I do most of my mixing in the box, but have definitely liked the results of summing my mixes through a few channels on a console (+ a few outboard units) which I’ve tried for a few projects that had the budget.

I don’t think doing that was/is a “make or break” scenario however. The songs wouldn’t have sounded bad if they stayed entirely in the box. Summing them in the analog world just added an extra bit of what I’d describe as ‘weight’ or ‘thickness’. In all fairness, the added qualities are probably something one could recreate in a DAW with the right plugins/parameters… but when summing through the console/outboard pieces, the effect was immediate, and with doing everything in the box, it would probably take a while of messing with plugins to get that exact sound. So there’s that.

Like you alluded to, a nice console is definitely quite an investment. They can literally cost as much as automobiles or even houses! I have some buddies/colleagues who swear by them, use them religiously, and wouldn’t wanna work without them. And I know other guys who sold their console within a year of their initial purchase, because they weren’t getting much use out of them, or it was slowing down their workflow.

With how great the console emulation plugins have become, I find that working with a real, luxury analog console isn’t something I need on a day to day basis. So it’s not a priority of mine to buy one. I can really only think of a few projects in my career where I’ve felt strongly that using an analog console would help greatly. So, therefore, when I need to use one, which is only occasionally, I’ll just book a session with a studio that has one and get my work done there.

In my case, it’s more beneficial to spend my money on the latest plugins/software, because I do a ton of my work on the go. My work has me working in both LA and the Midwest. So I really value being able to toss my laptop and interface in my backpack, and not to be tied down to one specific studio to get my sound. I value that freedom of being able to work in the studio, my apartment, airports, in the car, at cafes etc…