The SOUND of mega buck desks

[Keyplayer]

I have a question about the sound of mega buck desks.

 

This is assuming a pristine (Sound Delux/DPA/Neumann via Tara Labs cable, blah blah, blah) signal flow and mic placement.

 

Let's say you tracked your rhythm tracks on an API Legacy, then tracked some overdubs on a Neve 8068. Later still you did horns through a Trident 80 and Strings through a Neotek Elite II.

Now when you go to mix this song on an SSL 9000K, are you going to hear a quatifiable difference between the tracks? Can you HEAR API tracks vrs the Neve? Will the media have any effect on that answer, say 48 tracks of RADAR converted through Mytek or Prism converters vrs 48 tracks of Studer 800 2" tape?

 

If the answer is yes, will the SSL preserve those differences or blend them into one SSL sound?

 

If the answer is no, couldn't you do just as well mixing the song on a DM2K or a DMX R-100 (no blasphemy intended)?

[Philip OKeefe]

Can you hear a difference between different brands of preamps / EQ's / compressors? Usually the answer is "yes".

 

Will the recording medium make a difference? Usually, yes. I certainly tend towards mics with less brightness when working with digital than I might have preferred back in my analog days, and certainly the mic / preamp interaction can be an important consideration too.

 

Will the SSL effect the sound? Yes. Will there still be an audible difference between a track recorded through a Neve and played back on the SSL vs a track recorded on the SSL and then played back on it? Again, usually "yes".

 

Will the SSL or the Yamaha sound better? Only your ears can tell you that.

[gtrmac]

Originally posted by Keyplayer:

Let's say you tracked your rhythm tracks on an API Legacy, then tracked some overdubs on a Neve 8068. Later still you did horns through a Trident 80 and Strings through a Neotek Elite II.

Now when you go to mix this song on an SSL 9000K, are you going to hear a quatifiable difference between the tracks? Can you HEAR API tracks vrs the Neve? Will the media have any effect on that answer, say 48 tracks of RADAR converted through Mytek or Prism converters vrs 48 tracks of Studer 800 2" tape?

This question doesn't make sense. You are recording different instruments at different times and probably, in real life, with different microphones. So how do you expect to hear some comparative difference?

 

And in any case I'm pretty sure that a well done mix through an SSL 9K will sound better than a Yamaha digital mixer.

 

But if the song sucks and the arrangement makes no sense and the players are boring it makes no difference what hardware you use.

[fantasticsound]

Certainly there are differences that, while difficult to quantify even with test equipment, are definitely audible. Whether you could tell which tracks were recorded on which desk/media depends a lot on your personal experience with the mics/desk/media involved. The common denominator between big desks is a highly detailed sound that is often lost when tracks are recorded on a desk with lesser electronics, whether or not that desk is digital or analog in nature.

 

But mixing on a better desk makes the job easier. You're not forcing a mix as much when it is recorded on high quality tools and media.

 

So the end result, given the same person behind the controls, does sound better in the end.

 

Look at it this way. Some albums sound better than others. Assuming you like the material equally on several projects, it's commonplace to hear vast differences in mixing across a number of major label releases. Yet they're all run through the same, relatively cheap playback technology in most CD players. Other than the skill of the guy/gal behind the controls, the only differences are in the recording media and processing technology. So you can hear the cumulative effect of great tools in great hands run by great ears at 44.1KHz/16 bit through an off the shelf CD player with stock converters.