What are You Mixing Down to?

[analogcabin]

It sounds like (at least digitally) the Materlink is a real favorite. Tell me, why use it instead of say mixing directly into a 2 track editor on your computer? It seems like it'd be easier to do fades or an occasional crossfade (which I don't think the Masterlink does). For those of you doing your 2 mix to Tape, what is your next step once you have it on tape? In other words (short of sending the 1/4" or 1/2" tape to the mastering lab, what method are you using to do your play lists & create short run C.D's?

Thanks a lot.....e.maynard

[bobbydj]

Much as I'd like to say I'm mixing down to some superduper Otari or Studer 1/2" half-track open reel deck (or even just a 1/4" one), I'd be fibbing

It's an old Yamaha cassette deck

Fuck, Mark. No way. I'm in the same boat - mine's a KX580SE. I dunno. But what are you thinking of getting? Are you going to try DAT? Everyone seems so down on DAT these days what with converter issues, transport fears and so on.

And what about some kinda HHB Burnit type step? Would you consider that an option?

[cgarges]

There it is again. What is about 88.2 that sounds nicer than 96? Is it some artifact of having exactly double the sample rate than redbook?
Tom

I think you've probably hit it on the head. I didn't design the thing and I'm not really well-versed in digital electronics theory, but I suspect that it does have something to do with making a simple division in two. After a while of experimenting, it's what works best for me.

I use the DSP pretty much only as a reference for the artsist with which I'm working. I ALWAYS burn unadulterated CDs (both hi-res and Redbook-two copies of each) as a "master." If the band absolutely DOES NOT have the budget to get something mastered but they're going to release it anyway (it's their product, not mine), I may do a few things to get the disc a little louder overall. I make sure to not go too far with it because A) I'm not a mastering engineer, and B) if they have any complaints ("This isn't as loud as my "Staind" CD) I tell them to get it mastered like I told them all along. I may do fades on their reference copy as well.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[mrdazobee]

Studer A807 1/4" reel at 15ips on 499....I picked up mine for ?400 in top condition.......The transports are so smoooth......before that the revox c270,another nice machine.

[axial]

If the band absolutely DOES NOT have the budget to get something mastered but they're going to release it anyway (it's their product, not mine), I may do a few things to get the disc a little louder overall. I make sure to not go too far with it because A) I'm not a mastering engineer, and B) if they have any complaints ("This isn't as loud as my "Staind" CD) I tell them to get it mastered like I told them all along. I may do fades on their reference copy as well.

I think this is whats turned alot of engineers into mastering engineers, I know a few that this is the case with.

[cgarges]

I think this is whats turned alot of engineers into mastering engineers, I know a few that this is the case with.

Yeah, but it also turns a few into calling themselves mastering engineers and charging people WAY too much money for it. I know three really good ones that have made my clients and me VERY happy. I'll stick with paying them to do it when I can.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[cgarges]

Oh and by the way, even on those records where I do some tweaking after the mix, I try to make sure that no one puts "mastered by Chris Garges" on it.

Chris

[doc]

doc wrote:
And usually before mastering I'll also send it to either my Teac A-4010S 1/4" open reel...

-Doc

Hey doc -- I will be getting the same teac soon. It is my dad's. He bought it in asia in about 1970 and hasn't used it much and offered it to me. As a kid I remember his crazy party mix reels (he partied alot!). I think it is in good shape, though I picked up a little repair/maintenance book on it.

How do you like it? Any tips you can share?

That's funny, mine used to be my dad's too. He also bought it while in Asia in the late sixties/early seventies. I like mine a lot. It definitely gets used more than my Sony 1/4". Not a whole lot to it. Just a nice sounding deck. Oh yeah, I'll mix to DAT on a rare occasion. I still get clients asking for it from time to time.

-Doc

[Al]

Much as I'd like to say I'm mixing down to some superduper Otari or Studer 1/2" half-track open reel deck (or even just a 1/4" one), I'd be fibbing

It's an old Yamaha cassette deck

Fuck, Mark. No way. I'm in the same boat - mine's a KX580SE. I dunno. But what are you thinking of getting? Are you going to try DAT? Everyone seems so down on DAT these days what with converter issues, transport fears and so on.

And what about some kinda HHB Burnit type step? Would you consider that an option?

I use DAT, i'm deffo not down on it, christ no!!...anyone who is...off their tree!!

[analogcabin]

So (Digitally) whether you're using a Materlink or DAT, tell me, why use it instead of say mixing directly into a 2 track editor on your computer? It seems like it'd be easier to do fades or an occasional crossfade (which I don't think the Masterlink does). For those of you doing your 2 mix to Tape, what is your next step once you have it on tape? In other words (short of sending the 1/4" or 1/2" tape to the mastering lab, what method are you using to do your play lists & create short run C.D's?

Thanks a lot.....e.maynard

[axial]

I think this is whats turned alot of engineers into mastering engineers, I know a few that this is the case with.

Yeah, but it also turns a few into calling themselves mastering engineers and charging people WAY too much money for it. I know three really good ones that have made my clients and me VERY happy. I'll stick with paying them to do it when I can.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I'm with ya on that all the way!

[Mudcloth]

In my lo -fi Tascam Syncaset 8 track world, i mix to my Sony mini disc. It records at 24 bit and sounds a lot better than mixing to cassette tape. It comes in handy if I want to dump that mix back onto the syncaset and continue recording more tracks. Virtually no loss and no hiss.

[joeysimms]

The masterlink DOES do fades, but I don't think it does crossfades. It also has onboard eq, compression, limiting, normalizing..

I bought mine becasue I don't have a computer in the equation and was scared of going dat, 'cause everyone complains about the unreliability of dat tape.

I haven't figured out yet if the processing features of the masterlink are worth the extra cost, or whether I just paid around $700 for 24 bit converters..

[HuskerDude]

We use an Otari MX-5050 Mk. III, or internally in PT if we're doing the digital thing. There's a DAT machine around somewhere, in case someone really wants it, too.

[CDB Studios]

1957 Ampex 350 w/ upgraded pre's done by Andy Barret. They just blow my mind! The pre's themselves are beautiful (I think I've typed this b4), but the 350 (1/4") running on 456 sounds fan-freaking-tastic.


-Zach
cdbstudios.com