Hi guys, Im a 100% daw based producer with a DSI Prophet 08 synth. I want to give my mixes a bigger and more fuller sound and I have thought about buying the Rupert Neve 5059 Satellite summing mixer. My plan was to compose a beat, stem it out and send those stems through the 5059 Satellite in hopes it will give a nice sound and then begin the mixing phase back in my daw.

I will need to invest in a bigger interface and small costs that come with it so I'm thinking is it worth it to go this route? I really love the analog sound.

Hello and welcome to the great analog versus digital debate. Prepare yourself for a sh*tstorm..

I have more than a few happy clients running the 5059 or a combination of the 5059 with the 5060. All happy as pigs in a blanket.

hello, yes that unit will help you get some analog goodness.. and also summing in analog does seem to allow a bit wider and deeper perspective if you have good mixing skills(At least in my experience)..
That box looks nice, Ive heard the portico 2 master unit and if the 5059 sounds like that (which i think it will) then you'll be really happy. It has two drive 'colour' dials.. and you can add some THD which helps the audio 'glow' a bit, and feel a little denser

I run my DAW on a Windows PC and havent quite figured out the best Interface that can Support this 5059 mixer. My plan was to invest in both by summer time.

I hear of the Lynx Aurora being a good one? I would love to use the Apollo 16 but they are thunderbolt only.

Hi again man, I use the Lynx its great,.. you really cant go wrong with it, pretty neutral converter. For the lynx you need a PCI or PCI-e card with 16 digital I/O... though there may be a way of doing it firewire but if you look on the Lynx site you should find out, I think you can do a card like that with PC.

Are there any interfaces that Windows can run via USB alone? I might wait till my DAW is ready for MAC hopefully soon so I can upgrade to the Apollo 16 since windows never adopted the Thunderbolt feature lol

What -- no sh*tshtorm?! Where is everyone!

Anyway, why don't you get an Orion 32? You can sum 16 and use the other 16 for insert effects. They sound great too.

If you're going down the summing route be sure to get proper converters! something like a good 16 out DAC and a dedicated 2 in mastering adc

Lynx has nice USB drivers - you can use it with their Lynx standalone units (not pci)

I second the Antelope 32+

More than enough I/o for your needs.

My only thought is that maybe the RND summing isn't the best next move for you.

If you are DAW based, why not stick with it and purchase some virtual console plugs?
Why summing? You will hear more difference with a great outboard compressor. Most of these summers are subtle to say the least.
Do you have a pair of great monitors? Room treatment? What ITB plugins are you using?

If you go the summing route, I HIGHLY recommend (and own) the Dangerous 2bus+ and the Chandler mini mixer. Very different units, but both have great vibes and you will hear a noticeable difference/improvement in your summed tracks. The Chandler is great because it has a xformer on each and every channel and on the bus. It's a big swinging %&^* of a mixer. The Dangerous is cool because of the connectivity, you get more than one flavor of summing, and the limiter. It's a cool color box.

My room treatment is pretty basic. Its just covering the Early reflections and the rest I just adjusted my ears to with commercial music(Or tried to). I use the Dynaudio Bm5A and Bm9s subwoofer. my ITB plugins are mainly stock Fl studio plugins with Valhalla as my main reverb and Soundtoys for a bit of processing or delays.

I am still second guessing even getting a summing device since the investment would be crazy. I only want to use summing to get a nice tone on my digitally produced stems (Synths,Kicks,Snares,hi hats) I produce Rap music and i think I'd have a edge with my sound if I can beef up my production with a summing device or thats what I think id be able to achieve.

The 2bus+ is better than the Rupert Neve 5059 you say?

I don't know about better... I couldn't tell you that. I'd say the Dangerous is more versatile and capable of more color.

If you just want something that will give you analog saturation, I'd go for either:

- a multi-channel interface and some processing hardware like the Elysia Karacter, creamliner, analog heat, culture vulture, black box, etc.

- or a nice stereo bus comp with color, like a 33609, kush tweaker (great saturation on it), a pair of distressors, etc.

Either of those routes (or both) will have a much more noticeable impact on your tracks.

so basically look into getting outboard Compressors/Distortion gear instead? I would much rather mix them via Digital plugins. But prior to mixing my stems I just want to run them through some kind of device to give it that analog warmth without changing the dynamics too much. I may be confusing myself now at this point. The only analog piece of gear I have any experience with is my DSI Prophet'08 which is just a synth.