Are you still mixing in the box on a S6?

[icenet]

Just curious of those who were mixing in the box on an Icon and are now using more of the control surface on the S6. I'm new to the S6 and so far I haven't changed my mixing from mostly in the box. If you have changed, what do like better on the S6 control surface? Thanks.

[Stereo Missile]

100% in the box here. Instant total recall is a must for my work. And besides, after working for many years on analog consoles and still having a passive summing box and excellent pre-amps, I have concluded through my tests that in the box sounds better.

As far as Icon vs S6, sorry can't comment on that except to say that I love the S6!

[Branko]

Originally Posted by icenet

Just curious of those who were mixing in the box on an Icon and are now using more of the control surface on the S6. I'm new to the S6 and so far I haven't changed my mixing from mostly in the box. If you have changed, what do like better on the S6 control surface? Thanks.

How can you mix on a S6 if not in the box? Trying to understand your question, I admit I'm puzzled...

[icenet]

Originally Posted by Branko

How can you mix on a S6 if not in the box? Trying to understand your question, I admit I'm puzzled...

Are you mixing mostly on the control surface vs. the PT Edit and Mix window? All the keystrokes and commands can be accessed and changed on either.

[lucienpalmer]

It's the first surface I've used that is faster for most things than using to the PT GUI.

But I haven't mixed on an Icon enough to give a fair comparison. But with the Artist series, Control 24, etc., I usually went to the mouse most of the time because paging through knob functions on a surface is too slow. I don't have that problem with my S6.

Make sure you are running v2.1 on the S6 you are working on. They added a lot more functions to the soft keys in the factory app set.

To answer your other question, my two favorite features: 1. expand button on the process module to spill a function on the entire knob section. 2. nested VCAs for navigating a session. I hardly use VCA's for volume automation, but on the S6 I use them to organize and spill my track categories (i.e. FX -> BGs -> Crix).

[tamasdragon]

Almost completely on the surface. One might need time to really be comfortable to use the surface only for most part, but it's fast and more intuitive to mix this way imho.

[Drew Mazurek]

I mix into a Burl B32 summing mixer. It by itself makes a very subtle difference (smooths the top end in the 3-8k range), but I turn on the BX5 transformers, then run that into an API 5500 into an API 2500. With the transformers and opamps it very much takes on a console feel/sound to me.

[Branko]

There's a very small number of operations I cannot execute from the S6 surface - the most painful being the inability to create sends and inserts on the fly. On Icon D-Control it was a two-click operation.
Otherwise, the waveform display is brilliant and the level (or any other parameter) overlay is fantastic. I also use the Master Module touchscreen for panning, much better than Icon's joysticks or pan touch screen.
That being said, I do not look at the Pro Tools edit or mix screen, as most of the visual information I need during the mix is available on S6 screens.

[lucienpalmer]

Originally Posted by Branko

Otherwise, the waveform display is brilliant and the level (or any other parameter) overlay is fantastic. I also use the Master Module touchscreen for panning, much better than Icon's joysticks or pan touch screen.
That being said, I do not look at the Pro Tools edit or mix screen, as most of the visual information I need during the mix is available on S6 screens.

This brings up a good point that relates to the OPs questions- M10 vs M40.

The M40 master module can have the screens, so you can edit waveforms, view automation data, etc. That further pulls you away from the computer screen.

The M10 master module doesn't allow for the screens, so you still might find yourself looking at the Pro Tools GUI to look at things. That said, you really don't touch the mouse much to mix, even without the screens.