mikehalloran wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:12 pm
I’ve not touched my analog patch bay nor effects rack in 20 years other than to tell my wife, “No, you do Not get to throw it away!” I don’t know if this is the year it returns from exile in my garage…
Whatchya got?
Seems to me that some of it is worthwhile to incorporate, like analog compressors, especially gear that runs through tubes or transformers. It's sort of like a saturation plug-in but more organic/better/real.
On the other hand, it doesn't seem like there's any reason to patch in anything digital like digital reverbs, digital delays, etc. Although even some of those units have circuitry that boosts the input signal to the converters which imparts a certain coloration. I think in the manual for PSP's new PCM42 delay emulation plugin (I used to own a REAL one... dumbest thing I ever did to sell it, but I was young and I recall I need the money for car repairs) they mention that there was some coloration there.
I have a "boneyard" of stuff out in my garage and I was just looking at it today wondering if any of it would be useful. Mostly it wouldn't be. Delays, reverbs, modulation (unless you're talking old school analog units... bucket brigade delays.) probably are best left to plugins. In addition to the WA-2A and soon 76F, I have very old FMR Audio RNC (Really Nice Compressor) I've owned since the early 90s. I'm curious to test how that sounds. It hasn't been powered up in decades. Also have a Behringer Ultrafex II which is some sort of exciter circuit. Curious about that too, but in all likelihood, I suspect there's no point in trying.
Honestly, the thing that has me tied up in knots is wondering whether I really want to go through with buying a used Slate Raven MTi2 this Thursday or bow out. But that's off topic here.