Mixing: ITB vs. OTB? Your Opinion?
Sunday March 2, 2008
Recently, I got into a little debate with a fellow engineer; despite having great respect for the mixing engineers still mixing on excellent consoles, I prefer to mix in-the-box. But what about you?
Whether you're working totally within Logic or Pro Tools LE or using a Pro Tools HD system with an external summing bus, or mixing totally outboard on an SSL 4000, your opinion is probably what's best for you and your clients. But what brings you to one or the other, and more importantly, as an engineer, what sound do you prefer?
For an upcoming article, I'd love to hear your opinions on the age-old ITB vs. OTB debate!
Whether you're working totally within Logic or Pro Tools LE or using a Pro Tools HD system with an external summing bus, or mixing totally outboard on an SSL 4000, your opinion is probably what's best for you and your clients. But what brings you to one or the other, and more importantly, as an engineer, what sound do you prefer?
For an upcoming article, I'd love to hear your opinions on the age-old ITB vs. OTB debate!
Comments
the whole in the box out the box argument misses the single most important point… The source. What makes the largest difference is pre amps mics, the room and mike placement get this right and in or out both sound fine. Its the same as the digital camera argument film or digtial film. Its the lens that matters Dooh!
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I personally believe that summing a mix through analogue can be perceptually better, whether or not everybody can here it or not is another mater. For me its nothing to do with the work flow of the mixer as I personally prefer total recall in the box, but has more to do with the harmonic colorization created when multiple signals are combined as an electrical signal in the analogue realm creating many multiple anomalies so complex that to create an algorithm to exactly replicate them would be improbable. This method has numerous compromises to take into account, first the cost, the interruption of the workflow and the simple fact that the difference is marginal. If it sounds good in the box then after internally summed then its left alone (don’t fix what isn’t broken).
For me, I personally sum ITB because for reasons above but the argument can be compared to recording guitars. The sound of valve amplifiers to me is simply better that any modeller I can find but I still use line 6 to record most of my guitars because I am more creative when I can work fast and most people I show cant tell the difference. When money and time is not an option, I would always sum my mixes through analogue, and re-amp through multiple guitar amps but like most people the almost indistinguishable difference doesn’t justify the means.
One said it before me. If you get some OTB artifacts and you have a great tracking session. Nothing is wrong mixing ITB in this case. If you just have poor line signals e.g. from e-guitars and you try to rebuild the pun ITB ….. have a nice day a frustrating work.
For sure at the time all the nice outboard sounds better as the high end plug ins but the gear is not the wizard …. Gear is maybe 5% of the Outcome and may some great mixing geeks will mix wih your plug ins something you will never forget …. for me until the day I cant make any improvement ITB anymore I will think about buying tons of Outboard.
As long as I feel there is improvement I will stay ITB.