Finally, I get to write a post about music. Not exactly music though, more audio production, but that’s musical enough.
In the last few years almost every classic analog console or channel strip has become available as at least one software plugin, most of them from renowned software manufacturers. And because everyone believes they are good enough, Digidesign proudly set up a listening contest to check if you can distinguish between an original mix on a SSL4000 and Waves’ plugin which models the very same.
Here I am, sitting in my office with 10+ busy colleagues, my Beyer DT770 headphones connected to the regular output of my Dell notebook. Just to make clear that this is not a high end listening environment.
And still I am able to distinguish between both mixes! Not 100%, but 2 out of 3. Also worth mentioning, I didn’t do any mixing in the last months. So how could I figure? The problem that audio software still has is delivering a proper stereo image. A software mix just doesn’t sound as balanced as an analog mix. On a digital mix the center seems to drop about 1 or 2 dB, and also the depth seems to shrink a little, making the sound slightly cramped.
Still good to know that there’s room for improvement for the software guys, and some relief for the analog gear manufacturers that their products are not as easy to be replaced. Not yet.