That's exactly the approach I use. Best mixing scenario I've ever had. But beware - it DOES lead to more I/o and more hardware.....

Would you say the Quantum is a high step up from the 192 version? Like is it night and day on the conversion side? I understand the DSP is the same.

I know this might sound strange but I wonder if the older version could have benefits. Kind of like when they went from film to digital. More blemishes could be seen. Or in this case, heard. I remember Dave was talking about at a trade show that the transient response was better on the quantum. For some, this might be great. But for me personally, I'm always trying to squash spiky transients.

I didn’t a/b’d them as it should be to say what the differencies are between the 192 and the quantum version..
The 192 was, and still is, a great converter..

(As other much older pieces like the Pacific microsonics and the lavry gold)

Anyway if you feel the need to “massage” the (spiky) transients, I’d suggest a nice compressor before the the AD.

Several comes to mind, from the Red3, to the BAE10DC for starters.

But honestly this starts already with tracking, and “adjusting” the source according to your taste and vision (or ultimately the artist and producer vision).

So it’s not that the last AD stage will do all the magic and it’s done. Some pieces might help to go in a direction or in another, but it’s like a stairs.. it’s made of smaller steps to reach the top.



Cheu

Truth ^ This man is the reason I own dial ZODs, an Aphex 661 and Weight Tank WT-72, so watch out

Analog summing and SB is not either or - you can run your summed mix into SB. These tiny little things add up.

Claraphonic eq
HG Blackbox
Obsidian comp

I’d love to see people who swear by OTB summing pick out a summed mix 100% of the time. Haha. I seriously have my doubts and not sure that it would be more of a guess or feeling rather than a real obvious difference that they could discern every single time.

Haha!!! You'd better watch out. New stuff coming this week.....

Exactly. I run Sigma into fusion into Hedd.
Love it

Revive MSL mk2 “ssl” compressor, Tonelux Equalix “api” parametric EQ, Culture Vulture Super 15 in parallel with one of those TK audio blenders. Dangerous Compressor, Handsome Audio Zulu Passive tape simulator/saturator. Sometimes those bark hrk tube pultec style EQs, which sound great to my ears.

All send and receive into a black lion modified apogee symphony mk1. I don’t have anything to say about the mod, I just got it at a great price and it sounds good to my ears. I guess they replaced all the op amps, caps, and some other stuff.

I run anything in 500 (radial workhorse), with a custom built linear power supply.

Can’t say enough about the culture vulture 15. Idk why people complain about getting the stereo correlation on them. I easily get mine 0.5-0.8% stereo correlation. It has the roll off in the low end, which I find a boon for mastering EDM since the harmonica add definition back in and your low end gets tighter. It adds weight, makes drums smack, and adds sparkle, without sounding harsh. I sometimes wonder if it’s there and bypass it. Then I’m like yep, this is that 3% mojo this tracks needed. I often run my whole chain mid side as well.

The Zulu is another little wonder and cheap for mastering. It’s nailed the tape vibe. But it has these amazing “enhance” knobs. It’s hard to describe what it does, but it’s another one of those boxes that makes everything on the outputs sound better. It can be a really interesting passive compressor as well as a distortion. Maybe gooey is a word for it? But not muddy. I think it’s a wildly unrepresented box.

Between the culture vulture roll off and the Zulu’s ability to kill high end without loosing air, my masters rarely run into low end issues and high end harshness. They’re my secret weapons.

Ps I miss my better maker mastering limiter. I may buy that one again. And maybe a high quality solid state device to soft clip, although the msl mk2 does saturate nicely like a good ssl glue should.

Take a look at RND Satellite 5059 — it’s almost what you need. No preamps, but amazing mixing possibilities.

I’m running a hybrid setups with all of my hardware as inserts. Using Apollo16’s. Right now my mix buss typically only has a compressor, and sometimes the Clariphonic. I’ve been eyeing some
new gear for the mix buss but am concerned that running each unit as its own insert is a lot of generations of conversion and I might be degrading my signal. Love the flexibility of current method though. Should I be considering getting something like a Burl B2 and a transfer console for my
mix buss?

Can't speak to the Apollo 16's. I'm using AVID HD conversion. If it sounds good, it is good. The HD's sound fine. Sometimes doing up to 5+ trips out and back in on individual tracks, not to mention 2-3 on master buss, and another 3-4 when mastering. No problems here.

If it’s fine for your ears, I’m sure it should be fine for mine. Anxiously awaiting a Silver Bullet, btw!

Presumably you're using a HW insert per piece of gear, @ drBill , rather than patching a chain together?

Awesome!!

yes, primarily that is correct. so much easier for recall, and I'm not noticing any appreciable difference in the mix situation.

What I like about simple HW inserts in the DAW is flexibility. Being able to just drag and drop my HW between channels for a quick comparison is great and convenient. We did some extensive summing tests in the studio and while I love working on the desk or with the Sigma, I'm fine staying ITB at the B room these days.

On a current project I've got:

Thermionic Kite (broad shaping) > Neve 33609/N > Chandler Zener > Great River MAQ (for some tidying up).

It's overall a more coloured chain than I usually go with and the sweet spot is rather narrow with the Zener involved. I do feel as if I'm working my way out of a corner to begin with, but once I hit the right balance it sounds big and very forward.

Absolutely. My 20 I/O are occupied.

You Sir is the PERFECT candidate for a Flock.

I love the Great River MAQ! So good!

I’m about to take the plunge on a vt-7... it’s just a magic sounding box.

Still have yours?

Absolutely! Since there’s no bypass, I installed a Dangerous Music Liaison so I could have better control over bringing the outboard in and out of the signal chain.

It would be my only mix bus/mastering compressor in my chain.

Good choice? Or would you recommend anything else? I’m also getting a vt2 and vt5 hopefully.

It’s definitely a killer choice. The only other compressor that I use on the 2 bus is a Manley Vari Mu with the T-bar mod, and that is very impressive on 2 bus. Pre-mod: not so much.
So if you have the money, VT-7. For a lower budget: a modded Vari Mu.

Just got a pair (4 channels) of these babies. I think I will put one pair on the insert of the Silver Bullet on my 2 Buss, and split the other pair for misc. duties during mixing. Gorgeous EQ's. Lucky to get them. They are getting fairly hard to find for a decent price anymore.....

aagghhhh you swine - very high up on my to buy list, and you got 2? Am jealous

One of my master buss components. The top and bottom of these are so sweet!
They are £2500 and up now.....

1k up on a few years ago

I have one here... love the top end on it. Sometimes I use the mid high with a tight q @15k and its pure air.