Anyone using the x desk ?

alan kelly

Hey guys...

Wondering if anyone has used or is using the ssl x desk ?

My final mix needs a little sparkle and wondering if this might be an option..

Niall - Dahlia

Hi Alan,

I bought one In January, sold it 6 months later. Wasn't for me.

You really need to already own some nice outboard EQ and comps to get proper use out of it, can't stress that enough. If you do have some nice outboard, the X-Desk is probably a great central brain for your studio. I didn't. Didn't think the purchase through.

Sorry not clued up on the gear you have yourself. But if you're looking to use it purely as a summing mixer for "sparkle" I'd say there are better options out there for the same price and cheaper. I went for an A&H ZED-R16 instead, which gives me analogue summing and 16 channels of EQ, which I found improved my mixing much more than passing it through the X-Desk. Not to mention the pres, MIDI control and monitor section.

I did AB the X-Desk with an ITB mix, and yes I preferred the X-Desk, it gave it something that I'm not going to use cliched words to describe, but then I was going through the desk while mixing, was not exactly a scientific comparison. I would have mixed it slightly different had I not been going through the desk.

I will say though, that I love the workflow of reducing your session down to fit onto a 16 channel desk, which I continue to do with the ZED.

Also found it very, very hard to sell it on. Maybe that says something? Had to eventually ship it to Taiwan...

alan kelly

Alright man... Cheers for the response.

Not exactly a glowing report and with nothing from anyone else is not exactly giving huge confidence... A bit surprising since SSL are usually top of the game...

Its a hard one to judge...

fitz

alan kelly wrote: »

Alright man... Cheers for the response.

Not exactly a glowing report and with nothing from anyone else is not exactly giving huge confidence... A bit surprising since SSL are usually top of the game...

Its a hard one to judge...

It's just a summing mixer with faders.
The new RND Portico Master Buss Processor looks the job. Super pricey though...

peter05

The RND is prob your best bang for buck, It's veiwed more as a compressor with image adjustments though. Might not be what you want.

http://rupertneve.com/products/satellite-5059/

There is lots of summing mixers out there alot to be found in Europe from designers. There are plenty to suit any budget

Thermionic Culture are near the best in the game, but you need the budget to suit.

http://vintageking.com/Thermionic-Culture-Fat-Bustard

Or you could just send it out to be mastered on high end gear;)

alan kelly

Cheers guys..... Thermionic Culture is way out of the price league..;)

Have heard good things about the dangerous D box but i prefer the x desk set up with the selection of inserts and other extras that a standard summing box does not have...

peter05

Do you just want to sum 2 tracks or all tracks separate?

alan kelly

I have a desk but would like to sum at least 8 tracks... With maybe a few extra bells or whistles...

trackmixstudio

I will second Niall on the Zed-r16.
I have mine nearly a year and it has brought my mixes up several notches.
The mic pres are good, the EQ is far better than any plugin I have used and the routing and master section are great.
The onboard converters are clear and full too.
Really great value when you think of what it has and think what it would cost to buy 16 pres, 16 channels od AD and DA and 16 analogue EQs, 16 channel analogue summing etc.

madtheory

Personally I think "analogue summing" is a waste of money. It's just distortion, I find that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. How many different flavours does one need? I guess if it's always phat american rawk you're doing, you'd get more mileage out of it. Plus you have to be mixing with it always on, so it's very difficult to be sure if you've made the mix "better" than it would've been if you mixed without it.

I've found it doesn't make the decision making process any easier either. The only thing that really does that for you is superb monitoring.

If you've an iLok 2, check out the Slate VCC demo. It does a great job, and it's a lot cheaper and more flexible than hardware, in that you have more than one "style" of distortion available.

studiorat

What sort of bread are we talking about for the er. ZED?

Bluebirdstudios

Hi Alan,

You may want to have a look at the - ams neve 8816 . To give you a quick low down, it has a creamy character to it that can be driven hard to give an edge to the sound. I know that this is just those words again but the point I'm making is that it has personality. Maybe something that 's not for you but might be worth seeing if you can check it out on loan or trial.

Analogue summing can do wonderful things to a daw based mixed, I think
people may be guilty of expecting too much from them and when used subtly can deliver rewarding results. The cost - only you can decide if its worth it.

Sadly I'd check with other users re RND- I have 6 of those portico's units, everyone of them has been to the doctors and back again. First there was a power supply problem then a switching issue. In fairness I bought these units 4 years ago so lets hope this problems have been resolved. But 6 out of 6 is bad.

To finish on the x desk - The ssl sound is renowed for its excellent headroom and open clear sound. So if you like things to sound open and 3d with sweet non brittle top end, maybe the X desk is also worth a look.
Dec.