modified audio signals, each modified audio signal having a constant level regardless of the magnitude of its corresponding audio signal;
• mixing continuously all of the modified audio signals to produce a single audio signal after regulating the level of each of the audio signals outputted by the microphones;
• and
• restoring the dynamics to the single audio signal modified during the regulating of the audio signal levels.

A method for combining a number of audio signals, comprising the steps of:

• providing a reference level signal having a fixed, predetermined level;
• producing a number of audio signals;
• generating a number of control signals;
• regulating the level of the audio signals using the reference level signal to generate modified audio signals, each of the modified audio signals having a constant level regardless of the magnitude of its corresponding audio signal;
• mixing the modified audio signals to produce a single audio signal;
• processing each of the control signals to output a restoring signal;
• and
• controlling the level of the single audio signal using the restoring signal to restore the dynamics of the audio signals altered during the regulating of the audio signal levels.

A method for combining a number of audio signals, comprising the steps of:

• generating a plurality of audio signals;
• separating each of the audio signals into a first signal component and a second signal component, each of the first signal components having a constant level;
• mixing continuously, regardless of the magnitude thereof, all of the first signal components to provide a single audio signal;
• mixing each of the second signal components to provide a single control signal;
• and
• combining the single audio signal and the single control signal to restore collectively the dynamics of the audio signals modified during the separating of the audio signals into first and second signal components.