Any fantasy about the "missing spot" in SSL mixer?

[Yonatan]

The area above the SSL meter on top of it all. I cannot help wishing there were something really tasty there...
A tape-reel-like analog emulation station option connected to the Master bus compressor to add some more
color to the overal mix with juicy sophisticated smooth highclass quality saturation...making Buscompressor
become both a compressor and a lovely soft clip limiter (as alternative to MClass Maximizer).
If you bring it to red or clipping, it will not allow any digital distortion at all, securing the mix.
But the more you drive the meters, the more the mix export will sound saturated, but never
digital distorted. You still would want to not push it too much but you could do it as an effect,
making it almost like with a 24 channel tape-machine etc, that you can push a bit more than 0 db.
The idea is that the whole SSL works more like in the analog, making you not super afraid to keep
every little level exactly right in fear of the dreadful digital clipping. I know you can emulate alot
already with limiters etc, but my point here is to bring the relaxed attitude of the vintage era
back into our bones, not tip-toeing al the time. Yes you can build your master chain etc, but
how nice if PH would implement this integrated with just a push of a button, and the magic
warmth lights up your DAW in a musical way. It has to be top quality and bring a few ways to
slighty change character or type of warmth, in concept not too far from the Audiomatic,
but even more sophisticated to be used on overall as a master limiter.
The idea is that it will have to be designed just for this overall purpose and melt
all together even further than the bus compressor. It would be inspiring.

Would this be possible to do? Or just a fantasy?

Have you also ideas about this blank field in the mixer? Share it!

[normen]

Softclip on the mix *shudders*... A 2-track tape emulation would be nice though!

[Yonatan]

Yes, it would be a good combination. Have like a whole system switched on with softclip or "safeclip" on every track (selectable if that would save CPU-load, because some tracks might not be hot enough). And a 2 channel pro-tape-saturation on overall master bus as a final. But at the same area we could regulate the character and some fine-tuning, which also affects the soft-clips on the individual tracks. So it is a wholeness. But even if I have a few tracks that softclips are not selected, they still integrate and affects by the final Tape. Something like that. I am sure that many who work in Reason because they love the analog layout and routing, would want this final gap to be filled. I really miss that feel of tape, that you dont have to be so overly cautious about every little level, as long as it sounds good and as you want it to. That sense of freedom (even if it might be artificial one) would be so nice.

[normen]

I never use softclip on buses or the master mix, only on select tracks that can take it (if at all) so I'm not with you on the softclip. If you go with the IEEE specification of -18dBFS being 0dB on the analog side a 0dB mix would be +18dB on an analog desk... And single channels won't clip anyway in Reason (or any DAW for that matter) so I don't really see the point in having soft clip in these either. Having soft clip in all of these would just make for a lot of distorted and mushy mixes imo - better people hear the actual digital distortion and tone it down a bit Some tape emulation on the tracks inputs would be nice as well though.

[Yonatan]

I know not about db figures, but you are probably right and perhaps there is no way to increase the feeling of headroom when working in a DAW. When on a tape-machine, one had to be careful as well, not making the mix over-distorted, so that problem is always there also in analogue, but if digital distorsion is really terrible and all know that we want zero of it, why not replace that with emulated, not ever again hearing a digital distortion?
You still have to use your common senes and keep things tidy and clean, but if something do clip, it will never allowed to introduce digital dist.

I agree that some emulations on the input would be lovely, that is a great suggestion. I only throw this fantasy out as a non-mathematician, for those who know the science of it better or the algoritmic knowledge, to perhaps guide it into something useful. Because something in those lines, let us say a high class saturation option on input, and maybe a sophisticated master bus limiter (final touch) over the master bus compressor, would be very nice.

I have read that some here do not use soft-clip at all, but I do that now and then, as I find it useful in some cases to not only avoid clipping, but acctually to simulate an analog tape saturation for instance on drumsnares. That kind of reduced sound I could only achieve by a certain clipper. So while it might not be a solution to mixing, it do brings a sound to it, either one likes it or not. Sometimes good, sometimes it does not fit.

But PH must have something in mind for future upgrade when leaving this blank spot on top of the mixer...it has not even a logo or anything.

I have the Apogee Duet 2 and while it is quite limited for what I really want, the thing that it has that I love, it the soft-clip limiter that makes no digital clipping on recording. I want not to drive it too much, but it allows to relax better when singing etc. It is a final guard. Sound too much if levels are too hot but it saves a lot of hassle when just a few peaks. The same "thinking" is behind why I would love to have the same final guard on a DAW from the start, just a button click on the console. Just like mastering, it is about sophistication, but knowing as a mixing, that a few peaks here and there wont totally destroy an overall good mix, is creative freedom for me. A lot of energy is spent to hold and push some transients down by compressors/limiters/clippers etc. It would just be nice to have an instant option in the end ensuring exporting gets no digital dist.
But I know too badly how the world of 1:s and 0:s works compared to analog magnetic tape.
Just want the best of tape in the flexibilitet of digital. In the future we might see more organical computers not as restricted as todays digital.

[freeQlow]

More Adderall
I mean, more boobays!

[motuscott]

bring the relaxed attitude of the vintage era back

Tee hee. Ever splice tape or punch in?

[Raveshaper]

How about a correlator for checking phase in the mix? Or a dedicated mid side processor?

[dioxide]

How about a correlator for checking phase in the mix? Or a dedicated mid side processor?

Good idea. Mono check button?

[Raveshaper]

Sure, but also the scope to show whether something is inverted.

[Yonatan]

Or what about a virtual propellerhead spinning round and round to keep the mixer desk cool and calm?

[Namahs Amrak]

This is where the engineer would put the band's set list.

Or a photo of the Thai hooker he's fallen in love with

[Yonatan]

@Namah Amrak

Yes, a front picture!
And under it we can use it as a simple clearcut note-pad with many layers for different reminders.
Writing some song-lyrics on the fly or where we were last in the mixing process.
Just as those post-it-notes we find in almost every outboard studio.
Remembering things is critical when coming back to a song.
Word dokuments are not good because they are not stored with the song.