'Finishing touch' mix bus gear

Just a FYI @mrce10 - the Access Analog Silver Bullet is a Mk1 version. The current mk2 version has significant additions to it, along with the same basic meat and potatoes of the mk1. For instance there is Aspect Ratio - which widens, and heightens a mix, the EQ section has significant additions, and there is a third Mojo slot now (Mojo C) which allows for optional mojo amps of all types - SSL style compression / master section, VariMu comp, Tape modules, etc..

FWIW, MKIs can be had for peanuts these days - i got mine for $1200. I do wish I had the extra features of the MKII but at easily twice the price, I couldn't afford that leap yet.

What model is your 1073?

it can address two of your other desires - compression/glue and image enhancement.

yep gap 73 premier is no slouch. Although I own some way higher 73 clones Vintech BAE, AML etc the Gap premier DLX73 still sits on the desk next to the computer for the first easy to reach standalone pre.

The ssl fusion might just be down your alley if it seem to fit the bill. The idea is pretty nice with a “complete” mix bus channel strip so to speak.

But you might be going the wrong way into it though. You say “the mix is already balanced by the time i get to the mixbus”. The mix should be in balance before you add the first plugin to your project. The purpose of a mixbus is not to balance anything but more to package it and slightly work wider characteristics and dynamics. But more important, the mixbus defines your mix from the very beginning. So… if you have a mix you are happy with and then slam a mixbus processing on it, you will likely screw up your mix, and i suppose that is a little bit of what you are experiencing?

I’d find the character of mixbus chain that fits your idea and start to mix into that chain from the very beginning. This will make you mix in symbiosis to the mixbus and the result might be a more cohesive mix with actually less processing on the way there. 

A great way is to start building the chains with emulations of hardware to find the perfect combination and taste before investing in hardware.

Regarding wet/dry, I have never felt the need of that in my mixbus. The mixbus works very subtly as it is, and that mixknob would for me screw with the gluing purpose. 

Recently picked up the SPL Vitalizer Mk3-T it’s excellent. I also had an AudioScape Buss comp and paired them together but ultimately I felt VCA comp is more useful on drum bus / as a mix from scratch tool, i’m searching for other units that might pair well with vitalizer for “polishing”

I tried the SSL Fusion in person and it’s super subtle until you bypass all. I see it’s more of a finisher or something to pair when you got other bases covered. Tried the Neve MBP and it was just beautiful especially silk red.

I ultimately sold the buss comp because that’s not what I was looking for, although I may buy one again for drum bus use / production from scratch. Trying to “enhance” songs after they’re already roughly mixed with the buss comp wasn’t exactly working, I imagine all this stuff works better when you mix into it opposed to slapping it on as an afterthought.

To pair with the Vitalizer, should I look at saturation/ color units? e.g LTL SB, Karacter, SA2RATE OR look for another compressor? or do the remaining ITB?

Perhaps I should focus on my monitoring / converters instead? Currently using MOTU M4 / Kali LP6 monitors

The SPL Vitalizer Mk3-T is pretty much exactly what I was looking for, it has the ability to enhance / shape the entire spectrum, It’s basically an EQ but the way it works is pretty special and each knob compounds on the next, the low end sound on the soft side is huge and the tight bass is really handy when you need that pinpoint/tangible sound, it pretty much does what I wanted from the LTL SB with the low end in terms of eq, It’s not necessarily a saturation unit but it has the ability to saturate a mix. You can very easily over do it with Vitalizer, It’s extremely flexible/ versatile, imo works best in light touches.

it covers a lot of bases within one unit, I can get much closer to a finished sound with just this unit. I did pair it with the buss comp and I liked how the vitalizer sounds going INTO compression as opposed to after. When you bypass it’s extremely noticeable to me, it seems like elements have more of their own space. Mixing into it i’m sure would net great results. I’m working with a lot of 2-tracks and the LC-EQ / coil EQ is fantastic for clarity. The Vitalizer has amazing capabilities of unmasking/ masking, very useful for the low end, and the stereo widening is very pleasing better than what i’ve used in plugins.. they do an interesting thing with their stereo widener. This video by SPL is great

been eyeing a vitalizer mk3 for some months now but didnt buy yet. i almost got the feeling it polishes a bit too much and more towards a radio pop sound. is that your experience? i am more of a raw rock guy.

I just ran the Wiz RGO Happy All Alone (all faders up, no processing) mix through the Vitalizer MK3-T. The flat faders up mix and the MK3-T processed version are below as soundcloud links. The stats show they are normalized to LUFS and most other parameters are very similar (DR, etc).

I cooked it a bit here, but hopefully you can hear the way the bass is tightened, the upper mids are brought out and the mids are cleaned up. Tamed the snare a tad as well. There are so many different things one can do with the MK3-T, this is just one example. If it doesn't sound good it's not 'cause the unit isn't awesome. It is, I just haven't figured it all out yet. Hopefully this data point helps somewhat though.









https%3A//soundcloud.com/poppaflavor/wiz-rgo-flat-faders-up-mix


https%3A//soundcloud.com/poppaflavor/wiz-rgo-vitalizer-mk3-t-faders-up-mix

Interesting would you mind elaborating further on deprivation/ feasibility? I don’t think the MK3 changed much just stronger power supply / more headroom I believe

Black Box is ok. I used it on Access Analog and tried a broken one that a seller fraudulently claimed was "mint". The busted one still worked with the regular tube but the alt tube and air button were not responsive. It sounds small compared to the VSM-2 and I think the Hedd was more impressive inside Access Analog's Magic Garden chain. Those are way cheaper and easier to get than an HG-2. One of these days I plan to get a new Silver Bullet. Thing with hardware is that a lot of what we hear online is going to have truncation noise since barely anybody seems to dither and these converters can radically change the sound. There's a video on Youtube with a guy comparing his Portico II through an RME interface vs Access Analog's, which was probably going through an Aurora N at the time. Sometimes AA's moves stuff back and forth between the Antelope Galaxy and the Aurora N. The Portico II through AA's sounded much better. There's also these videos on Youtube of people running the same thing through different converters and each one has a very unique sound. Hardware vs Hardware can be as different or even more different than plugin vs hardware due to the converters.

I recently got the UAD Capitol Compressor and find it just as essential as any hardware due to the saturation button. Don't even really need to adjust it from the default settings usually. But I'm not someone who loves to crank these things. I've always gone back to what Bob posted once saying that engineers weren't trying to drive everything into the stratosphere back in the days when the classics were made. If someone sends you a mix that's got tons of saturation on it already, that limits your options when using something like Fusion. In those cases I gotta turn off Vintage Drive and probably the transformer too. Fusion is highly beneficial to use in general though. I've read through the discussion on GS where people who hadn't tried it were bringing up all this other stuff you could use in place of it, mainly 500 series gear, but there was at least one person saying that Fusion still sounded better.

Putting things across the mix can end up messing things up too if you hadn't mixed into it to begin with as said above. Still, there are mastering guys out there who pride themselves on running mixes through dozens of pieces of hardware at once. It's definitely an art form to figure out how best to use things across a mix without causing problems. Some pieces of equipment are better than others at adapting.