Question about adding outboard gear when mixing

[exfakto]

A couple of weeks ago I received my Apogee AD-16X from mercenary. In a week or so I'll be ordering the DA-16X. I hear alot in the forums that engineers like to record everything as unprocessed as possible so when its time to mix they'll add the compressors, EQ, effx, etc. I plan on mixing "Outside the box" by using a SPL Mixdream Summing device.

My question is what are the steps to applying the ouboard gear while mixing??

Let say I have a Distressor and Im planning to use it for the vocals, the snare, the bass guitar and the room mics. Will I have to get 5 Distressors for that ??? Or I could just go processing track by track??

The problem as I see it it, I dont want to solo, let say the bass guitar, and make it sound terrific all by it self. Iwant to process it while hearing the rest of the instruments.

But If Im going track by track, how would that be done?? Im planning on getting another PC to transfer the new processed files onto it. Will they align in the new PC ? Is this a good Idea, how do you guys do it?

Ive tried using the search but nothing that I found helped me. If something is unclear let me know, this has been a torment of mine for quite sometime and I know you guys can help. Thanks alot!!

JP

[brownmouse]

Originally posted by exfakto
.

My question is what are the steps to applying the ouboard gear while mixing??

Let say I have a Distressor and Im planning to use it for the vocals, the snare, the bass guitar and the room mics. Will I have to get 5 Distressors for that ??? Or I could just go processing track by track??

The problem as I see it it, I dont want to solo, let say the bass guitar, and make it sound terrific all by it self. Iwant to process it while hearing the rest of the instruments.


JP

one way to do it is to approximate the processing with plug ins and once you've worked that out in the mix, then you can replace the plugs one at a time and re-record them on a new track and then nudge them back in time. it's kind of a drag, but its usually worth it, imho. or you could buy a bunch of outboard gear... nuthin wrong with that!!! (fwiw, i'd buy a variety of flavors instead of a bunch of one flavor)
good luck,
joshua

[vaesion]

thats how i do my stuff.......
i have a rosetta 800
1 and 2 thru to my monitors
3 and 4 in and out mp 2nv pre amp
5 and 6 in and out distressors
7 and 8 in and out fire worx
spidif in and out for finalizer

to me it doesnt seem that everything needs out board treatment after recording in with the MP pre amp
a sound here and there to the distressor
its pretty easy man........
nuendos not to bad for me.......sometimes i have to slide the recording over after goin through something but with its delay compensation and recording latency control u can get it on point.
i make keyboard and sampled base music........live stuff is probably different............i have yet to use the nuke setting on the distressor to keep a snare under control!

just make sure ur routing is simple so ur creativity can flow.......

bryan

[ringo.fire]

I only send out submixes to my protools interfaces, conected to some compressors (avalon, BSS, DBX)
since the appearence of Auto Delay Compensation in Protools and the Massenburg EQ I hardly use external EQs anymore with the exception of an Avalon 747 on the masterfader (hardware insert).
think about getting a distressor, too...
dont know about the summing boxes, seems to be a little bit esotheric. I would prefer a mixer and a tape-recorder!
processing track by track without hearing the rest- I dont know... thats what kept me away from native systems!

ringo.fire

[exfakto]

thank guys, lots of usefull info here. Keep em coming!

[bunnerabb]

If you're mixing OTB, you simply drop the processor in on the track you want to process and tweak. It's usually best to drop in verbs and DSP's on the aux buss and then you can create a return buss track to another channel and print the effect to the disk through your ADC.

Comps are more often on a per channel basis unless you want to set up a streo drum sub. Same thing. Print the comped stereo drum mix through the sub mix outs to the converters and then to disk.

I've never used hardware ITB. I'm getting a lot of my plug-ins replaced with hardware this year, though, because I prefer a console and an HDR to squinting at a screen.

I'll probably still set up the tracks ITB, but then straight out to converters and a console for the mixdown.

I'm not certain as to the I/O's offered by your summing device, but you might have to simply drop in the desired processing in line should there be no inserts. Another reason I like consoles, almost limitless routing.

[exfakto]

The suming box has 16 inputs and all inputs have inserts so its almost the same as a normal mixer. I will be riding the faders from the DAW, a Cubase Sx-3

[bunnerabb]

Gear into the appropriate insert, Bing.

You might want to write the automation envelopes for the faders unless you have a HUI.

[wooster]

ever since i added some ATTY'S to my patchbay, i can now come out of my Lavry Blues and drive my preamps, comps, etc. and have many tonal variances with my great analog gear.
makes a mixerless studio a reality with the ability to vary gain structures, and keep the signal path as minimal as possible

[Jay Kahrs]

This might be of use to you now but I like to track with EQ and compression, the goal is to make it sound like a record from day one and make some commitments to the direction of the recording, even if it's just sonically.