Hey guys, I'm just wondering what is an all-rounder, not too expensive summing box to give final mixes/masters real analog vibe. BTW, do these boxes contain the AD/DA converters or is it done through patching cables? Please, don't mind my lack of knowledge in this area. I'd like to start researching for when I can aim at this.

 

Principle of summing boxes is to get analog summing, so i didn't seen one with converters. It is full analog circuit, and you use your own AD/DA.

Apart that, i got very impressive results ITB with a simple Nebula instance on master bus ;) No analog summing.
Another ITB solution can be Harrison Mixbus. It simulates internal analog summing, very different from others DAW in witch the analog "simulation" is inside each track, not summing.
To me, nowadays, analog vibe, analog stereo image and such can be obtained in the box.
It is cheaper, you get total recall...and you can bounce instead of "real time" rendering ;)

 

well there are some interesting options out there, monitor controller, summing mixer and converter in one box. tempting!

 

Like what? Going online for options without knowing what to aim for is too confusing.

 

Brother, people are really loving this http://dangerousmusic.com/product/d-box/. It has probably everything you are looking for and possibly need in an 8 channels of summing with wonderful monitoring from a super headphone amp. For 16 channels they offer this, http://dangerousmusic.com/product/2-bus-lt/, but I don't know of anyone using this one.

The digital ins and outputs the make it possible to route your tracks easily without patching and repatching cables like in days of yester. Summing outside of your DAW this way is advantageous for lots of reasons, but I am going to sleep now and can't finish this thought. Maybe someone will take up the reigns and carry on to tell you why. Nite.

 

Yep, the d-box was what I had in mind.
The core idea (I think) behind summing mixers is the ability to have a powerful mastering chain with hardware inserts, thus zero latency.

 

There is this http://tapeop.com/tutorials/49/analog-summing/
And then this

And finally, for both tracking and 2 buss...something that I personally would love to see in my room
http://store.louderthanliftoff.com/products/silver-bullet-drbills-stereo-tone-amp

Happy hunting...don't go too crazy thinking about all this stuff, it has the tendency to wobble the mind.

 

Speaking of wobbling the mind:

 

I have now been officially wobbled and may never be the same again.

 

I know, right? We will never be able to make music again without this setup!

 

Yep. Wobbled. Thank you guys. Just when I thought I was going to be unsurpassably happy with my Allen & Heath board, I have set foot on a path of suffering until I save up for a D-Box. Unfortunately, there's no local distributor in my country. Anyway, one step at a time, right? It's going to be a long wait. Thank you for your guidance.

 

Thais was discussed a lot in another topic.
Most important is your record chain with good pre, eq and comp.
Than a summing box. And old desk can do that... i have a modular desk 24x24... A beast.
In therms of money a good nvidia card and nebula can do the job very well... But you will a good record chain To maximize the result.

 

Mercurysoto, yes you can, you can be happy with the Allen and Heath because it does just what you need it to do, namely add harmonic distortion as the signal scurrys through all the wires and bits of the board. Sure, the D-Box is super sexy, sounds killer and is made for the task in hand, but let your in ears decide if there is an appreciable difference or not between one of your mixes completely ITB and one routed through the A&H. It is a step by step process to audio nirvana, and then even what you thought couldn't get any better has this strange habit of loosing the sparkle of novelty, that first blush as time pushes uncontrollably on and on and on and the simple fact that our tastes can change and shift along our not so simple meal.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 5, 2016

hey, everyone on the quest for summing boxes ,

when, if, you are into such things, one alternative could be, only for the most simple stereo solution, to build two of bo hansen's direct injection boxes, with possible choices for even better transformers, all in do it yourself mode, google will help in finding building threads, source information, really everything one needs to be successful.

there are other possibilities, more with tube stages included even, simple to build, with greatly usable soundings.

then when ready with all, using these boxes possibly for even multiple round trips, with stereo stems equalised where you want to place the most harmonic generation, then after sample aligning these possibly out of place files, using these in parallel mode as sounding elements into, for, your mix.

all the best for all of us, including the most spiced up sounding analogue tracks...

 

Last edited: Jun 5, 2016

Thank you very much, people. Fortunately, I have good working pres, although not in a classic way. I have an Apollo Twin, with preamps that are capable of adjusting their impedance response with the choice of UAD plugin. I might not aim to buy a Neve pre, but the Twin's muxed software/hardware behaviour is the most affordable step up I could take. My mixer is digital, it is an Allen & Heath Qu-16. It has analog pres which are actually an upgrade over the ZED series. I understand that AD/DA conversion may be the best out there, but for the price it costs, you get a lot of bang for the buck. Anyhow, although my gear is now the best I could ever thought I'd collect, I thought an analog summing box could help me un-digitalize my signal chain. Of course, it is nothing I need now, but I just wanted to start learning about summing boxes for an uncertain future purchase. I know nothing beats upping my game in the recording and mixing craft, and no piece of gear will substitute for that, but that's where I want and I'm trying to go.

On the other hand, what about summing through one of those audiophile amplifiers of the 80s? Maybe one of those Sansui, Maratz, Technics, and the like. Do you think they would add any nice flavour to a two-track signal or would it just degrade it? There's a comeback of these units of yesteryear, but it's easier to find a used one in mint condition for more reasonable money than a D-Box.

 

hey, all analogue sounding digital solution seekers ,

between those analogue emulations on the universal audio palette, there are many plug-ins which will treat your audio tracks, stems, with their quite delicate flavouring, those preamplifiers, equalisers, channel strips, compressors, some even in their unison mode, they do not even have to add much other processing except driving the data through their touch, then there will be what you are seeking for, or at least one presently quite usable available solution.

audiophile level pieces, studio gear, are mostly built for quite different purposes, though would not say some tube gear could not be used, even if still there would be the standard line level difference problems for tackling.

those direct injection boxes mentioned above could be built, depending on transfomer choice, quite cheaply, lending great sound to your stems after integrating them into your setup for such purposes, worth to read about them on couple of threads.

wishing you the usual best of the best, for all of us even more so, including the most beautiful sounding solutions, be it analogue or digital, studio gear or audiophile solution...

 

Last edited: Jun 5, 2016