Why use an analog summing?

Simply because you want to sound like pro.

Good sound sells and make best first impression of your music. Also no digital harshness, distortion and squashed sound like with DAW ITB mixing entirely inside the computer. The VintageMaker discrete summing mixer design is a unique developed dual stereo summing network optimized to provide sufficient headroom to accommodate the signals from a large number of channels, as well as to maintain a sufficiently low noise floor. ANALOG MIXER FACTS: 1. Your mix will NEVER collapse. 2. Instruments are well-separated, creating a wide and deep 3D sound. 3. If you increase your DAW output level, you’ll get a pleasing distortion by pushing the SUMMING INPUTS = WARM HARMONICS

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Summing mixers advantages in the mixing and recording process:

• Improved Sound Quality: Analog summing mixers can add warmth, depth, and harmonic richness to the mix due to the unique coloration introduced by analog components.
• Enhanced Headroom: Analog summing can provide more headroom for the mix, reducing the risk of clipping and distortion.
• Sonic Character: Many audio engineers prefer the sonic character and three-dimensional quality achieved through analog summing.
• Better Separation: Summing separately can help maintain separation and clarity between tracks, especially in complex mixes.
• Greater Control: Summing mixers often come with useful features for fine-tuning the mix and stereo image, providing greater control.
• Workflow Preferences: For some, the tactile experience of working with hardware summing mixers is more intuitive and inspiring.

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4 – 8 – 16 channel session examples – Connect and Setup your DAW Interface Routing for  Summing Mixer read more…

What exactly does a summing mixer box?

Beside of combining signals, It provides Headroom and buffer “safe” zone for harmonics, transients or loud sounds without risking clipping, which result a more dynamic open and wide, depth 3D sound, just like the good old analog days.

Summing Mixer Headroom: What does analog summing mixer headroom? read more…

The more output from DAW interface – the more and bigger analog resolution, 3D depth, separation on summing side.

Mixing ITB (in the box) vs OTB (out of the box)

While a digital system (ITB: mixing entirely inside the computer /OTB mixing entirely outside the computer)  rounds off some values for level, pan, eq-ing and compression, the analog summing technique operates with an infinitely high resolution, causing no rounding errors or digital distortions.

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What is hybrid mixing?

A hybrid system allows you to get the precision of the digital domain with the use of automation, clip gain, plug-ins and editing functions beside of absolute repeatability of mix project from DAW, while also adding the analog warmth on the analog summing side. Mix in the analog domain offers a number of great advantages compared to the simple “DAW bounce-function”. When mixing on a computer, many prefer to sum the tracks in the analog domain, which can result in more depth of field and a wider, more defined stereo image. I hear phrases like “more depth and separation,” or “more rounded/warm low end”, bass is round and fat, middles are intensive but pleasant, trebles are nice and silky.

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Analog summing mixer advantages ?

• In the analog world, there are no 0s and 1s, only voltages.
• These complex sinusoidal voltages include harmonics and other elements.
• Analog summings are producing 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. harmonics as well as saturation/rounding peaks which makes sound so called warmer, fatter, richer.
• It provides headroom buffer zone for harmonics, transients or loud sounds without risking clipping, which result a more dynamic open and wide, depth 3D sound.
• Basically, instead of having your tracks merged digitally into a stereo mix in your DAW, you run each track individually out to the analog summing mixer and do it all there, then bring it back into your DAW record the master stereo.
• Analogue summing boxes have their uses beyond simply combining (sum) signals.
• Features like Mono option per channel for mono instruments like kick bass and master‑bus insert send return points, for example, can be extremely useful, as they provide an easy way to incorporate outboard hardware (EQs, compressors and the like) into your rig.

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32 In / 10 Out – MultiBus MixBus Matrix – “Brauerize” on Neumann Summing Mixer

“Brauerizing” is the name given to a mixing mentality honed by Grammy award winning mixing engineer Michael Brauer. Feeding audio into compressors and equalizers in order to impart harmonic content to the input signal, as well as utilizing subtle group compression to “glue” audio together through an audio phenomena known as “counter pumping”.

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Summing Mixer Customer review on gearslutz:

Just in case If you are looking for something unique like a custom summing mixer designed for your needs, check  – VintageMaker. You can read plenty of positive feedbacks – reviews (gearslutz, ask audio, audiofanzine and so on since 2010) about his custom built gears. You can get an many channels connectors like D-Sub DB25 Tascam, XLR or TRS balanced and options you want. You could get one larger or more featured. But here is the cool part.  He builds each unit to custom order, you can layout the panel as you like, and get whatever options and channel counts you want.