Pearls of Wisdom

[Steve AParticipant]

Heya Everybody,

Been awhile since I last posted, but I thought this would be a cool thread to share knowledge, gleaned from the interwebs (or wherever), particularly involving digital/ITB scenarios..

I recently participated in a Q&A with A Scheps, and one inquiry (not mine) involved width/depth of mixes ITB vs a console, that I thought was interesting.. Here's Andrew's response:

"I really don't think there is a difference in the inherent soundstage no matter what you are mixing on. There are plenty of things I can think of from when I mixed on a console that made things more difficult for me. One of the things that was a revelation when I moved into the box was how much easier it was to place things in the stereo field and really have them stay there. As always, whatever sounds better to you is better, but for me I don't think using analog gear gives you any advantage on the size of your mix.

But to address what I do to try and make mixes big and wide, the first thing is the most obvious. Panning. When I was on the console I basically used LCR panning 90% of the time because of how the panning worked on my Neve. Now that I'm in the box I pan all over the place. I really find that I can find room for things just by picking a spot in the stereo field. I also use stereo widening tools all the time. I have a stereo widener on the mix buss itself, as well as loving plugins like S1, Stageone, and Ozone Imager for taking individual elements and putting them slightly outside the speakers.

Another key element to increasing the size of the mix is not to focus only on width, but depth as well. In other threads I've talked about using reverb and delays to push thing forwards and backwards. This will make room for things as well as making the mix sound much bigger."

Thoughts: My personal opinion is that renowned consoles have certain non-linearities that color sonically... and emphasis here is not so much on an EQ/tonal axis, but on a soundstage/'3D' axis.

I recently picked up the UAD plugin of the renowned Helios console, and must tell you, it does something REALLY different to the sound AND soundstage, that I haven't experienced before...made my guitars and drums MUCH less flat and lifeless.. But this is just the tip of the iceberg...

There is much more in Andrew's quote than I personally touched on here..

Bottom line: I'd like to hear what everyone else is doing ITB to make their mixes better...

Cheers,
-Steve A

• This topic was modified 5 years ago by Steve A.
• This topic was modified 5 years ago by Steve A.

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