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Hello everyone, thanks again for your replies. I respect everyone's opinions of the Big console, and while I definitely don't think it is the "Holy Grail" of consoles, I have to say that its probably the best that I've heard out of all the consoles I've had experience with in the studio's I've visited or recorded in(which unfortunately doesn't include any of the "big boys" consoles). I've recorded and/or mixed on an Alesis X2, a Behringer MX8000, Mackie D8bus and its analog 8bus counterpart. I've also used a Trident console (can't remember which series), a Neotek Elite (or whatever its called) and probably a few other boards that aren't even worth remembering or mentioning. I've also mixed in the box on Pro Tools and I have to say I hated the straight in the box sound of pro tools more than anything (it was way too clean IMO)
As you can see, all of these are typically "project studio" type of consoles, so the Big probably fits within that area of studios. (Now, I can't remember for sure, but I think the studio that had the Big console had the inputs modified on the board. I don't know what modifications were done, but I recall hearing something about the board being outfitted with some sort of modifications. <-- perhaps this contributed to the sound I was hearing maybe? )
In any case, I don't do any mixing; I just track my projects and take them to my engineer for recording vocals and mixing. Now, while I think my engineer is GREAT, and our mixes usually turned out fantastic on the sonic level, I still feel like there's that something that's missing that I honestly think comes from the sound of "what you're putting you're tracks/mixes through". For the pros, this is usually probably the pre-amps and the board that the tracks are running through (for those who still rely on mixing out of the box).
I'm not so much looking for a "magic box" thats gonna do everything for me. What I'm looking for are some opinions on what tools I can use to get me closer to the sound that I'm hoping to achieve. One thing I've learned in my all my experience recording as well as reading these forums is that the mix phase actually starts during the tracking phase. In other words, I guess approx. 75% of how a mix will sound is dictated by how the song was tracked. So that leads me to believe that if I want my mixes to sound the way I hear it in my head, then I need to track it like that (at least in terms of having the sonic characteristics that I want the individual tracks to have. So, if the Big is frowned upon in these circles, what would you guys recommend as an alternative to achieve a warm but tight and punchy characteristic for tracking.
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