Signal Path out from 003 to warm analog

[munit54]

O.K., so you have great mixes, and everything sounds great through the Yamaha NS-10Ms. You've got a great outboard clock, great plug-ins, and you're using a great digital outboard reverb, and you want to get that studio quality warm sound.

I'm real curious about what the Pros are doing. Do they take an out from the master track through an insert or bus, and then convert to analog, say, through an Apogee Rosetta 200, then run through some great tube piece like an Avalon 727, and then go back to digital for the 16/44.1 2-track?

Anyone have any ideas about how this is done? Or how you do it?

thanks

Munit

[Windshore]

Everyone has a different variation on how to achieve this. Check out BlackLionAudio.com to do the cheapest, best upgrade for your sound. I run mixes through and Avalon 747, but there are lots of boxes, including the Neve Portico range that are great for that. Truth is a good engineer is probably your best bet if you afford it or take the time. Take your sessions to a real engineer and give him a day or 2 & it'll likely beat anything you can do on your own....

[munit54]

Know all about BLA. I have their Microclock, and it is fabulous!! I've also heard about the Avalon 737. Yeah, a good engineer and a good studio is a great idea, but expensive, especially when you are paying session people for the tracks.

Thanks for the comment.

[munit54]

But what would be the exact signal path? Where do you take the signal and return?

Munit

[A2D D2A]

O.K., so you have great mixes, and everything sounds great through the Yamaha NS-10Ms. You've got a great outboard clock, great plug-ins, and you're using a great digital outboard reverb, and you want to get that studio quality warm sound.

Munit

I'm a little confused on this.
If they are great mixes then they already have that studio quality warm sound.

[munit54]

you actually mentioned using the AD2 with D/A in an earlier post. So how do you do the inserts to your AD2 from your final master track, and where do you put it back into digital? The question arises from what other guys have mentioned and sort sort of hinted at. Like putting a tube outboard inline with your master track to warm up the sound and reduce the sterile digital quality. I know there are different ways of doing it.

A great mix doesn't always translate to final product.

[Wickens]

I'm a little confused on this.
If they are great mixes then they already have that studio quality warm sound.

I've been confused by these kind of discussions tons of times.
I dont get how people working on a digital system think that running it through analog gear then BACK into digital will make it sound "warm"?
Get the mix right and you'll sound as warm as you want.

Never understood the tube/digital thing.

[Phil Ogden]

I think the key to getting a 'warm' mix is to get the source audio right when tracking it. Quality mic's running through high end pre's in a good room and you're well on the way. Trying to add the analogue vibe after the fact is always going to be an uphill task.

http://www.myspace.com/philogg

[Shawn Simpson]

The very last thing that a real mix engineer is going to want to do is change the overall character of their mix after the fact. If your mix is great when you listen to it, then it's done. If it is lacking something, then keep working on it. "Analog warmth" is non-descriptive in reality. The closest thing to what you're asking about that I've ever seen a true mix engineer do is to print their mix to a great 1/2" analog 2-track machine. Even in that case, they often print 24 bit digital versions as well and choose the best during a mastering session. (Often, the digital wins)

[Slim Shady]

Anyone have any ideas about how this is done? Or how you do it?

Yes. First, mix your track. Then, hire a mastering engineer.