automation?!?!?

[13th_Omen]

my set-up is very basic... an antique Yamaha 16 channel mixer to 2 Alesis Adats, after recording i have to switch the board (run the ADATs into it) for mixing. Problem... what can I do to make moves easier being as I don't have any automation capabilities?!?!?

 

[masteringhouse]

my set-up is very basic... an antique Yamaha 16 channel mixer to 2 Alesis Adats, after recording i have to switch the board (run the ADATs into it) for mixing. Problem... what can I do to make moves easier being as I don't have any automation capabilities?!?!?

Mackie had a product called ultramix that you could insert into any existing board and control through a computer. Actually worked fairly well. It's a shame Mackie dropped this. You may be able to find one for sale on Ebay or Digibid. If not let me know I have one collecting dust that I may be willing part with.

There was also a cheaper solution from Presonus called the DCP-8 that did 8 channels of compression, gating (poorly), and automation. Also have one of these collecting dust.

I stopped using both when I switched to Pro Tools HD.

 

[TexRoadkill]

my set-up is very basic... an antique Yamaha 16 channel mixer to 2 Alesis Adats, after recording i have to switch the board (run the ADATs into it) for mixing. Problem... what can I do to make moves easier being as I don't have any automation capabilities?!?!?

That's not called automation (like Masteringhouse is talking about). What you need is a patchbay.

 

[13th_Omen]

I am getting a patchbay tomoroow acutally, but I don't see how that is going to make any moves easier. Eventually I am going to build a computer for this sole purpose. As it is now, I am burning to cd directly from the board (recording out RCAs). It is not ideal though, obviously because if I screw up and forget about a certain part or accidentally turn up a volume too much from a fade it's there for good, or back to the drawing board. I was using my PC with some free mutitracking programs, but I had a very BAD soundcard and it only had 1 input, which is totally useless. I actually had to record each track into the program, making sure that I had clicks so that I could line up the tracks visually. Like I said it was useless!

 

[TexRoadkill]

So I guess you are talking about automation. Is this about controlling the faders or switching over the cables when it's time to do the mixdown?

If it's the former than MH has your answer. If it's the latter then the patchbay will help.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Just to add- One trick you can do is to record the mixdown back onto two tracks of the Adat. That way you can do punch ins on the mix if you screw up or need some drastic changes. Just pause the Adat, change the mixer settings and start recording again.