Compression in the Box

[analag]

Back in the day I wasn't allowed the luxury creatively compressing. Now I rarely use a single compressor on a track, in fact for subtle compression I have a few choice saturators. The ol standards go first but the envelope shapers must be fully adjustability, they go at or near the end of the chain. Some may say a software comp cannot stop a signal like the hardware but they have never met this
fircomp - Jon V Audio and the big brother is out now for an almost free cost aka very cheap depending on your income or lack thereof. I do like an hardware at the end of my passive summer. I gives me what I want to hear.

 

[user 37518]

Hardware is doomed, its days are counted. I have a friend who's a big executive at a major label, he tells me that many of the big name mixers who they hire that used to mix in a big studio are now mixing entirely ITB, not all of course, but many.

The new generation of kids are all about digital and ITB, hardware is becoming a niche product.

Of course, there will always be a need for hardware like preamps and such.

 

[analag]

Moving to the box is way more lucrative for those mixers. Total recall being the most important and maybe being able to automate way more parameters of a mix. Along with more versatile processors, with some claiming A.I. capabilities.

 

[john12ax7]

Yes many (most?) now mix ITB, budgets are down, recalls are up, so kind of a necessity. Doesn't mean it's a good thing for sonics though.

 

[dirtyhanfri]

I've been hearing about the dead of hardware at least for the last 10 years.

In the same ten years I've seen three companies starting business about hardware for studio recording less than 50km away from where I live, I've been making money building some units and kits for clients and did lots of wiring jobs.

Last time I checked, I found about 80 professional recording studios in my area, around 30 more than when I checked back in 2015. All of them use hardware in one way or another, some just want a preamp and compressor for recording, some of them use a stereo compressor or EQ for mixing duties, monitoring solutions or custom units...

What I'm pretty sure is dying is the old studio business model, the studio budget is lowered and that reflects in everything, no more closets with +10 Neumann U87, no more stacks of overpriced avalons everywhere.

I guess the business, as many others, is just adapting to current times, and manufacturers offering essentially the same as the last 50 years don't help neither (even though there's money on the clone/re-issue/copycat market) but plugins, despite audio quality (I won't discuss about that, some of them are really great, some are sh*t) have some advantages that hardware units doesn't, advantages which help in working faster (cheaper) and being more adapted to today's expectations or needs.

It reminds me when home recording got popular and many of us were guessing about the end of the professional studios, now some studios around here are recording podcasts or other jobs they couldn't imagine back then.

 

[vintagelove]

The fircomp mentioned in the OP really is incredible.

 

[analag]

The fircomp mentioned in the OP really is incredible.

Yes it is. Fircomp2 is tight as well with more controllable parameters. Here is one that is nice for complex materials like vocals and Buss
https://www.patreon.com/posts/specomp-51285294 Wet/dry control is the screw on the VU

 

[pucho812]

The death of hardware? A wives tale.
While there is more mixing in the box these days there are still essential things that are not there. For example tracking a band, yes I can do it without a desk but a desk makes it easier. Same for hardware.
I did work for a company that made hardware, they still do. The numbers were staggering. They made x amount of production units every quarter of the year. They constantly sold out and this is on a product that has been around for 20 years.
while there is push for more in the box because going back and making changes is common, there is also pushback to analog for sonics. One does not trump there other, just a matter of preference

 

[Gold]

Vinyl has been dead since about 1990.

 

[user 37518]

The death of hardware? A wives tale.
While there is more mixing in the box these days there are still essential things that are not there. For example tracking a band, yes I can do it without a desk but a desk makes it easier.

Those still exist? all kids are doing Ableton....

 

[analag]

I build custom stuff for vinyl collectors. They pay good and they keep coming back! A KT150 power amp is up next. I normally roll my own transformers so finding what I need will be my biggest challenge in terms of price/ performance!
On the studio side of things. I remember when the mixing desk was what mostly made the studio what it was. It still is to some degree but...ya know! The 64bit summing engine also made the OTB summing argument null and void though some will still argue it. I sum both ways and there is a difference but it's not big enough to ruin the emotional content of the song, beat or whatever we do. It took me a long time to like the sound of software EQs and compressors but like children they are growing up with their own personality. My opinion is hardware wins in the area of sound but software rules in functionality therefore I color going in, do the magic in the box and polish it when I get out. The problem now is with the power of the modern computer and the ability to instantiate as many iteration of a plugin(s) on each channel as you desire. It is easy to make the mix better or unreal. Oh and where in the analog world do you get processors for free!

 

[gyraf]

troll

 

[Whoops]

Some may say a software comp cannot stop a signal like the hardware

There's ignorant people everywhere...

Yes many (most?) now mix ITB, budgets are down, recalls are up, so kind of a necessity. Doesn't mean it's a good thing for sonics though.

Doesn't mean that's Bad either.
I worked in an amazing studio, I had all the great gear at my disposal, things sounded pretty good,
I moved ITB since 2012, my mixes sound better now.

 

[Winston OBoogie]

Most of the guys I know who do it for a living are mixing in the box.
I highly doubt I'd be able to tell if a mix is done within or without, and anyone who's listening to it doesn't care anyway.


Always a need for good hardware for going in.

 

[living sounds]

IMO great hardware easily wins in both sound quality, speed and fun of work to this day.

With only the 4-band parametric EQs on my ADT console and a Gyraf G24 on the mix bus I can create a transparent, open, cohesive, punchy, beautiful sounding mix in minutes from most multitracks. Not possible OTB. People use a million plugins to fight against the inherent limitations of and degradation introduced by those tools to get something passable.

ITB is only possible IMO because people overwhelmingly have no untainted analog reference to monitor these days. Everything is funneled through delta sigma converters that suck the life out of the music, auditioned through ported monitors with compromised impulse response or either "bass-enhanced" headphones or bandwith limited smartphone speakers...

 

[user 37518]

IMO great hardware easily wins in both sound quality

Im not so sure of that

speed

Definitely not, while I agree that its quicker to move a knob or a fader, recalls are incredibly painful and slow, also, ITB if you want to use something you just click on it, OTB you have to patch the thing, if you want to change the signal chain you have to patch again.

and fun of work to this day.

I agree

 

[Whoops]

IMO great hardware easily wins in both sound quality, speed and fun of work to this day.

WRONG IMO

 

[analag]

Not to mention the accumulating 50/60hz buzz. Mixing ITB is more creative, intuitive etc. Setup a good template and go. I have a lot of plugins, and I dedicate myself to getting to know them and how to use them. I think it's easier it slap together something OK with hardware, but to take the mix to the next level you need that digital reality. The mix becomes more organic with the level of automation only cable in the box!

 

[living sounds]

Speed - yes, because with quality analog equipment I can get the sound with a few adjustments.

 

[user 37518]

Speed - yes, because with quality analog equipment I can get the sound with a few adjustments.

As long as you dont have to do any recalls