Analog Summing -What is it?

[Trill The Beatmaker]

What is analog summing and why would I need it?
WeissSound
Moses
HimBeats
DeRanged
Fatalone
This isnt everyone of course. lol Just a few I hope can answer this question. Great blog by this gentleman and I'm kind of confused again on what this application is for. Analog Inheritance

[bandcoach]

Analogue summing is just that, summing mix done in the real world using real electrical analogues of the signal source.

This means that there are no digital arithmetic errors or rounding errors or other digital artefacts in the signal.

Essentially it is achieved by taking the signals, converting them to real-time electrical waveforms, running each channel into a resistor network that is connected to the single input back to the deck/computer. The resistor network "mixes" the signal so that all channel signals are at combined at the same level

[fataltone]

Dangerous boxes

I was very interested in getting one of these boxes but after some research and reading alot about it on gearslutz I don't see it adding that much sparkle to my mixdown/2-track.

I wanted the D-Box because of the great d/a converter,monitoring system,and summing because all the hype about it for those looking for "warmth" factor in a home studio mixing setup

I'm more focused on getting my environment acoustic tamed
I would write more on this topic but I'm typing with one finger because my son won't let me put him down

Gearslutz.com - Search Results


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[CoMpLeXx]

analogue summing is a bit of a myth, people think it is different to normal analogue mixing it isnt. it literally just meaning to sum all analogue channels into one signal path AKA the master bus.

But what the guys over at gearslutz where having an argument about how all the individual signals get summed into a master bus. and how it can sound different. this is where they get into electronic circuits and maths way beyond me to a point.

[Trill The Beatmaker]

So summing in a sense has more to do with the bits being truncated in a digital domain? So each track is sent out into a summing mixer and then sent back into the board or DAW with that "sound"? Correct?

I read the posts on GS and after awhile it got blurry and I never got my answer. Some say it matters, other say it doesn't. The dangerous box looks awesome but not what I need at the moment. Im just curious as does this matter these days? Does it really give a certain characteristic to the vocals or instruments?

[CPhoenix]

I asked sorta the same question a few months back. The advise I got was that w/ the price of these boxes... it's not really worth it. Not enough benefit, if there's any real benefit at all.


I'm too lazy to do a search on it... but it wasn't too long ago.

[moses]

Analog Summing... Benefits?

[Trill The Beatmaker]

Thanks @moses That helped a lot. So basically it isn't really needed.

[CPhoenix]

^Nice alley-oop lol.

This thread and re-reading the one above is inspiring me to make my own analog summing box!!! All I need is copper... transistor... and a BOX!! Nice.

[David Dietz]

If I can just add my 2 cents worth here. My buddy Terry makes analog summing mixers. They started as a DYI project.
Here is a statement he made on his website:

With modern DAW software, mixing within the computer has resulted in some great sounding recordings, but I have long been intrigued by the concept of analog summing. I was not prepared to pay $800.00 or more to test that theory, so I engineered and built my own. Then to test the theory, I set out to see if there was any difference in the mixed sound. Much to my amazement and pleasure, I did notice a subtle but very pleasing difference in the stereo separation and placement of the instruments compared to my In the Box mixes."

Q: Is analog summing going to make your recordings sound like a Nashville studio with a billion dollars worth of equipment?

A:

Probably not, but you will notice a difference in your mixes using a summing mixer.