External summing?

So as i build my setup....

Im getting a motu traveller. My xmas present to myself.

I have a line mixer of decent quality. Would it be worth it to start working towards external summing? I keep on reading about it,but hardware compressors are darn spendy.

And I would need 4 of them to cover my standard busses...

Would it be better and buy some nice plugins and stay in the box?

yes I know its a bit of a incomplete question.

Just curious of what you think about this.

I work in a studio where one arranger guy is composing songs in Nuendo or Cubase and after he's done with mixing he sends stems to a SSL's analog hardware. Sometimes it is X-Rack and sometimes just some other SSL's summing device. Here is a video on that subject.

http://www.gearwire.com/media/ssl-x-rack-summing-features.mov

At this stage I believe you're better off by spending your money elsewhere. I mean no disrespect by this.

Perhaps you could treat your studio space with some nice acoustical panels (not foam), bass traps, an acoustical ceiling, etc. Much more important for your final sound than almost any piece of gear you'll ever buy.

An external summing mixer can change the sound slightly for the better (or worse in some cases) but it's highly subjective and it'll make your workflow slower in all circumstances.

If you do decide to get one I recommend the Tube-Tech SSA 2B. If you expect massive changes to your sound you'll be disappointed though. Most of the raving comments you read about external summing are caused by ignorance, due to hype or plain old B.S. Even on the Tube-Tech website.

There's nothing wrong with in-the-box summing.

External (analog) summing sounds different because the analog hardware imparts a certain audio footprint on the stems or individual tracks. The actual summing is a negligible part of the equation. The analog footprint usually consists of some minor phase changes, some frequency changes, some natural compression and transient slewing (especially with tubes), some added noise and some distortion.

Most of this can be achieved by other means while mixing in the computer and in a more controllable manner.

I use hardware EQs and compressors for their particular functions or inherent sound but I don't find the potential benefits of external summing outweigh the impractical nature of the process.

"I use hardware EQs and compressors for their particular functions or inherent sound but I don't find the potential benefits of external summing outweigh the impractical nature of the process."

this is just the kind of info I need. Thank you.

I agree that monitor setup and listening is more important then just about all other aspects of production. There just comes a time when bass traps dont look so sexy anymore.