11-25-2023, 11:41 AM
So having taken delivery of a used Softube Console 1 MKII (but oh dear their licensing system is unfathomable.....) I thought I'd try and experiment with 32C using the Console 1 for EQ comp etc.
I had a very lovely mad and violently clattering bodhran part in a Studio One song - I'd used the 32C channel VST, a UAD X Pultec EQP-1A for a bit of bottom end and 8k, and then a UAD X LA2A to slam it just a bit.
I exported the processed loop from S1, and also the midi file I'd created to run the sample library in Kontakt, imported both into MB32C and started to try and match the sound.
Took me not very long at all (and a lot of that time was spent getting used to where the controls on the Console 1 were for the MB channel strip) to get the sound really pretty darn close. Which was a surprise to me as especially the LA2 and Pultec have a sound that really is unique.
So high praise for what I hope will be a single strip mix when I eventually do mix this project. I bought the Console 1 so I could EQ and comp intuitively rather than one parameter at a time with a mouse. I think the fact that it's all under your fingers, as it used to be on a console, really speeds up the process, and, most importantly, allows you to get close to the sound you want without that usual, hmm, I wonder if this plugin will do it, or, ooh I know, let's slam it with the LA2 etc etc. There's definitely a tendency with mouse mixing to look for instant gratification via another plugin instead of working away at the finer points of EQ and compressing. And because you can only adjust one parameter at a time, you can never really "build" the sound.
Early days and it'll be a while before I'm doing my next full mix in MB32C, both projects currently at writing stage, but I'm very interested to see if I can use the Console 1 with just the MB channel strips, using only 3rd party plugins for FX etc. Let's face it, I've made a few albums on SSLs and whatever was in Electric Lady Studios in 1991, and I don't recall ever using an external EQ. Maybe a real LA2 or a Fairchild, but then maybe there was a Harrison in Electric Lady or Soundtrack New York? Anyone know what was installed in '91?
Just thought this may be of interest - after all, the sales pitch is "true analogue experience" or something, so Harrison and SSL, please make a sensibly priced controller that fits perfectly for Mixbus 32C. Though I guess Softube have already taken most of your market for that, no matter - it works!
Oh and whilst I'm here my latest single - Ukulele and Voice only, mixed in MB32C is available on all streaming platforms - but of course we love Bandcamp cos we get a few cents for our trouble! Under the Cover of Snow
Not a lot to mix - just two mics, recorded live, but I absolutely love the way it sounds in MB.
I had a very lovely mad and violently clattering bodhran part in a Studio One song - I'd used the 32C channel VST, a UAD X Pultec EQP-1A for a bit of bottom end and 8k, and then a UAD X LA2A to slam it just a bit.
I exported the processed loop from S1, and also the midi file I'd created to run the sample library in Kontakt, imported both into MB32C and started to try and match the sound.
Took me not very long at all (and a lot of that time was spent getting used to where the controls on the Console 1 were for the MB channel strip) to get the sound really pretty darn close. Which was a surprise to me as especially the LA2 and Pultec have a sound that really is unique.
So high praise for what I hope will be a single strip mix when I eventually do mix this project. I bought the Console 1 so I could EQ and comp intuitively rather than one parameter at a time with a mouse. I think the fact that it's all under your fingers, as it used to be on a console, really speeds up the process, and, most importantly, allows you to get close to the sound you want without that usual, hmm, I wonder if this plugin will do it, or, ooh I know, let's slam it with the LA2 etc etc. There's definitely a tendency with mouse mixing to look for instant gratification via another plugin instead of working away at the finer points of EQ and compressing. And because you can only adjust one parameter at a time, you can never really "build" the sound.
Early days and it'll be a while before I'm doing my next full mix in MB32C, both projects currently at writing stage, but I'm very interested to see if I can use the Console 1 with just the MB channel strips, using only 3rd party plugins for FX etc. Let's face it, I've made a few albums on SSLs and whatever was in Electric Lady Studios in 1991, and I don't recall ever using an external EQ. Maybe a real LA2 or a Fairchild, but then maybe there was a Harrison in Electric Lady or Soundtrack New York? Anyone know what was installed in '91?
Just thought this may be of interest - after all, the sales pitch is "true analogue experience" or something, so Harrison and SSL, please make a sensibly priced controller that fits perfectly for Mixbus 32C. Though I guess Softube have already taken most of your market for that, no matter - it works!
Oh and whilst I'm here my latest single - Ukulele and Voice only, mixed in MB32C is available on all streaming platforms - but of course we love Bandcamp cos we get a few cents for our trouble! Under the Cover of Snow
Not a lot to mix - just two mics, recorded live, but I absolutely love the way it sounds in MB.