mungo, I respectfully disagree in a few areas.
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Your subgroups and aux sends/returns occur with no latency.
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There is latency be it small just in the send return path. But if you are running the sends into a processor then there will be a delay there in the AD's and DA's as well this is where most of the delay will come in. In a digital desk many of the processors are onboard and will have a much lower latency.
Actually, there isn't latency inherent in the send/return of an analog desk. You are correct, though, when you say that there will be delay (latency) inherent in outboard digital signal processing.
The techniques I often use (and to which I was referring) are analog processes (namely, EQ, compression, and distortion, all in the analog realm)
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None of these techniques could be used in a digital mixing console
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Not true, most of that can be done onboard a digital console and this will have "zero" latency, even if you have to bounce out to analog there would be less than 1ms of latency in the entire loop.
I don't think that these processes can be done within a digital desk without latency. At least, they haven't been able to be on any digital desk I've ever used. (Generally, Yamaha digital mixers). Now, if you were to, say,
replace the vocal with a distorted version, the latency would be so small as to be unnoticeable. But when you try to
blend the two signals, it's very noticeable as comb-filtering. It's even more noticeable on the aux-send-drum-buss-squish-return trick. Very noticeable comb filtering.
I really
wish that this could happen, but it just ain't so. This is possible within a DAW like Nuendo (which can shift only, say, the send earlier in time, so as to avoid latency) but it's impossible on a digital desk. One way I've gotten around it before is by bouncing the super-squish signal to a new track, then advancing that track in time (well, actually, delaying every other track by milliseconds).
Believe me, I've tried every workaround I could possibly think of. Digital boards are extremely convenient in their automation options, and can be extremely precise and transparent in their EQs, but there are some things a desk alone just categorically cannot do. Passing signals through D/A then A/D without latency is one of those things.
Just try it. You'll hear.
Sorry to hijack your thread, THM.
-Hoax