Mixing with SSL and Neve

[UA User]

I’m going to try mixing a track with SSL and Neve channel strips, going for the old “recorded with Neve, mixed with SSL” thing I’ve heard guys talk about.

I would assume SSL would go first in the chain to take care of any corrective EQ, gating, etc, before hitting the Neve channel strip. I know that’s the reverse of the saying quoted above, but in my head it seems like it would work best. Am I missing something?

Does anyone have any SSL/Neve workflow mixing advice for me, besides the obvious “use your ears and do what sounds best”?

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Neve first, followed by Studer, followed by SSL, followed by Ampex.

Reversing the order is blasphemy. You don't want to blaspheme, do you?

 

[UA User]

Neve first, followed by Studer, followed by SSL, followed by Ampex.

Reversing the order is blasphemy. You don't want to blaspheme, do you?

I would never want to blaspheme! I just have a couple questions.

1. So you would gate after the Studer?
2. Where in the chain would you put any “outboard” compressor plugins (1176, LA2A, etc)?

 

[UA_User]

Does anyone have any SSL/Neve workflow mixing advice for me, besides the obvious “use your ears and do what sounds best”?

You probably know all this already, but i'm more just talking "to the wind":

use trim plugin with VU rms meters ahead of doing anything else to a channel, to get all the source levels in a good spot, around where the analog gear would be expecting the signal to be.

double check any plugs that have adjustable operating levels (in their settings), to make sure your initial trim and the plugins settings are all compatible

now you've got consistent pseudo-analog headroom behavior going into the various plugins

may sound like boring advice, but it goes a long way


EDIT: if everything is setup right, the knobs hardly need to be moved on the processors. Extreme knobs moves should only be required for special effects (room crushing, whatever)

 

[UA User]

You probably know all this already, but i'm more just talking "to the wind":

use trim plugin with VU rms meters ahead of doing anything else to a channel, to get all the source levels in a good spot, around where the analog gear would be expecting the signal to be.

double check any plugs that have adjustable operating levels (in their settings), to make sure your initial trim and the plugins settings are all compatible

now you've got consistent pseudo-analog headroom behavior going into the various plugins

may sound like boring advice, but it goes a long way

Thanks! I’m going to use Waves VU meter to gain stage correctly into each plugin.

 

[UA_User]

Thanks! I’m going to use Waves VU meter to gain stage correctly into each plugin.

Are you going to do console emulation? If so, some of them have the trim and VU functionality built-in.

 

[UA_User]

Neve first, followed by Studer, followed by SSL, followed by Ampex.

Reversing the order is blasphemy. You don't want to blaspheme, do you?

To absolutely avoid blasphemy, print through the Neve plugins like it's a tracking console! Analog is all about trusting instinct and getting the right raw tracks from the get-go!

 

[Appledude]

You need to record the tracks with neve preamps and channels and tape. Then mix with. Ssl channels and g comp on master buss v

 

[UA_User]

2. Where in the chain would you put any “outboard” compressor plugins (1176, LA2A, etc)?

Varies by situation and engineer taste.

I personally compress post-EQ around 75% of the time.

Remember though, in analog the recorded signal is going through the neve, compressors, FX, whatever else is needed for the situation at hand, before it even hits tape. So really it's multiple chains by the time it hits the 2-bus in the mix. Certainly the vocals will be going through at least one compressor on the way to analog tape, and that could in itself be happening before or after EQ on the tracking console, or an outboard pultec, or maybe some parallel trickery, or...

 

[UA User]

To absolutely avoid blasphemy, print through the Neve plugins like it's a tracking console! Analog is all about trusting instinct and getting the right raw tracks from the get-go!

I would do that, but the files were sent to me and they’re raw. So I’ll try Neve plugins followed by SSL to try to simulate that workflow.

 

[UA User]

You need to record the tracks with neve preamps and channels and tape. Then mix with. Ssl channels and g comp on master buss v

I would love to do that, but I don’t have the hardware and the files were sent to me raw.

 

[UA User]

Are you going to do console emulation? If so, some of them have the trim and VU functionality built-in.

Good point. And yes, I’ll use some kind of console emulation. Do you have any favorites?

 

[UA User]

I’ve already gotten Neve suggestions in another thread. But do any of you have a favorite SSL 4000 E plugin?

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

I personally compress post-EQ around 75% of the time.

It works better but then you're stuck having to tweak the compressor every time you change the EQ.

 

[UA User]

Neve first, followed by Studer, followed by SSL, followed by Ampex.

Reversing the order is blasphemy. You don't want to blaspheme, do you?

Don’t want to badger you, but I assume you’re gating (drums) after the Studer in that chain? Or were you joking about the order being that important?

 

[UA_User]

It works better but then you're stuck having to tweak the compressor every time you change the EQ.

For me, the main bad scenario to compress after EQ, is if I want to push high frequency sparkle on something. Wrong compressor can react to the pushed highs, and make them lose air and sound bad, and generally compressor action is crappy on high frequency twinkling,

 

[UA_User]

And yes, I’ll use some kind of console emulation. Do you have any favorites?

I use these. They are like old friends at this point.
Vintage Console Bundle - Sonimus
Unfortunately, they haven't gotten around to updating the SSL(Satson) to the new MKii's yet (S-Console). They've got the API (A-Console) and recently got the Neve updated (N-Console), but not the SSL. The Sonimus have paid for themselves many times over, for me. Even when the emulation is turned off, they are handy and save time.

Tons of other options to try for console emulation, good luck!

 

[UA User]

I use these. They are like old friends at this point.
Vintage Console Bundle - Sonimus
Unfortunately, they haven't gotten around to updating the SSL(Satson) to the new MKii's yet (S-Console). They've got the API (A-Console) and recently got the Neve updated (N-Console), but not the SSL. The Sonimus have paid for themselves many times over, for me. Even when the emulation is turned off, they are handy and save time.

Tons of other options to try for console emulation, good luck!

Thanks! I’ll probably go with those.

 

[UA_User]

Thanks! I’ll probably go with those.

Those consoles unfortunately don't have trial versions (except that the Satson channel component is in the Satson Channel Strip trial), so be sure to dig up shootouts on gearspace and so on before buying. Too bad the mkii SSL isnt out yet though. (The newer ssl console channel is in their modular ssl EQ/Comp channel, but not the Bus, for some idiotic reason.)

Really, finding bus emulations for SSL is a bit tricky. Lots of ssl channel plugins, but not so much busses. More Neve bus plugins out there than SSL (Lindell 80 comes with a separate bus plugin, for example)

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Don’t want to badger you, but I assume you’re gating (drums) after the Studer in that chain? Or were you joking about the order being that important?

I'm using Luna so, AFAIK, I have no choice but to have Studer before all inserts.