In this, the fourth part of the Audio Summing Debate we are going to start doing some “proper mixing” on a console, I know, brave words. This time we are listening to an audio example summed through my Audient ASP8024HE console to hear if all that analogue console beauty and wonder if it can actually be heard in the mix.
The Track
The short, just under 2 minute track you are going to be listening to was recorded for an audio interface review. It’s a simple track featuring real drums, guitars (both acoustic and electric), bass, and vocals and busses down to 16 track quite nicely. You can find a full track rundown in Part 1 of this series.
The Gear
As I’m sure many of you now know I am the owner of a beautiful Audient ASP8024 HE console. Now, although this is not an article about workflow as such, it would be hard to dodge the subject entirely and we will talk about this when we get down to the all important listening.
The Audio Interface
All the audio for these tests is being routed through the new Universal Audio Apollo X16 running at 96KHz with a headroom of +24dBu.
The Tests
One of the mixes bellow is a basic “In The Box” (ITB) bounce to disk. No external hardware has been used. There are no plug-ins or processors on the master bus, in an attempt to keep this as much of a fair test as possible. It’s also worth noting that the files have been loudness matched without any kind of processing or limiting so you may need to turn your output up a little to get a good level. Remember, dynamic range is king.
Test 4 - 16 Channels Of Summing Through The Console
The other mix is the 8 stereo busses routed to 16 mono channels on the console. The pairs of channels are panner hard left and right to form 8 stereo pairs. These then route to the master channels and back to a stereo pair of inputs to route back to Pro Tools. Again there is no EQ being used on the console.
Take The Challenge
Below you will find audio examples A and B. One is a standard “In The Box” two channel stereo Bounce To Disk, the other is a real time summed mix run through 16 channels of the Audient ASP 8024. We would like to know which one your prefer. If you then wish you can then leave us a comment saying which you think is which, but this is not the real point of the test. It’s all about the sound of the mix.
Which Mix Do You Prefer?
Over this series of articles and tests we have a total of 6 different summed mixes for you to listen to. Once you have had a chance to listen to all of these we will be back with a final article in which we will reveal the results. As always if you have any comments or questions please do leave them in the comments section below.
You can also find out more about the Audient ASP 8024HE console in a series of video I produced just before pulling the trigger on buying my own.