You could also wait and add your master effects to the mixed stereo file during mastering. You’d record the processed output of the summing amp onto a new stereo track in your session. Route the analog output through the outboard processor and into one of the summing amp’s input pairs or into the summing amp with the processor inserted. If your studio has a summing amp with inserts, you could send the entire mix out of one of the output pairs in your DAW. Alternate Routesīesides using your DAW’s hardware inserts, you have other options for setting up master processing on your mix. As long as you’re listening to one or the other, you won’t hear the delay. Hardware insert plugins from (left to right) Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, MOTU Digital Performer and Apple Logic Pro X.īut because a mix bus effect impacts the entire mix, you should only notice latency if you switch your monitoring between the processed and unprocessed signals. Then you’d have to adjust delay compensation to line it up with the other tracks because otherwise, the latency would cause the processed track to be late. Latency would be more problematic if you inserted a processor on an individual track or group. It will be subject to latency because you’re sending the signal out of the DAW and back in again. Your DAW’s hardware insert plugin is the most straightforward way to incorporate outboard gear on your mix bus. Otherwise, their differences could throw the stereo image out of whack. Remember, too, that if you’re processing on the master bus, you need either a stereo hardware processor or two identical mono units (preferably linkable). But as with any aspect of mixing, your ears should be the final judge. If you have an interface with inexpensive converters, you may find it sounds better to stick with plugins rather than sending your mix through that extra conversion step. When you use a DAW’s hardware insert in a DAW, the signal must get converted from digital to analog to go into the processor and then from analog back to digital to return to your DAW. ![]() If you do opt for hardware, it’s not just the quality of the processor that’s important, but that of your converters, whether they’re in your audio interface or standalone units. It’s also sometimes a matter of age, as producers and engineers who began their careers in the pre-digital days are more inclined to use hardware than those who grew up with plugins.Īssigning a hardware insert in Pro Tools. Now, the choice between analog hardware and software processing is more a matter of taste and cost-plugins are considerably less expensive. But contemporary plugins have come a long way sonically. Outboard hardware used to be clearly superior to plugins in sound quality. Although “Light Shine Through,” leans heavily to the electronic side of pop, the analog Neve channel strips play an important role in shaping the tone of the final mix. For those styles, the ultra-clean sound of digital audio isn’t usually considered problematic. Genres like contemporary hip-hop and EDM have many of their production roots in digital technology. The quality of today’s DAWs, recording at 24-bit or 32-bit-floating point resolutions, is so good-as are that of many plugins, including analog-modeled ones-that you can often get excellent results without leaving the box. The decision to send your mix to an outboard device isn’t necessarily a sonic slam dunk. Jimmy points out that some of the sonic improvement he’s getting comes simply from sending the audio through the Neve circuitry. When you hear the comparison between the mix with the Neve modules active and bypassed, the EQed version sounds significantly rounder and warmer. He doesn’t specify whether he’s boosting or cutting, but it sounds like the latter, particularly in the two higher bands. He adjusts the EQ knobs at 60Hz, 100Hz, 7kHz and 10kHz. Jimmy tweaking the mix bus EQ using a pair of Neve VR Strip processors. On this occasion, he’s not using the compressors in the channel strips. He knows how the EQ bands will respond, and he adjusts them almost by feel. Jimmy is clearly quite comfortable using them. The units are rack versions of the channel strips from a Neve V-Series console. He uses a pair of Neve VR Strip rackmount processors to do some tasty mix bus EQing. It’s certainly helpful for Jimmy Douglass in this excerpt from Start to Finish: Jimmy Douglass - Episode 16 - Mixing Part 6. Routing your signal out to a piece of hardware can add an analog vibe to your otherwise in-the-box mixes. ![]() These days, inserting outboard gear on your mix bus is simple, thanks to the external hardware plugins found in most DAWs.
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