I have tried a variety of approaches to analog mixing and what I’m currently doing is using 16 “external plug-ins” for processing. I’m also then analog summing the outputs of my DAW channels but that’s not relevant here.
Right now the only means of archiving my “external Plug-in” channels that I can see is using “Render In Place”. The problem with this is that it creates a brand new track with none of the routing, panning, etc from the original. I know I could save the channel settings from the original and paste them on to the new channel, but…across many tracks this is time/labor and most of all just the attention to make sure it’s all executed correctly.
Does anyone have a better system? I’m not trying to recall analog settings - committing them when the mix is done is fine. Just the easiest/quickest way to save the mix (with the analog processing) so I recall if necessary?
I’m happy to hear alternate workflow suggestions but please understand that for what I’m doing I’m feeling committed to analog processing.
My set up is an API Box2 console with an SSL X-Desk as a side car. The X-Desk and the left side of the API provide 16 channels of processing that all have direct outputs. I have 16 dedicated 500 series EQs for them and a bunch of compressors I can patch in. I then use the right side of the API for 16 channel summing and analog bus processing. My interface is a 32 channel Lynx Aurora.
Right, so what I’m looking for is something in between channel plug-in and whole signal path. I don’t want to capture the busses that the channels are flowing to. Really what I’m looking for is the equivalent of “bounce audio” or freeze track that will capture external plug-ins as well. ideally I’d like not create a new track at all. Just capture the processing from the external plugin. If there were a way to do that without even committing other internal plugins that would be even better. I guess this is a feature request.
Typically, when we go to mix here, we “render” any external processing before continuing to mix in the box.
Now, if you have a plugin before the external processing, you want to render that as well.
This is, do it before the final mix, if possible. If not, then at the very end of the mixing, once you have sent to mastering and THAT has been approved, i.e. no more mixing, you will render each outside processed track with their respective processing.
Now, the stuff you WON’T include in the render are any time based effect, like reverb / delays that were for the whole mix or several instruments, and, of course, your MIX BUSS. That should not be rendered for the individual instrument.
The whole point for me of using the analog gear is to be able to adjust it while mixing, so it doesn’t work to use it before mixing. What you described otherwise is the way I’m doing it. It’s not an efficient workflow. I would say it’s least bad way but I wouldn’t say it’s “right”. I hope Steinberg will consider my feature request for capturing external plugins as offline processing. it would be a game changer for hybrid mixing.
To capture my analog for each channel: Mix the song. Then when ready, turn off any plugs after the HW insert plug(s). Use a pre fader send set to 0db to a bus with no physical output, then record the output of that bus onto a new track, then move the new audio file up to the original track and re-enable the plugs after the HW insert, and turn off all the plugs up to and including the HW insert(s). So now the hardware captured audio still runs through all the plug-ins, volume automation, busses etc in case of recall needs. (Just capturing the processing up to the hardware.)
My experience is that Freeze does not capture external plugins. The problem I’m raising is that when the new track is created you lose your routing, sends and panning and any other channel settings. You can copy/paste them from the original channel, but it’s clunky.
In my Feature Request post I had the thought though that I could simply put an instance of melodyne after the external plugin, capture it and just don’t do any processing and that would achieve what I’m looking for. I guess that gets down to the nitty gritty of just how transparent Melodyne really is lol. Hoping Steinberg can just make a “capture” plugin that has full fidelity and minimal dsp but like Melodyne allows you to capture multiple tracks at once.
The idea of pre-processing the analog work and then mixing in the box is one I tried for a while and rejected. I need to be able to make adjustments while mixing. Committing to setting before the mix is even together doesn’t work for me. Sorry I didn’t make that clear. Otherwise what you were suggesting is what I was already doing.
I did manage to distill the issue into a simple feature request and conceive of a work around using Melodyne to capture inside the existing channel which also points to a simpler solution that Steinberg could develop (a multichannel capable Capture plugin).
My next mix I’m going to do both the clunky render method (as a safety) and my idea for using Melodyne and see how it goes.
Yeah. I made a macro to reduce a few of the steps.
Protools handles it nicely. “Commit up to this insert” (or something) is how they do it… Just right click on it and it prints everything up to and including your hardware insert.
Your Melodyne hack should work though. Not sure what version you have, but if you don’t do any processing it should pass a null test with a duplicate out of phase.