Basics of Mixing – 13.1 Outboard and Hardware

Hello! This is Jooyoung Kim, mixing engineer & music producer.

In this chapter, I’ll talk about audio outboards. The subchapters will be as follows:

  1. Cables & Connectors
  2. Patchbays
  3. Re-amp & Re-amping
  4. Output/Input Volumes & Recall Sheet for Outboards

This article is based at my book, released at South Korea, “Basics of Mixing“.

Before we find out cables & connectors, let’s talk about why engineers use outboards. How do you think about it?

First, The sound differs significantly by circuit, input/output transformers, and amplifiers(transistor of vacuum tubes). So, you could guess why recording studios have bunch of mic pre-amps.

How about compressors, EQs, or saturators? There are several types of effects in DAW or third party plugins. If you use it well, sound will make sense.

Nevertheless, achieving the same sound as hardware with a plugin often requires multiple processing steps. Or, the saturation of hardware made irreplaceable sounds.

Of course, engineers love the gears so much, that they sometimes stack them..haha

However, there are many drawbacks to using hardware.

  1. Like Fairchild Model 670, hardwares used with vacuum tube have big problem for usage. If one vacuum tube breaks down, each one must be searched for, and the time and cost required for maintenance is considerable(Fairchild Model 670 has 20 tubes..).
  2. The noise level must be carefully considered during the mixing stage. If you don’t think about it, you could end up with quite high noise during mastering process.
  3. Hardware need Real-Time printing. It takes times.
  4. Recalling settings is cumbersome and the sound may vary depending on the condition of the hardware.

Furthermore, outboards with vacuum tubes need to be warmed up for some time (about 20–30 minutes) due to the operating principles of the tubes.

By the way, the reason we go through all this trouble and use hardware is because it sounds good.

But, it doesn’t mean all hardwares are great. More expensive isn’t necessarily better, and DIY isn’t necessarily bad.

So, what does this mean for you?

I think if you could listen bad/good sounds, it’s the right time for purchase outboards.

This chapter is about how to connect and use hardware when that time comes. In the next article, I’ll delve into cables and connectors, starting with their types and best practices. Stay tuned!

Audio Restore Plugins, Acon Digital Acoustica Post Production Suite Sale(30%, ~1/2)

Hi! This is Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

Today, I’d like to introduce Acon Digital’s Acoustica Post Production Suite, which could be a replacement for iZotope RX bundles.

This plugins was provided by plugin boutique for review. If you buy through the link in the blog, I’ll get a little commission that which really helps me make a living (it’s really hard these days…).

Purchase Acon Digital Acoustica Post Production Suite at Plugin Boutique

Acon Digital makes plugins for audio restore, mastering, mixings.

The Acoustica Post Production Suite I’m introducing this time includes all of Acon Digital’s products except for Verberate Immersive and AudioLava, including Acoustica 7 Premium Edition, Mix & Mastering Suite, and Restoration Suite. The plug-ins included in this product are listed in the table below.

CategoryPluginFunction Description
DynamicsDeEss DialogueReduces sibilance
Basic DynamicsControls basic dynamic range
LimitLimits signal peaks and prevents clipping
Multiband DynamicsAdjusts dynamic range across multiple frequency bands
EQEqualize 2EQ with features like mid/side processing and linear phase
MasteringDitherApplies audio dithering
RestorationDeBirdRemoves specific interference noises like bird sounds
DeBuzz DialogueEliminates buzz and hum noise in dialogue
DeClick 2Removes clicks and pops
DeClick DialogueRemoves clicks and pops from dialogue
DeClip 2Restores clipped audio distortion
DeHum 2Removes hum noise
DeNoise 2Reduces stationary noises, including environmental noise
DePlosive DialogueRemoves plosives from dialogue
DeRustle DialogueEliminates clothing rustle and other extraneous noises
DeWind DialogueReduces wind noise
Extract DialogueExtracts dialogue signals and reduces background noise
Phono FilterApplies LP record filtering and correction
VitalizeEnhances high-frequency audio
DeVerberate 3Removes reverberation
DeFilterResolves resonance peaks and dips
ReverbConvolveProvides convolution-based reverb
Verberate 2Stereo reverb
ToolsRemixSeparates mixes and enables audio remixing

Acoustica also provides a dedicated program called Acoustica.

Let’s take a closer look at Acoustica 7 Premium Edition!

click image to purchase Acoustica 7 Premium Edition

Even if you only purchase Acoustica 7 Premium Edition, I believe it will be sufficient for your restoration tasks.

This edition includes everything except DeVerberate 3 for reverb removal and DeFilter for addressing resonance or comb filter issues.

The program’s interface is straightforward.

It features a large waveform display, a file browser on the left, a Processing Chain for applying effects, and various analyzers.

The loudness meter, which measures LUFS, allows you to set measurement parameters according to different standards.

The Processing Chain section lets you directly apply Acon Digital’s plugins.

Of course, the plugins included here can also be used in your DAW.

Similar to iZotope’s RX, you can view frequency-based volume changes over time.

This enables restoration work and even allows separate playback for the left and right channels, letting you apply different restoration processes to each.

Thanks to the advanced algorithms for separating vocals, piano, bass, drums, and other instruments, Acoustica also provides a tool called Remix for instrument separation.

iZotope RX offers more tools for noise removal, but the quality of Acoustica’s plugins is excellent.

At the current sale price of $153.89, Acoustica 7 Premium Edition is much cheaper than RX Standard’s discounted price.

click image to purchase DeFilter

You should give DeFilter a try and judge for yourself. I was blown away the first time I heard it.

While you might not use it often, it’s a great tool to have for solving significant problems when they arise.

It seems particularly beneficial for voiceover recordings.

click image to purchase DeVerberate 3

DeVerberate also delivers solid performance.

Personally, I hope more people learn about and use products from companies like Acon Digital, which create such well-crafted plugins.

Purchase Acon Digital Acoustica Post Production Suite at Plugin Boutique

Although it’s not the cheapest, it’s significantly more affordable than competitors like RX.

If you’re considering restoration tools, I recommend taking a look at this one.

That’s all for today. See you in the next post!

After Modifying My Stam Audio SA-2A

Hello! I’m Jooyoung Kim, mixing engineer & music producer.

Today, I’ll talk about what I did after the article, Record Before Modifying the Stam Audio SA-2A, and how sound changed.

First, let’s review the problems I encountered.

  1. Output gain is similar to input gain, when the GAIN knob is too low.
  2. Compression is started when PEAK REDUCTION knob is too high.
  3. It sounds so dull, like high frequency response is cut off

Otherwise, The Compress and Limit switch was positioned incorrectly. It was simply solved by wrench.

1) Potentiometer Changed..1

If you take off the cover of SA-2A’s knob, you could see a100k potentiometer at each parts. So, I thought that if I change a100k to a50k for gain knob, amount of change is more lower. Also, change a100k to a250k for peak reduction knob, compression would be change more earlier.

So I changed them first.

The green line is SA-2A hardware, the pink line is Waves’ CLA-2A.

It doesn’t seem bad at all! Otherwise, output gain is similar to input gain, when the GAIN knob is too low yet, I ordered A25K and A10K potentiometer too.

2) Vacuum Tubes Changed

I changed my 12AX7 tubes from jj electronics to mullard.

Frequency response and compression curve was not that different compared to jj electronics’. But it sounds much better than before. Harmonic distortion seems to have changed many aspects of the sound.

3) Changed Potentiometer Once Again..2

Upper image is a25k, The lower image shows the a10k potentiometer. You could see frequency response improved when the lower value of potentiometer is used! The problem isn’t solved but it sounds really good.

Red curve is UAD LA-2A Silver face, pink curve is WAVES CLA-2A, green curve is SA-2A.

Compared to UAD, it’s nice that it doesn’t add such an overwhelming saturation. And compared to Waves, I like that it doesn’t have that overly compressed feel.

I think it’s worth trying out more simple tools like this in the future. Next time, maybe an EQ or a Comp DIY kit…!

See you in next post! 🙂

Melda Production Analog Empire: Pads & Strings sales(~1/4, $9)

Hello! This is Jooyoung Kim, mixing engineer and music producer.

Today, I’ll introduce Analog Empire: Pads & Strings, virtual instruments by Melda Production.

I received this product as an NFR(Not for Resale) code from plugin boutique. If you purchase this virtual instrument through the link in this blog, I’ll earn a small commission, which helps support my work.

Let’s dive in!

Purchase Analog Emire: Pads & Strings at Plugin Boutique

First of all, some of you may be unfamiliar with the company Melda Production.

Melda Production creates a wide range of software, from virtual instruments to mixing and mastering plug-ins. You might think of it as similar to IK Multimedia. In particular, their free plug-ins are of such high quality that I always recommend them to my colleagues.

The only downside is the UI, but I believe it will improve over time.

Now, let’s see th Analog Empire.

Analog Empire: Pads & Strings runs on MSoundFactory, Melda Production’s virtual instrument engine. So if you want to use it, you have to download MSoundFactory and Analog Empire sound samples.

It’s easy to understand if you think MSoundFactory is Melda Production’s Kontakt.

After listening to the sounds in this video and trying out the presets, I think it works well for cinematic compositions and background music for dramas.

By slightly reducing the effects, it could also work well for pop music.

This product’s concept is simple. Mixing 2 different sounds with functions of sampler.

You can use various effects at FX tab.

Analog Empire is much cheaper than Native Instruments Play Series($49 per each VSTi) or Arturia Augmented Strings($9), with a similar concept.

Purchase Analog Emire: Pads & Strings at Plugin Boutique

If you purchase plug-ins at plugin Boutique in this month, you can get one of those plugins free(UAD Oxide Tape / Karanyi Sounds Vapor Keys / iZotope Nectar Elements / Pitch Innovations Rhythm Box).

$9 for pads and another free plugin? It’s really great deal.

See you in the next post! 😊