Anyone mixing on Harrison Mixbuss? I'd like to read some real world reviews.

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I've been looking around for a forum for Mixbuss but haven't found anything yet. I'm away from the studio for a while but will load some more raw tracks and play with them on the laptop. I've already bought it but would just like to read/hear more from people using it. I'd like to know a bit more about the technology too. Is it like analog to software algorithm-type emulation like ampisms? Or something else. So far it just seems like quality stuff to me. I think it was Wyeth who pointed out that moving into Ardour and Linux from Windows is not so much about making choices as about expanding possibilities and I like that perspective. I'm still determined to find the best way to strap IK's ARC (Advanced Room Correction) across the master. My oddball mixroom just sucks and ARC really (as skeptical as I was) helps my mixes to translate well to other environments. Maybe not the best mixes in the galaxy but at least I hear out here what I heard in there.  Sorry if I'm ramblin. Anyone using Mixbuss?   

[varpa]

I do use Mixbus a bit, though I have limited experience so I don't have a wide perspective on how to evaluate Mixbus other than to say it seems quite good.  Many other have expressed good opinions about it such as this site where you can find some nice tutorials on how to use Mixbus: http://mixcoach.com/mistermiller/

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Thanks for the links. I'm just going through the manual. Mixbuss seems to be pretty intuitive by design. They claim to have the sound of Harrison Consoles which I assume is probably true as it is offered by them. I'm just curious if the "Harrison Sound" is from emulation of the actual console (filters,comps,etc) via algorithms or if it is a layout and routing thing with some nice software eq's and comps added. 

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I was also wonderin if Mixbuss editor could be made to look like LinuxDSPArdour. Now THAT would be eye candy.

[GMaq]

Hi,

The hardware emulation in Mixbus is software algorithms using LADSPA with their own custom GUI design I believe. I have used it on a few different projects and I like it a lot mostly because of the GUI improvements and the extra flexibility of having the option to use their emulation OR plugins like linuxDSP and others for a wider range of processing options. I like having the phase alignment and high-pass filters right on the channel strips as well as the mastering tape saturation. That said I think Ardour/linuxDSP Ardour is equally capable of creating a great sounding project it simply may mean using a few more plugins per track. I recently did a bunch of live recording with Mixbus and will be posting the results in the 'I made this with AV Linux' forum, Mixbus was solid as a rock and even worked doing 10 tracks at once one evening I forgot to set my CPU to 'performance' without complaint.

[linuxdsp]

I was also wonderin if Mixbuss editor could be made to look like LinuxDSPArdour. Now THAT would be eye candy.

In theory there's nothing to stop Harrison doing something similar (the source code for the custom build is available, in accordance with the GPL) but it is not possible to add the editor GUI tweaks to ardour without re-compiling, which, in the case of Mixbus is not possible as the Harrison DSP is proprietary.

Is it like analog to software algorithm-type emulation like ampisms? Or something else

I believe the Harrison DSP is an algorithmic software emulation of their console processing, so I would imagine the EQ / Dynamics would behave in a similar way to the real hardware (obviously Harrison would be able to clarify this)

OR plugins like linuxDSP and others for a wider range of processing options

Mixbus is compatible with a whole range of plugins, the linuxDSP plugins are tested with Mixbus, so you have the option of either using the built in Harrison processing or other plugins (as the lead software developer for the linuxDSP plugins, and someone who was previously a software / hardware developer for SSL - I could say there might be some 'classic' console 'DNA' in the linuxDSP plugins too)

[BenLoftis]

I was also wonderin if Mixbuss editor could be made to look like LinuxDSPArdour. Now THAT would be eye candy.

In theory there's nothing to stop Harrison doing something similar (the source code for the custom build is available, in accordance with the GPL) but it is not possible to add the editor GUI tweaks to ardour without re-compiling, which, in the case of Mixbus is not possible as the Harrison DSP is proprietary.

Those waveform views look quite nice!  Is there a performance hit?  I'm checking it out for inclusion now!  (note: it _is_ possible to make editor GUI tweaks in Mixbus, but you have to have been granted commit access to apply them to the repository)

Is it like analog to software algorithm-type emulation like ampisms? Or something else

I believe the Harrison DSP is an algorithmic software emulation of their console processing, so I would imagine the EQ / Dynamics would behave in a similar way to the real hardware (obviously Harrison would be able to clarify this)

We didn't emulate any _particular_ EQ of ours, but the Mixbus eq's were created by the same team (some of which have been here nearly 40 years!) that made our analog designs as well as our current digital designs.  The idea was to keep it sweet and simple.  You can always add a plugin if you need to do serious sonic surgery.

Best Regards,
Ben Loftis
Harrison Consoles