Summing? What is it and why does ProTools always refer to it

[coFane]

I'm assuming summing is simply *suming* or *combining* all the tracks in a project into one stereo track. My question is: what's there to talk about with it? Pro Tools seems to always talk about summing but I've never read anything from Apple about summing in Logic.

 

I'm not saying summing isn't a hugely important audio concept, I'm sure it is. I'm just saying that I really have no idea what it is?

 

I hope someone can help. Thanks!

[triplets]

Summing is like a "mixdown" to a lower number of tracks, usually a stereo track.

Typically it's done to simplify mixing once the sound of an instrument or band section has been established.

Summing can be done in the box (digitally) or externally (analogue) with summing hardware. You can spend a lot of money on that hardware to make it LOUDER. Dangerous Audio comes to mind for that.

Is this what you mean?

[coFane]

Summing is like a "mixdown" to a lower number of tracks, usually a stereo track.

Typically it's done to simplify mixing once the sound of an instrument or band section has been established.

Summing can be done in the box (digitally) or externally (analogue) with summing hardware. You can spend a lot of money on that hardware to make it LOUDER. Dangerous Audio comes to mind for that.

Is this what you mean?

 

Yes, I think so. I'm just curious as to why Pro Tools folk seem to always make reference to summing. Does Avid promote the idea that Pro Tools has a superior summing engine to Logic? If so, in what way?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Kent Sandvik]

Summing is like a "mixdown" to a lower number of tracks, usually a stereo track.

Typically it's done to simplify mixing once the sound of an instrument or band section has been established.

Summing can be done in the box (digitally) or externally (analogue) with summing hardware. You can spend a lot of money on that hardware to make it LOUDER. Dangerous Audio comes to mind for that.

Is this what you mean?

 

Yes, I think so. I'm just curious as to why Pro Tools folk seem to always make reference to summing. Does Avid promote the idea that Pro Tools has a superior summing engine to Logic? If so, in what way?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

You should ask them, for me hinting about one engine doing better summing is irrelevant, so many factors. Unless you are an alien with a dynamic hearing range of micro-decibels, of course. Sounds like snake oil selling, but ask them.

[ski]

 

Summing is a technique that's applicable to any DAW, not just ProTools. It's got nothing to do with superiority of any one DAW's mix engine. And think about it for a second... if PT's mix engine was so superior to any other DAW then why would anyone want to take signal out of the box and run it through a summing device? Conclusion: one thing has nothing to do with another.

 

I think you're referring to 'analog summing'. This can be done any number of ways, including routing groups of outputs from PT (or whatever) and running them into a device (summing mixer or mixing board) which combines multiple outputs from from the DAW in the analog domain. This is done to achieve a certain sound that's not possible to get by mixing everything down to stereo right within the DAW. The resulting stereo mix from that device is then printed.

 

If you want to understand more about what analog summing is and what the devices do, go to the Dangerous website and read up on their summing mixers. Or read interviews with engineers who use them.

 

In short, an engineer will use analog summing when they want to achieve a specific sound, just like they'd use a certain EQ or compressor when they want to get a certain sound on a track.

[David Nahmani]

Summing is the electric or digital technique used for mixing audio signals. The same technique can be used to perform summing operations (as in 1+1=2). But for audio purposes, you can pretty much consider "summing" to be a word interchangeable with "mixing".

[coFane]

oh okay. It all makes sense now. It's nice that most technical audio concepts like these are all being taken care of behind the scenes in almost any major DAW. And the result is usually extremely good in terms of capturing and summing signals. For my needs, I guess analog summing isn't too huge of a consideration for me.

 

 

Thanks everybody!