I'll take advantage of this already open thread and ask a question.
Would you experts recommend channel strips, console emulations and this kind of plugins for a complete itb mix? mainly talking about dance music (goa, trance, dance, ambient, etc). I remember trying some of them some years ago, but I've never finished a full track using this approach.
i can hear the difference in sound (colour, warmth, however the saturation is called), but it's very minimal. maybe on a full mix the difference is enough to justify it?
and on the creative side, maybe changing approach could lead to some new discoveries..

 

Not an expert or whatever but if I'm mixing the track I've produced/created, it make things worse. IMO, console emu, all those channel strips with TMT (PA, brainworx), Sonimus console emu etc apart from the usual processing (EQ, Dynamics) and saturation the "console" thingy wont make any sense to me because I can't hear it since I've been playing with that all those sounds since day one and it's already "improved" and refined to the max and I don't think it can be pushed more without breaking. Why would I want to use a console emu to make things more 3D with space and saturation when I can easily use some Stereo Tool, add 12 more reverbs and nobody can stop me ? Why would I even go subtle, it's my track, I can do whatever I want... and that's a problem for me and the way I work. Never even once I got a satisfying result but it's different when I mix someone else's track, fresh perspective on something I've never heard before (or 1st time) then adding the "console" stuff to make it polished and maybe color it to be in a certain era and trying to be as stealthy as possible, playing with perception, feel instead of making everything obvious, that's the thing that really work for me and I can't do this on my own track, impossible to look at it that way. I rather sent my track to someone else to mix so it could benefit all those stuff from other's perspective in different listening environment. Not a believer of mixing/mastering own track even it could easily be done but IMO there are most loss than gain, almost impossible for one to admit for the first few years. $20 mixing fees on freelancer platform (assuming lucky enough to find cool mixer/ME) can do a better mixing job than me doing it myself, well if produced it to the best of my ability and solve all the problem before sending them out for mixing. This is not actually true for everyone, just how I see it, and my own view on it after all these years.

 

The answer start with a question : WHAT is a "mix" ?
By it's name, you already know the answer : mixing tracks together to create a coherent AND artistic final music track.

Console, tape ... good emus help create a coherent mix/master by their transient, stereo, saturation ... effects.
Like any other tool (compressor, EQ, stereo tool ...).

It is more the FINAL touch than anything else.
That's why, to me, the best use is on bus/master.
And after usual FX.

Notion of "subtle" means nothing : you ALREADY made subtle settings (or not) on your instruments, FX ... before those console/tape/... emulations.

They are HELPERS, like a good sauce make the difference.
But not all ppl like sauce or subtle adjustments.

To me, those emulations really HELP mixing. They are not mandatory at all.
Especially on the dynamic/transient side.

As a side note: i remember my friend copying me "Abstract Phaze" trance goa vinyl to cassette, but VERY HOT.
It was better than his original vinyl because of the obvious saturation, transients smashing and more

Would have they studio recorded it on cassette ? NOT of course
Does it sounded better recorded too hot on cassette ? YES (to me)
Better than any tweak they made on original mix.
Probably due to electronic sources.

A tool is a tool : you are the human making choices

If you want to try a cassette sim on it

 

Last edited: Jun 10, 2024

I personally never use channel strips and or virtual summing bus plugins to emulate a console but rather on individual tracks or groups. I often stack multiple instances to color, densify harmonically while eating peaks here and there to gain some RMS. I'm not a fan of systematically pass every tracks trough these plugs to emulate a real console, I prefer perfect digital separation and having fully independent control over each element.

 

Last edited: Jun 10, 2024

There is no magic in summing. Just channel strip with (optional) preamp, saturation, eq, compr, exp, gate.. Dan Worrall proved that there is no magic in summing by nulling.

 

There's no magic in "clean summing", I agree.