dzara 4 said:
Hi, I was seriously considering buying a summing box like a nicerizer, or a SPL
mixdream. My question is to where should I put my stereo track after that.
Should I just route back to two inputs on my computer, buy a stand-alone
CD or tape?
Any suggestions would be helpful . By the way I just joined the forum a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with all the great feedback on my questions.
Thanks
Well this subject is still under huge debate. Tons of comparisons have been made (and articles written) by different engineers of all levels on wheather analog summing makes a huge difference over digital summing.
Some say it does, others say it doesn't.
I am currently of the mind that good analog summing can bring the DAW engineer/producer a few steps foward. In some cases, to a competative level with various recording studios in bussiness.
However, exactly how much is hard to say. I don't think I've been around SSLs or boards like an SSL enough to make detailed assumptions for other people.
If I had been working on 2inch tape mixing on an SSL for the last 20 years, then I could possibly make a better judgement.
Also, consider some of the widest, loudest and clearest mixes are more because of the engineer than the consoles summing amp. Meaning, they have thier own bag of tricks.
But if it means anything, I personally am in the process of drawing up a schematic for a 60k$ Pro Tools HD rig that involves the Sound Performance Labs Mixdream. This is something I am going to rely my personal business on immensely, so I had to take the summing into consideration.
The advice comes upon my own knowledge, but more importantly, I've had consulting from various engineers and design firms who really dive into this kind of thing.
I was down to the SPL Mixdream,
Neve 8816, Dangerous Music 2-Bus, and a model of API that I can't remember.
Of those on the list and of some that aren't on the list, they run the same issues that preamps have; different colorations. So for example, if I'm already running 16 channels of Neve Portico preamps (and we are talking mainly popular music/rock production), I personally don't feel the need to colour my signal any more than that.
API's are discrete, but on reputation and comparison, so is the Mixdream. And I'm a big fan of API's work. So after a lot of consideration, I'm opting for
the Mix Dream. Uncoloured, transparent and strong enough to do a variety of tasks.
But that's a personal choice that I made.
The bottom line being: if you're going to spend the money on a summing amp, it's because you personally feel you need it, you understand what different summing amps will do to your signal, you understand what summing amp your after, and you understand what that summing amp is best for.
It is possible for a $3000 summing amp to yeild results that don't satisfy your need as well as others. Just something to think about.
