Hybrid OTB/ITB Workflow
Hybrid OTB/ITB Workflow
Hey guys, just wanted to get some input on a workflow that consists of a mixing console and hardware, but keeping the arrangement process within Ableton (Automation, FX sends with VSTs, etc.). I'm seeing more and more people with mixing consoles and I want to understand how this workflow works when you're still doing most things ITB.
Re: Hybrid OTB/ITB Workflow
Hello,
It depends on what gear you got, and how you work now... As far as i am concerned I was all ITB, whith maybe one synth and a soundcard, and I acquired a MIDAS VENICE F24, forof its hybrid technology, between analog and Firewire, it allows me to swith from Ableton -> console TO Console -> Ableton very easily. so when i first got it, i was like excited and changed my workflow dramatically, which was not good : indeed i wanted to make EVERYTHING OTB with only one external reverb, few new synths and an mpc... but the point is to use what's in you computer and what's in your room, and take time... If you have like a lot of outboard FX, and enough synths to fill an entire song in the recording process, you can go OTB and use your daw just to keep the stems and mixdown, otherwise it is VERY VERY perfect to combine OTB and ITB. Make a jam that you are happy with it, via the console and it's EQ you try to get something coherent, then you collect the separate audio tracks in your DAW, and then you add some other melodies and elements while playbacking what you recorded previously, and so on ... this allows you to re-use same synths if you have only few etc... and also add VST tracks, Vst effects etc... rearrange it. And finally when you arrange everything and when you do you gain staging on your seperate tracks, you send all of it back to your console and mix it... and often hybrid consoles such as mine, offers to record the master output via Firewire, which is very handy. here you go you have a finished mixed track using ITB OTB...
hope it is easily understandable, because i wrote it on the fly without structure haha good luck hope other people will give you their vision so you can compare and juge what suits you the best;
Cheers
Ivan
It depends on what gear you got, and how you work now... As far as i am concerned I was all ITB, whith maybe one synth and a soundcard, and I acquired a MIDAS VENICE F24, forof its hybrid technology, between analog and Firewire, it allows me to swith from Ableton -> console TO Console -> Ableton very easily. so when i first got it, i was like excited and changed my workflow dramatically, which was not good : indeed i wanted to make EVERYTHING OTB with only one external reverb, few new synths and an mpc... but the point is to use what's in you computer and what's in your room, and take time... If you have like a lot of outboard FX, and enough synths to fill an entire song in the recording process, you can go OTB and use your daw just to keep the stems and mixdown, otherwise it is VERY VERY perfect to combine OTB and ITB. Make a jam that you are happy with it, via the console and it's EQ you try to get something coherent, then you collect the separate audio tracks in your DAW, and then you add some other melodies and elements while playbacking what you recorded previously, and so on ... this allows you to re-use same synths if you have only few etc... and also add VST tracks, Vst effects etc... rearrange it. And finally when you arrange everything and when you do you gain staging on your seperate tracks, you send all of it back to your console and mix it... and often hybrid consoles such as mine, offers to record the master output via Firewire, which is very handy. here you go you have a finished mixed track using ITB OTB...
hope it is easily understandable, because i wrote it on the fly without structure haha good luck hope other people will give you their vision so you can compare and juge what suits you the best;Cheers
Ivan
Re: Hybrid OTB/ITB Workflow
I just record bits and chuck 'em into a session. Sometimes I record drums and bass together but usually just individual instruments.
Re: Hybrid OTB/ITB Workflow
Baaasssically I've got some bits of hardware and a mixing desk and couple of hardware FX and I like to jam things out in hardware (although might also have a couple of software sounds going from Ableton), and I may or may not record a rough jam of the whole track... but when it comes to actually getting the track down I'll record each sound in individually to either a looped clip or a full length track. So then I can do further processing, automation etc. to each sound (compared to my pretty limited desk and hardware) and do all my arrangement and mix ITB. If there's say a hardware synth where I'm changing the filter, I'll either just record that in live or send midi CC to it and record back in realtime, and I'll probably end up rerecording sounds a few times through the process e.g. when I get to the mix and realise the envelope on one of my percussion sounds should be shorter...
(Hope that makes sense, not feeling too articulate right now)
It's actually a pertinent question as I've come to this workflow after trying a lot of different things and come to realise that I enjoy using hardware for creating a lot of sounds and basic sequences but then I like software multitracking, fx and so on, so I'm not in a hurry to go full OTB or at least can't really afford to do so in a way that would give me anything close to the power of software.
I feel like a less labour-intensive process than my current one (having to record in each sound through the desk individually) would be nice so I'm concluding that one of these firewire/USB mixers would be perfect for the way I work - either that or just lots of analogue inputs on my soundcard (possibly making use of ADAT lightpipe). That way I could do more of my arrangement, applying various software fx/plugins to individual sounds, etc while still messing around with the hardware. £££ though...
(Hope that makes sense, not feeling too articulate right now)
It's actually a pertinent question as I've come to this workflow after trying a lot of different things and come to realise that I enjoy using hardware for creating a lot of sounds and basic sequences but then I like software multitracking, fx and so on, so I'm not in a hurry to go full OTB or at least can't really afford to do so in a way that would give me anything close to the power of software.
I feel like a less labour-intensive process than my current one (having to record in each sound through the desk individually) would be nice so I'm concluding that one of these firewire/USB mixers would be perfect for the way I work - either that or just lots of analogue inputs on my soundcard (possibly making use of ADAT lightpipe). That way I could do more of my arrangement, applying various software fx/plugins to individual sounds, etc while still messing around with the hardware. £££ though...