While VCC’s US A mode (API) is tonally my favourite, its dynamics sound restricted compared to the other modes. The Brit4K mode (SSL) is one of the most open-sounding in the collection, but also imparts the least colour. The Trident mode adds a nice widening effect to the low-mids, making it well suited to double-tracked rhythm guitars. With their bus and channel plug-in set VCC, Slate Digital ambitiously sets out to capture the essence of five classic consoles. Remarkably, this plug-in just happens to be free, but don’t let that scare you off, it sounds ‘like a bought one.’ The ‘US Pre’ mode adds a bit more ‘oomph’ and some brightness around 6kHz. Not to be confused with FabFilter’s flexible saturator of the same name, this plug-in packs a serious punch, adding quite a bit of liveliness and upper-mid character to a mix. All in all, Waves’ NLS seems to be one of the more dynamic emulations in the pack. I found the emulation of Spike’s SSL 4000G was too easy to overload and, for me, didn’t suit a lot of sources. Mike’s console also adds quite a bit of heft below 50Hz as it saturates on low frequency transients, a trait I would have expected more from the Neve. They have a lot of similarities, but are different enough that you’d want to choose the flavour that best suits the song. Both contribute a nice character to the mix that suits electric guitars and drums. The mode modelled on Yoad Nevo’s Neve 5116 adds energy around 800Hz, whereas Mike Hedges’ EMI TG12345 Mk IV adds energy slightly above 1kHz. Waves’ contribution to the market offers three consoles, each boasting 32 independently modelled channels. I also found CS1V to be one of the more dynamic sounding options. The modern B mode adds quite a bit of top-end sparkle which, if used judiciously, is a lovely touch. I found that the vintage mode was too closed for my liking, though I could definitely see it working well on more mellow genres like folk or even soul and rock ‘n’ roll. The former is a vintage mode and the latter is a more open, modern mode. The second approach is more faithful to mixing Outside-The-Box (which is not to say it is more effective) and there are several plug-ins which will lend colour to your mixes.ĬS1V has two modes: A and B. You have two options: As discussed in the last issue, you can get the majority of your colouration via master bus processing, or you can use saturators on every channel. CONSOLE EMULATIONįirst, let’s set about recreating the analogue signal path. This affordability means you can own more than one virtual console or virtual tape machine, and it’s a great way to bring variety to your colour palette. Especially when you compare the purchase and maintenance costs of a console, tape machine and tape stock to inserting multiple instances of a plug-in you paid for just once. These days, you can recreate this path with plug-ins for a fraction of the cost of even a single piece of hardware. But by comparison, a ‘digital-centric’ production is likely to miss several of these key opportunities to impart saturation and colouration. This process is repeated during the analogue mix process - with the addition that it’s summed at the console master bus - for a double dose of analogue saturation. Signals travel from the console input preamps, through EQ, plus any outboard equipment used, to tape. One of the accepted classic combinations is tracking through an old Neve (for the harmonics generated by their transformer-based designs), recording to two-inch Ampex/Quantegy 456 or 499 tape stock then mixing on an SSL (for midrange focus) to ½-inch tape. The choices of console and tape type are often different for each role. Historically, most have been recorded through an analogue console to multitrack tape, then mixed down through an analogue console to two-track tape. Let’s take a moment to think outside the box about the big-budget productions we’ve grown up loving.
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