Mixing with Hardware - Hybrid

[T-rex]

So last year, I reached out to the engineer (Michael Kramer) and mixer (Jon Markson) of the Pile of Love self titled album. It has a sound that I love. A really nice thick low mid bloom that sounds warm and gushy but never muddy. I think it's the first album in a long time that sounds sonically similar to Superdrag's Head Trip in Every Key, which is an album that I love for both the music and the sonics.

They were both really cool and Michael gave me a full breakdown of the recordings. One of the things he mentioned was the RND 542 Tape Emulators. He uses these for tracking guitars, along with the Burl B1D, and was saying they just add great color to everything that passes through them. Internet hot takes are mixed but I picked up a pair and they do sound amazing. I can get close to them using some tape emulation plugs but never as good as the hardware. Also, they are super versatile although it takes a while to understand the gain staging and the curves and how they all interact. They live on two bus but sometimes I will reamp anemic tracks through them. The point is, with that - boom - I'm back to using hardware again. Well that's a lie, I actually bought a TC Electronic M2000 early last year. Again, I try and try to find a verb in the box that beats it, but I just can't make them sound as good as the gold plate on the hardware. Now, with the AMLs I get just a bit more oomph and 3d image than I can with plugins.

I don't want to or plan on buying a bunch of outboard gear for mixing but what's the point sound wise, price wise or workflow wise where you are just like, Fuck it, this sounds too good to not use recall / price be damned?

(Also, I'm not saying hardware is better than software or vice versa. I prefer the analog workflow (twiddling knobs) but sound wise I've been quite happy in the box for a long time and also, many many people are doing all ITB mixes that kill mine soooo)

[digitaldrummer]

I'm too lazy for mixing OTB. Or really, I'm just usually happy with what I can get ITB. I have OB hardware but most of that is for tracking and after that sometimes reamping (but I usually try plugins first). I only have one outboard EQ and it's actually really a preamp - a PM1000 channel - but I have used it for EQ - both for tracking and reamp. I'm considering getting another outboard EQ again, but haven't found the right thing yet (I had one of EQP-KT's once upon a time but sold it off pretty quickly).

[T-rex]

That's funny I was reading about the KTs earlier today looking at some cheaper Pultec options (opinions weren't great on them). I am eyeing the AML Pultec Kits, which are hella cheap to build considering the quality and options as well as the DIYRE Pultec kits which are slightly cheaper but very basic in comparison.

I think I'd like to be somewhere between ITB and Peter Katis' set up. I don't know if you've ever seen a walkthrough of his set up but it's insane. basically every sub-mix; drums. guitars, bass, Vox , etc. comes out through a ton of hardware and then gets summed back in. For the most part apparently he never adjusts the gear on the busses, just hits it differently based on the song etc.