another FREE one... || Slate Digital - Fresh Air

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[@EmilioConesa]

this is the kind of thing that sounds good late at night after a long day mixing but then you wake up the next morning and think" WTF did I do?"

[@logan_nim]

perfect description

[@arqelf9505]

so true!

[@iamgeorgesears]

There is no better explanation than this one!

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Anything involving big changes to the top end of a track after mixing all day.. is a trap!! Haha. Ear fatigue is real. I trust my high end only with fresh ears. It’s the first thing to go south for me after a couple hours. First phase fatigue; my track is too harsh, it’s annoying me. Second phase fatigue: my track is too dull!! Need to boost 5k 😬😂

[@thegilfactortv]

lol #Facts

[@iAmTheSquidThing]

In fairness though: Surely this is always going to sound bad if you're adding it to tracks which are already produced? Shouldn't it be tested out on some kind of dry signal which actually needs more brightness?

[@armanrozika]

yeah, he's missing the point, no one would want to add this effect to an already well produced track lmao

[@thoveler]

This comment is better than the video.

[@Aexitprod]

The Tracks that he used are not mastered, plus the point is to understand how it works and sound, so its ok

[@kylehollow]

Tend to find that, used minimally on a vocal for example for just a bit more brightness, results are much better. Wouldn’t ever think of using it as an overall exciter on a mix

[@juanfrancodilorenzo2016]

yes, and it's a pattern on his videos, he plays full tracks instead of for example a vocal if it's a vocal efx

[@deadislander]

"That's it, it adds a bit of Hhhh or Hssshh to your track" I'm ded 😂 got this plugin yesterday and it's a nice little add-on if you don't own analogue gear as long as you BEHAVE and keep that thing below 25%

[@UnwittingGenius]

I liked that also and it was a very accurate description, it just caught me off guard. I might borrow that technique.

[@Exxxxxxxxs]

Try it in parallel

[@BloodspitsMusic]

Accurate! For me usually im in around 12-15% on mids and maybe 3-4 on highs. Its good subtly!

[@AshtonMyersArcwielder]

@@Exxxxxxxxs this guy with the real sound design secrets! 🤘

[@bhargavchavda1478]

The channel In The Mix has a great explanation video on this

[@Bigfamilyhomestead]

If you want more hrrrhssss and hissshhh....

[@MnineFx]

🤣🤣

[@ibrahimbrempong1190]

Hey white sea studio you are crazy I like the way you talk . Am talking to you from Ghana

[@theactualtruth4951]

ROTFL

[@ivan66773]

Hey ibrahim brempong I like the way you write . Am talking to you from Russia

[@rohinagrawal9727]

imagine not being from mars, cringe

[@DarkMetaOFFICIAL]

e n j o y

[@plodaerte]

@@ivan66773 hey shenko i like the way you write. im writing for you from brazil

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Sometimes I like to pretend the White Sea logo is hungover Pac Man waking up for work 🤷‍♂️

[@traezaX1]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@MikeDeanOfficials]

Get some sleep

[@FASTFASTmusic]

Lol thanks for the giggle

[@ilkkarosma5528]

Hahahaha 😂🤣

[@andrew74x]

Gotta eat them dots.

[@blahbommer]

The dry humor here is so good. Had me laughing my ass off when you said only one cm thick is easy on the cpu.

[@patrickvisser4710]

that got me too

[@BRIGGS2710]

thick means moar CPUs!!!! : )

[@ibrahimbrempong1190]

Infact you make me laugh alot when am listening to you on youtube i like your reaction so much you sooo craaazee

[@miscellaneous1276]

I was excited until i heard iLok.

[@HotelPools]

Thx for the warning.

[@mercygian7634]

iLok Cloud (online). NOT USB ILOK (physical)

[@embiroyal]

@@mercygian7634 I just clicked on “No” for using iLok cloud and it appeared to allow me to use my physical one instead.

[@barelydigital30016]

whats wrong with ilok>?

[@Xagamusic]

For me the issue was not allowing the license to be registered in the computer itself! I don't want to connect to the internet each time i want to use one damn plugin 😩

[@noahbecerra]

You should do a comparison video of the various LA2A emulations.

[@AndrewBawitlung]

His tests are sometimes flawed. Slate is going to have a comparison and they might put it in their site like the stress. He should guess that blind test.

[@SwishaMane420]

This is the kind of plugin you dont go over 20% on the knobs to get the natural crisp you need. Fire.

[@BloodspitsMusic]

Exactly bro

[@Joshh.K]

whole time watching it i was thinking "9%, 9%, 9%, 9%, 9%" then he went 8% and it was pukka

[@iDoqz]

I just used it at 2% high air and like 8% mid air lol. It sounded really good and i didn't want to push it more, you're definitely right

[@jlebreton]

Actually, I think it sounds amazing!

[@SomeoneCalledRob]

This is actually a really good plugin, just so people know.

[@BiscuitTime420]

It is, for someone like me who is a part time usb mic bare minimal SoundCloud artist it’s the best for cleaning up final mixes if it sounds muffled

[@RobertoGomez-ur7od]

Love the snake oil vids, cheers from canada!

[@FatNorthernBigot]

Yes, there's something about a critical, slightly irritated Dutch man that is very watchable, cheers from the UK.

[@ericsmith3738]

@@FatNorthernBigot pop off k

[@ericsmith3738]

@@FatNorthernBigot poop sso

[@derekscanlan4641]

Unless you already have products from Slate, it's a complete pain in the hole jumping through hoops to get this

[@PigmenMan]

Yeah the 15 minutes it took me to install it was just excruciating.

[@syeoak]

I went to use it on my laptop after installing on desktop, only to discover it only works on one computer. Oh - and it's shit. Acon free dynamic is way better.

[@iberian4862]

@@PigmenMan it took me about 3 hours to try to scan it in Reaper and unlock it with iLok which I didn't even have

[@PigmenMan]

@@iberian4862 Yeah I agree with u on that, the scan did take stupidly long.

[@treblemaker69]

Agreed. Went to download it and after creating two separate accounts, was taken to a "download page" not for the plugin but for the thing you have to get to download the plugin and...said NO THANKS

[@slash196]

"It's very simple! You have *chhhhhhhhok* and *chhhhhhhyck*". The Dutch mastery of throat sounds is world-class.

[@Drfresh1402]

This plugin really works as described. Quite fascinating actually.

[@Khariis]

Like with all addictions you eventually get tired of it. Me staring at my stash: uhmmm....😐

[@samuelj.rivard]

xD

[@markussagichnicht5494]

1cm thick .... means that its got an external power supply...i HATE that :-)

[@KrisNebroso]

I downloaded it straight away, and I've gotta say ... it works, and it works very well. You never know when you might need it.

[@IFeeeeelGood]

White Sea Studio suggested commercial line: "The NEW Fresh Air: not a bad plugin! " hahahahah

[@totigerus]

It doesn't suck ass!

[@juap]

"The NEW Fresh Air: its not a complete sh!t! "

[@GodsLittleRadio]

Perfect for that Jazz track - if you want to bring out those cymbals definitely works.

[@JayKaufman]

I've been playing with it on a track of mine and it's great for adding some sheen to hi hats. It's basically an exciter.

[@Dragaan]

So glad I now get to add more "Hugh" and "Heeugh" in my mixes. Thank you for this. I already had the plugin before this video but it made my day to hear this.

[@thegoodgeneral]

Hahaha, “facade” is a French word!

[@deadheadliving]

best guy to goto with plugins...zero snake oil with his opinions and feelings...only passionate people are blunt n honest nowadays

[@DarkMetaOFFICIAL]

it instantly makes your mixes better, mows the lawn, pays your taxes, and gets you a gf who wont cheat on u. wait a minute 😂

[@Netsuko]

I feel that this could add just that tiny bit of sparkle in certain productions. Totally not something I'd throw on everything but if I have a particularly dull instrument track it might help brighten it up a little. I feel on vocals this is dangerous as it is very easy to get that glassy harshness in the high tones like a broken dome tweeter.

[@kenyoncruz]

I’m guilty of adding too much brightness like a lot of newer producers. I will say a tiny bit on vocals recorded through my Shure SMB7 is great, but I don’t need any recorded through my Lewitt 440

[@Krant]

Try Acustica Audio Gainstation!!

[@jacobsmith1877]

This plugin is great in the single digit percentages, especially the mid-air band.

[@kodykindhart8230]

Love this plugin... pulls the blanket off the speakers

[@famitory]

i would love it if someone would make a plugin or hardware unit for bass enhancement that worked the same way exciters do, but instead of having bands, it would have a resonator for every A440 12TET note within a certain range of low frequencies (maybe from E0 to E3 or so to encapsulate both downtuned basses and the lower strings of guitars). then instead of say, programming in a sine wave sub to follow what a bass guitar is doing, this would automatically add that by resonating with whatever the fundamental is at that moment.

[@MiDnYTe25]

Hey Wytse, you forgot to mention what track you're using for the demo. Don't worry guys, I got you! It's Darude - Sandstorm

[@williammindreaders1029]

hello. Raaaakkk (mid air) Riiikkkkkk (hi air) : were too funny. Excellent man.... excellent.

[@-Deena.]

It adds a unique sort of 'old style' Blue Note mix quality to jazz if used subtly. Quite like it 🧡

[@sammiller9855]

The tracks you are using to test the plugin have already been mixed and mastered, no? Any "freshing" of the high end will probably seem too much. Better to use pre-mastered mixes.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

I use Maag EQ4 for “air” in a mix. I have a thousand plugins and nothing from Slate. I can’t even remember what they did that irritated me but it was something. Because I’ve clearly unconsciously avoided them haha

[@DDRMR]

Before even watching this video, I do want to say I personally absolutely LOVE this plug-in! Edit: Now after watching, I absolutely agree with you! This is not some magic fix to make your mixes better. But man if used correctly does it help IMMENSELY. I added it to a vocal bus to brighten them a bit and it does it without any intense harshness. And this was after layers upon layers of mixing and adding it a few days ago. Love you brother! Great review

[@hificrows11]

i think it could be really useful on restoring old analog recordings from old/aged/cheap/badly recorded tape :)

[@miir_wav]

The fact that I actually looked up “Sandstorm - Darude” and noticed it wasn’t this, had me rolling 😂😂😂 It’s even more funny because I know what that song is😭😭

[@livera.6346]

what's the song????

[@chanday_threezy3266]

Looked for that Sandstorm song and all I get is EDM songs 😭😭😭

[@Zarvy]

What a fresh plugin!! I just love it

[@SoloElROY]

I come here to rant. You did use too much KSHHHH but not enough KJHHHHH. The track screamed for more KSHJJJJJ and less KJSHHHHHH

[@RyanPMcGowan]

I use the Reaper exciter on distorted guitar tracks - very specifically - to make amplitube amp and cab sims cut. through. Otherwise, like you, I tend to stay away from them.

[@dylanmelella5663]

Great video. I've been using this plugin when mixing. Mainly I've been using it on individual tracks with automation to bring attention to certain sound at certain points of the mix. Just a little bit of excitement when a new sound comes in to bring your attention to it and then back it off. Like he said though very easy to over do it

[@chronex.]

two years later and it is still free, lol

[@juanpablogomez9122]

As little bit of hchhhh and hichhhhh

[@AnimalzyNL]

I've tried this on a couple tracks over the last few weeks, and I have to say I like it a lot. Works pretty well on seperate channels rather than the master channel as well.

[@jokeymonkey]

Great review as usual... I don't think its a bad plugin tbh. I feel that its marketed at bedroom musicians and producers.

[@beirch]

Thank god I'm not taking advice from someone who adds air to finished tracks asa demo, has a "Music is love forever" poster in his room, and doesn't demo the air EQ in a Neve emulator when he does Slate reviews

[@ultracello]

I really love this plugin. It makes my lousy cello pickup sound awesome. I really like super crisp, transparent, sharp sounds. Wish this plugin would be available as AUv3 for iPad and iPhone for my Loopy Pro setup.

[@thimovijfschaft3271]

It worked great on the Jazz song. Especially "HHSSSSHH" knob in the cymbals! You should make a plugin where al the knobs are named after the sounds you think they make: "Wait let me crank the "HHSSSSHH" knob a little bit more

[@leemendez7876]

One of the most troublesome plugins to install. BUT here's a simple tip which worked for me. I'm using Windows 10 & Reaper btw. When you install Fresh Air I had a Fresh Air.vst file install into my vst3 folder. This didn't work but what did work is simply to copy the Fresh Air.vst file & paste it into the same location. Then rename it Fresh Air.dll. Simply changing the last 3 digits of vst to dll made it work for me. Good luck!

[@ElishaRecords]

Let’s be real, Slate Digital marketing team knows how to promote a product. I personally, really liked this plugin. Snake oil? Nah, don’t think so. Also, if your only standard for snake oil is price, well, I guess that standard is a little bit faulty. Again, still yet to see a bad review of this plugin.

[@horriblemind]

I personally don't like these sorts of plugins. IMO they can be somewhat misleading for amateur mix engineers, because instead of saying what it actually does (exciter for high mids/highs etc.) they present its work as some sort of mystery (mostly using vague words like "air", "warmth", "depth" etc.), therefore making you feel that this plugin does something other plugins can't do. It's more like a teaser for their commercial plugin bundles than it is a real tool for mixing. Unlike Waves CLA EchoSphere, for example, which is/was also free and which you actually *can* use on a daily basis due to it's straightforward intefrace and variety of settings.

[@dykodesigns]

Is it a plugin or a smart thermostat?

[@IndigenousMonk]

this was a bitch to install.. you need ILOk .. i tried to get VST2 but it only worked as VST3 for me... sickest plugin ever though

[@ricardovallej]

Thanks for the explanation. Clear and honest as always. Great sense of humour as well. Abrazos

[@r4x2]

The mid band actually sounds decent! The high gets too harsh and brittle too soon, Reaper's exciter might sound slightly better on high end (that's not saying much), but might consider this for excitement in mids.

[@kenyoncruz]

Loved this plugin before my new laptop where it’s too annoying to install again. I use Fresh Air on some snares and vocals recorded through dark microphones. It’s fantastic when you use it appropriately. I no longer use it on full mixes because that does go a bit overboard usually. You can’t slap it on everything carelessly, sprinkle it in on some individual sounds

[@mandeepkalsi952]

Make a dj khaled plugin that puts these in your song at random points “ANOTHER ONE”, “THEY MADE FRUTIY LOOPS” “ITS CALLED TOO EASY”

[@hatdownlowofficial]

The thing doesn’t even work my plug-in manager just constantly says, crashed validation, waste of time

[@SouthYarraMan]

LOL!! Facade (French) -- pronounced 'fass-ard'. Fresh Air is primarily intended for vocals during mixing.. Its not meant for use on the master channel. If you need to brighten your midtown, then you can add .5dB from the 5kHz region upward in a slight shelf tilt or smaller Q where it sounds pleasing to you. Or, you can record with a basket of snakes in the room...which might help to add some REAL 'snake oil!' -- Bon!

[@CLaw-tb5gg]

Kind of irrelevant but the thing that annoys me with these pseudo-hardware interfaces is that usually when I get a Facebook ad for something it's got all these renders that make it look like hardware, and you genuinely don't know it's a plugin until you get halfway through the website. Especially if it's something pretending to be all TRUE ANALOGUE REAL TUBE TRANSISTOR TAPE blah blah blah (a plugin is none of those things by definition, lads).

[@fromthemoonraccoon]

The snake oil as I see it: ""We've combined several advanced parallel processes under the hood to *MAGICALLY* elevate blah blah blah"". This isn't Disney. This isn't Marvel or DC. We're vibrating air, no "magic" to it.

[@stuartsutherbaker]

I absolutely love this plugin. This just simply works and breathes life into the mix.

[@earlybirdbeats6920]

Yes. With constant white noise

[@niktwix888]

@@earlybirdbeats6920 why?

[@miguellombana9847]

Wytse that wasn't Sandstorm by Darude or did I miss something... the song with that name is a hard techno song from 2000, I used to play it in clubs I DJ'd at .. confused LOL BTW not a fan of Slate, you should do a Snake Oil on their pricing! The monthly vs Annual paid Monthly are the exact same price but somehow one is the BEST DEAL! You would think that if you paid the annual in full you'd get a better price but that's something for another discussion.

[@donnythompson408]

“Without a hint of harshness...” Uhmm...ya...ooookay. I guess that I must have been using a different Fresh Air plugin then, because I didn’t hear anything BUT harshness, even at the plug’s most minimal settings. And...I’m not a Slate hater, either. Slate has many processors that I like and use...but this isn’t one of them. I suppose that for those who are into the whole “one knob” processor workflow, then this would be appealing with its simple control GUI. But sonically, it’s not appealing to my ears, and, if “air” and “sparkle” are something I want to add to a track, there’s nothing here that I couldn’t accomplish -and with far more pleasing results - by using Fabfilter EQ and some saturation, and, having a lot more focused control over those things as well. This is just MY perception of this plug. If others are using it, and are happy with the results, then all power to ‘em... I’m fully confident that it won’t ever end up on tracks or busses in any of my mixes. IMHO.

[@thomaslewis8438]

Pretty entertaining. I don't want to be the skunk at your garden party, but an equalizer is exactly what this is, and nothing more. You can prove this to yourself by feeding white noise through your DAW. No Fresh Air, ruler flat on the analyzer. Fresh Air on, a boost, from 2K to 20K ramping up 5 dB, or from 8K to 20K, up 5 dB, or with both knobs engaged, 10 dB. It's right there for your eyes to see. If the waveform rises, and it does, that is a frequency boost, which is the textbook definition of what an EQ can do. The exciter in Logic Pro does the same thing, only it is much more versatile and can be configured many different ways. Still, what it is doing is EQ, Speaking of textbook definitions, when someone tries to sell you something and tells you it is something different than what it really is, or has capabilities that are different from what gear you already have, but in reality it really doesn't, that's the textbook definition of SNAKE OIL. So any EQ can do this, meaning no one needs this. Epic fail, Slate.

[@2tonetony319]

It sounded really good on all the examples here. Sure maybe excessive at extremes, but it still sounded good (as in not harsh).

[@antiHUMANDesigns]

I don't dare use those kinds of plugins. Takes a SECOND for the brain to get used to it, and then you have no clue what's reasonable, anymore. The EQ4 does some of this, but it's more subtle, and it's the closest I'll ever get to using an "air" plugin.

[@pauldigirolamo600]

I fell pretty hard for the Slate hype when I first got into mixing, but now I find it annoying and actually a dis-incentive. I still have perpetual licenses on a half dozen plugs but don't even really look at their new stuff since they went primarily to the subscription model. Now that my ears are a bit more educated, I don't really find the Slate plugs any better than the other stuff I have from Cytomic, Klanghelm, Kush, PSP etc.

[@TheSlickoify]

"Incredible mixes in seconds" typical marketing bullshit from Slate.

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

It sounds like you are moving the knobs WAY to fast... like it takes a moment for it to recalculate. And, when the jazz piece hit, you started slowing down. But we didn't hear your standard reference piece with slower movement... need lonnnnger pauses though for processing, it of course is not analog.

[@nicebluejay]

i like it

[@MeltdownDJ]

miss that auto gain feature again... hate plugin that push effect with more volume ^^ but at the end the plugin add some ggghhhhhssssssss and some gghhhhhssshhhhshshshshs :D who is nice but i don't like plugin when there's not any clearance about was is going ^^ for me is just an exciter ^^

[@FINXainarskrastins]

Ppl who make asmr will totally use this XD

[@peterheinen6110]

The official Aphex Exciter by waves on send and return (using a j37 tape machine) is so much better

[@KylerChin]

why does he always say "darude - sandstorm", idk get the joke- is it that it's not sandstorm? is that it? I'm actually stupid lmao

[@leroilightning]

The plugin is free... but, um, how much is it to buy the ilok you need to use it whenever you want?

[@thegoony]

Not a bad plugin, but the protection iLok Cloud or dongle!!!!!!! No local machine iLok is a big no no. I do not and will not have my studio PC linkedto internet everytime I want to use this and no dongle either. It's a NO.

[@zoemoskal9700]

Tried this plugin earlier on my vocal - I found the exact same thing where it was addictive at first - my mic isa but dull and this added that presence - but then when I closed logic and came back to it I was like damn that was way too much treble 😂 but overall I’m liking it so far! Def adds presence.

[@evanrodaniche6008]

I'm liking it...but not going above maybe 15 or so on both knobs and then dropping the trim back about a dB. Vocals, overheads and mix bus!

[@rocketsauce5067]

I like how you lay shit out. Try this on backing Vox or on guitars sometimes. It also works for really dark ribbon mics.

[@ElectroIllusion]

If it's a completely FREE plugin - then why do they require you to put it on iLOK ??? 🙄

[@elliottbastide5936]

A VSX Review would be very appreciate :)

[@MrJC1]

it would be so funny if this plugin did absolutely nothing. just make for the troll-o-lol-o-lolzzz. ahhahaha.

[@jesseg8298]

So I can only activate it with a $50 iLok USB dongle, uninstalling now......

[@AlvaroALorite]

"As with all addictions you get completely tired" yeah, that's not how addictions work buddy hahahaha

[@alseveron6558]

It seems like a superfluous piece of junk, given free to get ppl to sign up to their site so they can try and sell you stuff.

[@SkyLoungeSupe]

This thing sucks. The volko QA EQ is one of the best plugins for high end I’ve ever used. Turn off the filter & leave the shape on.

[@guterton]

after "using" it for a month, I'm going to delet this. ilok sucks and it sounds harsh to me.

[@samuelivascu7633]

I think this is cool, but not on the master. On instruments like a piano, maybe a guitar, vocals, main leads. Hell yeah.

[@nonperial7692]

I don't think this works with Reason 11. Its not detecting the plugin. Oh well it was free so the only thing I used up is space for a better plugin.

[@T.H.W.O.T.H]

What? There's no such thing as magic? But... but... but... Santa?

[@IM-vj9tb]

It would be really good on individual sounds

[@FullFledged2010]

I think the reason they put these things out for free is so that you have to install their license software junk on your pc and you wont be able to use pirated versions anymore. Actually a pretty smart way to counter pirating 😏

[@ZiManingMusic]

what's up with iLok? i can't activate it ....................................

[@Nomad-Rogers]

Dear Dolby Make Your Tape Patents PD or licence them -A compact Cassette Fan

[@MadDogE134]

you have to take into account that statement that bothers you it is from steven lol he talks a lot of shit... but this is a great freebie although it is a one trick pony. not really harsh imo and could work well in small doses after a comp rounds off transients. yes it is an exciter but one of the best exciters i have heard.. again in small doses. if you can use it is is useful... if not... it was bloody free lol