Quote:
Originally Posted by nightsymbol  Ken, in this mix you used the the EQ, panning, and leveling I believe on your SSL mixing board. A few questions:
1. What is your opinion about using the Slate Digital VCC SSL emulation instead (for harmonics, saturation, separation, crosstalk etc), in combination with the Waves SSL (for the leveling of the vitual faders and EQ-ing?
2. Will it more or less give us the same results (allthough it's based on a different board, the SSL 4000 G)?
3. If this is the case, you just used the SSL mixing board, because it's just there in your studio and you are just used to it and you prefer mixing on a real board instead on a computer screen?
4. Can you give an estimation in percentages how close you can get with those plugins (VCC/ Waves SSL), compared to your hardware SSL?
4. Can you please give us an more indepth (honest) opinion about this hardware/software debate? Thanks!  |
Answers as best i can....
#1 - I dont use Waves SSL or VCC so i cannot tell you, but if it helps your work flow then go with it
#2 - i hope not. I didnt put myself in the deepest debt of my life to buy a console just so plugins could emulate it. Plugins are great for what they do, but if we're putting things under a microscope, i'll take my console ten out of ten times
#3 - I mix everything on my SSL. I grew up in this industry mixing on large SSL's and Neve's, then i did several years of all in the box mixes, which i was never 100% happy with, but technology has gotten better since then.
#4 - of how close I can get? or you can get? Look, the thing about plugins and all these A / B tests, etc... if you spend long enough, and you have enough skill, you can probably get any one system to sound similar to another. Work flow and sonics are easy on the SSL. I do sample recreations for people like Kanye, i have recreated old soul records virtually identically using all modern tech. anything is possible, i prefer the balance of great analog with great digital.
on my mixing website,
Music Mixing by Major Label Mix Engineer Ken Lewis there is a link to my mixing philosophy on the main page. that goes WAY more in depth -Ken