Hi!
 
I bought into Harrison Mixbus in one of the earlier releases (some 2 years ago) but then gave up on it because it was not stable and had no means to be controlled by a control surface.
 
I'd be happy if you could comment on

• stability and usability of the latest version
• whether you think I would have a chance to configure Mixbus to respond to a VS-700 control surface (hopefully as similar as Sonar does now i.e. same knobs to control EQ, compression, ...)
• how automation works compared to Sonar e.g. could I find a way to enable automation record by pushing a single button and then ride the faders ...???

I'm asking because I'd like to assess if it's worth to spend money on an upgrade of Mixbus and give it another chance. My intention would be to do all tracking, editing, production and rough mixing in Sonar, then export all tracks without FX and start to mix from scratch in Mixbus. Hence, editing capabilities are of minor importance - I would want to use it simply as a mix desk, but with good access to automation and controlled by a control surface!
 
Your comments are much appreciated!
 
BTW: Anyone ever bothered do to a mix in Sonar, then reset and mix again in Mixbus ... I'd be keen on listening to that ...

just watched some of the videos on the harrison site and their mackie implementation seems to be really good
 
likewise seem the options to control it via custom MIDI control setup fairly extensive
 
now it would be interesting to get some experience feedback to understand how much of it is marketing and how is properly functional ...

I have gone through several installs from V2 to the latest V3 version.  There certainly were a few initial teething problems but now it is quite a different story.  It is fine and stable for me right now with the latest version. There are a few things that can make it crash but they are the sort of things one can easily avoid and not trip it up too much.  For me anyway.
 
I am a Studio One user but use Mixbus for mastering either exported stems from Studio One or whole pre-mastered stereo mixes. It does both very well.  So far so good.  There are few Sonar users around here that use it a bit too such as Bapu and a few others.  They may chime in and give you some more advice and offer some info.

Thanks Jeff for your reply. I remembered your earlier posts on Mixbus so I was hoping that you would comment in this thread. Do you always use stems only in Mixbus (how many? which grouping do you apply to arrive at these stems?) or did you also try to export all tracks as if Mixbux would replicate the entire mix desk?
 
I don't do mastering (as I don't have the skills) but I'm still quite interested in giving Mixbus another, so I hope for a little more feedback from other trusted sources on this forum.
 
What makes it appealing to me is ...

• It would be a different software that would require me to let go of any rough mix and start from scratch (something that is hard for me to do in Sonar because even if I reset I tend to approach the new mix fairly similar, i.e. reaching for the same knobs first out of habit)
• Harrison seems to offer now a customizable way for setting up remote control from a control surface (something that Cakewalk has neglected completely since the X series) ... although currently I can't say whether this is just Harrison marketing talk or if it really works ... ideally I would want to control it via a surface like the VS-700
• Harrison just released "character" plugins which allow to EQ attack and tail of drums differently (http://harrisonconsoles.com/site/xtbc.html) which looks really intriguing for drum tone shaping (and something similar for bass and vocals) and I have no clue how you could achieve that with other EQ/compression tools?
• And they offered a custom upgrade fee taking into account stuff I bought before but did not use so far ... which I consider very customer friendly :-)

Cheers,
 
Rob

Watching this thread with interest...

I just got around to updating to the latest version and what I'm finding is - and I found this with the last version too - sometimes it will crash when I'm scrolling or zooming around the timeline. In fact that's been about the only crash I've experienced with Mixbus so far, although to be honest I haven't used it much. 

sharke
I just got around to updating to the latest version and what I'm finding is - and I found this with the last version too - sometimes it will crash when I'm scrolling or zooming around the timeline. In fact that's been about the only crash I've experienced with Mixbus so far, although to be honest I haven't used it much. 

I've never had that happen.

Admittedly it's when I'm zooming and scrolling like Pee Wee Herman on PCP
 

i have found it to be fairly flakey with it's fair share of bugs. not all that friendly to your vst collection either. sounds nice though, i keep following it to see if stability and vst/vsti comparability improves

I am seeing pretty stable performance with it right now.  What I do is create a folder and only put a copy of your fave plugs in there and keep it right down to a minimum.  Get it to only scan in that folder.  Getting it to scan all your plugs I have found is not the go and it may be unstable because it has found a plug it does not like that much. It also takes too long as well.
 
I have mainly got mastering plugs in that folder so when I ask it to scan, it does it real fast.
 
There is built in EQ on tracks, buses and the main stereo buss and those EQ's are all slightly different as well. There is also dynamics in all these areas too and it is worth getting to know them a bit.  Also I have invested in most of their plugs too which all work very nice and have no stability issues.  They are in most cases as good as the plugs you already own (or better) so why not use them.
 
I am not using it with virtual instruments though, still keeping to Studio One for that sort of work.