Never having had a traditional large console, I'm not sure where exactly the 2 track mixdown machine is supposed to be - in some kind of tape send and return (the only thing I see in pictures with bottom end mixers is a tape out/in on rca plugs)
Trying to mimick this in a digital setup, I recently acquired an avocet but realized it won't work the way I wanted.
Original plan
digital multitrack -- benchmark d/a -- great river eq2nv -- stereo compressor -- avocet.
avocet would feed the amp monitors on one analog out, the tape machine on another analog out, and the tape would come back into one of the avocet's free ins. Then I realized only one analog out works at a time, so I can't send it to both amp/monitors and tape deck. And even if I send it only to the tape deck, the line back in from the tape deck wouldn't work because I am already using the line in as well. Stupid thinking...
So I am relegated to monitoring my mixes after it passes through the tape machine? Is this normal not to be able to listen to the mix buss before it hits the tape machine? btw, i am not happy with how the avocet has changed the sound coming from the benchmark, nor the headphone quality...
Any advice would be greeeeeaaaaat!!!!
Please interrogate for any misunderstandings on a possibly discombobulated story.
Come on, help a neophyte out...