How do YOU combine mixing ITB with OTB

Greens · 14th January 2007, 11:39 AM

This is a question for those of you out their who mix in the box.

I presume a lot of you track the stuff as well. So i was wondering do you use your outboard gear at all in the mix stage or is it plugins all the way?

Do you send all your drums out to your hardwear compressor?
Run your final mix through your pre and comp?
How do you decide when a task (comp/eq) merrits using the hardwear alternative as opposed to the plug?

Or do you guys mix strictly in the box, once everything is tracked?
Im asking because up untill now ive been strictly in the box but am now gonna get some hardwear and i was wondering how the two worlds merge. I wont have an analogue desk, just some outboard gear.

Thanks

illacov · 14th January 2007, 12:05 PM

the line is blurry for me, I use a combination of plug ins and hardware.

The combination of proper mixing techniques for both settings (ITB and OTB) is what gets me to my results.

In some instances a dbx type compressor (Hardware) is perfect on its own, so Ill just use that instead of a plug in, but more often than not, Ill grab a plug in that flavours the sound and then run that out to the hardware, which in turn makes the sound even more authentic.

Really its about getting your hands on a multi input and output interface.

I use a MOTU 2408 (original version) and just recently bought a ADA8000 which adds 8 more channels to my setup bringing me to a total of 16 analog tracks (In/Out).

If you dont want a board then go for a DAW that uses hardware as an insert like Cubase SX3 or Logic. Just make sure after you plugged up all your hardware that you have 2 remaining outputs to monitor your mixes with.

Before I got the ADA8000 I was using my 8 outputs on the MOTU to feed 8 channels to my mixer with the hardware compressors inline on the necessary channels. Now I turned my hardware comps into external effects in Cubase SX3.

The ADA8000 has better AD/DA converters than my MOTU so I use that to feed the board, as well as capture the 2 track mixdown from the board.

In regards to running stuff thru a pre. I keep my mixers main outs down at -15 db. And use an audiophile preamp to boost it back up close to 0 db. I also have a hardware eq. Having tons of headroom helps you mix alot better, so you can play around with more upfront drums or vocals and bass. By having that preamp after your board you create that headroom, just dont overdo it with increasing the gain on the preamp, you'll start addng noise.

As for the tracking issue, you can capture a good sound at the source, but you sometimes want to make sure that it doesnt fall apart during the mix so sometimes have an OTB solution helps to give things back their spark.

If you ever noticed alot of the samples we use in hip hop music (loops, breakbeats, or even keyboard patches) were recorded under the best conditions possible and we still have to mess with them to get them to sound right. So you can't substitute good tracking with good mixing, you really need both to get the best results possible.

PM me if you have anymore questions
Peace
Illumination

PS for an example of my ITB/OTB mixes go to the thread about plugins that simulate analog warmth, one of my posts has a snippet of a mix I did yesterday on my console.

e-are · 14th January 2007, 04:26 PM

[quote=illacov;1069337]the line is blurry for me, I use a combination of plug ins and hardware.

The combination of proper mixing techniques for both settings (ITB and OTB) is what gets me to my results.

In some instances a dbx type compressor (Hardware) is perfect on its own, so Ill just use that instead of a plug in, but more often than not, Ill grab a plug in that flavours the sound and then run that out to the hardware, which in turn makes the sound even more authentic.

thats right illacov

i recently started doing the same thing. i use mostly analog gear when tracking the music. then i bus 2 tracks at a time through my ua2192 converter into another comp at 96k. i try to get the music sounding close to the way i want it going in. the difference to me was major. now my plug ins sound so good because the source material's good. i'm thinking of getting 2 dbx 160a's and i think i will have enough outboard gear.

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14th January 2007, 11:39 AM	#1
Greens Gear nut Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 79	How do YOU combine mixing ITB with OTB This is a question for those of you out their who mix in the box. I presume a lot of you track the stuff as well. So i was wondering do you use your outboard gear at all in the mix stage or is it plugins all the way? Do you send all your drums out to your hardwear compressor? Run your final mix through your pre and comp? How do you decide when a task (comp/eq) merrits using the hardwear alternative as opposed to the plug? Or do you guys mix strictly in the box, once everything is tracked? Im asking because up untill now ive been strictly in the box but am now gonna get some hardwear and i was wondering how the two worlds merge. I wont have an analogue desk, just some outboard gear. Thanks

14th January 2007, 12:05 PM	#2
illacov Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: USA Posts: 720	In a few words..... the line is blurry for me, I use a combination of plug ins and hardware. The combination of proper mixing techniques for both settings (ITB and OTB) is what gets me to my results. In some instances a dbx type compressor (Hardware) is perfect on its own, so Ill just use that instead of a plug in, but more often than not, Ill grab a plug in that flavours the sound and then run that out to the hardware, which in turn makes the sound even more authentic. Really its about getting your hands on a multi input and output interface. I use a MOTU 2408 (original version) and just recently bought a ADA8000 which adds 8 more channels to my setup bringing me to a total of 16 analog tracks (In/Out). If you dont want a board then go for a DAW that uses hardware as an insert like Cubase SX3 or Logic. Just make sure after you plugged up all your hardware that you have 2 remaining outputs to monitor your mixes with. Before I got the ADA8000 I was using my 8 outputs on the MOTU to feed 8 channels to my mixer with the hardware compressors inline on the necessary channels. Now I turned my hardware comps into external effects in Cubase SX3. The ADA8000 has better AD/DA converters than my MOTU so I use that to feed the board, as well as capture the 2 track mixdown from the board. In regards to running stuff thru a pre. I keep my mixers main outs down at -15 db. And use an audiophile preamp to boost it back up close to 0 db. I also have a hardware eq. Having tons of headroom helps you mix alot better, so you can play around with more upfront drums or vocals and bass. By having that preamp after your board you create that headroom, just dont overdo it with increasing the gain on the preamp, you'll start addng noise. As for the tracking issue, you can capture a good sound at the source, but you sometimes want to make sure that it doesnt fall apart during the mix so sometimes have an OTB solution helps to give things back their spark. If you ever noticed alot of the samples we use in hip hop music (loops, breakbeats, or even keyboard patches) were recorded under the best conditions possible and we still have to mess with them to get them to sound right. So you can't substitute good tracking with good mixing, you really need both to get the best results possible. PM me if you have anymore questions Peace Illumination PS for an example of my ITB/OTB mixes go to the thread about plugins that simulate analog warmth, one of my posts has a snippet of a mix I did yesterday on my console. __________________ http://www.myspace.com/clamweezy http://www.gooniesmusic.com

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14th January 2007, 04:26 PM	#3
e-are Gear nut Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 142	[quote=illacov;1069337]the line is blurry for me, I use a combination of plug ins and hardware. The combination of proper mixing techniques for both settings (ITB and OTB) is what gets me to my results. In some instances a dbx type compressor (Hardware) is perfect on its own, so Ill just use that instead of a plug in, but more often than not, Ill grab a plug in that flavours the sound and then run that out to the hardware, which in turn makes the sound even more authentic. thats right illacov i recently started doing the same thing. i use mostly analog gear when tracking the music. then i bus 2 tracks at a time through my ua2192 converter into another comp at 96k. i try to get the music sounding close to the way i want it going in. the difference to me was major. now my plug ins sound so good because the source material's good. i'm thinking of getting 2 dbx 160a's and i think i will have enough outboard gear.