Post pics of your home studio mixer/console!

[OffYourFace]

I'm looking to get a 24ch mixer for my studio, mainly just for my synths and drum machines. I'm lacking decent EQs in my current setup so I want to "upgrade". I'm not into fancy pro audio gear, especially for line level instruments like synths, etc. I'm leaning towards an old Soundcraft Delta 8 since they have great EQs and are easy to modify and make audio upgrades on.

In the meantime, all my synths go into an old Mackie CR1604, the early one that Eno and Daft Punk used. The EQs are not great. It's ok for rolling off some treble or cutting a bit of bass but that's it. I have another Mackie from the same series called the Micro Series 1202 (also used by Eno & DP) that I mainly use for processing drum samples from an old TR-808, a Simmons SDS-800 and an SCI Drumtraks. I also have an old Kawai MX-8BR rack mixer that gives me the most amazing distortion. All 3 have good AUX sends though, I can slam things into the preamps and my delays & reverb stay clear, lush and wide. I almost always print with effects.

How many of you are using an actual mixer in your home studio?

[OffYourFace]

I finally added pics. No mixer users?

[øøøøøøø]

Hell we just got rid of the SSL at the Brooklyn place’s mix room!

Kept the two Neves in the tracking rooms though, obviously…

I don’t use an analog console at home. For most of what I need to accomplish and with my workflow/priorities I’m better off without!

Totally jealous of that Oberheim…

[marqueemoon]

For most of what I need to accomplish and with my workflow/priorities I’m better off without!

Same. I have my little rack with preamps and compressors and do everything else in the box.

I have a Soundcraft 200B that’s gathering dust and a Mackie 1202VLZ that I use semi-regularly for various things.

[sal paradise]

That setup makes my heart happy.

[Telliot]

I have a little Mackie mixer I use for extra inputs, otherwise my Clarett has robust enough options for me to use it for almost everything I need on a daily basis (admittedly I don’t have as many synths to account for, so that makes a big difference). Like Brad, all my mixing needs are so easily handled ITB that I’ve kinda decided to chalk my want of an analog board to nostalgia.

[OffYourFace]

I don’t use an analog console at home. For most of what I need to accomplish and with my workflow/priorities I’m better off without!

Same. I have my little rack with preamps and compressors and do everything else in the box.

I was the same but I started to hate everything. But it's because I do so much with synths that I enjoy having a mixer... well, i'd say it's crucial. I can make several sequences, play on top of them and record them all at once like a live performance. I print the reverb and delay (midi sync'd) and add compression and EQ in PT. Everything feeds into my Apogee TB Ensemble.

I have an old Brent Averill dual 1272 mic pre but tbh, I prefer using the Apogee's mic pres for recording guitar. I haven't sold the 1272 because I prefer it for DI guitar I have a pair of CAPI VP26 pres that I really like too but I need a new lunchbox.

The only time I really use a mic is for the occasional guitar amp and most importantly, vocals. I need a good vocal chain. That's next. Otherwise all vocal stuff is in the box. The Apogee mic pre works really well in the meantime.

[øøøøøøø]

Yeah for that application I'd probably want a mixer, too. Unless I had a lot of I/O on the converter side.

With 32 I/O of conversion I'd still probably skip the hardware mixer--if you're in the UA universe, the software "console" (while clunky in some respects) would be pretty ideal for that kind of thing, without even opening a DAW (if you didn't want to)

[marqueemoon]

One huge advantage to mixing in the box in the box is being able to pick up exactly where I left off. Also, “save as” is a beautiful thing.

Portability is also super important to me. I love guerilla recording.

I do not like mixing with my eyes though.

[øøøøøøø]

It's good and bad!

One thing I love about console mixing is that you can't endlessly revise. Fuck with it til it's done, print it, move on.

But on the other hand, if you get home and realize "oh fuck, my right overhead is 1-2dB quieter because those crusty bus-assign switches are always fucking intermittent and I lost the send to my parallel bus on the right side before the last print and didn't notice because I was fucking exhausted"...

...or "oh man, why didn't I gate the return on that H3000? It's noisy as fuck in the intro when the vocal isn't in, and for some reason I didn't notice because I was focused on how cool everything sounded"...

or even

"yikes, I may have pushed 5k just a bit too much on that vocal..."

...that's a shitty feeling. That's when the ability to just open the session and tweak one tiny thing feels amazing.

[Embenny]

I'm in the middle of a studio reno, so I don't have any photos, but I split the difference and use these:



Softube Console 1 and Fader. Lets you handle levels, pan, EQ, compression, gating, transient shaping, filtering and drive ITB but without having to look at a screen. All the advantages of ITB mixing (instant recall, etc) but preserves some of the feel and workflow of an analog console.

I use a mouse and screen enough as it is, so it's nice to offload some tasks onto hardware. I think there are some other advantages too - like reducing option paralysis. You can load many different emulated consoles and pieces of hardware into each slot if you want (like a Neve EQ, API compressor, SSL drive, etc), but I prefer to keep it simple. I pick between the SSL, Neve, and API, and just go with it. You get some of that "glue" that seems to stem from every track sharing the same basic processing elements, and you know exactly how each knob is going to respond as you turn it.

Saves me from wasting time auditioning different versions of every plugin. Load the template, take the eyes off the screen, and do the bulk of the work with the C1, adding plugins as needed to cover whatever it isn't able to do.

[OffYourFace]

interesting! I've heard of these Softube things but never messed with one.

I only use my mixers to help create the sound I want before printing. I don't use them to mix songs. I use 2-3 mixers and their master outputs are going into different inputs on my interface for mixing options. I'd like to get a bigger mixer with at least 4 subgroups so I can do the same thing with just one mixer.

What I noticed when using a mixer vs a stand alone pre is dynamic range. If i do a filter sweep, or program a sequence that modulates the filter on certain steps, it just sounds more musical and 'alive' on the mixer vs a 500 series pre. I don't know why that is...

I can't mix. I am not a mixer and I don't really aspire to be one. I do have lots of nice plug-ins that help me make decent demos. Tbh, I'm very lucky cuz I got a majority of them for free from friends who work for commercial studios that have pro licenses etc. They do audio for commercials and movie trailers, etc. Otherwise, I could never spend that much money on software. I have some significant hearing damage so I can't be bothered. I'm terrible with EQ as I boost rather than subract haha. But mainly I just look for the presets that work. But when it comes to the analog stuff, I can get good sounds from the get go and let a pro do the heavy lifting in PT.

Side note, all the latest free plug-ins that come with PT are actually really good. I'd be fine with just those... but I always choose the Fab Filter and PI Alliance stuff first since I have them haha.