Initial Impressions of the Focusrite Liquid Mix

Question

The first thing I should mention before I begin this short review is my lack of experience. I've only been recording seriously for the past 8 months, and I've never used any of the analog compressors or boards on which the Liquid Mix is modeled. In fact, the only analog compressor I've ever used while recording is a DBX 266xl, which I don't really care for.
I'll get to the quality of sound tomorrow, since it wouldn't install on the Intel Mini Duo at the studio. I sent them an e-mail, hopefully it will get resolved tomorrow.
Installation was a breeze on my Powerbook though, and I'm really liking the unit. I'm monitoring with Sony 7506s right now, so I'll just comment on the look and feel in the meantime, although it does sound pretty great already.
I really like having a unit with 11 knobs and 14 buttons to control both the compressors and eqs. Its a nice change from the mouse, just feels better. Plus, the display is pretty nice, and it opens up more room on your monitor if you just use the liquid mix display. If you want, you can view the plug-ins on the monitor as well.. Seems pretty intuitive, but I've only used it for about an hour so far, haven't dug deep.
I was kicked back on the couch just playing with it in my lap, good times. Finally, one of my favorite things about it is that each compressor and eq has only the original controls by default. If you couldn't adjust the q on the eq, it doesn't show up as an option. However, you can enable free mode to fully adjust any compressor or eq.
I believe this default restriction will actually make be better though, so I'm leaving it on for a while. Sometimes when you have too many options it makes it hard to choose what needs to be done, especially with eqs and compressors when you are just learning how to use them. These classic analog compressors and eqs had certain defined settings for a reason, and plenty of great records were made that way, and still are. I can't wait to try them all out. I'll post more, but right now its time to play with the new toy.

Answer 1

I picked one up back on Monday and I'm having a blast with it. If anything, it's rather nice to be able to apply such plug-ins and without having the CPU activity climb up. I took a few pieces that we were working on and replaced the output compression that we were using (Vintage Warmer in this case) with one of the ones within LM and noticed a huge difference in the result. Not putting down VW, but my ears noticed a huge difference as the mix felt more glued together. Of course, I don't have a Neve or SSL console to compare the compressors to (not to mention the 38 other comps), but the difference that LM is making on the mixes are rather amazing (IMHO).
As well, having knobs and buttons to work with does make a huge difference for me as I don't have to call up the plug-in on the screen, causing my ProjectMix to jump to a different bank of faders. Because I can name my instances (definitely a great feature), I just have to dial them up on the box and tweak the comp and eq settings (or change them altogether). Another great feature is the ability to recall snapshots of various comp/eq emulations and settings that I make right from the box. I just have to pick the snapshot and I'm off and running.
The demos of the drums with the different comps weren't bad at all. If anything, it was very easy to hear the difference between each compressor emulation. However, the thing that really did it for me was listening to an actual mix using Liquid Mix and what it contributed to the mix.
jord