Is owning hardware gear for mixing worth it anymore?

[Kapo_Polenton]

Mic preamps no question. Maybe a nice 2bus glue stereo comp and analog EQ. I think you could make a case for analog summing boxes or summing through an analog console.

But apart from that, there are services now that let you run your music through analog hardware in the cloud like access analog and mix analog. Even crazier is how close plugins are getting now. the compressors still make a difference but I find it is mostly at more extreme settings or if you A/B them. Certainly not the difference that is going to make or break your mix. I am waiting on a stereo pultec SS clone for home projects but besides that, I decided not to invest in anymore 500 series gear because even free plugins by developers like Analog Obsession are bringing the goods. Any of you guys with lots of analog gear now dumping half of it for these very reasons? I'm thinking overall, money is better spend on quality going IN to your daw. I mentioned the preamps but also good mics or a variety of mics are the better play if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.

 

[RaceU4her]

like you said, its probably not going to make or break your mix. im cool with different mics and preamps and mixing ITB, i have my template with all my plugins setup for each instrument so everything is quick and easy.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Makes sense why so many studios are ditching the outboard for recall. They sacrifice that small amount of depth for recall and more profit because they can work various projects at once vs trying to protect any faders from being moved or knobbies tweaked. Their mastering or 2bus chain probably only see's smaller incremental moves vs. being completely different which makes the analog gear that is used for depth and colour, easier and quicker to recall.

 

[JimAnsell]

if you're doing full bands, and being serious, it certainly helps to have killer hardware.

 

[PhilC]

Back when I was working as an engineer I was a snob. Pultec plug-in? Please. ? Nothing sounds like the real deal. That’s actually true depending on how anal you want to scrutinize.

However what I found is that the recall issue was bigger that the incremental gains in total sonic purity. People never seemed to be done with a mix. I’d get an email asking to recall a song and bump up BGVs in the second chorus or something like that. The issue of plugging everything back in and trying to match a prior mix, which is, in fact impossible if you have lead vocal going through your external 1176 and bass through your la2a etc etc, overcame my love of pursuing the ultimate in sonics and I just gave up and started mixing entirely ITB.

Keep in mind I was working constantly so there was a lot of throughout to keep up with and document and I was often moving my whole setup to a new room based on the gig. So if you’re just working on your own stuff and going for ultimate sound quality, I’d say it’s worth it in a lot of spots. Drums. Bass. Lead vocal. I could never get itb to match the cohesive punch I could get out of hardware. But there are trade offs in workflow.

 

[Bardagh]

Like most things it depends. Most processing ITB is going to get it done if you know what you’re doing. “Good ears” and an understanding of how to mix are far more important than hardware or software upgrades. Not saying some non stock plugins aren’t worth getting, I’m a fan of the SSL style Bus comps on the mix bus myself, but if you haven’t been able to get really good results yet with the basics in the box and good engineering, hardware won’t work any magic for you.

The main place where I would consider hardware processing as being worthwhile is vocals. If you are dealing with real singing and not screaming/growling, being able to dial in some compression on the way in and add delay or reverb to the performer’s direct monitored vocal in the headphone mix without going through the DAW and adding that latency could be very helpful.

One of the biggest problems with vocal recording is providing a good headphone mix or otherwise overcoming the related psychoacoustic problems that inhibit the performance. If you sing you probably know exactly what I mean.

I usually just try to keep one ear free to hear my normal voice, but I would really like to try an outboard hardware setup sometime. Not sure about mic pre but I’d like to try the 76/2A compressor chain to just get a BIT of leveling on the way in and then use outboard verb/delay into a “wet” channel on the interface to add a little ambience.

The two things that kill me are straining to hear myself in the headphone mix and latency on my voice. Confusing and frustrating, and if you get frustrated you will NOT record a good vocal take.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Like most things it depends. Most processing ITB is going to get it done if you know what you’re doing. “Good ears” and an understanding of how to mix are far more important than hardware or software upgrades. Not saying some non stock plugins aren’t worth getting, I’m a fan of the SSL style Bus comps on the mix bus myself, but if you haven’t been able to get really good results yet with the basics in the box and good engineering, hardware won’t work any magic for you.

The main place where I would consider hardware processing as being worthwhile is vocals. If you are dealing with real singing and not screaming/growling, being able to dial in some compression on the way in and add delay or reverb to the performer’s direct monitored vocal in the headphone mix without going through the DAW and adding that latency could be very helpful.

One of the biggest problems with vocal recording is providing a good headphone mix or otherwise overcoming the related psychoacoustic problems that inhibit the performance. If you sing you probably know exactly what I mean.

I usually just try to keep one ear free to hear my normal voice, but I would really like to try an outboard hardware setup sometime. Not sure about mic pre but I’d like to try the 76/2A compressor chain to just get a BIT of leveling on the way in and then use outboard verb/delay into a “wet” channel on the interface to add a little ambience.

The two things that kill me are straining to hear myself in the headphone mix and latency on my voice. Confusing and frustrating, and if you get frustrated you will NOT record a good vocal take.

Latency is brutal! My workaround for anything where I want to hear it with some effects is routing through my old console and throw on my 500 series comps. Also it is true that analog everything is usually going to beat the plugin each time and in a mix but like you guys have said, that recall and work flow. It is sort of a pain in the ass to use recall sheets and turn the tiny knobs on my 500 series stuff when the modules are full of knobbies.

The point about recalling certain elements of a mix was what I have heard time and time again by top producers. They could never get it exactly where it was for tweaks. That's just how it is. It is cool for a small or project studio though. If you don't really care about business and are more of a hobbiest you can say that the mix you commit to is unique and any tweaks will also be unique. Nothing can 100% be recreated if analog gear has been used everywhere.

If you are interested in one hardware piece, the black lion 76/2A comp is a two in one hardware unit that you might find interesting. You can use them independently or one fed into the other. I considered that but then saw that access analog has an LA2A sitting there available most of the time and I am covered with a KT76 and IGS Blue stripe 576.