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Living without mixer... thoughts?
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| aNYthing |
So, I've ordered a new recording interface to go with my MBP - got a RME Fireface UFX in the mail, due to arrive this Friday. I have been up to this point recording via RME Digiface connected to Yamaha 01v96 v2 via ADAT. That's at least 2 DAC/ADC conversions in the path, not counting the synths, if I'm not mistaken. On top of it, I realized that most of my fiddling comes in Ableton +mouse.
I'm looking for some opinions/suggestions whether this would be a good move to sell the mixer and go completely mixerless. Thing is that I haven't honestly finished a SINGLE TRACK. Ever. Hence, I never bothered mastering my 1000+ projects left abandoned or unfinished...
It's all been mucking around, wanking it mostly, only recently started getting more serious about actually completing something. ... on top of it - I never really sat down with my mixer and got into its guts to know it in and out and I find myself quite intimidated by it, to be honest. It has load of options that I'm not even using and I have a hard time wrapping my mind around basic things like BUSSes, OMNIs, and various other routing. Heck, RME TotalMix confuses the living piss out of me by itself!
So, I ask myself a question - considering I'll have all the inputs that I need at my fingertips, should I just sell the mixer and go for a controller instead.. or better yet - just use Maschine Ableton template to control it? Or should I keep it, bite the bullet, learn it and I'll reap the benefits in the long run? |
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| Eric J |
I've been working without a mixer for the last 6 years, and haven't missed it. While the mixer does offer the advantage of tactile controls, in a project studio, you're probably better off just using the DAW mixer.
One of the biggest disadvantages to having an external mixer is you can't work on two things at once (unless you're investing 5 figures in a hardware mixer with total recall). With the DAW mixer you can have as many channels, auxiliary busses, sends and returns as you need. Plus its a real bitch to try to use the DAW mixer in conjunction with the external one. Just complicates things too much for a project studio.
For EDM, where the vast majority of studios are project studios, there really isn't too many compelling reasons to stay external anymore, unless you are doing so for reasons of tactile control or analog colour. |
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| aNYthing |
That's what I find as well - especially the part about signal routing. Like "Ok, so, I want this to go to inserts on the hardware mixer and this go on the internal one and oh crap, now I got a feedback loop. Damn."
As far as total recall - Yamaha one I have has motorized faders and it does have full capability to record vast majority of parameters and it does have a soft-based app (which crashes a lot)... but I just don't find myself using it. I figure the main reason to have a mixer is if you're ACTUALLY MIXING ON IT... having it as a just a volume control for my synths is wasteful.
I realized my frustration when I spent over 2 hours trying to figure out how to properly route my signal and wire up the gear and only to find myself without any real results.
That's why I want to go the mixerless route. I've arrived to a point where I think it's time to part ways with the mixer... just looking for reasons WHY NOT and not seeing too many reasons to keep it. |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by aNYthing
Thing is that I haven't honestly finished a SINGLE TRACK. Ever. |
, that's bad. |
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| aNYthing |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beatflux
, that's bad. |
I start to suspect it's psychological. Once I admit to myself it's finished, I have to do something about it or solicit input of others... fear of failure, I think that's what they call it.
I recently started listening to a lot of techno/minimal/prog - and it makes it sound much more accessible and possible to do. So my first order of business is to finish a basic and simple track, whatever the that means to me and just don't look back.
I'm forcing myself to work on time constraints too - e.g. I work for 2 hours non-stop and finish x amount of bars that I DON'T TOUCH in terms of arrangement. It may be tweaked a bit for sound, eq, etc but content stays. I hope to have something finished THIS YEAR!
;) |
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| cryophonik |
I had a lovely Soundcraft board from my live band days taking up all sorts of space in my studio until about 4 years ago, when I replaced it with an AlphaTrack, and haven't regretted it for a second. It's a different workflow, but this thing has become like an extension to my right hand.
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| Mise |
| quote: | Originally posted by aNYthing
So my first order of business is to finish a basic and simple track, whatever the that means to me and just don't look back.
;) |
this! and work forward rather than downside layering! |
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| Storyteller |
For me, the less crap in the chain, the easier it is to finish some music. I've been contemplating to sell my all my hardware for a while now. I even put some stuff up but it seems nobody wants a Virus KC anymore and there's an abundance of launchpad's for sale already. It's too big for most hehe.
I did sell my focusrite liquidmix. It was a fun piece of kit but annoyingly slow when loading projects and I never really used it. |
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| tehlord |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
I had a lovely Soundcraft board from my live band days taking up all sorts of space in my studio until about 4 years ago, when I replaced it with an AlphaTrack, and haven't regretted it for a second. It's a different workflow, but this thing has become like an extension to my right hand.
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What's the build quality on those like Dave?
I've been looking into getting a Faderport again lately, or the hugely overpriced CC121. |
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| aNYthing |
| that's not hugely overpriced... Euphonix or Cakewalk controllers... take the cake. ;) |
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| aNYthing |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mise
this! and work forward rather than downside layering! |
"...sometimes we make a track in half an hour! In fact, the strange thing is that all my biggest tracks were written in under two hours.”
-AvB |
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| Kenny Rogers |
isnt a mixer like a little oldschool now lol :stongue:
btw how much gear do you have? maybe you should consider replacing them with software? its alot easier to finish of tracks ITB, i couldnt work with hardware at all. |
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