Do you use analogue mixers into digital interface?

dav nagle

Do you use analogue mixers into digital interface?

How do you connect say an analogue desk into the digital domain? Have you done so and what is your experience? Can you elaborate on your setup and share your experiences with possibly photos? Please explain how this works and triggers within Logic/Pro tools/Reaper? This area is new to me and one I will be entering very soon.

DamagedTrax

this is what i use



mackie onyx with firewire to handle audio i/o. to be honest i dont really use it as much anymore but it still gets dragged out to the odd gig for a live set.

ogy

hey dav, with most desks you have busses/sub groups. you plug, say a microphone, into channel 1. down at the fader there are buttons to send it to Main Mix (LR) group 1-2, group 3-4, group 5-6, group 7-8 depending on how many busses there is on the desk. Push the button that sends the channel to group 1-2. Pan the channel the whole way to the left, this means it will only go out group 1. The each buss will have an output on the back of the desk. These should be connected to the inputs on your digital interface. So if theyre connected with their corresponding buss, when you select input one in protools you should get whatever channel is being sent to buss one on the desk.
The main left and right output of the interface can be connected to the inputs on the last two channels on the desk, e.g. 23 and 24. These are the only channels that should have the Main Mix(LR) buttons depressed. This way your monitoring your signal via the DAW.

Obviously this is the most simple set. The main thing is that you pan each channel so that its not going to two busses at a time (unless for some reason you want that).

Some desks have direct outs for each channel which get around the need for busses if your interface has enough inputs.

trackmixstudio

I used to have a 32 channel Soundtracs console.
The day I got rid of that and got my 01v96 was a happy day!
The yammie has all the functionality of an analogue mixer plus eq/dynamics on every channel. The 01v96 is the best bargain I have ever bought. €2200 for the amount of stuff this desk has is a steal. If you get the double adat card for it you have 24 I/O on adat and 2 on spdif. You also have 4 analogue out for headphone mixes.
I have always liked having a mixer for routing headphone mixes, click track etc and fins the summing better than summing in the computer.

teamdresch

Excuse me missing something, but what else IS there other than analog desk > digital interface?
Apart from external preamp > digital interface..

dav nagle

ogy wrote: »

hey dav, with most desks you have busses/sub groups. you plug, say a microphone, into channel 1. down at the fader there are buttons to send it to Main Mix (LR) group 1-2, group 3-4, group 5-6, group 7-8 depending on how many busses there is on the desk. Push the button that sends the channel to group 1-2. Pan the channel the whole way to the left, this means it will only go out group 1. The each buss will have an output on the back of the desk. These should be connected to the inputs on your digital interface. So if theyre connected with their corresponding buss, when you select input one in protools you should get whatever channel is being sent to buss one on the desk.
The main left and right output of the interface can be connected to the inputs on the last two channels on the desk, e.g. 23 and 24. These are the only channels that should have the Main Mix(LR) buttons depressed. This way your monitoring your signal via the DAW.

Obviously this is the most simple set. The main thing is that you pan each channel so that its not going to two busses at a time (unless for some reason you want that).

Some desks have direct outs for each channel which get around the need for busses if your interface has enough inputs.

Thanks a million. The info posted here is exactly what I am after, great description by the way, makes perfect sense to me now

I have a 002 and it is sweet as a controller nothing more. I may be using analogue desks into my 828 mk 2 soon enough so I wanted to understand the relationship.

dav nagle

DamagedTrax wrote: »

this is what i use



mackie onyx with firewire to handle audio i/o. to be honest i dont really use it as much anymore but it still gets dragged out to the odd gig for a live set.

Why don't you use it? It looks nice?

dav nagle

What have people experiences been using analogue desks as opposed to digital?

trackmixstudio

teamdresch wrote: »

Excuse me missing something, but what else IS there other than analog desk > digital interface?
Apart from external preamp > digital interface..

Wow!
You are as cranky in the morning as my new baby daughter when she wants her bottle:D

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

Do you use analogue mixers into digital interface?

How do you connect say an analogue desk into the digital domain? Have you done so and what is your experience? Can you elaborate on your setup and share your experiences with possibly photos? Please explain how this works and triggers within Logic/Pro tools/Reaper? This area is new to me and one I will be entering very soon.

The output of a console chan or subgroup is a line level signal exactly the same as your mic Pre out.

teamdresch

trackmixstudio wrote: »

Wow!
You are as cranky in the morning as my new baby daughter when she wants her bottle:D

See, I missed that it was a basic signal flow / routing question.
I also forget that not everyone started out with a desk and a recorder.
Carry on!

DamagedTrax

dav nagle wrote: »

Why don't you use it? It looks nice?

it is nice! i just dont bother using it to its full potential anymore much as im getting as good a sound ITB and just routing everything to its master buss. although the perkins eqs are sweet.

im also contemplating going for an 003 controller which would effectivly eliminate it from everything but live sets.

im thinking of selling it and going for a summing amp or a channell strip of some sort to have as a master.

dav nagle

teamdresch wrote: »

See, I missed that it was a basic signal flow / routing question.
I also forget that not everyone started out with a desk and a recorder.
Carry on!

You fool you will perish for that!

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

The output of a console chan or subgroup is a line level signal exactly the same as your mic Pre out.

Okay I get it. A line level is a line level regardless of where it is coming from.

dav nagle

What do you think of this desk?

The Soundcraft GHOST LE (24 CHANNEL) 24ch 8-Bus Analogue Mixer. The ultimate affordable analogue recording console with the audio precision, quality and all the features of a big studio desk.

The Soundcraft GHOST LE (24 CHANNEL) mixer is quite possibly the ultimate affordable analogue recording console. A streamlined version of Soundcraft's popular and highly-praised Ghost, the Ghost LE 24 makes an excellent choice for anyone looking for a world-class analog mixer, but does not need the original's "extras" like mute automation, remote transport control, MIDI interfacing, onboard computer and corresponding digital readout. Designing good audio mixers has never been easy - but with the widespread use of ultra-quiet digital recorders, and improvements all through the live and studio audio chain, today’s mixers have to stand up to closer sonic scrutiny than ever before. At the same time, mixing has become less a process that takes place at the console alone, and more one that involves outboard effects, samplers, and synchronisation of audio and video recorders. It’s a big task for a mixer to keep in touch with all of that - which is why Soundcraft created Ghost, the ultimate affordable analogue recording console. Simply put, Ghost is the only desk that delivers the audio precision, quality and all the features of a big studio desk without the usual prohibitive price ticket. The EQ, for instance, is directly comparable to that of the classic Soundcraft 3200 and Europa consoles. No compromises. The mic preamp, ProMic, was developed just for Ghost. Its performance alone puts the Soundcraft Ghost into a different league from other consoles of similar price.

DamagedTrax

people seem to either love or hate soundcraft for some reason.

i recorded on a ghost years ago but havent used one since.. i remember it being a pretty bland experience.

dav nagle

DamagedTrax wrote: »

people seem to either love or hate soundcraft for some reason.

i recorded on a ghost years ago but havent used one since.. i remember it being a pretty bland experience.

Any desk you could recommend at a budget of 6 grand?

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

Any desk you could recommend at a budget of 6 grand?

No.

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

Okay I get it. A line level is a line level regardless of where it is coming from.

...or even where it's going to.

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

...or even where it's going to.

I CAPTAIN, analogue DESK and digital no?

dav nagle

I heard a great joke the other day on fm104.

A guy met his now wife on a holiday.

He introduced himself as Jim or whatever.

He said to the girl

'I'll bet you a pound I can make your boobs move without touching them''

The girl replied 'ok then go on'

The guy reached over and grabbed her boobs

he said

' You can keep the pound!'

They are now married 15 years!

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

I heard a great joke the other day on fm104.

A guy met his now wife on a holiday.

He introduced himself as Jim or whatever.

He said to the girl

'I'll bet you a pound I can make your boobs move without touching them''

The girl replied 'ok then go on'

The guy reached over and grabbed her boobs

he said



' You can keep the pound!'

They are now married 15 years!

Head..... the joke is older than me ...

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

I CAPTAIN, analogue DESK and digital no?

GOOD analogue desk otherwise there's no point, at Euro 6k yer messin' - stick to pres and a Summing mixer otherwise - Perhaps I could interest Sir in -

http://www.audient.com/audient/product/sumo

or

http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/Xlogic%20X-Rack/index.asp

Both terrific products. PM me if you're interested.

DamagedTrax

yeah, for that kinda money you'd be way better of buying a smaller desk of high very high quality cause that kinda money will only buy tat on the bigger market.. unless you got real lucky.

or do what im doing, save 50cent a week for one of these.. might take a while though

dav nagle

What the hell is that beast of a desk? Are you seriously saving for that?

dav nagle

PaulBrewer wrote: »

GOOD analogue desk otherwise there's no point, at Euro 6k yer messin' - stick to pres and a Summing mixer otherwise - Perhaps I could interest Sir in -

http://www.audient.com/audient/product/sumo

or

http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/Xlogic%20X-Rack/index.asp

Both terrific products. PM me if you're interested.

All in good time Daniel son!

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

What the hell is that beast of a desk? Are you seriously saving for that?

You'll need a big ole jar for those 50Cs

DamagedTrax

dav nagle wrote: »

What the hell is that beast of a desk? Are you seriously saving for that?

its a neve 88r and if i saved up my 50cents i might have it in another 20 lifetimes :pac:

dav nagle

I want to stick my projectile rod in it

DamagedTrax

tis quiet a sexy looking slut of a board

dav nagle

I want to rub my shaft off the master fader

PaulBrewer

dav nagle wrote: »

I want to rub my shaft off the master fader

Get a (control) room you two!

DamagedTrax

teamdresch

A Toft ATB would be worth looking at.
As would the second hand section on Funky Junk.

PaulBrewer

teamdresch wrote: »

A Toft ATB would be worth looking at.
As would the second hand section on Funky Junk.

Have you got one?

dav nagle

teamdresch wrote: »

A Toft ATB would be worth looking at.
As would the second hand section on Funky Junk.

The peeps at gearslutz love it nice one

teamdresch

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Have you got one?

Wish I had the room for one!
No.

PaulBrewer

teamdresch wrote: »

Wish I had the room for one!
No.

Have you heard one? I'd be interested in hearing one in action.

teamdresch

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Have you heard one? I'd be interested in hearing one in action.

We should totally get someone to lend us one.

dav nagle

Really nice legs on the desk

teamdresch

Quick review of the ATB (note there is a meter bridge available now).

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/25510/6903/

dav nagle

So it is an impressive desk for rock and stuff that ain't too demanding, nice.