Reasons for Owning a Recording and Mixing Console

[@sweetwater]

Recording and mixing consoles offer an unmatched workflow as well as incredible sound. What are your experiences with consoles? Let us know in the comments and shop consoles on Sweetwater 👉 imp.i114863.net/5bQvdo

[@erictorres5935]

I just started in the console world a few months back . I was able to grab an older console . A Tascam 2600 mkII . As I can say I love the workflow my eyes are now on a ssl origin . One day one day .

[@RaleighTHEVAMP]

True. Console mixing is a special experience. I’ve been working on a SSL duality for a handful of years now and it’s changed my life in more ways than one (including my electric bill lol 😂) All jokes aside, if u have the option to spend time and develop a workflow on a console - even if u don’t own it [yet] - it will improve your understanding and quality of life as an audio professional / enthusiast. Invaluable experience can be had w/ consoles. Big thanks to Rob for helping me understand all of my capabilities and options. #DynamicAudioSolutions 4 the win! 🏆 🎛⚡️

[@montexannic818]

“Council” throws me off every time lol

[@amatthews98]

I turned on the subtitles to double check what I was hearing.

[@billmccaslin4198]

Lol true

[@jiznak2000]

Seriously! These “experts” calling it a council turned me off fast.

[@1972hermanoben]

‘Desk’ would’ve done ok. But that’s with the benefit of hindsight. Small councilation now.

[@channeloram]

"CONSSILL"

[@truthmanifestingtruth]

Having a council is good in every profession. No man is an island. No man stands alone.✌🏾

[@billyrayvalentine7972]

This hits home. I owned a studio from 1979 to 1989 and part of the experience was working on the big console. It was like playing an instrument and yes having everything at your fingertips was part of the experience. I'm hoping to build another studio and it will center around an analog console. The feel of working on one is really part of the whole recording process.

[@TessaAnderson]

This got pretty complicated but I watched it and enjoyed the over my head level info. I really enjoy living in this time of KZbin material that is free. This stuff is worth money

[@jujuondabeatbroski]

People pay 10s of 1000s of dollars to sit in classrooms to hear this same information

[@budgetguitarist]

Well put.

[@Ast3rixMusic]

If you grew up using one that’s really the difference otherwise a virtual console has all the same features, with an external controller it gives you a more tactile experience. A physical console you use patchbays to deliver plugins or those outboard effects. Virtual you just select to add the plugin which is a virtual emulation of the hardware. I honestly think it’s a step forward. You don’t have the expense of all that hardware that’s needed to support the use of that large board that in most cases you have to have a room sized right to fit it in, and you can obtain inexpensive emulations of all of those outboard effects for far less than the physical units. I’m so happy that this medium changed and became more affordable for the rest of us. Otherwise I think I would be using one of those mini recorders with included mixer… lol

[@typebeats8448]

Use your external compressors as hardware inserts in your DAW (like a plugin). Best of both.

[@joesalyers]

I grew up using a console for tracking & mixing to get it polished at the source. We had very limited tools back then, but I still use an analog console for tracking and for the artist's headphone mixes. It gives me 52 mic preamps along with a 4 band analog EQ on the way in. I mix in the box yet I still love having my console for tracking sessions. I need to upgrade my desk but the studio desks on the market are either really limited or are super high priced. The SSL Origin looks like a great desk with great features as well as the AWS looks really good!!

[@MikeG-js1jt]

yea, wonderful at 60 and 100K.......... wonderful, for that money I could buy a kick-ass computer and some choice pieces of analog gear, monitors etc....

[@DJJoeySantos]

Excellent video - the first five minutes alone are gold for those of us without much analog console workflow experience. Thanks for this!

[@thestuffmikedoes2309]

The "council"

[@RaleighTHEVAMP]

ROB!! He’s the man.. helped me out immensely and legit one of the most humble / insightful dudes.

[@Sam-zo2ho]

The question isn’t do I need it the question is how do I afford it

[@GingerDrums]

By making great mixes in the box and saving the money. We are in 2024...

[@stevecolley7745]

Picking up a Soundcraft Ghost 32 Channel this weekend 😁 This video answered alot of questions I had about the benefits of using a mixing desk.

[@sonicpalacevideos]

Great interview guys. Please send one of those large scale consoles my way!

[@jonashellborg8320]

I do most of my audio stuff in the box, actually on an Ipad. But there is something special about using hardware buttons, dials etc. When I say capture a live band using a regular mixer, sending mono to a DAW, doing any EQ tweak on the mixer, I find that I don’t look at the sounds as I do in the box, I simply listen and make adjustments. I also then tend to focus more on microphone placements and choice of microphone, the room sound etc. The glowing multi coloured computer screen can be a distraction, I find.

[@arthurnam7619]

Using an Allen and Heath GS3000 console in my home studio. Having the ability to eq in the way into the daw is huge. My daw is essentially a tape machine.

[@MountainViewStudio]

Reasons for NOT owning a mixing console: $1000-2000 /per month for power bill. However, if I were rich and well known mixer I'd probably have a nice Neve console. For now, my Neve 5059 summing mixer works pretty awesome ;)

[@d77sauce]

Never thought about that

[@danielplusben]

Console will use less energy than the PC. It's not going to be significant.

[@MountainViewStudio]

@@danielplusben LOL ok

[@djlucasd]

@@danielplusben Nah, SSL Boards are usually on 24/7 at major studios and those big Console Power Supplies need a crazy amount of power compared to any Mac or PC

[@danielplusben]

@@djlucasd can you give me an example of one?

[@billmccaslin4198]

This was a great video and to you Mr Mitch Gallagher years ago you're the reason I built my first studio huge fan and I love your home setup.

[@MKD371]

To recall a mix can be tricky on a console, also every channel is slightly different, which could be desired, but at times you just want consistency, 250. 000 dollars or more on a top console is unreachable for most, maintenance if something goes down on it, cleaning the panpots and faders, getting the patch bay sorted for outboard gear, (which is not a major issue), if you have outboard gear that is. A console is great if you have the money and is ideally suited to a dedicated acoustically treated studio space. This may sound shocking, I love the results I get in the box, if you're emulating the signal flow and buss routing of a console ITB, the results can be perfectly good. Yes for some purists it may not be the real thing, but to able to pull up 5 different types of consoles in one session to test them and try them out, is handy , to recall a mix and have nothing change, is handy and while getting a balanced unified sound and mix is slightly easier on a console, some would say, if you know what you are looking for and know gainstaging and signal paths / flow, then mixing ITB box is not something that is lacking, for a fraction of the cost. The trouble is, once you have a good console, or any console, you are locked into that sound, unless you have endless buckets of cash for preamps and outboard gear. If Andrew Schepps can mix full albums ITB from start to finish, then that's good enough for me, that said, where did the source material come from, probably track on a Neve with Neumann mics and neve preamps, in the best studio in the world.

[@Jamminn555]

This video should be titled Reasons for Owning a Recording and Mixing "Council". 🤣 Despite the different pronunciation, great info from Rob and Mitch.

[@kinghandlee]

I have been using consoles for over 2 decades but sold all of them 6 months ago. I feel more comfortable and free with mixing now.

[@uriel-heavensguardian8949]

Awesome video!!!! I Love The Hands On. It’s less of a hassle!!! And sounds far superior.

[@alexisaacson8667]

Bruh. Having a console to record into then mixing fully in the box. Magic. So easy.

[@infinagon]

They're having a pronunciation war of console.

[@HollywoodRecordingStudio]

Yes - that’s a bit distracting.

[@JimmyJam-ds8vv]

Wow what a buzz knowing how to drive an instrument like that. Unfortunately i'll have to stick with the mouse,but wouldn't say no if i knew how to drive one.Great video guys, nice.

[@deanroddey2881]

I JUST made the move, and just moved meters for the first time yesterday. I had a shaman come by and scent me with sacred herbs at that moment (kidding of course.) I went old school, pure analog. My goal is to the make the DAW a digital tape deck as much as possible. I've rejected the modern music paradigm, i.e. music as a component of the IT department. I want to spend my time getting better at writing, arranging, performing and engineering, and not at MIDI/wave form editing. I'll still have to use a couple plugins (since I'm in an apartment, so no real drums or piano), but that's it. EQ, compression, grouping, f/x, summing, monitoring, etc... will all be in the analog domain. The audio goes into the DAW once, and after that it only comes back out, it's never going out and back in again multiple times in order to insert analog gear, and being subject to all these random latencies. And I can't agree more with the phase thing. It's horrible in the DAW. And that affects your decisions if you are processing on the way in, because very small delays act as EQ, and affect what you are hearing as you track.. I've been working for a month getting this all set up (including selling off all my old setup), so I'm ready to start actually using this guy. Though it'll still be a couple weeks before I get it all debugged and figured out and work out some sort of initial work flow to start with, which I'm sure I'll tweak over time.

[@ledheavy26]

Phase is easy in a daw. I have a template setup with Waves InPhase setup on all tracks that need them with perfect phase dialed in. If I'm recording someone new and not in my usual setup then I can quickly make a new template for those tracks. Phase using outboard processing, at least in Studio One, is handled easily with their outboard insert plugin. With modern CPU's tracking through even a cheap interface and using plugins lice isn't an issue anymore as far as latency is concerned. I still use a digital console for most of my tracking as I do find it's extremely convenient for getting levels and headphones mixes sounding good quickly, but I'm sure I could build a template with all that setup in my daw if I needed to.

[@azuresky1036]

I would love to work on a "council"

[@austinrian]

Those chairs look super comfy! What's the make and model?

[@jeremyschiesser7086]

This would help allow me to mix drums with all the mods and all that BEFORE entering the DAW right? Then essentially that helps saving mixing after the recording right ? Hoping I understand it better as I keep learning.

[@PeterMossUkulele]

I really took a lot from this interview. Thank you both.

[@Jonathandavidk]

Rob used to be my sales engineer. He was the best!

[@InvisibleKingStudio]

Thanks Mitch!! YOU ROCK! :)

[@joshpetermann]

If you have to ask this question, you don’t need one. 😂

[@PeterReesvan]

What about maintenance?

[@vigilis-officialchannel]

Yes.

[@HaHaDK]

If that board is a counsel, then these guys must be counselors

[@budgetguitarist]

I think a big console is mandatory for a commercial recording studio. I wouldn't book time in a studio that didn't have one. But it's a very expensive path for the vast majority of people who are watching this video right now. I use a X-Touch for automated faders and it's a lot of fun! And it was pretty inexpensive.

[@rickdeaguiar-musicreflecti7692]

Excellent insight. Impressive! :)

[@davidguerrero1636]

"Consoles are amazing because I can send busses out to effects to get whatever sound I want"........ lol

[@bighousemusic628]

yes mitch summing alone is most valuable with those transformers or tubes or resistors makes a multimillon dollar record

[@bighousemusic628]

@UCEYuU5hkA_TuB2Y0ZP0BFDw go get a job scammer

[@sonsofsofa2841]

Can you please explain how you can have "2 paths or more for each channel strip" ? That didn't really explain it very well to the uneducated listener 😊 (me). Thank you

[@bigwesmusic]

One for recording and another for playback.

[@earledaniels4539]

I always enjoy Mitch's videos. I would have got more from this one if I knew what the difference between big and small faders was. Can anyone provide a brief explanation?

[@sweetwater]

Hi, Earle! Thanks for your interest. Many consoles have two sets of faders so you can set up two separate mixes. For example, you could use the long faders for a record mix and the short ones for a monitor mix. Hope this helps a bit, and feel free to contact us with any further questions! Caleb Lowrey, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 1620, [e-mail]

[@LukeVanGeest]

How can I get an inline counsel in a home studio space? Never worked on one like you’re working with in the video.

[@MrNEWDY]

People get rid of older mid to high tier consoles for cheap all the time. Your best bet is getting something that is not a heavy hitter like ssl or neve due to cost and with neve, maintenance costs. I use an amr console. Bought it for $300 and spent about 300hrs fixing it channel by channel, and I am sending the master section to be modded by Jim Williams. 40 inputs at mixdown, 2 inserts per channel, 4 band sweepable eq ok each channel, fully balanced connections for everything. I have seen people get bigger Allen and Heath consoles and do ssl mods to them to make a baby ssl console from them. You just gotta either be willing to do a lot of work to save money or be prepared to spend a lot. I got lucky this console was about 20 grand new and I payed 300 and the cost of a U-Haul.

[@LukeVanGeest]

@@MrNEWDY Well I’ll get one of those in the future! Going to be recording at Paisley Park with my friends on 7/19/22!

[@sarahhey8654]

But what about session recall? Motorized fader boards are $$$.

[@JerryAlmonte]

gotta go manual/old school with that with paper and illustrations of the actual board where you draw in your fader and knob settings

[@RaleighTHEVAMP]

I work on a SSL duality se that’s pretty streamline w/ recalls… still some manual work required to get ur mix back to 100%. With this said, only FULLY RECALLABLE (including pots) that I know of is made by Harrison… ENTIRE CONSOLE automatically recalls with the push of a button. I feel like they have a patent on the tech or other manufacturers would’ve done it by now.

[@RandyRan9545]

I COMBINED TWO SSL SIX TOGETHER,

[@waynelangat4170]

Heyy, You website isn't working, or is it just me

[@niozikpro5812]

Super well explained. On the point . . . PR guy is a real bug 🤣😂

[@AceGibson1959]

All recording can be done with the computer. That said, there is nothing more than twisting knobs. It's a vibe thing.

[@vigilantestylez]

Harrison Mixbus is the answer.

[@pablogonnet11]

I have a question about using a console that I never got an answer for. How do you manage to make several mixes for every band member? I mean, sometimes you have a 4, 5, 10 piece band that want to record live and all the consoles I see have 1 or 2 aux sends. What am I missing here?

[@sweetwater]

Hey, Pablo. Plenty of mixers that we carry will give you more than 1 or 2 auxiliary outputs on them. There are quite a few that will offer 4 all the way up to 16 and more! Generally, if you want to run monitor mixes for a bigger band, a digital mixer will give you some more flexibility in terms of auxiliary outputs. For example, the X32 by Behringer has 16 aux outputs, which can be used for monitors, or anything else you may want to be sending to. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to dive into the conversation a bit further, as it may be tough to chat through all the details over text. Hope to hear from you soon! Nick Pasquino, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 3230, [e-mail]

[@HunterStudios21]

I want this console

[@preciseaudioblog]

Love it!

[@jeremythornton433]

Using a mixing board just makes the mixing process easier. I"m trying very hard to get my Presonus Studiolive Series 3 to work with my Cubase DAW. It still doesn't want to but if anybody knows how to make it work, I'd really appreciate the help.

[@danielmillardmusic]

I'm curious. Do film composers benefit from having a console, seeing as how they do a LOT of work itb?

[@RaleighTHEVAMP]

solid Q!

[@MythixMusic1]

I honestly think it's becoming dinosaur tech, hence the recent push selling how "great" these supposedly are. I think every 5 years, it continues to lose relevance and practicality

[@danielmillardmusic]

@@MythixMusic1 How do you mean? Like they're outdated/unnecessary?

[@MythixMusic1]

@@danielmillardmusic yeah, it's absolutely unnecessary in my opinion and don't know any film composers that use a console. It just makes no sense to use one. Every single function they do is replaceable without the massive footprint.

[@WorldBurial]

@@MythixMusic1 I wouldn't say absolutely unnecessary. Zimmer and other composers recorded several soundtracks at Air Studios. Movie scores, shows and games are also mixed there on consoles. Studio 1 has a customized Neve mostly for recording orchestra and bands, Studio 2 an SSL for mixing scores and music and Studio 3 has a Neve DFC for mixing scores. There are several other commercial places like that.

[@pareshmota]

Very true, we 100% need recording console for recording studio. Very perfect information 👌

[@zachmillerdrums]

Idk who needs to hear this, but when a music store says you need something, you probably don’t need it

[@sagersound]

That’s why I appreciate Sweetwater titling this “Reasons For Owning…” instead of “Here’s why you NEED a console to get ‘that sound!’”

[@adamkiefel79]

The answer is yes

[@hulkslayer626]

I got a "console" mixer because I don't like computers and can't figure them out. I originally purchased a Scarlett Focusrite interface and for two weeks, I tried to figure out how to get sound out of my speakers to no avail... I bought an old cheap mixer and had sound coming out of my speaker in less than 5 minutes! 👍 that's why I upgraded to a Behringer 24 channel mixing "console" lol

[@ledheavy26]

Can't figure them out or won't figure them out?

[@hulkslayer626]

@@ledheavy26 honestly... both. I have actually tried. Just got frustrated and had to keep stopping and coming back to it until I eventually just quit. Also, I have a bad memory. Computers and DAW's have sooooo much capability and options, that it is overwhelming and I can never remember how to do things. Those two reasons combined create an aversion to computers which therefore becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because I won't dedicate a couple years of hard-core trying to learn and understand 🤷

[@RaleighTHEVAMP]

@@hulkslayer626 1 KZbin vid per day, one small task at a time .. I understand ur perspective… I believe u can learn it if u truly want to. If it’s any consolation (excuse the pun lol) I’ve been using multiple DAWs for quite a bit of time and I still learn new tips and techniques [almost daily] that I didn’t even know existed. What was helpful to me is choosing / learning a starting point for the objective I wanted to complete, then baby steps from there… There’s soooo many great / free resources from people willing to share their experiences and knowledge online. U can do it!

[@hulkslayer626]

@@RaleighTHEVAMP hahahaha love the pun 🤣 and yeah, I agree, if I really wanted to and had a desire to, I could probably learn. But having an alternative that I already like and having already built up an aversion to "technology", It ain't gonna happen... 🤷 but never say never, right? 😉

[@budgetguitarist]

@@hulkslayer626 Props for your honesty!

[@johnkonopka9121]

I love mixing councils

[@thecompletejake]

Great video...it does drive me slightly crazy that he pronounces "console" wrong though...

[@j.ortega3154]

Do much passion

[@markferreri5814]

Something that crunches my ears is using the word COUNCIL instead of CONSOLE. To me it eminates ignorance.

[@WorldBurial]

Yeah, that was odd. I wonder if it's some form of dialect or just him? By the way, did you mean 'emanate'?

[@fenni1666]

First you have to buy the console. Then wire the console to you output gear. Then pay for the added cost of operating the console. sounds like the 1950s to 1990s. Yesterday don't matter if its gone.

[@robertwiles8106]

Catch yer dreams before they slip away!

[@MythixMusic1]

I'm with you. There seems to be a weird push to try and keep this old tech going. I just don't see it surviving much longer. Ever few years it becomes more and more overrated in comparison to what we can do in the box

[@autonomous_collective]

Nice....

[@sebastianguirola8685]

WHY DOES HE SAY "COUNCIL"

[@bobbyarthur8809]

Right !! Smacking myself ….

[@coolbreezerack4629]

Proper

[@phillamoore157]

This is a great video....but what does the home studio guy use? 99% of us can't afford a $50K-100K hybrid mixing console. Does that mean our recordings will always sound like a low budget demo if we're only using a $1500 interface with a 16 channel surface control...i.e. Faderport 16, or an SSL DAW/plug-in controller,), including the plugin's made to replicate the signature console's/preamps made. *The entire point of where the industry is today is precisely for that reason.* How many times have you heard that...drumroll please...."you can make a high-quality, "radio-ready" cd/recording from your living room these days". How many times have we all heard that? To this very day, there's still a HUGE disconnect with what's actually possible with the average home-studio setup.

[@earledaniels4539]

It's all about what you need your studio for and how much money you have to spend. I am just an amateur home recorder with a few pieces of outboard gear. It is enough for my purposes. Just remember some of the best Mixers in the world do it 100% in the box. One that comes to mind is Andrew Schepps.

[@phillamoore157]

@@earledaniels4539 Thank you very much for the reply, Earle. And, I'll check out Andrew Schepps, as well....thank you for that reference, as well. It could very well be that I'm overthinking it, and my lack of knowledge, and experience is getting in the way of understanding what these guys are saying. If these boards are all about efficiency, then I can work around that, till I get a bigger budget at some point. However, if these boards are somehow adding another level of sound quality to the production, then that's something else entirely. And, that's my biggest concern. All the research I've done has led me to believe that the technology available allows a person (with the proper skills/knowledge) to get a very very good recording, that matches any of the "large budget" analogue recordings made in the past....again....with your skills/knowledge being the only restraint. Beau Hill is one of my favorite producers who uses pro-tools with very little outboard gear. And, the gear he does use has outstanding plug-ins available now. So, that's all I'm saying. If you're my age, you remember a time when it was literally impossible to have a very well produced/engineered recording without going to a very high-end studio, with a very large budget. Hopefully, I'm just over thinking it, and I'm fine with the gear I have, as long as I thoroughly learn how to use it. Thanks for the feedback Earle.

[@budgetguitarist]

@@phillamoore157 You're fine with whatever you have. It's not about the gear. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get another 8% of quality that the average person listening to a stream on crappy headphones won't care about.

[@MoonFallStudio]

OMG say Council one more time lol. Great video though!

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

They look good and are ridiculously expensive like diamonds but serve no actual necessary purpose. Software and midi controllers are more then capable of doing any sort of mixing. This is My opinion plus I'd get extreme back pain reaching over that mixer all the time.

[@WorldBurial]

There are genres where you often need to record several musicians at the same time. A mixing desk can be useful in those cases. Of course it's doable with an interface but certain things are faster with the console which is preferable when you have clients waiting around.

[@soundsfromYYBY]

i love analog..but i love digital more...give me a 50 inch screen you can see a 100 tracks in REASON STUDIO. if i need to reco5rd a band ill buy a larger audio interface.

[@mikaelflodstrom6370]

👍

[@MythixMusic1]

So Sweetwater is pushing consoles right now? Waiting for more of their sponsored KZbinrs to drop videos about consoles. Very suspect

[@MythixMusic1]

@Brent Harmon's Music Corner I know, it's pretty disappointing to see, really. Even KZbinrs we follow coz we respect their opinion are just jamming paid content down our consumer throats

[@MythixMusic1]

@Brent Harmon's Music Corner for sure, especially with something as creative as music. Our own opinion should matter more than randoms, except in the event that you hold a lot of respect for that individual recommending the product. I guess this little Sweetwater console push was just a bit of an eye opener for me.

[@MarcoPrimeau]

Short answer : NO ! Most serious interfaces come with a real time mixer and you can have a midi controler if you prefer Faders when creating automations. To many home recordist choose between a good interface and a average mixer because of the cost. Most of the time, the interface preamps are better than those of the mixer for equal price...

[@roderickaugust3918]

He trolled us all

[@Dirty-Hertz]

It's really bugging me that he keeps calling it a, "council"

[@skakdosmer]

It really bugs me that he keeps calling it a council

[@DJRICKYG]

of course not

[@paulgigliottimusic]

Lost me at council

[@TheTokyoAmducias]

Seriously, why tf does he keep calling it a council?

[@lydfar2392]

No! 😄

[@ted8437]

Council

[@IanJamesBeats]

No.

[@epiphonium]

like 101 !

[@GingerDrums]

If serben ghenea soesnt need one since 2000, you dont need one in 2024...

[@ThomasJackMoore]

This is a little scammy. Maybe this mattered in 1980, but today this is a waste of money.

[@MobiusMinded]

No, you don’t need a console.

[@jigilous]

Do I need a wife?

[@stupendousmusic4190]

Console, council.

[@hafimula]

This guy goes to console meetings. And works on music using councils 🤌🏾

[@MythixMusic1]

Lol