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Post by guitfiddler on Apr 27, 2020 13:58:54 GMT -6
What’s on your Stereo Mix Buss? Plugins or Analog. I’m more of an analog guy though. I wanted to try something new. Shootout some CAPI/Maag/Dangerous BAX/SSL Fusion? what else should I check out? Looking more at EQ options though.
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Post by nick8801 on Apr 27, 2020 16:40:13 GMT -6
EQ wise, I use the Diyre Pultecs. I try not to go too eq crazy on the mix buss. Figure if I need it, then I probably have issues in the mix itself. The Pultecs are subtle enough to finish things off with a little sparkle and bloom. A few months ago I picked up an Overstayer stereo fet and ID4. I use the fet very lightly with maybe a 25% mix. It seems to fill up and tie together the mix a little bit to me. Very similar to the way a tape plugin works. The ID4 is my finisher. It adds a little bit of saturation and perceived volume to things. I've gone through a lot of mix buss gear, and this combo is my favorite for the music I'm working on.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 16:57:43 GMT -6
Lately:
Daking FETII
Hairball Lola
FabFilter Pro-Q3
UAD Manley Variable Mu
UAD ATR-102
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Post by Tbone81 on Apr 27, 2020 18:02:57 GMT -6
At any given time any or all of the following:
Plugs:
Slate vari mu
Waves API 2500
Hardware:
Sebatron tube pre
CAPI vp28's
Buzz audio DBC Compressor
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 18:27:49 GMT -6
Right now, Variety of Sound Density mkIII. This is beating The Glue for me for depth. Dial in the VCA knob to increase punch. This is one of the only plugin compressors that can handle program material. None of the SSL plugs did it like this for me. The Glue was the most consistent one but the depth and roominess of the hardware was gone. This is doing it sort of and making it better but it's almost like a Fairchild plus an SSL? The ratio is a lot more than the SSL but it's soft knee and my clients love it when I sent them around a few comparison mixes. I never got around to trying SPL Iron though. I missed out on the deal. I find 99% of plugin compressors pretty much non-functional but this is pretty good. Kotelnikov for clean stuff. But I mostly turd polish metal so Density is used much more.
I wanted to buy a Smart C2 a little while ago but the detectors are summed to mono like GSSL. Other clones add low end. It's pretty sad that the SSL bus compressor, console or rack mount, is still the the best choice 40 years after it came out. I can't wait for Audioscape to have some of their pretty much 1:1 clones in stock when I have regular income again. The Serpent SB4001 adds a tiny bit of not too soft low end but is not an option for me because .1 release is gone and that's often the only one that doesn't pump for fast metal.
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Post by thirdeye on Apr 27, 2020 18:41:51 GMT -6
Right now, Variety of Sound Density mkIII. This is beating The Glue for me for depth. Dial in the VCA knob to increase punch. This is one of the only plugin compressors that can handle program material. None of the SSL plugs did it like this for me. The Glue was the most consistent one but the depth and roominess of the hardware was gone. This is doing it sort of and making it better but it's almost like a Fairchild plus an SSL? The ratio is a lot more than the SSL but it's soft knee and my clients love it when I sent them around a few comparison mixes. I never got around to trying SPL Iron though. I missed out on the deal. I find 99% of plugin compressors pretty much non-functional but this is pretty good. Kotelnikov for clean stuff. But I mostly turd polish metal so Density is used much more.
I wanted to buy a Smart C2 a little while ago but the detectors are summed to mono like GSSL. Other clones add low end. It's pretty sad that the SSL bus compressor, console or rack mount, is still the the best choice 40 years after it came out. I can't wait for Audioscape to have some of their pretty much 1:1 clones in stock when I have regular income again. The Serpent SB4001 adds a tiny bit of not too soft low end but is not an option for me because .1 release is gone and that's often the only one that doesn't pump for fast metal.
I find the Serpent fastest release to work fine for fast metal, but perhaps I'm not working on ultra-fast material. I like the A2 release as well. The Serpent's variable release can go to .1 as well. That being said, the Sepent has moved over to drum buss duties mostly in favor of the SSL G Comp 500 on the 2 buss. |
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Post by drbill on Apr 27, 2020 19:06:57 GMT -6
These days, the mic pre's are long gone from my Mix Buss. They have been replaced with (not surprisingly) an LTL Silver Bullet. The SB EQ is perfect for gentle sound shaping - adding a little Air and Sub heft - and the Mojo Blocks have elegantly replaced my actual console.
No plugins here on the MIX buss. Occasionally in the Mastering phase I will use a plugin - mostly for hard limiting, but for mixing no plugs on the mix buss other than for monitoring - like the Clarity plug or the BX or Dorrough meters.
Generally I forgo compression on the mix buss and wait until mastering, but when I do use them, I'll reach for either the Manley VariMu or AudioScape GSSL or Serpent SB4001. For the extremely off chance that I need EQ on my mix buss, it's usually the Mid LCPQ4040's. Otherwise, I prefer to wait until mastering or use individual EQ's on the individual tracks to get me where I want to go.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 20:09:25 GMT -6
Right now, Variety of Sound Density mkIII. This is beating The Glue for me for depth. Dial in the VCA knob to increase punch. This is one of the only plugin compressors that can handle program material. None of the SSL plugs did it like this for me. The Glue was the most consistent one but the depth and roominess of the hardware was gone. This is doing it sort of and making it better but it's almost like a Fairchild plus an SSL? The ratio is a lot more than the SSL but it's soft knee and my clients love it when I sent them around a few comparison mixes. I never got around to trying SPL Iron though. I missed out on the deal. I find 99% of plugin compressors pretty much non-functional but this is pretty good. Kotelnikov for clean stuff. But I mostly turd polish metal so Density is used much more.
I wanted to buy a Smart C2 a little while ago but the detectors are summed to mono like GSSL. Other clones add low end. It's pretty sad that the SSL bus compressor, console or rack mount, is still the the best choice 40 years after it came out. I can't wait for Audioscape to have some of their pretty much 1:1 clones in stock when I have regular income again. The Serpent SB4001 adds a tiny bit of not too soft low end but is not an option for me because .1 release is gone and that's often the only one that doesn't pump for fast metal.
I find the Serpent fastest release to work fine for fast metal, but perhaps I'm not working on ultra-fast material. I like the A2 release as well. The Serpent's variable release can go to .1 as well. That being said, the Sepent has moved over to drum buss duties mostly in favor of the SSL G Comp 500 on the 2 buss. I do a lot of blasting death and black metal with parts over 200 bpm. The current drummer can actually play it with no sample replacement or triggers needed. Auto-release tends to box in the guitars and hurt the blasting more than .1, the only release that sounds open and makes it better. |
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Post by EmRR on Apr 27, 2020 20:12:24 GMT -6
Lately drum/bass bus Serpent SB4001, everything else FCS P4DMS, both into passive mixer into RCA BC-2B tube console line amps then Dolby 740.
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Post by EmRR on Apr 27, 2020 20:15:21 GMT -6
The Serpent SB4001 adds a tiny bit of not too soft low end but is not an option for me because .1 release is gone and that's often the only one that doesn't pump for fast metal.
 It's there on the totally variable knob, should be just the 'same as'. Do you find it acts differently, in spite of the labeling? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2020 20:34:01 GMT -6
The Serpent SB4001 adds a tiny bit of not too soft low end but is not an option for me because .1 release is gone and that's often the only one that doesn't pump for fast metal.
It's there on the totally variable knob, should be just the 'same as'. Do you find it acts differently, in spite of the labeling? Oh shit. Never noticed that. Decided against trying it based on that pre covid even after finding some comparisons. Now I want one. Even if I can't tuck the bass in as well as a real deal SSL. That thing could be tight gluing together a bunch of kick mics. |
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Post by drumsound on Apr 27, 2020 22:38:54 GMT -6
Still using the Drawmer 1969 with big switch engaged. I patch it in before I start mixing.
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Post by Blackdawg on Apr 27, 2020 22:45:23 GMT -6
I've been mastering with an IGS tubecore to sb4001 to silver bullet to DIYRE EQP5s. I use the built in parallel on both compressors heavily. Only shaving 1-3dB on each max. 50-75% mix. Usually a slow attack to keep it alive.
Works great.
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Post by theshea on Apr 28, 2020 1:53:58 GMT -6
I'm investing some time into my mixbus options right now and did a mixbus compressor shootout over at *cough* GS ... www.gearslutz.com/board/gear-shoot-outs-sound-file-comparisons-audio-tests/1307909-mixbus-compressor-shootout.htmlobviously when its time to lay your cards on the table the action is very low. that means, when having to comment on tiny differences off blindtest shoouout sounds few dare to expose themselves. GS people love to talk the theoretical marketing talk but are afraid to listen to real sound samples haha! maybe you people want to leave a comment. i am really into mixing into a compressor, it helps me get the volume balance and volume automation right from the start. than i love lately putting on tdr nova, activate smart op and set pink noise as reference than watch the curve which tells me if my frequency balance is way off ot not. its a great feature which adds speed and security to my mixing. |
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Post by allbuttonmode on Apr 28, 2020 3:24:21 GMT -6
API 2500 -> Dramastic Audio Obsidian -> Inward Connections DEQ-1. Would like to maybe add something like the Overstayer Modular Channel Stereo as well. But in today's economic climate, I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon.
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Post by kcatthedog on Apr 28, 2020 4:33:06 GMT -6
Ssl has a deal on its Fusion box right now.
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Post by swafford on Apr 28, 2020 8:10:34 GMT -6
My basic mix buss is Hendy Michelangelo -> A Designs Nail -> UAD ATR 102
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Post by subspace on Apr 28, 2020 8:43:37 GMT -6
Been leaning toward a cleaner 2-bus lately, A-Designs Nail into Tonelux Equalux, with heavier color on subgroups from a blend of hardware/software.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 9:01:51 GMT -6
Still using the Drawmer 1969 with big switch engaged. I patch it in before I start mixing. I wish I never got rid of my 1968. I'm not sure how similar it is to the '69, but such an easy and nice sounding compressor. I always started my mixes by getting it to flash that red LED on the meters on every bass drum and snare drum hit, then went from there. |
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Post by drbill on Apr 28, 2020 9:41:12 GMT -6
I've been mastering with an IGS tubecore to sb4001 to silver bullet to DIYRE EQP5s. I use the built in parallel on both compressors heavily. Only shaving 1-3dB on each max. 50-75% mix. Usually a slow attack to keep it alive. Works great. My mastering chain is very similar in concept to yours. I'm going Manley VariMu into (maybe buss compressor like SB4001 or AS GSSL) then Silver Bullet, then into Miad LCPQ4040's. Slow attack on the Manley as well. Brick wall limiter - Usually FabFilter at the very end, but only to catch peaks. Most of the "leveling" is already done. |
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Post by guitfiddler on Apr 28, 2020 13:13:05 GMT -6
Thanks guys, nice responses.
Has anyone compared the Dangerous BAX(UAD) vs. the hardware?
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Post by drsax on Apr 28, 2020 17:19:04 GMT -6
I used to have a more complex master buss chain. This days it’s an LTL Silver Bullet and a very transparent plugin limiter afterwards just to catch really strong peaks. If a song calls for an obviously compressed sound, then I’ll add a 2Buss comp, but that is rare these days
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Post by the other mark williams on Apr 28, 2020 18:06:48 GMT -6
I almost always have a Silver Bullet with an Audioscape (GSSL) Bus Comp in the insert. I also usually have a Zulu on the 2-bus: Sometimes before the Silver Bullet / Audioscape combo, sometimes after. If I'm in a situation where I need to use plugins on the 2-bus instead of hardware, the most likely candidates (in some combination) are: - L80 Bus (Plugin Alliance / Lindell Neve Bus plugin)
- DMG Audio: TrackComp, Compassion, EQuilibrium
- Black Box HG-2
- Acustica Purple (various Pultecs)
- Acustica Ivory (Maselec)
The free Acustica Celestial (SSL Fusion) plugin is really good, too, but I haven't had much time to play with it.
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Post by stratboy on Apr 28, 2020 18:34:25 GMT -6
My setup has gotten much more simple recently.
For hardware, Silver Bullet with IGS S-type bus comp and Elysia xFilter on the insert, followed by a UAD Oxford limiter going back in.
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Post by Blackdawg on Apr 28, 2020 18:44:53 GMT -6
I've been mastering with an IGS tubecore to sb4001 to silver bullet to DIYRE EQP5s. I use the built in parallel on both compressors heavily. Only shaving 1-3dB on each max. 50-75% mix. Usually a slow attack to keep it alive. Works great. My mastering chain is very similar in concept to yours. I'm going Manley VariMu into (maybe buss compressor like SB4001 or AS GSSL) then Silver Bullet, then into Miad LCPQ4040's. Slow attack on the Manley as well. Brick wall limiter - Usually FabFilter at the very end, but only to catch peaks. Most of the "leveling" is already done. Great minds think alike! Ha I need to grab a HVA Eq6s next. Probably replace my EQP5s. I have another vca buss comp to build that'll be all stepped which will be nice for recall an such for projects. Then I'll move the sb4001 and EQP5s to drumbus duty. I love that combo on drums. I've honestly really just liked the avid pro limiter lately. The Fab filter one can be muddy sounding. Not that it doesn't work in a lot of situations. I just haven't used it as much lately. Really need to grab the DMG limitless. I love Equality from them, it's my go to eq right now since it can be dsp or native. But for now the pro limter is mostly what I've been using for protools. In pyramix I use Flux Sorela. Oh also depending on the mix, I've been slapping The Magic Death Eye on...wow that thing is great. I'd love to own a real one one day but be a hard pill to swallow for the price tag! |
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It's there on the totally variable knob, should be just the 'same as'. Do you find it acts differently, in spite of the labeling? 
