Focusrite Liquid Mix

[BeniRose]

I've been thinking a large part of my workflow that's slowed down is dialing in my EQs and Compressors on each channel. I was thinking of getting a behringer bcr2000 to use just for my plugins, but then I saw that the Focusrite Liquid Mix 16 was only 200 dollars. Putting aside the fact that I'm not sure if 16 channels is enough (I think you can add a card for either 8 or 24 more channels, I couldn't tell if the number it listed was total or additional) I'm not sure which route to go. I'm currently using Logic Pro 8 (soon to be 9) so setting up the BCR will be pretty easy, but I'm still pensive that I will still have to do lots of mousing to or zone changing in order to get it to work the way I want. The liquid mix entices me because it's an all in one solution. The effects it's controlling are directly on the box.

That being said, it's not a great visual interface. There's no feedback on the values you're set to, and there's only enough knobs for controlling 1 band at a time (not that I usually do more than one at a time anyways, but it's not a full tactile representation across the EQ). Not that these things are huge deals, I can just look at the screen while I'm controlling them, so I think it would still work fine, and it would probably be less hassle to set up, which is really the goal I have in mind, but I'm also curious about the sounds of the plugins. I'm currently just using the Logic EQ and Compressor, which I',m not the biggest fan of but it gets the job done. Will the stuff that comes with this be at least as good if not better? Or should I stick with the control surface?

 

[Simman]

I've been thinking a large part of my workflow that's slowed down is dialing in my EQs and Compressors on each channel. I was thinking of getting a behringer bcr2000 to use just for my plugins, but then I saw that the Focusrite Liquid Mix 16 was only 200 dollars. Putting aside the fact that I'm not sure if 16 channels is enough (I think you can add a card for either 8 or 24 more channels, I couldn't tell if the number it listed was total or additional) I'm not sure which route to go. I'm currently using Logic Pro 8 (soon to be 9) so setting up the BCR will be pretty easy, but I'm still pensive that I will still have to do lots of mousing to or zone changing in order to get it to work the way I want. The liquid mix entices me because it's an all in one solution. The effects it's controlling are directly on the box.

That being said, it's not a great visual interface. There's no feedback on the values you're set to, and there's only enough knobs for controlling 1 band at a time (not that I usually do more than one at a time anyways, but it's not a full tactile representation across the EQ). Not that these things are huge deals, I can just look at the screen while I'm controlling them, so I think it would still work fine, and it would probably be less hassle to set up, which is really the goal I have in mind, but I'm also curious about the sounds of the plugins. I'm currently just using the Logic EQ and Compressor, which I',m not the biggest fan of but it gets the job done. Will the stuff that comes with this be at least as good if not better? Or should I stick with the control surface?

After doing some research on the device, I ran across a Liquid Mix 16 about a month ago on e-bay that was priced so right I thought I'd give it a try. Well I got to tell you, I was surprised to find that it is definitely a useable device and much better than most plug-ins in its price range. There is one in plug in particular that makes it wroth the price; the model of the Manley MU is awesome. I've seen people that have the original say on other forums it sounds just like the real thing?

I have seen plenty of comparisons between the focusrite & UA plugs and from what I can tell, there seems to be an equal split between users. Do the focusrite's (or any other plug) sound exactly like the original hardware units, probably not but is the liquid mix useable; Absolutely! Every thing I’ve dialed up definitely sounds good and I’ve used it on several mixes.

If you want a display you’ll need to sell out about $500 for the Liquid Mix but you will get 32 instantiations (@ 44.1 – 48KHz). If you buy the Liquid Mix 16 you don’t get the display on the device & you only get 16 (go figure) instantiations, albeit you can add a memory module (like you said) to increase that number but that module costs the same, if not more than the Mix 16 itself.

 

[BeniRose]

Ya man, I've been doing my research as well, and I think I'm going to go for it for sure. I've been bouncing back and forth between the 16 and the 32 tho. I really don't care much for the screen, I'll be looking at my monitor when using it mostly anyways, but the things I want are the extra channels and also being able to select the track you're editing from the device, as well as the "undo" looking button on it. However, those aren't really worth the extra 400 dollars, so I'll probably get a 16, and if I find that's not enough channels, I'll sell it and save up for a 32. Thanks mate!