I mean, is this the very first thing in a channel signal chain? Or is it the last one?

For I know that, in virtual world, i can place it wherever I want it to...

But, if it was a real desk... Where?

I dunno... I think I'd just place one instance at the end of the signal path so that all of the other elements get the emulation.

I use it on the master bus at the end of the chain and mix with it from the start of writing.

It just adds more "feel" to your mix...

If you think about it, its just emulating the electronics of a big console so its there to just give a warmth to the overall sound so surely should be placed on the master bus?

But, with a real console in mind, where it supose to be? To me, it looks to be in the first stage of the signal process and, everything else (eqs, inserts, sends, etc) comes before...
Is that correct?

isnt this going to be a preference rather than gospel?

I don't know that there is a single point on a console that you could say that the console emulator exists at. Here's what I mean: When I mix through a console, I take my stems/tracks and go out of the Auroras into individual channels on a board. At that point there are any number of things that may happen: Trim, effect inserts, pan, and faders come to mind here, and then of course bussing and summing. So the console emulation could be said to occupy the same position as the signal coming into the mixer, and to emulate that you'd put it at the beginning. But it could also be said to be affecting signal that comes from effect loops, or after any gain happens, so to emulate that you'd put it after the insert effect or even post fader.

What that means is that in analog land, console emulation isn't a thing that take place in any particular point...or more accurately, it's many things that take place at lots of points.

Dean

Razorwit


I don't know that there is a single point on a console that you could say that the console emulator exists at. Here's what I mean: When I mix through a console, I take my stems/tracks and go out of the Auroras into individual channels on a board. At that point there are any number of things that may happen: Trim, effect inserts, pan, and faders come to mind here, and then of course bussing and summing. So the console emulation could be said to occupy the same position as the signal coming into the mixer, and to emulate that you'd put it at the beginning. But it could also be said to be affecting signal that comes from effect loops, or after any gain happens, so to emulate that you'd put it after the insert effect or even post fader.

What that means is that in analog land, console emulation isn't a thing that take place in any particular point...or more accurately, it's many things that take place at lots of points.

Dean

I see... And agree...
So, to emulate a "real situation", sort of speaking, I have to know what I supose to do with a particular signal if I was using real hardware... Like when Michael Brauer send (using aux sends) a vocal to a 1176 and return it to a channel in hims desk... (wich is a SSL)... in this case I would have a cons emu at the top of my "SSL" original channel and another one at the top of my receiving channel... Right?

ProMusic27


I see... And agree...
So, to emulate a "real situation", sort of speaking, I have to know what I supose to do with a particular signal if I was using real hardware... Like when Michael Brauer send (using aux sends) a vocal to a 1176 and return it to a channel in hims desk... (wich is a SSL)... in this case I would have a cons emu at the top of my "SSL" original channel and another one at the top of my receiving channel... Right?

Hmmm....I don't know that that would give you the effect you're after (but it might...depends on if you like it when you try it). I think (just my impression) that the console emulator is intended to emulate the totality of the console rather than each point at which a console interacts with the sound, so you'd put in on each track once, but not at each point where a hardware console would have an input or gain point.


OTOH, it's just an effect, so IMHO put it anywhere it sounds good and don't worry too much about exactly emulating a hardware situation.


Dean

I found it helpful to read this: http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation/default.aspx?Doc=SONAR%20X2&Lang=EN&Req=ProChannel.27.8.html#1293038 .  Down near the bottom it has "How to use the Console Emulator" in which there are some guidelines including where Cakewalk recommends placing it in the signal path.

Play it safe - just scatter them liberally thoroughout the signal chain :)