They Jammed an Entire Analog Console into this!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 жов 2023
- Top level mixing engineers ALL still work on analog desks.. .for workflow, for sound, for RESULTS. The only problem is they cost HUGE amounts of money. McDsp might have an interesting solution.
Get it at this Thomann Affiliate link: www.thomann.de/intl/mcdsp_apb...
For more information, check out mcdsp.com/apb/
Proudly Sponsored by McDsp
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you've wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!
I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer's Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.
Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!
the idea of only using digital to control analog hardware is fkn genius, so much space saved but also prevents so many possible hardware failures. GG McDsp
This guy just showed up from the late 90s
@@xx4248 ?
@@xx4248 he never owned a bassatation, obviously
What if there's a plot twist and they are actually doing everything digitally?
Then control all of it with something like the SSL UF8 and UC1 Channel strip
I miss the good old days with huge mixing consoles and giant speaker cabinets. That stuff simply LOOKED awesome.
McDSP sending you those boxes for a trial run is like giving a kid a puppy and telling them they have to give it back.
More like a child!
The bass in the example mix sounded absolutely fantastic.
That example mix was KILLER.
Seriously, one of the best sounding mixes I've heard from Glenn. This sounds HUGE
@@helgijonsson3537 I third that. I've never been impressed with Glenn's drum sounds until now.
Damn! Whoever the band is, drop us a link. I’ll buy. Great job, Glenn!
Vocals could use some better automation, a little loud here and there but overall, this is a huge mix! But like Glenn said done is better than perfect.
Done is better than perfect, because perfect doesn’t exist! Kick ass piece of equipment. Thanks Glenn 🤘
"Done is better than perfect" is a mantra to live by.
It does sound VERY nice. I would not mind Windows support, but at some price point you get a mac to go along with the hardware.
I see you Anton Petrov's channel all the time as well. Hope you are okay buddy.
Woah never thought I’d see you commenting on this metal channel.
wtf
Chocolate RAAAAIN
@tayzonday You have fine taste in UA-cam channels, good sir. 🍻
The mix you've done with this new hybrid thing sounds outstanding !
God damn, that low end is nice. It's wild how much compression is on this but somehow the mix doesn't sound tense or anxious. Well done.
My sub shook my desk! That must come from the synth, since I didn't hear that subsonic low end when he soloed the bass track.
Sounds BIG!!! I am actually surprised! And your mixes sound amazing too!!!
I have been looking at these for a while now. Great presentation as usual.
You are priceless in this space. That mix sounds AWESOME/PRISTINE!
This with a DAW controller and maybe a couple plugin controllers will be a SICK setup! Best of both worlds!
Good alternative solution and this mix is absolutely sounding great.. thanks man
I feel like anyone who mixes with analog does it because of the hands-on, tactile workflow, so a dedicated controller that keeps the hands off the mouse as much as possible would be absolutely amazing. Something with a couple faders and a panel with knobs that automatically map to the plugins, total game changer.
Sounded like a great mix Glenn!
Ty!
Great sounding mix!
Sounds great and the song is pretty badass. Thanks.
Damn Glenn! Hearing that Sticks and Stone mix just blew my mind of how fucking good you are. High quality radio shit. Keep up the content been watching since the cupping the mic days. Great to keep learning from you
We do mostly electronic music but can appreciate that this mix sounded awesome! Well done!!
Great vid as always
The best summing box i ever heard. Just a pity i work from small attic overseeing (and overhearing...) a street full of neighbours i kinda like. Thanks for mentioning the Reaper goodness, my fave and final daw after many years of blood sweat and tears😅. McDSP has made a lasting and great impression now. Keep on rocking! 10:23
Killer mix Glenn🤘
Completely amazed you worked with Sticks and Stones. I loved Vinland Saga!
It was great to work with Glenn on this project. It turned out great🤘
OMG f..kn killer mix!!!! Awesome man!!!!!
WOW!!! GLEN! SIC MIX! I like the compact POWER!
Loved the example mix Brother. You smashed it. Thanks for a great review. Very interesting piece of kit. 🎼❤️🤔👍👍👍
Glenn you can also set up a hybrid system where you use the digital workstation mainly as your multi-track recorder along with an external 16 or 24 track mixing console for that analog touch along with a few choice external effects and compressors. The great thing about a setup like this is you can use the workstation as a sub-mix and get away with fewer needed channels on the mixing console or even a smaller analog mixing console period. My original setup was a 24 track analog mixing console with a digital work station capable of recording 24 independent audio channels at 48 Khz/24 Bits simultaneously and I could also go back and record and stack more channels if needed. Eventually I downsized and went to a 16 track recording setup along with a 16 track mixing console because I realized that having the ability to sub-mix on the work station then run the final mix through the 16 track mixer was all I needed for bands I was working with and that especially held true for when I recorded by myself. I would come out of the mixer straight into a stereo tube preamp where the tubes could be ran just below saturation which warmed things up nicely and then capture the mix-down onto a second work station dedicated to mastering and the recordings were comparable to pretty much most of what I was hearing on the radio. I still have and use a 8 track digital workstation that I use and the beauty of the digital stuff is you can take it from station to station which makes it versatile. Oh, almost forgot to mention that the setup you are showing here is absolutely killing it!
Fuck me Glen, that mix sounds amazing!
The drums sound incredible, but when you soloed that bass on the console app, I literally yelled WOW out loud.
The drums were recorded on a Tama Starclassic bubinga kit with sE mics
It’s funny how some simple self imposed limitations and discipline can save us a ton of time & heartache. I limit myself on purpose so I don’t get stuck in limitless option paralysis. A lot of that is thanks to your past advice Glenn. I use what I know works and what pleases my ears. There’s a reason why our favorite and most memorable records were done when options were limited. You focus on what matters, the song, when you don’t have the option to knob twist to your heart’s content. This way if I improve a mix I’ll have learned a lesson as to what I was doing wrong instead of blaming it on a state of the art plug in.
Wow, sounds great! I love the way that analog gear and analog simulations affect the stereo image and how they saturate. Those racks also look pretty nice, very simple, that would be the kind of thing I'd want on my racks if I had the money, right next to my preamps and poultec, again if I had the money.
For free analog style stuff, you can't go wrong with Variety of Sound and Analog Obsession though.
I got this unit a few months ago, while it's a bit expensive I can definitely say it NAILS that analog sound. I spent hours on a song I had worked on, just because I was having so much fun. It has that bite that plug-ins struggle to re-create. All in all, solid unit. If you decide to buy it, - go 16 route not 8.
Dude. By far and away the best sounding mix I've heard on this channel... and for the first time.... most other channels too. Nice job
Switched to a pair of NS1000-Ms recently, so it might be a bit of that speaking, but honestly that was the most honest and great sounding mixes I've ever heard of you! The APB really is an incredible piece of gear. I actually came up with a similar concept a while ago but lacked the resoruces and education to make it happen, so seeing companies like Tegeler and McDSP bridge the gap between analog and digital is really cool to see! Makes me wonder what my thesis in electronics might look like ;D
Damn your mix is stellar Dude
TAKE MY MONEY MCDSP! Seriously, this some very smart design and that mix of yours is slamming!
Good video.
You got good stuff on this channel. I like your mix for these songs; its a good stereo imagery without being too mono. You got good low end and panning in the sides.
Polarity, Equalizers, Delays, panning, and pitch/chorus effects are the key. You can make the stereo matrix for whatever sound your trying to copy. I'd win contest after contest and mix albums like this with a desktop or laptop and the proper sound card with a good A/D. All boards are basically a computer or IC with a multi-channel sound card. Most boards put their own formula for mixing and panning.
What a helluva mix. I even heard the bass on my iPhone speakers. gleeeeeeeeeen 🤘🏼
I got my 4 track reel to reel yesterday and hope to get another down the road...my 4 track cassette recorder will be put to more use...I got more ideas then the computer to keep it simple and hope this will make me work harder to making music...More excited about recording then ever!
I still use my Fostex R8 reel, they'll pry the controller from my cold dead hands
@@jeffseven2194 I hope my experience will be equal!
starting at 8:26 on the track sounds amazing, ESPECIALLY the bass track. That pops out like crazy. Love it!!
This is brilliant, not sure why someone didn't do it a long time ago
Thank You Sir💙
I have been doing this for a couple of years now and from my experience, i think less is more because it sounds more natural and musical!
9:00, the way that mix hit!! 😳😳😳😳😳😳 The low end!! Great Job!!
That bass sounded amazing!
Dude, that sounds incredible.
Wow, you got some head crushing bass there!
Was cool to hear the tracks isolated!
1:44 your take on this is spot on! Strive for excellence not perfection!
I been waiting for this one! Console or analog controller that is the question.
I love the MCDSP stuff. I ran a similar setup when I ran my own studio/production lab. I ran the MCDSP Emerald Bundle, 2 SSL Duende's, and had 8 Channels of SSL that I got from Enterprise Studios when the auctioned off their entire studio, 8 channels of Trident s20's, and a SSL stereo master bus comp from a 9000 and a pair of Avalon AD series EQ's all for pennies on the dollar. I had everything I needed, enough options not to feel overwhelmed (created enough quick presets for session loads) and was able to get music sounding the way I wanted with a workflow that I could have not only be efficient but sonically close to those big production spots. While have the consoles is cool and all, the up keep is astronomical. Good outboard gear , resourcefulness with what you have, and competent skills will win the day every single time. Bute yeah.. gear porn is always great haha
I went the UAD Apollo x8p route with an audient a800 connected via lightpipe. That's 16 channels for $4300. I got an SPL Vitalizer Mk2 hardware for $900, I use it as a Cubase Hardware FX Insert as my Master Bus processor since it's got everything I need. Saturation, Low End Compression, EQ and Stereo Field. UAD plugins are expensive but I have yet to have a negative purchase.
The biggest headache I have found in the software realm is figuring out routing in all the programs because nothing is intuitive. Hours of UA-cam tutorials I see in your future.
In the reaper plug-in pin connector change the VST3 bus size to 1. route the left and right side from channel 1. Now it only uses 1 APB channel! I own the APB 8 and use Reaper all day long with it. Works great and sounds amazing.
Yup ... was gonna say exactly this about REAPER mono.
Also, you can save as an FX Chain for each compressor you use in mono mode and you don't have to do that setup every time
You can force a plugin in Reaper to only use 1 channel by clicking the in/out button and checking for a drop-down called 'bus size.' I know this works for VST3 but I noticed your using AU, so I'm not sure this would work in this specific case, but worth a look
Yea I'd try that first too, and Reaper is stereo by default but actually can go up to like 64 channels per track (or maybe more now, it's been a while since I followed ther updates)
@@tommj4365it's now 128 on v7.
Looking forward to picking one of these up used in a decade.
I just love the cardboard sheet separating the two units
Oh, and the mix is just 🔥
holy shit that's an incredible mix even through a smartphone speaker.
It's about time. The ADA MP1 was a digitally controlled guitar pre-amp in the 80s. Still have 2.
You da man Glen!
I have one of these and they’re awesome. Been using for a while now. They’re actually not expensive at all when you breakdown what you’re getting. Divide the price by 16: 16 high quality converter channels and 16 high quality analog compressors etc. That you a price of $500 for a compressor with an ad and da - which is CHEAP! Also what’s nice is the converters are 32 bit so you don’t need to dither when running through analog. Pro tip - on 24 bit converters you SHOULD have an ACTIVE DITHER on anything going out analog - weather it be to your monitors or analog gear.
I love this thing and have sold all my analog gear, and purchased a couple Wesaudio eq’s so I’m fully digital controlled analog. Except for my audioscape xl305r reverb!. It makes life so much easier and more efficient.
One thing I’ll note is that it doesn’t sum in the box. The summing is done in the daw. Each channel gets analog saturation- which is the only thing that is valuable from summing. A perfectly sounding passive summing mixer will null perfectly with a daw sum. Also the eq stuff is hybrid - most of the eq stuff is a normal digital plug-in but then run through a bit of analog saturation. They are not truly 100% analog eq’s.
As someone who grew up mixing live bands on analog desks the main reason id want one in the studio is the control surfaces and muscle memory. But if you like mixing in the box this seems cool. Given i mix more for fun then professionally id spend my 7k on a second hand mid tier mixer and a dante interface with enough channels to do a good hybrid setup
That sounds 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
That sounds SOOO SMMOOOOTTTHHH!!!
I love a mixing console, but I see why people don't have them for a whole collection of reasons; in particular if they are working in a home studio. I have taken the plunge into digital for mixing live; as much as I prefer analogue, with digital I don't have to take racks and racks of outboard. I don't use Plugins and stick to the tools that are available on my console; I do a lot of multi-band shows, so need to get the mix done fast. Even if I had 50 different compressors, I wouldn't have the time to use them. That mix sounded fricking awesome; if I was doing the kind of work you are Glenn, I would definitely consider getting the McDSP if I didn't have the room for a full size desk.
McDSP is super innovative. The proof is in the pudding and the mix sounds good. Nothing else really matters, it helped you get a great mix for less than the cost of a Neve or API console. Honestly if you want to get surgical with EQ a good plug-in eq on a channel or channels is better for that anyway.
"digital dsp doesn't have that butter" was my initial thought. Sounds incredible. Those racks combined with 24 faders controller
nice review, thank you, and the mix does sound great. is it true that the eq plugins for this system are in fact digital and its only the compressors that use analog circuitry?
There is something really good about digital recording through an analogue mixer. Years ago for a while there I had access to an ADAT 8 track digital recorder and a large format Holden mixer. It just sounded awesome. After that I got hold of a Foxtex R8, running through that Holden desk. That was OK but something was missing compared to having the ADAT even though the R8 could be pushed, with the noise reduction switched out (best way to record metal on it).
Then I got into fully in the box recording and mixing, and yeah, you can do some pretty cool stuff, but there is something that seems to be missing. This demo here, just go to show what that is. I think it's got something to do with analogue summing, but having more in the analogue domain than just the summing mixer seems to allow more of that great feel to come through.
Sounds great. I feel like what speeds up the workflow on a console is the ability to reach out and grab your tools. This still leaves you going through plugins and adjusting with your mouse. So I don't think this would speed me up. It would give me analog sound. I would probably lean towards analog summing and stick with my protools rig. You can sum for way less than 7K. Still your mix sounded great. It is a very cool tool.
Such a cool unit. Kinda tempted to buy a mac so I can run them lol, if they ever add windows support I'll snap one up.
"Done is better than perfect". I want that on a t-shirt!
You should totally check out the strymon deco/iridium insane pedals for recording
If I need to do a mix fast, my go-to is a console-UI. Thinking SSL360, CLA Mixhub, Acustica Modula, or UAD Luna API Vision. Honorable mention to Harrison Mixbus (I fkn hate the UX compared to REAPER, but love the console-like format). Pair that with a Raven or similar touch screen and you're off to the races. To take it further, you can use an MCU compatible control surface, of which I have one on my iPad, but you could just as well just get hardware. Another option I've heard a lot of good things about is Console 1. Hopefully the McDSP APB have some controller integration.
It looks like it is Dante compatible, so you could have many choices for a work surface/mixer to control it.
That might be the best sounding mix you've done.
I have analog parts to my process (hobbyist level). Analog is so much faster to even just to get the sound close to the target, though if I'm sending to someone to mix, I'll send then unprocessed. The other factor might be latency. If you perform on stream, a common issue is the latency that audio processing makes the voice sound off the beat if it's too heavy (audio processing is like a tiny tape player that has both a play head and a recording head running on a small piece of tape. It adds up). I can see that console being a huge advantage for that reason alone.
The cool thing about reaper is you can change the pan laws so when set to stereo panning you can make the mixer track mono by turning the width knob to 0% right in the middle.
also whit the other option isn´t ? the one whit 2 sliders !!!! that option always sounded even more mono than the other to me !!!! but i don´t know if that change the signal or the chanels !!!
Glenn! On the topic of speed of mixing, would a usb mixing controller (like the obsolete Control8 for PT) be helpful in speeding up your workflow or mouse and keyboard are more comfortable for you?
I got so happy as soon as I heard the song, Vinland saga is such a good show
Full video is coming!
That low end on the first note had me replaying the song at least five times, louder and louder 😂👌
is there such a thing as a mixing controller? Like a cheap piece of hardware with programmable knobs to make the mixing process more tactile. That would be a great pairing with this
9:42 I watch the Vinland series twice. My favorite character, Thorkell. It is interesting how behavior has not changed much. not even 200 years ago, collecting heads was a thriving business.
I loved when you muted the Drums on that song, it fell angelic. Can i get the steams of that track? Please?
Actually some channel strips plugins do give you different channel sounds so it doesn't always sound the same
Amazing. I love consoles
I really liked the bass tone - what did you use to get the grit/distortion on it?
See the pro/cons of both .. I like analogue because you can drop down on a knob in a nano-second. Like with old analogue synths, one doesnt have to work through a letterbox trying to find the, for example, LFO, cutroff, resonance etc. For me, sticking it in a box, it may as well be digital from that point. However , like with digitally controlled wavetable synths with analogue filtering sound big... Seems like this boxed desk might provide the similar benefits.
Was I hearing clicking noise when you were switching things in and out.
It almost sounded like the rotorary knob on the mouse, when set to non free wheeling mode, but did not quite sync to it
now what would be cool is a light weight compact console you can hook up to this with one cable and it just works seamlessly
Technology is amazing... I thought analog emulation was the only option out there, but this is even cooler for pro grade work.
Not sure what you mean about reaper tracks taking two channels? You can send to 1 hardware out from track send, and reainsert. Just change your i/o options to enable everything on mono and stereo
Dude your right!
APB is one of the best purchases I ever made in my career. Can't say enough good things about it. It's genius. And surely there must be a way to have true mono channels in Reaper... that's so basic.
I have surpassed that, I just stick to a very few plug ins that work always SSL Strip, CLA (comp/mix), and classic reverb and stock Studio one EQ! and that is it, same thing as analog, we would only have a small amount of something!
Hey Glenn! Whatever happened to that followup video on the Red 16 Line?
Option paralysis. The guy in that meme exemplifies the sheer exhaustion of going through 100 different kicks until I just settle for one.
Nowadays, I set aside separate time to cull sounds so it doesn't impede actual creative spontaneity
Fantastic concept and great mix but at 7K it’s a hard pass for me. Double that if, like Glenn you’re a Reaper user and need two. For that kind of money it should include some kind of dedicated control surface. If I was spending £7-14K I would be looking for a used console. YMMV. Great demo though Glenn 🤘
There is just no reason to go for any of this gear in this day and age. I subscribe to the Slate Digital plug-in suite and the Mix Rack that comes with that is equivalent to an entire decked analog studio and then some. Plenty of classic compressors, EQs, Mix bus and even mic emulators if you get their dedicated Mic to use for all the different emulations available. Plus they have an insane suite of reverbs that will make your head spin. In direct comparisons to their analog counterparts people could not tell a difference, in fact the digital version sounded better in some cases. These days, there is literally no reason to not go digital unless you are a purist and analog gear is your personal preference.
I love where this is going, although part of the (probably the main) draw for me to analogue gear is the tactile nature of turning knobs and hearing the result. Mouse and Keyboard is just so uninspiring for me so I'd love to see a slick controller implementation from them, too. I appreciate the idea is to reduce the space taken the by the control systems but they could really dominate the market by slotting into the hybrid space with a neatly designed digital controller.
Can you not set the output pins for 'mono' tracks so that it only uses channel 1 on the output pins? I don't have the outputs to try it :-/