Is a Console Still Necessary in Modern Recording?
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Are consoles still necessary for recording, or are modern solutions sufficient? Find out in this video!
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For live use - performances but tracking, too - I still advocate for use of a console.
Mainly because you can change parameters, even multiple at once, w/o having to look (unlike a touchscreen console app).
Soundcraft UI 24R straight to USB in a lossless format. Enough ins for the whole band. Up to 10 monitor/aux sends. No need for a computer or any other nonsense. To each their own.
The good thing about a console, is the TACTILE feedback between your fingers and ears. Using a mouse to get sounds is just not the same to me. Also, good preamps on a good console can get you sounds faster without as much processing. I have a 32 channel console here, connected via patchbay to 32 channels of interface for recording, then mixing. Sometimes for mixing, the mix buss of this console give the mix what it needs, faster than going through a ton of plugins looking for that sound.
I feel exactly the same way I would much rather use my fingers to control the knobs and sliders or faders because I find it easier. For me it's much quicker than using software. Most importantly it is fun using hardware. However everybody is different can you imagine how boring the world would be if everyone was the same?
Totally understand - It's hard to beat pushing up real faders. Thanks for watching!
The sad reality is moderne technology is not designed to help our lives be easier, but to make a certain person's bank account become bigger, and not ours!😂
I love my Tascam. Mix down to the pc. No latency and no pc fan noise! Built in reverb and phantom power. I love it.
Which Tascam do you have? I am continuing to be a big fan of Tascam. Is it me, or do they kind of fly under the radar a bit?
@ I don’t think they fly under the radar. They just don’t feel the need to advertise. Musicians friend and many other music outlets and stores carry Tascam because it’s a reliable brand name like Fender and Les Paul are to guitars. Behringer is giving them a lot of competition. So is Boas. Others like Teac and Foster are good too. I have the Tascam DP 009 EX. Digital and portable 8 track multi recorder. It’s fabulous.
I will (hopefully) never have to track without a console again, it makes life so much easier, and it actually can save you a ton of money if you really really think about it.
First reason I love consoles, is the routing options. At my studio, I primarily record drums, and live rock bands. Its not uncommon for me to have up to 20 mics setup for a drum kit. I typically have 3 tracks per guitar, 2 mics on the cab and 1 track for a DI. Same with bass. When I'm doing a 4 piece band, that's 12 tracks between the guitars and bass, plus the 20 for the drums, and whatever vocal they want to track live. That can 100% populated my 32 input interface.
With my console, I can use busses to greatly reduce my input count into the computer. Take the drums for example, if I'm recording a double bass kit with like 6 toms, that's 10 inputs just for those drums. (2 on each kick, one on each tom) then two more for snare, hi-hat, ride, 4 overheads, and 2 for Rooms. I can buss the 4 kicks mics to one Bus, the 2 snare mics to another bus, and the toms to a stereo bus, overheads to their own bus as well if needed. And reduce those 20 mics down to 8 inputs on my DAW. My console has 8 busses, the drums take up 6, so for each guitar cab with 2 mics on it, I sum each guitar to it's own bus. The DI tracks get separate inputs to the DAW. The console also has 8 Aux sends. So the 2 mics on the bass cab, get summed and sent out from an Aux channel to be 1 input on the DAW. This condenses the 32 original input tracks down to 6 for the drums, 2 for each guitar/bass for a total of 12 input tracks on the DAW. That leaves me so much more room for other instruments, if a band has a keyboard player, or whatever. But also, if you're budgeting for your studio, it's a lot easier find an interface with 16 inputs than 32.
Another benefit to a console is how incredibly cheap it is, at any level. I purchased my Soundcraft Series TWO console for like $250 on my local musicians sale FB page. That's 24 mic preamps, each with phase switch (invaluable when recording drums) independent phantom power, high pass filters, 20db pads, and 4 band parametric EQ. There is no way in the world you can buy that number of outboard preamps/processing for $250. Even if you take this and expand it to more expensive preamps. If you're looking at getting 16 outboard preamps, you can easily spend $16000 to $24000 just for the preamps. You can literally buy a 24 track Trident console in that price range, with the full compliment of routing I talked about and all the other benefits of a console. So regardless of your budget, if you need to do large track counts, a console is more cost effective.
Just things to think about. But for me, I'll (hopefully) always have a console to work on.
20 mic on drums…?isn’t too much…?😅
24 sound craft preamps for 250 bucks…there is a reason for that price…but if work great for you…cheers 😊
I like an in-line console for commercial work because I can spend time during a take dialing in a rough mix on the monitor path. Then when we're done, I flip the console and print it. In the same time, we get raw iso tracks, processed iso tracks, and a rough 2-track mix. For some projects that's already most of the way done! Plus it's nice to send the client off with a 2-track to listen to on the train home.
Sounds like a great workflow. Thanks for tuning in!
@@AudioUniversity Thanks for making great explainer videos! I show them to my students frequently :)
Not neccesary perhaps, but WAY more fun and is a nicer and more constructive way to work, especially when working with people IMHO.
I agree - but it's also waaay more expensive...
@ true.
Totally understand the joy of using a console, but for some it's just not necessary. Thanks for tuning in David 👍
@ absolutely 👍
Thanks bro For share in The fax Good job Myself Just had to keep my composa notes to song's wrote
Thanks for watching!
My two cents: I totally understand that using EQ and Comp was much more convenient to record a relatively ready take to tape. But now, you can quickly and conveniently do anything with the recording in the box (incl.routing out to hw and back in to computer). So, if you do not exclusively use analog chain, or you do not record live music, you don’t need an analog mixer necessarily. Unless you enjoy it as part of your creative process.
I use a Behringer X Touch One tell navigate the DAW’s on screen plugins, tracks and busses. I gotta say having SOMETHING tactile is nice
Totally get it. It's a blast mixing on a console 🙌
Linear power supplies make a huge difference too.
Your setup is VERY close in concept to where I plan to expand a bit in 2025 when I upgrade my DAW. I am a big fan of hybrid setup and plan to pick up a larger format analog mixer for my zero-latency tracking (and other tasks, even mixdown), but will be pairing with a refreshed set of interfaces - of which I am looking at the budget prosumer (new SSL 18, 828, Audiofuse, Quantum, etc.) or possibly the higher-end RME UFX III, Lynx, etc. I wish the BigSix or Tascam 2400 had ADAT expansion. Then I could incorporate my Celesonic and Profire for up to 20+ more tracks at 48K. I still kind of like hands-on control, but digitial control of analog hardware (even in case of Celesonic) is not terrible but adds a layer of complexity based on the UI. Cool to see you are using the Cranborne. I have been considering the USB version as well as it has 2 ADAT expansions and gets me into the 500 series. I decided to dip-my-toes into colored outboard with a Heritage HA81/EQ to start things off as loading up a 500 series box with Neve, API, etc. gets pricey fast!. Then again, I already want another HA81 LOL. Excellent presentation. This very topic is being discussed on a Gearspace topic presently.
That sounds like a great setup - Thanks for tuning in!
I have about 8 vintage mixers for colouring the sound of synths / drum machines
While I understand the point of this video, the mixer definitely has a place in many studios but not for the reasons you'd think at first.
I paid 300€ for a 44-slot 32:8:3 Crest Century Gt modular mixer. It'd cost me more to buy separately the monitor controllers, headphone amplifiers, patchbays and splitters alone that it replaces before even talking about the pres I bought it for. And I can twist two knobs at once (control surfaces cost as much as the mixer too)!
Well, to me at least, a console looks soooo cool.
Can't argue with that 🤣
Consoles make sense for the traditional recording industry and more specifically the recording stage of production of big name musicians and films/games, but the jobs in pro studios are diminishing and musicians who record audio (i.e. not MIDI VST produced audio) are increasingly doing it themselves out of economic necessity coupled with technological accessibility. AND...pro mix engineers like Jimmy Douglass or Andrew Scheps openly discuss the problem of recall with analog consoles. Scheps said that he had to turn down a lot of work when he didn't mix in the box (but he is also selling plugins, HIS plugins, lol).
Yeah …mixer at least with some eq would be a mist have to me (but Im recording sporadically and I use guitar pedals).
Eq and other plugins will sound differently after the interface mic pre/line in when compared to before the mic pre/line in.
Ear training guide 🤔l
I have both side wery noisy Tinnitus.
What can I do 🤔🎸🤟
Excessive Latency makes lead guitar sound jazzy. At least that's my sales pitch.
There is so much more to a serious professional console than the things you mentioned. There are no interface mic pres and
‘Quasi’ pro ADs that can ever approach the sound of a Neve 8078 and REAL high end AD’s Radar, Danish audio etc. Pretend all you want to but let me know when you have recorded and mixed something that sounds as good as Steely Dan’s Gaucho. Or Toto IV. For example. And do DAW sounds as good as a Studer 800, a Stephan’s or a Vovox analog recorder. If you haven’t used them you can’t know
Still don't like analog mixers. If I want to add the eq, compression, distortion, saturation, and other effects, still think is better to do it with a rack mountable effect, no matter if it's a big DSP for digital processing, having the DSP in the audio interface or using analog devices, a rack mounted device plus a patch bay still being the best option
Necessary? No. Does it make it much more fun? For me, the answer is absolutely yes.
Yes bcuz im in the process of building one for $14k
Totally unnecessary for the modern rappers. Lol. It's always a mp3 beat and like 2 vocal tracks. Hahhaa. Geez.
Its cool,but its not necessary….
Yep, each to their own. Thanks for watching 👍
Oh yeah definitly mixing while recording.
Don't wanna record and write with a bass guitar that sounds like ass.