Daw to Analogue Mixer

Jane_Not His Real Name

Hi there,

Anyone here use an analogue mixer with a DAW (logic)?

What's the optimum way to use ...

I'd like to send some tracks from Logic out to it...and then bring back into Logic..

What I did was...and not sure if this is best...

I just linked a few soundcard outputs to mixer inputs.....Kick Channel six to Mixer Input One

Then in Logic brought up the Utility plug in and selected Chanell six for kick from there...

then master out of mixer to Input on Soundcard...

Is there a better way?

tx

"I'd like to send some tracks from Logic out to it...and then bring back into Logic.."

Why? What's the value add of running it in and out of the mixer, other than added noise? Bussing, outboard FX, etc. should all be possible using just the soundcard. That's before you even get to the potential pitfalls of inadvertently changing the sound through EQ, panning etc on mixer channel strips.

I used an analogue mixer back in the day literally to mix in outboard synths with my soundcard stereo bus before I committed to recording them to the DAW, but since plugins and soundware, I don't need one. Maybe there's a use case I'm missing?

Jane_Not His Real Name

Hi SBS,

Sorry late reply. I'm not online daily...

Yes why go to the hassle? EQs on a Toft Mixer...it can really change up the sound radically....Even on a kick drum....

I guess I was curious about going for a 'true analogue sound'.....I'm only dipping my toes into the water at the moment....Then I have about 2 processors...just messing about, hearin' how things work...

A bit of white noise is good on kicks is ok...distortion too..mild mind you

I just want to group the sounds send them to the mixer....Like a group of Synths, drums, FX etc...

Bring 'em back in then...

TroutMask

I use a Neve 5432 as a front end for Logic and other DAWs. Sounds great, quietest preamps ever. Most of my routing I do in an Antelope interface, as it has very flexible routing and monitoring options. So, the Neve, other preamps, and outboard is all routed about the place in the Antelope.

I also have a Soundcraft Series Two which I use for recording sometimes, it's set up for the job as it has tape returns and direct outs.

Noise is always an issue with analogue consoles, you'll be spending big €€ to find a console that sends and returns in and out of a DAW without adding any noise. Then there's the issue of character/sound/ EQs etc. Most of these consoles need serious modding to make them perform in a DAW studio environment. If I haven't scared you off just yet, maybe think about adding some 500 series modules to your workflow, you will get the analogue hit without the massive overheads of hardware mixers

maccored

i just run the outs from the daw's audo device to the ins on the desk, then run the outs of the desk back into the ins on the audio device.

so, for example, track one on the daw is set to output 1 on the audio device. connect that output to an inpu8t on the desk and then use the send from that channel to, say, run it back into track 2 on the daw and record the result

Jane_Not His Real Name

Tx lads

Jane_Not His Real Name

how it sounds with hardware? I have a toft desk it’s just sitting idle but I want to get up and running