Another way to consider mixing that I like to use.
This of course assumes that you might want to put all your stuff in individual hard disk tracks and mix them in a hard disk environment like nuendo or your sequencer or whatever.
What I like to do is just set everything to the center and add a little bit of temporary reverb to compose. I send each section to its own pair in the GigaStudio DSP station. (each instrument\section to its own pair, ensemble and solo. That way I can have the same instruments together and mix them together. My own philosophy anyway)
So, everything is going dry to its own various pairs of channels in various DSP station pairs, accross several computers. (as many as you can get to compose in real time)
When a song is done, I can then record each stem to its own pair of audio tracks. You can capture to wave or digitally record them or even an analog recording if needed.
When I'm done, I have for example, one pair of of hard disk tracks for solo & ensemble trumpets, one for solo & ensemble horns, one for each section of the strings-solo & ensemble and so on. This includes all articulations of those instruments, so for violins, that would include all the sustain, legato, staccato,repetition, anything from any other violin library, all going to the same channels. As I compose, I make sure their relative levels are taken care of with MIDI volume or expression. So, while composing, you can do some basic level adjustments and they will be hardwired into your sequencer tracks and convienient to access real quick. Your not worrying about any reverb or pan settings so you can keep the composing flow going.
It comes out to
5 pairs of tracks for strings
4-5 pairs for brass
4-5 pairs for winds
2 or 3 or so for percussion.
In the end I have less than 40 tracks (20 stereo pairs) to work with.
They are all panned dead center at this point. Then I can mix them real simply without having to go crazing from sampler screen to sampler screen and tweak that way.
Giga Studio does give you much of what you need to do the mixing and it is there if you don't have the other options but it is not the easiest way to mix.
My templates are the GSP performances for the Giga machines and a sequencing template that pans everything to the center. It works just fine for composing and you can have a MIDI template do some panning for you in your sequencer if you need to hear the instruments placed in the right place.
This is becoming less relevant with the current libraries like VSL an QLSO that are all done in a single environment but it still works and is much simpler than when I had to match several various libraries with various panning settings. With this method, my MIDI templates could make sure that everything is panned dead center. That way, I only had to do mixing at the hard disk stage with 15 or 20 pairs of channels to mix. Its really cool.
At that point you can then apply whatever eq or reverb or impulse technology you wish and pan them.
If you have a big enough mixer and multi outs for all your systems of course you can do this all live.
The disadvantage is that you have to make sure you have a good level mix of your individual articulations of course or you will have to remix a stem or two. Keep in mind though, that is all level adjustments that are being made in MIDI. You can get a good level mix before you capture these stems pretty well.
Something to think about anyway.
Dave
