| Content | If you're seeking to take your projects to a level on par with world-class analog consoles, the AMS Neve 8816 will lead you to new sonic frontiers and beyond. The 8816's handbuilt, handwired 16-channel mixer employs the same transformer-balanced mix bus circuitry as a '70s-era Neve 80-series console, infusing every signal that flows through it with increased headroom, punch, and dimensionality. The 8816 does more than mere analog summing, however. This feature-laden box also includes cue mixing, metering, per-channel solo/mute, and talkback functionality. Its capable monitoring section includes a volume knob, an auxiliary input, dual headphone outputs, and alternate speaker outputs. Beyond that, the 8816 includes a main stereo insert send/return for strapping a compressor, EQ, or other processing across your entire mix, while its unique Width knob gives you a level of control over your mix’s stereo field that’s generally reserved for top-level mastering facilities. Craving tactile, hands-on control over your mix? Add an 8804 Fader Pack (sold separately). The 8816 also includes a USB port for saving and recalling settings to and from your computer, plus a digital I/O option, which provides you with A/D conversion (option card sold separately).
Inject your projects with the unmistakable Neve sound
Vintage Neve 80-series consoles are simply legendary. Watch Dave Grohl’s Sound City documentary for definitive proof, or listen to any of the countless chart-topping recordings that were made with one. Elton John, Steely Dan, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, George Clinton, Chick Corea, Grateful Dead, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Pat Benatar, Santana, Ratt, Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Slayer, Kings of Leon, Slipknot, Elvis Costello, Everclear, Mastodon, and many other artists were recorded or mixed on a Neve 80-series console. The AMS Neve 8816 contains genuine 80-series topology, boasting two custom Neve Marinair specification transformers on its stereo mix bus. Whether you use it for tracking and overdubbing, submixing and summing, or mastering, the 8816 will infuse your projects with the authoritative sound of a classic Neve console. All the sonic hallmarks are present: the heft, the muscle, the three-dimensional non-linearities — enabling you to add color and vibrancy to every project.
16 feature-packed channels of classic Neve character
The AMS Neve 8816 is centered around a feature-rich 16-channel analog mixer. Each channel boasts a line-level input with a rotary Level control, a rotary Pan control, a Cue button, and a Cut/Solo button. The Level knob, which accommodates both +4dBu and -10dBV sources, ranges from ∞dB to +15dB with 0dB set at approximately 12 o’clock. The Pan knob offers smooth, progressive operation with -3dB center attenuation. The Cue button sends the channel’s input, pre-fader, and pre-pan to the 8816’s cue mix. Channels 1–14 are individually switchable to the cue mix, while Channels 15–16 are stereo linked. At Sweetwater, we’ve found channels 15–16 incredibly useful for playback of a rough 2-track artist mix while overdubbing. The Cut/Solo button enables you to mute or solo a track. Since the 8816’s solo system is latching, you can also build solo groups, then use the master Cut/Solo button to audition or mute a group — a must-have feature when comping or sorting out EQ or balance problems.
A full-blown Neve console in a 2U rackmount format
The sheer number of the 8816's mix send/return options is enough to make your head spin, in a good way. Place a stereo compressor, EQ, or other processing across your entire mix, or create a parallel return for New York-style compression. Access high-end, mastering-studio-level stereo image enhancement with the Width control. Route the 8816’s 2-track return to its cue mix, or replace your headphone cue mix with the main monitor mix. The insert return and 2-track return feature independent level controls, providing you with near-endless customization. You can also put the 8816’s sends/return in Mid-Side mode. There’s even a hidden talkback mic that you can engage with a push of the 8816’s headphone level knob. With all of this complexity, you may be concerned that you’ll lose your settings. Don't worry: the 8816’s USB port allows for easy recall of your settings via control software on your Mac or PC. And if you need more inputs, you can cascade up to 32 units for up to 512 channels.
Comprehensive monitoring section
The AMS Neve 8816’s comprehensive monitoring section puts it at the very heart of your studio. You get four monitoring sources: the 8816’s 2-track return, channels 1/2 (pre-fader), its auxiliary input, and your main monitor mix. A Mon Level knob allows you to calibrate your mixing levels (we recommend aiming for 85dB), while a Mix Level knob controls the output level to your DAW. Main/alternate speaker outputs enable you to reference your mixes on a second set of studio monitors. The 8816’s dual headphone outputs are wired in parallel, one on the front panel and the other on the rear, where there are also balanced line outputs for feeding a separate headphone amp. You also get two quasi-PPM VU meters fed from the 8816’s main outputs, along with analog and digital clip indicator LEDs.
The legend continues
At Sweetwater, the name Neve commands reverence. Rupert Neve started designing audio equipment in the tube console era but made his mark with solid-state designs. Setting up shop in Little Shelford in the ’60s, Mr. Neve faced many obstacles establishing his brand amid a new technological landscape. Transistors were new, expensive, and difficult to obtain in quantity in the UK. Reliable faders didn’t exist yet — a far cry from today’s world, where parts are affordable and readily available from multiple suppliers, all competing to win bids. Nevertheless, Rupert persisted. And by the early 1970s, the Neve company was humming along, taking orders and building custom transformer-balanced consoles for recording and broadcast studios the world over.
Neve 80-series consoles had a huge, punchy, and authoritative sound that defined the sound of ’70s rock. From London to New York to Los Angeles and beyond, top studios were installing Neve desks as fast as they could. By 1978, with the introduction of the majestic 8078 — the pinnacle of handwired analog “production” consoles — and NECAM automation system, Neve boards were the main component of the success formula for any recording studio with world-class aspirations. In the decades since, AMS Neve has innovated with groundbreaking products such as the VR, VX, and 88R series consoles. And today, the company continues to advance the state of the art with cutting-edge pro audio gear that sounds incredible and intelligently addresses the challenges of the digital age.
AMS Neve 8816 Summing Mixer Features:
- Packs the sound and functionality of a Neve console into a 2U rackmount unit
- Contains genuine Neve 80-series topology, including 2 custom Marinair transformers
- Ideal for tracking, overdubbing, submixing, summing, and mastering alike
- 16 channels of analog summing add color and vibrancy to every project
- Each channel boasts rotary Level and Pan controls, plus Cue and Cut/Solo buttons
- Mix insert points for adding effects to individual channels
- Comprehensive cue mixing for creating custom-tailored headphone mixes
- Main stereo insert send/return for adding processing to your mix bus
- Width knob supplies high-end-mastering-studio-level stereo image enhancement
- Main/alternate speaker outputs enable referencing on a second set of studio monitors
- 2-track return, auxiliary input, and dual headphone outputs
- Sends/returns boast a Mid-Side mode for added flexibility
- Hidden talkback mic is engaged with a push of the headphone level knob
- 2 quasi-PPM VU meters for the main outputs, plus analog and digital clip indicator LEDs
- USB port allows for recall of your settings via control software on your Mac or PC
- Cascade up to 32 units for up to 512 channels
- 8804 Fader Pack gives you tactile, hands-on control over your mix (sold separately)
- Digital I/O option provides A/D conversion (option card sold separately)
| While the convenience and power of DAWs is indisputable, some engineers prefer the sound of analog, particularly when it comes to mixing. That's where the Burl Audio B32 Vancouver analog mix bus comes in. Designed specifically for the digital audio environment, this summing amp lets you realize the full potential of your DAW by delivering the kind of sound quality you'd expect from a classic, large-format analog console - from a compact 1U device. Built in the USA using only the finest mastering-grade components, Burl Audio's B32 Vancouver sums 32 channels (24 stereo, eight mono inputs) to dual stereo outputs, and gives you the flexibility of a 6dB gain boost and tone-enhancing switchable output transformer.
Burl Audio B32 Vancouver 32-channel Mix Bus at a Glance:
- Large-format analog console hugeness
- Impressive Sonic versatility and ease of use
- Burl Audio: pro gear driven by an audiophile sensibility
Large-format analog console hugeness
If you've ever worked on a classic large-format analog console, you've likely got that inimitable sound stuck in your head, and the results you're getting out of your DAW may not be cutting it. Enter the the Burl Audio B32 Vancouver. With no capacitors in its discrete analog Class A signal path, this 32-channel "mix bus" embues your mixes with the hugeness, impact, spatial detail, and clarity. It gives your mixes the "glue" they've been missing.
Impressive sonic versatility and ease of use
Burl Audio's B32 Vancouver gives you impressive sonic versatility, and it's so easy to use. Aside from your left- and right-channel mix level pots, there are just two other controls for each channel - a button that engages a 6dB summing amp Gain Boost, and a button to insert Burl's BX5 output transformer into the circuit. The Gain Boost endows your mix with hugeness and slam factor, while the BX5 output transformer provides an alternate tonality (which sounds amazing, trust us). The bottom line? If you want massive-sounding mixes, the Burl Audio B32 Vancouver is a no-brainer.
Burl Audio: pro gear driven by an audiophile sensibility
At Sweetwater, we've been nothing but impressed with Burl Audio gear. Based in a professional Santa Cruz, CA recording studio, Paradise Recording, Burl is driven by an audiophile sensibility; their gear is designed by pro recording engineers, for recording engineers of all levels. The company's directive is simple: to provide you with high-quality recording equipment that will improve your recording, mixing, and mastering. Their innovative solutions not only sound amazing; they intelligently address the challenges of the digital age.
Burl Audio B32 Vancouver 32-channel Mix Bus Features:
- Discrete analog Class A signal path
- Eight mono inputs, 24 stereo inputs
- Audiophile-grade 0.1% stepped attenuators
- Switchable BX5 output transformer
- Summing amp Gain Boost
- Dual stereo outputs
- Made in the USA
| The Heritage Audio MCM-20.4 is a rackmount analog summing mixer that delivers vintage-quality sonics along with sophisticated routing options to streamline your hybrid studio setup. The MCM-20.4 offers 16 input channels arranged into two subgroups of eight. Each channel features concentric pan and level controls plus a balanced insert and a mute switch. Each group has its own stereo fader and balanced insert point. Both stereo subgroups are passively summed into the master bus, which has its own balanced insert point and VU meters. Makeup gain is provided by a transformer-coupled, 1073-style Class A mic preamplifier with four transformers (two per channel). Four channels of pre/post-fader aux sends are provided: AUX 1 and 2 are mono; AUX 3 is stereo. Insert send points are always signal-present, giving them an alternative use as direct outputs for recording. Rear-panel connections are made via DB-25 connectors; except for the master bus, which has dedicated XLRs.
The best of both worlds
Done up in classic RAF blue-gray livery — complete with concentric pots and Marconi knobs — the Heritage Audio MCM-20.4 gives visual hints as to the sound lurking beneath the bonnet. Flavored by four transformers, that sound is decidedly vintage British, although Heritage has taken pains to improve crosstalk and self-noise specs from those of the vintage designs. The smart-summing topology employed in the company's MCM series mixers delivers impressive headroom and low noise for a 20 channel, vintage-topology mixer. Sweetwater's advice: If you want to smoothly integrate analog gear — and robust, colorful sonics — into your DAW-based workflow, the Heritage Audio MCM-20.4 is a great-sounding, elegant solution.
Heritage Audio MCM-20.4 20-channel, Vintage-topology Rackmount Mixer Features:
- 16 input channels arranged into 2 subgroups of 8
- Each channel features concentric pan and level controls plus a balanced insert and a mute switch
- 2 stereo subgroups are passively summed into the master bus
- Master bus has its own balanced insert point and VU meters
- 4 channels of pre/post-fader aux sends
- Rear-panel connections are made via DB-25 connectors
- Master bus connections via dedicated XLRs
| The Dangerous Music Liaison puts the fun back into trying out creative combinations of gear. The Liaison also lets your setup remain absolutely flexible — just what you need if you want to survive in a market that often demands recording, mixing, and mastering services from a single studio. The Liaison's claim to fame is that it combines your favorite pieces of music gear together in various configurations, allowing you to try out new gear combinations and recall them later. But there's a lot more to the Dangerous Music Liaison than mere signal routing.
Mix, match, store, and recall all your favorite gear combinations
Dangerous Music has always been dedicated to providing serious engineers with the most useful gear possible. They've upped the ante again, with the Liaison. The Liaison lets you experiment with different combinations of gear, giving you a total of six discrete 2-channel inputs and two 2-channel buses. Want to hear how that compressor sounds pre- and post-EQ? With a Liaison, you can audition various hardware combinations as easily as swapping around plug-ins in a DAW. What's more, you can store and recall your favorite setups, so you can keep that killer vocal compression chain or that thumping kick drum processing path close at hand.
Flexible stereo buses give you advanced configuration options
When we ran the Dangerous Music Liaison through its paces here at Sweetwater, we found that its stereo buses do more than just compare two discrete signal paths. Depending on how you configure them, these stereo buses can provide you with two completely independent, flexible signal chains, each serving as its own small routing matrix. You can also combine both buses to create a long and flexible continuous signal-processing chain, in which you can reorder entire sections of your gear setup. Even cooler, you can use the Liaison's buses to establish complex parallel signal processing — opening up limitless sonic possibilities.
Mastering-grade components for unrivaled sound quality
As is the case with all Dangerous Music products, the Liaison is made entirely from mastering-grade components, so you never have to worry about audio coloration or latency. In fact, when set to simply pass audio, professional grade testers used to measure the Liaison read as though they were plugged into themselves. Talk about quality control! Here are some of the other specifics. Both the inserts and the buses feature straight-wire, unamplified, balanced signal paths. All audio is relay-switched via top-quality, gas-filled, bifurcated contact relays — ensuring that all switching is absolutely noiseless. The rest of the Liaison's signal paths feature mastering-grade components made by THAT Corp. and Burr-Brown.
What the pros are saying about the LIAISON:
- "The Dangerous LIAISON feels like engaging light-speed for my workflow...and make no mistake: workflow IS sound. The sheer speed at which you can do critical comparisons of entire signal chains does have a direct and positive impact how your music will sound." — Alberto Rizzo Schettino (Engineer)
- "One of the best features of the LIAISON is the monitor outs...you can monitor the signal at four points in the chain: before and after Bus A and B. The usefulness of this feature is huge, and Dangerous deserves major props for including it! The switching of inserts is managed by beefy relays that are as transparent as any I've ever heard." — Adam Gonsalves (Mastering Engineer)
- "LIAISON gives you the impetus to rethink how you record, mix, and master your music...[and] using the LIAISON is dead simple. I think of LIAISON not as an insert switcher, but as a creativity enabler." — Andy Hong (Writer/Reviewer)
- "The Dangerous LIAISON is incredibly exciting. To have a device that lets you so easily switch between processors, swap the order of processors, do quick A-B comparisons of signal chains. It makes my work better!" — Jonathan Wyner (Mastering Engineer)
- "Being able to switch devices from one bus to the other is extremely useful. The fast switching is amazing!" — Jeff Lipton (Mastering Engineer)
- "The LIAISON is really important — I can do a lot of combinations of chaining gear and I am able to work a lot faster. Before the LIAISON [I had to] switch the patchbay and compare the sounds. Now I am 20-times faster than before, I like the way the LIAISON allows me to still be in the energy of the music. — Antoine "Chab" Chabert (Mastering Engineer)
- "So happy with the LIAISON. Being able to switch gear in and out from the listening position without leaning over a patch bay is fantastic. After sitting in this chair for so many years, it actually improves my mixing ergonomics considerably." — Bob Power (Mastering Engineer)
Dangerous Music Liaison Features:
- Flexible signal routing matrix that allows you to combine the gear in your studio in fun, exciting, and creative ways
- Leverage all your gear, all the time
- Improve your tracks, mixes, and masters by auditioning and marrying the perfect ensemble of equipment
- 2 independent stereo buses mean you can set up 1 as a tracking path and the other as a mix path, without repatching, or chain them together
- Separate parallel processing loop to let drums breathe and crush simultaneously
- Create complex combinations of gear and A/B instantly
- Store your favorite settings to recall any tracking, mixing, or mastering configuration
- 6 stereo insert loops, assignable to 2 stereo buses
- Mastering-grade components ensure silent, relay-based switching and color-free audio
| SSL Six Mixer
The SSL Six Mixer is a condensed professional console for use in the studio, in post-production, on stage, and for podcasting, SiX offers big console sound and an impressive set of utility features in a format that is small enough to stick in a bag. SiX is stunning value; it offers two recording channels with SuperAnalogueTM mic pres, an essential one knob version of the classic SSL Channel Compressor, a new two-band Channel EQ, inserts and 100mm faders.
There is a two-knob version of the legendary G-Series Bus Compressor on the main mix bus and the unique Listen Mic Compressor on the Talkback. In mixdown mode it is a very capable twelve channel summing system that offers analogue detail, depth and width to your mixes. The Six Mixer carries the DNA of 40 years of true expertise in creative studio workflow. Listen to SiX and you will experience the impeccable sonic performance that is the hallmark of every SSL console. It is powerful, intuitive, inspired and rewarding.
SSL Six Mixer Features
- Benchmark SuperAnalogueTM audio performance
- Stunning Recording Path
- Classic SSL Channel Processing
- The unique Listen Mic Compressor
- Professional routing & Monitoring
- 12 Input summing at Mixdown
- Legendary Master Bus Compressor
- Completely balanced signal path
- Auto switching Power supply (100 - 240V)
| Add the undeniably vibrant sound of analog summing to your DAW with the SPL MixDream XP 16 x 2 analog summing mixer. Take one of your past projects and mix it through the MixDream XP and you'll hear more depth, enhanced stereo imaging, and noticeably punchier dynamic impact. The Class A design and 60-volt rails in the MixDream XP provide amazing headroom and ultra-low noise, rivaling the sound of full-featured analog consoles. Once you've got your submixes sounding just right, Sweetwater can highly recommend the SPL MixDream XP summing mixer to take your mix over the top.
SPL MixDream XP 16 x 2 Summing Mixer at a Glance:
- Deeper, wider mixes from analog summing
- Premium analog design for top-notch sound
- Expandable for higher channel counts
Deeper, wider mixes from analog summing
While the debate over analog vs. digital summing is not new, most engineers agree that summing your mix through high-quality analog gear sounds awesome. Compared to the exact same mix summed in your DAW, you'll notice that the SPL MixDream XP sums your mix with greater depth and enhanced stereo definition, with an undeniably vibrant quality.
Premium analog design for top-notch sound
SPL designed the MixDream XP summing mixer with 60-volt rails for an outstanding 125dB dynamic range, with a very low noise floor too.The discrete Class A topology was designed to give you essentially the same sound as a high-end mixing console, in a convenient rackmount form factor.
Expandable for higher channel counts
Need more than 16 channels of analog summing? It's easy to expand your summing capabilities with additional MixDream XPs. Just use the expansion inputs to daisy-chain your MixDream XPs, or even mix and match with SPL MixDream model 2384 summing mixers.
SPL MixDream XP 16 x 2 Summing Mixer Features:
- 16-in, 2-out analog summing mixer
- Amazing dynamic range and ultra low noise, thanks to discrete Class A design and 60-volt rails
- Multiple units can be linked for surround operation
- Allows you to achieve an analog vibe that's difficult to create with plug-ins
- Ideal for mixing and mastering applications
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