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Step 2From the top: Gain (Trim, Sens)
On any good size mixer there will be a knob at the very top (first one in the strip) labeled "Gain" or "Sens" or "Trim." These are all the same thing. Put simply, the gain knob sets the "input volume." Think of a water faucet: a full water "signal" comes in through the pipe (input cord), and the faucet itself (gain control) sort of limits the amount coming into the sink (mixer). Because of the way a sound signal is composed of several different sounds at different volumes mixed together, the gain will naturally eliminate some of the very quiet signals; unless it is set very high. It's like survival of the loudest, and the trim sets the bar on how present a signal must be to get into the mixer. For this reason, it is sometimes labeled as Sens., for sensitivity. A high gain will be more sensitive to quieter signals like soft overtones and even spit pops in microphones.
Using Gain
Many people make the mistake of mistaking gain for volume. This is wrong. Gain should be used just like any other control knob: to set the kind of sound you want and the quality, not volume. That is what faders are for. Additionally, any gain changes will also affect the sound in the monitors or other auxes, so be careful. If you don't know what those are, don't worry: I'll explain them later.
A common use for gain is to sort of even out or normalize the signal (calibration). This is done if you have a VU meter, which tells you how loud the output sound is. One would set your fader or output volume control to 0dB and alter the gain until the meter says the sound is at 0dB.
Using Gain
Many people make the mistake of mistaking gain for volume. This is wrong. Gain should be used just like any other control knob: to set the kind of sound you want and the quality, not volume. That is what faders are for. Additionally, any gain changes will also affect the sound in the monitors or other auxes, so be careful. If you don't know what those are, don't worry: I'll explain them later.
A common use for gain is to sort of even out or normalize the signal (calibration). This is done if you have a VU meter, which tells you how loud the output sound is. One would set your fader or output volume control to 0dB and alter the gain until the meter says the sound is at 0dB.
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and you are correct that there is no need of external hardware !!
In olden times , the computer processing speed was very low . so they used external electronic mixers . If you have a powerful pc you dont even have to use hardware mixers !! right ?