| Focusrite
Liquid Mix
a hands on review by Producer/Engineer Alan Steward |
 |
When
I
first heard about the Liquid Mix from Focusrite, I was immediately
intrigued. Just about any EQ, Compressor and Mixer I've ever worked
with in one easy package and at a unbelievable price? It sounded simply
too good to be true.
I
had
started reading the reviews and I was torn. There was the issue of
latency due to the Firewire interface and some reviewers complained
about not seeing the actual front panel layout of the vintage modules
on their computer screens.
Regardless,
I just had to have the Liquid Mix and after pondering it for a while, I
ordered a Liquid Mix 16 unit from a online retailer.
The
Liquid
Mix arrived in my studio and I must say, there were nothing but
pleasant surprises, one after one. Right off the bat, after plugging in
the unit and installing the software, things simply worked as they
should right from the start. No glitches, no tweaking needed, just plug
and go. The plugins showed up in Cubase 4 and I started piling up
plugin instances in my mix just to see when the system would 'overload'
and start giving problems. Well, it didn't. If you need 16 compressors
and EQs on your mix, they will be there, working perfectly with
virtually no load on your CPU.
The
latency was also not an issue at all, Cubase 4 compensated for any
latency perfectly and you really never even are aware of any latency.
Actually, some of my software VST plugins had much higher latencies
than the LIquid Mix.
Some
magazine reviewers found the lack of an 'authentic' visual interface
that looks like the actual unit used an issue but I am actually very
glad that Focusrite didn't go that route. The display for the EQs for
instance is simply wonderful. It shows you how the sound is actually
shaped, how the controls interact with the material processed. Just try
to get that kind of visual info from a vintage Pultec unit. You can
actually see how the sound is shaped. So, to me, this is a major plus.
If a particular EQ pulls up frequencies around 10k when you tune with
the 5k controls, you can actually see that on the screen instead of
having to 'guess it' from listening to the sound. That display is a
true lifesaver.
 Vintage Pultec EQ Front Panel View |
 Liquid Mix Screen Shot |
So,
the biggest 'concerns' that magazine reviewers had with the Liquid Mix,
both turned out to be a non-issue. So, is there any negative? The only
thing that I can see is that there are simply too many choices and when
you first turn this unit on, you can get somewhat overwhelmed. So, I
spent three days playing around with the different choices and I came
up with an idea to make 'getting started' with the LIquid Mix a lot
easier. The Liquid Mix unit can save 'snapshots' to your computer's
disc that you can instantly recall so when you find a perfect setting
for a mix or a particular use, you can save those settings to disc.
I
sat down
and designed a set of five basic snapshots that helped me to have the
starting points for working on a particular project. One of the
snapshots for instance combines the Joe Meek Compressor with a Chandler
EQ unit straight out of Abbey Road Studios for a true 60s British
Flavor. Another snapshot combines the classic 1176LN
Leveller/Compressor with the highly sought after Pultec EQ for a true
vintage US flavor. A couple of other combos provide me with anything
from a super colored fat flavor, to the super clean modern US sound
that you hear on today's pop and country records.
You
can find these starter snapshots at http://www.focusrite.com/support/liquid_assets/liquid_mix_snapshots/
Just
look for the snapshots posted by Alan Steward
These
basic presets helped me a lot in organizing the overwhelming amount of
60 EQ and Compressor emulations that are built into the Liquid Mix by
organizing into 5 different flavors.
Now,
how
does the Liquid Mix sound? I can't vouch for how authentic all of the
vintage and modern units sound compared to the originals without doing
an A/B comparison but in short, all 60 emulations are useful and all of
them sound as clean and clear as you expect from units that, let's face
it, are out of reach for most average studio owners and musicians.
I
have
found every single one of the 60 choices useful and all of them have
just excellent sonic quality. It's not that hard to distinguish a not
so well designed EQ from a top notch one, just crank the boost controls
way up and if it still sounds good and musical, that's the sign of a
good and useful EQ.
When
I
first got the unit, I loaded the Liquid Mix into a vocal channel that
contained a rather badly recorded vocal track done with a dynamic mike
that I was never quite able to get to sound right. I can't say I
encountered even a single emulation that did not make that track sound
better but than there were two or three, that gave that track just the
right combination of warmth and presence that made it sound like it was
recorded on a vintage tube mike.
So,
to me,
it really doesn't matter whether the API 559 EQ emulation sounds so
much like the original that nobody could tell the difference. What
matters to me is that I have vintage sounds and amazing control at my
fingertips without ever having to worry about your system choking up.
The screen layout is excellent and you actually get better control and
feedback than you would ever get from the original units.
The
other
wonderful thing about the Liquid Mix that I got hooked on immediately
is the control surface and the real time controls and meters that every
Liquid Mix unit sports. Being able to actually touch the boost/cut or
frequency controls on the Liquid Mix makes you never touch the mouse
again. The oversized LED meters give great feedback on what's happening
'inside' the unit and you can see if any of the stages is overloading
or how much compression is applied to your mix.
The
Liquid
Mix is quickly becoming an absolutely indispensable item in my studio
and I am still kicking myself for not buying one as soon as it came on
the market. I work with many different artists ranging from Jazz and
Reggae to Pop and Dance and the Liquid Mix can get you 'the sound' that
you're after whether you load it into a vocal channel, a drum sub mix
or add it to an acoustic guitar. Whatever processing a particular track
needs, you can be sure 'it's in there'. One of the many combinations of
EQs and Compressor will give you exactly the sound you are looking for.
The
Liquid
Mix does exactly what it promises (and then some) and at the price of
less than even one of the units it emulates, it is a true bargain.
Standout
Features:
Realistic
vintage sounds - Great Sonic Quality
Extremely
easy to use
Powered
Plugin design conserves computer horsepower
Great
visual display and well-designed controls
Actually
beats the original units in many cases in ease of use and available
features
Alan
Steward
www.alansteward.com
E-mail alan@alansteward.com
Alan
Steward has been a producer, remixer and recording artist for over 25
years and is considered by many the 'originator' of house music. He
worked with many Grammy winning artists from the Temptations to the
Baha Men.