Mixing: Analog vs Digital

[Antoine8]

Originally Posted by Teknobeam

In your scenario, think of it as if the DAW was an analog multitrack tape machine like a 48 track Studer or something. Your tracks are recorded into the DAW (virtual multitrack recorder) on individual channels. There you can loop, ditz, arrange, edit them using all of the tools available. Then when it's time to mix the tracks into a two track master, you buss the tracks back through the Toftas you would in an analog session where you can apply the eq strips of the mixer and allof your outboard effects connected to the Toft. You can use this process the whole way through to record all of your tracks while you monitor the recorded channels on another buss. But at the end, you are mixing it down to two channels and that could either end up on the DAW or to any other recording device you like. You could also do things such as record effects on separate tracks pass by pass and dry on separate tracks that way you have many options. Either way, you are mixing exactly as you would on an analog console except that the tracks are ending up in the digital domain instead of tape. In my case, the only thing leaving the DAW are the effects. I am bussing the sends to outboard reverb FX and delays and some compression. I can adjust those sends on my control surface and I can mix 24 tracks at once with faders in terms of level and pan, and more with board flips. My signal is going into the DAW via a Speck mixer, but it doesn't return to the analog domain during mixdown. There are compromises no matter which way you do it. For me, it is a huge benefit to adjust pan and level simultaneously and quickly on a number of tracks. With your setup, you will be able to do more than that.

Man so much great examples here.

So doing it the way you suggest would mean an OTB mix right? I am relying on my A/D Convertors to do their job each time i go in my daw and back to the Toft or console?

I guess you have to rely they are doing a good job!

Hmm more thinking and more questions.
Thank you