Feb 24, 2005 04:26 am do you mean a calculator?
ive never heard of a summing box, where have you seen one?
What exactly is a summing box?
Posted on Feb 24, 2005 12:18 am
peterparker
The Beat Keeper
Member Since: Dec 16, 2004
Can anybody please tell what a summing box exactly does?
Thanks
[ Back to Top ]
Feb 24, 2005 04:26 am do you mean a calculator?
ive never heard of a summing box, where have you seen one?
Feb 24, 2005 06:02 am Don't know much about it, but I found these links:
www.mercenary.com/2buscom.html
www.mercenary.com/rmfo16chpasu.html
www.mercenary.com/dangerous2bus.html
I gather that they are used with a Pro-tools rig to add the sonic benefits that mixing in the analog domain can bring. Expensive gear, extremely high-end. More likely to be bought and used in a professional studio than in home production... or so I gather by the frightening prices.
Feb 24, 2005 06:36 am protools? thats why i hadnt heard of it...
Feb 24, 2005 07:05 am Nice one Flame...nice one...geez, I must stop laughin oot loud in the office! I get funny looks.
Aye, I too have not heard of it! Pro-tools being the reason...too expensive to hear aboot it! hehe.
Cheers
Coco.
Feb 24, 2005 09:33 am its not just for digital recording.
even using a mackie board you would still want to use the summing bus.
the dangerous music one has 16 ins and only 2 outs. kind of like sending your mix to the main outs for stereo listening and mixing. basicaly it is just a cleaner signal path.
when all these signals are combined and run thru various amp stages in the mixer you loose a certain amount of signal
Feb 24, 2005 11:26 am yeah it's basically a mixer with little or no knobs, it takes the tracks (or groups of tracks) and sums (mixes) them to two channels....
Feb 24, 2005 01:21 pm mmm... analog...
it's not for cleaner signal path... analog summing allows for punchier and warmer mixes... something that summing digitally lacks.
Feb 24, 2005 01:37 pm cleaner paths? hahahahahahaha
the "warmth" is distortion...
give me digital or give me death.
Feb 24, 2005 01:43 pm not just distortion, but it accually uses physics instada math to produce the summed mix...i for one prefer physics when it comes to my final mix....i saw a NASCAR wreak once where the car did a whole flip without touching the ground....when they replayed it in slow motion, you can see every individual blade of grass gettin' blown down in different directions and it looked SPECTACULAR!!! that was physics in action.....try to recreate that digitally with math, and it wouldn't look as good....sure it'd look convincingly similar but still not quite there....and to me that's what an alalog summer does...
peace
wyd
Feb 24, 2005 01:45 pm hahah maybe math would be good for summing!!!
Feb 24, 2005 02:07 pm yes, but desireable 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distorion... if you like that kinda shtuff
Feb 24, 2005 04:04 pm Thank you everybody for your posts!!! They have definitely helped give me a better understanding.
Feb 25, 2005 01:41 pm distortion = distortion = a cool and interesting tonal tool with which to improve the quality of music, imho. Clarity and sharpness for it's own sake -- like it's a holy grail of sorts -- is dull to me. Being able to hear every instrument clearly, without distortion, and without noise is *not* a necessary part of the definition of a good mix, in my opinion. Kinda like the difference between video and film. Video is very clear and sharp, but visually dull to most. Film is full of distortion -- detail is lacking -- but has a warmth and cohesive visual structure that seems natural. Sure, filmakers are finally using digital cameras to shoot featues, but that's because the technology now has the built-in ability to mimic the natural look of film. Distortion and noise -- in small amounts -- can and does have that same pleasing, cohesive effect on recorded music, if used tastefully...
Feb 25, 2005 06:44 pm Wedge- Nicely put. I agree 110%. I much prefer recordings that have the little nuances and imperfections. Like you said, it gives it a warmer more human touch. MORE LIFE and FEELING (when done tastefully). Everyone seems so concerned about acheiving the crystal clear pristine sound. Go back and listen to any Stones, Hendrix, Doors, Beatles, etc. (all classics that will outlive us all) recordings, and they all breathe and have a life of their own. Thank you so much for pointing this out to the HRC enthusiasts. Many bands will be forced to use their "unperfected" demo'd tracks that they recorded in their hotel rooms (or wherever) because they are unable to recreate the VIBE and FEEL when they try to recreate it in the billion $ studio. As long as the track has that VIBE (the one that gives you butterflies and a racing heart during playback) should be the whole purpose of doing what we do. That my friends is what recording is all about!
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.