I have a question regarding Sonars Console Emulators (or any for that matter)
In Sonars manual it states that it is recommended to use the Console Emul. on all tracks and buses for best effect, and that it should be applied gentle/smoothly. All set-up correctly for buses and channels/tracks over the whole mix.



I've tried this, and it sounds good... however, I tend to lack control over the mixing process...
...even though when it comes to music and mixing its all a matter of personal taste. 

Question:
I wondering if people use CE in as described above in general? 

The reason for asking, is that I have seen some mixing tutorials for dance/electronic music, and I have never seen anyone do something like this. They often use PSP MixSaturation and Vintage Warmer 2 or other VST on the Masterbus (pre-master).

Is this more used in Rock or "acoustic" music?

Thanks!

Since I got them, I've used them on every track and bus, getting a feel for them. I like them. They don't cause me any troubs at all. They don't add much overhead. I 'think' I can tell a mix with them as opposed to without.... for me to get a good AB, I add them to all tracks and busses and bounce down... then normalize > apply multiband compression I like > normalize > a little boost 11. Then do the same without them...

When I AB those two final bounces it's apparent and pleasing to me.
 
As far as what type of music uses expensive consoles, I think the answer is expensive musicians can use expensive consoles. :-)
 
Not typical for $5 bands.

Gswitz - thanx for your input - BTW, any $5 band should maybe gor for Sonar X2 and look for these;)

Anyone else uses these in their mixex? Or NOT? Maybe only on Masterbus? 

I don't use them at all.  It's not that I have an opinion that they are good or bad, it's more that I'm after a specific sound and I know what specific plugins do to the sound and how to achieve the sound I want.  I tweak to taste.

The problem with the console emulation is that it's so darn subtle, I can't tell if it's helping or hurting my mix.  I think they're a little like the emperors new clothes.  People are afraid to admit they can't hear what they are doing, so they won't speak up for fear of looking stupid.

Well, I'll be honest and say I have no idea what they do to my mix, so I find no value in using them at all.  Yes when you sum it all together there's a difference, but is it better or worse?  That's just not the way I operate.

Hi Erik,console emu is awesome.You must put use an every tracks couse its effect is cumulative.To sim a large console preamp you must put CE channel on first place with post fx unchecked and CE bus at last with post FX checked.To sim an analog summing console you must put CE chan at the last insert with post FX checked and the same for CE bus.Best

GIM Productions


Hi Erik,console emu is awesome.You must put use an every tracks couse its effect is cumulative.To sim a large console preamp you must put CE channel on first place with post fx unchecked and CE bus at last with post FX checked.To sim an analog summing console you must put CE chan at the last insert with post FX checked and the same for CE bus.Best

Define "awesome".  What does that mean?  The thing that made many of those old consoles so great was the non-linearities and idiosyncrasies in the EQ section.  These console emulators are utterly incomplete if they're not modeling that.


I dunno, but here I was thinking we were investing in state of the art ADCs/DACs so that we could avoid the crosstalk, inter-modulation distortion and poor SNR of the old world consoles.


I'm not averse to a bit of nice tape saturation, but most of the emulation and "tube" plugins leave me cold.

I completely disagree.For an integrated DAW console emulation system,the result is really professional.I'm working in a very large Soul prj(real drums)and i have begun to mix with CE on every tracks (the CE effect is cumulative).The sound is very similar to real sat console and is very similar to other competitors(Waves NLS),especially for the SSL emu.In studio we have a Prism Sound converters and ADAM,K&H monitors.It's my experience.Best.Roby

I disagree though I don't state it on here much.. There are many that are happy with the console emulation, fine, I am happy you like it. To me, all I hear is basically a harmonic exciter, It hops up the highs and kinda sheens the signal which would be OK if it sounded good but in my opinion it sounds like crappy high frequency digital distortion. You want a nice sheen? Record it right 1st, then EQ it to taste, ya don't need some emulator plug and it's not going to fix a lousy mix or make a good mix sound like it was done on an SSL. That's my take. Played around with them for about a half hour once, haven't touched it since & doubt I will again.

Hi ChuckC,my last on this topic.Can you try this.Put in solo a real dry kick with Trident EMU on channel and Trident EMU on drum buss(set the level right).I hear a warm sound and more dynamic (preamps emulation)on my system.Poor sound without.Best

The developer of the Console Emulation (Overload) said it was modeled on the summing aspect of a console.  Not the console as a whole.  That's one of the reasons I put it last on the tracks, and on busses.  On the master, I put it after EQ etc, but before any limiter etc.
 
As for the idea that it just "hops up the highs" or adds "Crappy digital distortion" - I don't hear, or see this.
 
A lot depends on how you use it.  If you crank everything up, then it will not be pleasant.  You may well get some of these symptoms.  The idea is to use it subtly.  I, and others, have found gain staging very important.  Craig Anderton pointed out that if any of the modules are clipping, the console emulations will make it worse.
 
And be sparing of the drive and trim knobs.  The drive knob effects how much of the signal goes into saturation, and the trim knob is not like an input trim, it effects how much the emulation is applied to the signal.
 
Turn everything up to eleven and it may sound pants.  I don't think half an hour is enough time to truly evaluate it.  I've been playing around with it for weeks, and am only just getting to know it.