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[Al Rettich]

I’m old.  My first tour was thirty five years ago.  Back then every house engineer I worked with always told me that you start at the source.  Get it right, and it gets easier.  I’ve been noticing a large increase in outboard gear on tours lately.  I’m not saying the engineers are bad, because they’re not.  I would love an interview with one of those engineers that carries racks of outboard gear to go through and explain why so much outboard? There are other engineers that have extremely little if any outboard gear. 

Any thoughts on this?

[Andrew Broughton]

My saying is "Are you coming to MIX or coming to FIX?" Sometimes fixing requires more "stuff".

[Bob Faulkner]

Speaking from a multi-band perspective, I would rather bring an analog console with my 2 racks of outboard (gates, comps, EQ, effects), than try to push button after button on a digital console.  I greatly enjoy digital consoles and they have their place, but (in my opinion) navigating an analog console with outboard is extremely fast compared to a digital console.  With analog, I can assess the entire console and gate/comp/EQ/effects settings without pushing a single button.

Digital is great and I use digital at every opportunity, but I'm spoiled with the speed of running an analog setup. 

[Tim McCulloch]

Speaking from a multi-band perspective, I would rather bring an analog console with my 2 racks of outboard (gates, comps, EQ, effects), than try to push button after button on a digital console.  I greatly enjoy digital consoles and they have their place, but (in my opinion) navigating an analog console with outboard is extremely fast compared to a digital console.  With analog, I can assess the entire console and gate/comp/EQ/effects settings without pushing a single button.

Digital is great and I use digital at every opportunity, but I'm spoiled with the speed of running an analog setup.

In analog I have 0-4 gates, 0-8 compressors, and 2 EFX.  Do I need those?  Eh, to make sound come out of the loudspeakers?  Nope.  To make a better mix come out of the loudspeakers?  Probably, and more would be better.

What I have found pointless and nonproductive is attempting to replicate the functionality of a competent digital mixing console with analog.  I did that for almost 30 years as a mixer, a company manager, and shop tech.  Analog is greatly over-rated.

[Riley Casey]

Me every time someone tells me vinyl records are the shiz

...  Analog is greatly over-rated.

[Adam Kane]

I cut my teeth on analog consoles with outboard racks. Comps, gates, and FX was limited (certainly not enough for every channel) so you had to get things right at the source with proper instrument tuning and mic selection/placement.

Along came digital consoles and I started to see guys insert everything everywhere because it was there and you could. More and more often, I was hearing lifeless mixes with the dynamics completely squashed out of them. Eventually, that trend diminished to a degree and things were utilized more sensibly.

Fast forward to Waves and the like, and now I see a tendency to insert a plug-in on EVERY FREAKING THING before even listening to the source flat. When watching engineers mic instruments, they're all willy-nilly with mic selection and placement, and could care less about whether the drums are tuned nicely, or the guitar/bass sounds good at the amp because you can just "Fix It With A Plug-in." Drives me insane. And then, heaven forbid the Waves rig goes down...the show can't possibly go on because the dude is absolutely incapable of pulling a mix together without his plug-ins.

There was a show that used to happen around here for years where we provided PA. The last few years it happened, the headliner was the same group (well liked, local ties, etc). Their FOH guy was always great and had an excellent mix whether it was on one of our consoles or he brought his own. The final year, he was travelling with a Waves rig and his own console (same he'd brought the year prior). He spent an enormous amount of time and effort telling me about how great it was having a Waves rig now and how much easier it was to get a good mix. Soundcheck started, and then the show...and holy crap...one of the worst mixes I've ever heard. Sounded like a poorly engineered recording running through a clamped down compressor.

As much as I get the warm fuzzies on the rare occasion I get to drive an analog console with an outboard rack, I'm not suggesting we go back to that for most applications. I certainly don't miss moving them around. But I'm firmly in the camp that you should start with a good source and use things like Waves to polish where needed.

[Ivan Beaver]

Back when I was doing install work, often the best way to "fix" a system was to get rid of the plugins, bypass all the inserted gear etc.

Just because it has a knob, DOES NOT mean that it must be turned.

Yes the "toys" can help, when used by people who understand the what and why, bout so often they are used as an attempt to correct something, that could be corrected better and easier by other means.

Often they just screw things up, by people who are looking for a quick fix, without any idea why.

[Erik Jerde]

Most digital desks are plenty good enough with the built-in stuff.  I rarely have the luxury of the time to properly setup and check lots of plugins.  When I don’t have rehearsals the idea of trying to slap a bunch of plugins onto channels is just going to be a distraction from actually getting a good mix together.  Having a favorite verb makes some sense but a long chain on a vocal or guitar you’ve never heard before just doesn’t seem worth the effort.  My time is better spent on broad view stuff than taking 45 minutes to get the hi-hat just right and pushing back doors as a result.

[Brian Jojade]

Speaking from a multi-band perspective, I would rather bring an analog console with my 2 racks of outboard (gates, comps, EQ, effects), than try to push button after button on a digital console.  I greatly enjoy digital consoles and they have their place, but (in my opinion) navigating an analog console with outboard is extremely fast compared to a digital console.  With analog, I can assess the entire console and gate/comp/EQ/effects settings without pushing a single button.

Digital is great and I use digital at every opportunity, but I'm spoiled with the speed of running an analog setup.

Boy, I don't know about that one.  Yeah, on the analog board, you have physical knobs you can see, but then you have to know where the outboard for each channel is and trace it back and forth.  Then, when you need to swap bands and reset to a known starting point, you've got to touch every individual channel.

On the lowly X32, you can use the app to view everything on one single screen and not touch anything and see EVERYTHING at once. (ok, to see everything, you may need to run a couple instances of the app, but whatever)

For multi-festivals, prepping a plot list beforehand becomes super easy, and loading the scene takes seconds.

The only way I could think the analog system would be faster is if you get thrown behind a digital console that you have zero experience on.  Even then, I'd think it might be a pretty close race.

[Tim McCulloch]

Most digital desks are plenty good enough with the built-in stuff.  I rarely have the luxury of the time to properly setup and check lots of plugins.  When I don’t have rehearsals the idea of trying to slap a bunch of plugins onto channels is just going to be a distraction from actually getting a good mix together.  Having a favorite verb makes some sense but a long chain on a vocal or guitar you’ve never heard before just doesn’t seem worth the effort.  My time is better spent on broad view stuff than taking 45 minutes to get the hi-hat just right and pushing back doors as a result.

Yepper.  I like my plug ins, but I can do 95% of my majik stuff with whatever dynamics and FX come with the desk.  I don't use long chains of processing on any input but I can recall the analog equivalent:  the money channel inserts for a lot of metal acts - a Distressor and BSS dynamic EQ, maybe a dbx 160 at the end of the line.  Mostly used to create a genre-approved vocal sound from the variety of sones at the vocal mic.  Sometimes drastic measures are needed.

That said, I prefer to not risk my show on the presence of a working Waves server.  The plugins are for color or for a specific sonic response, but most folks won't notice.  More of the chef's kiss than the sous chef's cooking.

[ProSoundWeb Community]