SSL clone mix control mod idea...is this possible?

[verbos]

[quote author="rascalseven"]This whole thread gives me an idea for a new DIY box: I, myself would love to have a device that makes this kind of processing available for just about any stereo device without using up busses on your mixer.

How about making a simple box with a pair each of 'master' inputs and outputs and a pair of sends and returns. The only control would be a 'blend' or 'mix' knob. The box would split the signals, send one pair of splits to the 'sends' at +4 level and receive the processed signal at the 'returns' and blend the unprocessed split with the processed returns with the 'blend' control to a +4 output. This way we could use it on pretty much any stereo processor we wanted to (SSL clone, 1178, 670 :wink: ).

Shouldn't be hard to do, and it would be pretty useful, I'd think.

Anyone?

JC[/quote]

that reminds me of the ELectronic Musician "Retro Regenerator" It was a DIY project in the pages of Electronic Musician Magazine that allowed you to add feedback to anything. I never built it, but they claimed it would add a new lease on the life of anything that went through it. Delays, filters, even reverbs benefit I guess. Maybe the wet/dry blender? could have similar impact on the world.

Mark

 

[ChrisA]

there are plenty of little mixers around, but it might be a cool DIY project.

The mod on the comp itself is really cool to me though...Less boxes, less cords, less channels used on the mixer. Accomplishes a bunch of things and you just have one new knob...would be cool to do it for the 1176 too

I think it will be very interesting to see what the results are with Jakob's plan to execute this. Thanks Jakob for putting thought into this!

The balances would change as you play with all the controls, but it would just take some getting used to to dial in the right settings...also a switch to engage it or disengage it completey might be good idea.

 

[gyraf]

[quote author="verbos"]..the problem is, you can only control how much of the dry signal is added, but you can't remove any of the compressed one. Seems to me you want a crossfade from the dry tot he compressed..[/quote]

..you still have the "makeup gain" control for compressed signal level..

 

[verbos]

[quote author="gyraf"]
..you still have the "makeup gain" control for compressed signal level..[/quote]

true. I didn't think of that. That's cool. It's not a balance control, but serves the same purpose.

 

[Kev]

This whole "mix back in the squashed signal" is best done with the mixer.
...
especially with stereo tracks.

It allows you to EQ the send going to the unit and perhaps even have a slightly different mix and then you can EQ it coming back into the mix. You can weaken the bottom end which helps to re-gain control over the very low when the phase is incorrect or inconsistent.... and it will be .... if you are really keen you can use one of those phase adjusters.

All in all you can waste hours of time and have loads of fun with this sort of endless tweaking.

I do get why guitarists like some special comps with a mix control but I'm not sure I see the point with a main rack mixing device. If you are light on for returns to the desk ... then use you time to make a side-car. You could never put enough controls into a unit like this ... side-chain, mix control, phase adjuster ... filters ... endless.

 

[sismofyt]

Kev has some good points here, I think it's best done at the console too..

Something I would do if I was making an SSL, would be to put in a sweepable highpass filter in the sidechain. Removing certain low freq material is so important for me that I wouldn't use a bus comp if it didn't have this feature, or at least a sidechain input.

 

[matthias]

@sismofyt: jakob explained in another thread, how to implement a an insert jack for the sidechain...
I think it would be very easy to to connect a simple filter circuit there..

does anybody know which type of a filter is needed??

a simple passive filter like in the pultec, or an opamp based filter....??


cheers,
mat

 

[sismofyt]

Just a simple sweepable 20-200Hz 12dB/octave textbook opamp filter. I don't think it would be usefull to go the Pultec/passive LCR way here. I don't hear a difference, as long as the filter does the job.

Here is a link to a filter, allthough I have not tried it myself;

http://users.otenet.gr/~athsam/variable_filter.htm

(I think he used one of them Babelfish translators :green: )

 

[Steve Jones]

Hey Kev, what phase adjusters are you talking about? I haven't come across any boxes that do that.

 

[Kev]

This is just as a discussion point and not to say that I endorse or agree with the theories with this sort of product.

http://www.littlelabs.com/ibp.html

but we did have a couple of discussions on this stuff at the old place and I think at the DUC .... or was it John's place ??

If you have ever seen a phase plot of a 3 way speaker or an EQ section with all controls tweaked a little you finally realise that phase shift is rarely a single equal amount across the audio spectrum.

add that to the logarithmic nature of audio and my little brain just starts to hurt.
Calculus and the maths behind FFT is cool stuff but I just don't have the brain power to think inside the Matrix.

 

[soundguy]

hey kev-

have you ever used an IBP? Ive been using one for about two years or so and its pretty amazing to solve problems when nothing else will do...

dave

 

[matthias]

@ sismofyt :


what do you think about that simple passive lowcut filter... ??

 

[Steve Jones]

Wow that IBP thingy is freaky - I wonder how it works?

 

[Kev]

Dave,
no I haven't used an IBP. Yes I can see how it might be a solution.

matthias,
yes good thinking and when you dig more you find it can get interesting as this stuff often creating as many problems as it solves. People often want this stuff in the low couple of octaves and difficult to keep everything spec'd correctly.
Still a great discussion topic generally.

Steve,
buy one and we can lift the lid. :wink:

 

[Learner]

[quote author="Steve Jones"]Wow that IBP thingy is freaky - I wonder how it works?[/quote]

here is a hint :wink: :grin:

Goes well with the impedance matching DI box.

:green:
:thumb:
:guinness: