By Roger Nichols
Remember last month when I mixed on the Sony Oxford? Well, I only mixed the tunes that were slated to be on the album. A few days later I found out that I needed to mix one more song. There wasn't much to it, just a basic rhythm section, a couple of overdubs and a vocal. Why not mix it at home on my Yamaha 02R? I did. I had the tune transferred from Sony 3348 48 track digital to Tascam DA-88s. I used the same reverbs, the same monitor speakers, and outboard gear that I used with the Oxford. The only difference was the 02R. The mix matched up perfectly. The vocals sound identical. You can not tell which tunes were mixed where.
A friend of mine named Cynthia is a producer for a small record company near Los Angeles. She has been working on an album project sporatically for over a year. The material was recorded in a nice sounding studio with good musicians and good micing techniques. The recording was done on a Pro Tools 24 track system through a Yamaha 02R console. Cynthia sent me a DAT of rough mixes and asked me if I would mix the final product. I asked her if I could mix it on my 02R at my mastering room, and she said it didn't matter, as long as it came out good (no pressure).
I received each song on an Iomega Jazz removable hard disk cartridge. The plan was to load the material onto my Pro Tools drives and mix. The problem was that my 24 track Pro Tools system was busy and I would have to wait until it was available, or suffer the embarrassment of a custody battle. Time for plan "B".
I have another Pro Tools 442 system that I have available for just such emergencies, but you can't get 24 tracks out digitally from a four track system. I did have three ADATs, a BRC, and an AI-1 AES/ ADAT digital interface that would solve the impending dilemma.
I loaded each tune into the Pro Tools 442 system and then transferred the music two tracks at a time over to the ADATs. I had the BRC set to spit out SMPTE that was then read by the Digidesign SMPTE Slave Driver. Pro Tools chased this time code reference on each pass and provided sample accurate synchronization. The ADAT outputs were connected to the 02R via Alesis optical data cables. I could monitor the progress of the transfers and work on EQ and basic levels on each pass so there was no wasted time during the transfer process.
David vs. Goliath
Don't get me wrong here, there is a big difference between the $900,000 digital consoles in the big studios and the under $10,000 Yamaha 02R. But, most of the difference is in the interface with the user and the nearly limitless permutations in routing and configuration. The sound of the audio that flows through the consoles is, for all intents and purposes, virtually pretty much exactly identical. (You can quote me on that.)
On the big consoles you can just touch a fader to start writing automation moves. On the 02R you have to press a button that tells the console that you want to write new fader moves, and then press the button again when you are finished. On the big consoles there is a section with all of the EQ knobs spread out so that every parameter of every band is there for the grabbing. On the 02R you have to select a page to deal with and adjust the parameters for that page. If you want to grab a knob that is not active, you have to call up the appropriate screen before any changes can take place. On the big console you can have hundreds of inputs and outputs configured as busses or auxes. The 02R is limited to 32 tracks of digital input and eight digital outputs with analog I/O for the auxes.
The motions may be different, but the outcome is the same. You rout the signal where you want, insert some EQ or some dynamics, send some of the signal to an effect generator, balance that signal with other signals on other channels, and BINGO, you have a mix.
Fraternal Twins
Totally resetable digital consoles have one advantage. All of the parameters for doing anything on the console can be saved and completely restored at the touch of a button. Analog consoles with total-reset can come close, but you still have to align the analog tape machine and hope that the A/D converters are the same ones you used last time. At each of the digital/analog boundaries there is the possibility that something changes from time to time. With digital interfacing, the signal remains the same each time you call up a mix.
Work Flow
In the past, when you were mixing on an analog console, you would normally finish a mix and then leave everything set up until the client approved the results. If the client was nearby, it wouldn't take very long and you could print the final master and go on to the next mix. If the client was in a different city you would have to wait for FedEx and leave the mix up until the approval.
The album I just mixed was of the "client far away" variety. I mixed three tunes, each one stored in memory, and sent a DAT for approval. While I was waiting to hear from the client I worked on the next few songs. When the client called, there were a few minor changes to make in the first three mixes. It took a total of one hour to recall the mixes, make the changes, and print the new masters. I made the same changes to the next bunch of tunes and continued with the rest of the mixes.
Final Words
You have to keep in mind that one of the advantages of digital consoles is that you can perform the task at hand with a minimum of control surface components and hundreds of virtual controls on a computer monitor. This same configuration is looked upon as a disadvantage to some engineers. You don't have to think as much when all of the knobs are laid out in front of you like an analog console. I have had occasions when there was a reverb send left up from a previous mix that I didn't catch right away because the send levels were hidden from view. At various times during a mix I will now cruise unused parameter pages to make sure nothing is sneaking up on me.
Mackie will be shipping their new digital console soon, and Digidesign
will have a hardware interface so that Pro Tools mixing will act like a
hardware console. Once you get used to the new way of mixing on a digital
console, you will get hooked fast. I know that a digital console of some
type will definitely be in your future, and as yet there is no twelve step
program for addiction to good mixes.