Sanderxpander
Right, ok so then I don't know why we're discussing that since we're in total agreement ;)
I just said that latency should be irrelevant during most MIXING processes.
I have tried to write about this topic in several threads, may be I just should find a good post in the internet or write it myself.
When people speak about the latency, they normally mean
hardware and or driver settings related latency. Plug-ins do not influence such kind of latency till they are too CPU hungry and particular system produce pops and clicks with low buffer settings. This latency has an order of
5-20 milliseconds.
When some plug-in requires look ahead information, they are working like a
delay. They are still working inside hardware and driver guided latency, the effect is not CPU related. They delay by intention, the effect they produce requires this delay, even if the algorithms can be executed on 10 years old computer with close to no CPU consumption.
So, plug-ins can be divided in classes, based on how big that
delay is:
- plug-ins with zero delay. That does not mean they require no time to execute, that means once they receive an INPUT BUFFER (32, 64, 128, .... 1024 samples, does not matter), after processing, they produce the OUTPUT FOR THIS INPUT BUFFER. Such plug-ins are suitable for recording/tracking, they introduce no delay. In other words, DAW monitoring for recorded input will not be delayed in case such plug-in is inserted into the monitoring chain.
- plug-ins with 1-10ms delay. Such plug-ins, when they receive some INPUT BUFFER produce the OUTPUT FOR THE BUFFER THEY HAVE RECEIVED 1-5ms AGO. Effectively they act as a delay effect, in addition to what they really do. Such plug-ins are good for mixing. In some situation for tracking, but it can be already feasible to NOT put these effects into monitoring chain, and use Disable Plug-in Delay Compensation feature (which just mean that monitoring chain should not wait for all delayed effects in playback chains).
- plug-ins with up to 1 second delay. And here we are with currently discussed linear phase plug-ins, which with extreme settings add ~0.7 seconds (each! if you put EQ + Compressor, that will be ~1.4 second). That is ok for mastering, where the goal is the best possible quality. But during mixing, when you control the result of changing many parameters, that can be rather inconvenient.
So, the answer on the original question: try to put 3 LP EQs with "slow/hi" settings on the master bus and start balance just 2 track volumes... You will need the LifeTime Platinum, since mixing one song is going to take the life time
