SSL CONSOLE EMULATION PLUGINS .. Do they actually have that 'SSL SOUND' ?? || PART 1 ||

[@PaulThird]

Made a very short part 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6DTgaujqraHeq8 which includes AA stereo bus pre and bx9000j instance on the master bus of each as many were feeling the slate had an advantage as it had the slate VCC mixbus on the master. There is now a poll in the community section so from that pick an option from that video (proper blind test this time 😜) So I know which plugin to use for the NEVE SSL plugin console comparison 🤓

[@ctatrains]

I have Waves SSL, Solid State Logic SSL native and Plugin alliance. I was fine with either of those since they all "basically" sound the same to me until I got Acustica Audio Sand. That one stands above the rest to me. A bit heavier on the cpu but for good reason.To my ears the sound is bigger, has a more air quality to it and a more expensive sound for lack of a better term.

[@stanleyc6225]

I was using ssl9000 from plugin alliance. But am switching to magenta 5 and seeing how that sounds. Or maybe I'll use the ssl native channel strip.

[@PaulThird]

@pb What do you use.. Line, custom, mic?

[@PaulThird]

@stanley, I prefer magenta as I am a colour man. I even like the magenta pre's in mastering. Great colour in the manley units

[@YuriIlyin]

Not correct test in the video.Sand has a SSL 4G+ and Sate the E version, which have much more punch and saturation due to small hadroom, G version are very clean sounding. Repeat the test with Alexb 4E console, when he release GE version with full kernels.

[@kl8895]

Mate, you’re killing it! Keep up the great work!

[@PaulThird]

🤘🤘🤘

[@YoMyNamesJakeG]

You're doing God's work, Paul

[@PaulThird]

If God was an audio engineer 😂

[@edukacja2485]

@@PaulThird He definitely is!

[@PaulThird]

He definitely has the best people to record up there anyway 🤘

[@Spikeypup]

I know I'm going through the all vids, but I just got introduced to your channel from the algorithm lol, I love it! And thanks to that other SSL saturation video, I can't stop listening to that Ben Colton Song Sail Away, I use it as a reference now, lol thanks???!!!! hope you had a great Christmas Paul, I think you are just lovely and boy wouldn't I love to have a conversation some time but you are so beyond me I'm sure I'll get lost. Love your channel, keep up the good hard work buddy!

[@PaulThird]

🤜🤛

[@ramspencer5492]

If 3d is what you're after, Nothing does that like Chris from Airwindow's with his (completely unusual approach) Console series of plugins......It's not a color modeling plugin series.....but isolates and specializes in the summing/3d aspect of of analog consoles.....a bit of a pain to set up, but you can use it in addition with any coloring plugins and nothing opens up the 3d space like it. It's amazing.......It's not a replacement for other console emulations but an incredibly pleasing and convincing addition to building realistic, 3d analog modeling.

[@PaulThird]

Is there a link.. I'm intrigued haha 🤓

[@ramspencer5492]

@@PaulThird his youtube videos are weird to wade through..... I'll look for one of the older one that has a good musical example..... He has several versions but the choir examples really show off what it can do...... Let me dig around. He operates on a patron model so no financial requirement to try out even use.

[@ramspencer5492]

@@PaulThird here is one that has a good example of an older version of console...... The latest version (console 7) might be the best one yet..... There's a lot of explanation on gearslutz forums for how to use. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGnIhHmEnLijq9E

[@ramspencer5492]

Check this one out...... There's nothing else like it.

[@PaulThird]

Thanks man I'll check it out 🤓

[@joesalyers]

I owned an SSL AWS SuperAnalogue desk for years as a tracking desk and it's basically a cut down J with E & G EQs. The BrainWorx SSL plugins capture that sound and it's ultra-clean. But not dry, you must use the EQ to get the full width and depth of an actual SSL. Because each channel has slight differences in the EQ's response. The SuperAnalogue sound of SSL J's & K's were from a time when Analog studios wanted to be the cleanest and most transparent they could be. Their was a push in the early to mid 90s to make high headroom with low noise gear since many studios had switched to digital reel to reels then later DATs so using something like a noisy old MCI desk or Tube gear or even Analog Tape became undesirable since you needed so much noise reduction to get a clean recording. Noise reduction and expander/gates imparted a certain dulling and softness to tracks no one wanted on their records. So companies like SSL, Soundcraft, Midas, and Yamaha pushed very high headroom and low noise gear. This was right before digital gear became affordable for even medium size studios, but just running through the Brainworx plugin flat won't give you the SSL sound you have to mix a song using it as you would a real SSL and not really like a summing mixer. If you will mix a song with it and then compare it with something like the Waves or UAD SSL plugins you'll really hear the difference and the brainworx plugins nail the SSL sound.

[@PaulThird]

Doesn't explain the brauer thing though. He only uses the 9000J plug to give the console sound of puting his analog gear through his old 9000J. That's what makes me think that there must be a 'console' sound as Brauer has one of the best ears in the business so he must hear something to ditch the desk and stick the plug flat at the end of each track. I looked in plugin doctor and there is a certain harmonic response and linear frequency change in the 9000J so it does have a 'sound'. I'm just intrigued in that whole 'console magic' thing. With the SSL's being made to be clean probably not the best example but I'm comparing that vs the neve console sound so I imagine to hear a difference. It's more to kind of debunk or prove that the console thing is actually audible in plugins

[@joesalyers]

@@PaulThird I don't think Brauer is using it flat, if you check out his video from Sonic Scoop he's talks about the 9000 plugin and it's not flat as I suspected. Because without using the EQ, compressor, ect, the sound won't be there because each channel varies slightly. But a console on the level of an SSL J or K zero'ed won't do much they were meant to be as clean and as transparent as possible. So maybe something to try to see a visual difference is grab a EQ analyzer and visually look at the differences from channel to channel. Yes you can get the "console sound" in the box but it's the variations between channels that truly make a consoles sound unique. Degradation over time within the analog structure of a desk will make the variation more apparent over time. If you want to hear Brauer talk about it himself here is the like to the time when he talks about how he uses it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoSal5KAqNGhZpY

[@PaulThird]

But he said in that video that he straps a 9000J on every track.. even if it's not doing anything just for the sound 🤔 watch it at 37:45 and you'll hear it An engineer I speak to that knows him well and works with him from time to time told me that he's still using the A, B, C, D hardware chains but running the 9000J after them on every track and 95% of the time only uses the filters. I thought he was now completely ITB but he's just ditched the console. So I've been told. The interesting thing about the 9000J is that with the comp engaged it actually has a low cut where with it disengaged the linear frequency response is completely linear and flat. I had the comp engaged and the THD actually changes slightly with every TMT move as well as that low cut. So very marginal differences which I suppose can MAYBE.. Just maybe build up.

[@joesalyers]

@@PaulThird If you watch it for a few minutes from the time I posted you will see he's not just putting flat channels across his entire mix, thats the point. Even the examples he shows he's using the EQ of the channel strip. Sure some of them might be flat but in the examples he show he's using them. NO engineer who own and uses an SSL J or K is using it as a glorified summing mixer, because even at Brauer money the electricity cost is insane for those older desks. It's a tool that he uses. In the mix he shows he uses the EQ as his first line of tone shaping. But just summing through a console will not give you much of a "sound" most desks even old school desks like MCI JH-6s or even API desks are transparent. It's the way the EQ interacts with the Busses and how the Master handles headroom. Its more than line level playback. So in all honesty I think you should take the time to watch Michael White's on how to get the console sound in the box. If anyone has experience with all those top desks like API, SSL, and even Focusrite he does. He was Whitney Houstons Engineer and worked at the same Electric Lady studio as Brauer. The video is called boot camp tip selecting your console & sound for your mix. He gives the best explanation of why you would use these types of tools. But using channel strips as summing mixers is not really how Micheal Brauer is using it clearly from his explanation in the previous video I posted the link too.

[@PaulThird]

I can't say for definite but I was told due to covid he was working in the box for a bit so he started playing about with plugins as he didn't have access to his gear. I don't want to come off like I'm arguing with you. It's just that I watched that video when it came out and I started claiming Brauer was now working solely in the box. The engineer that knows him well messaged me to tell me probs best not to take that video to heart. And that's when he told me that Michael is back using his A, B, C, D hardware chains and using the BX 9000J for pass through and will utilise the filters from time to time. 90% of the time the 9000J isn't doing anything but 10% of the time he'll utilise the EQ here and there. Honestly not trying to like come off like a dick or anything. I completely hear you on why an actual console sound can work wonders its just that I've had the same conversation were having now regarding brauer and that specific video and I was told that he is using the 9000J primarily just for pass through and filters and its his analog chains that's doing nearly all of the heavy lifting. He did tell me what the ABCD hardware chains consisted of but I can't entirely remember. He said even the 9000J didn't do much heavy lifting over the years and it was just his console of choice to mix on and pass his hardware chains through and tweak here and there. I was pretty gutted to be honest as I loved the thought of the biggest gear slut being completely in the box but that ABCD thing has been this technique and sound for decades so suppose you don't want to change too much. Theres another video where he goes on about the rack gear he kept as he slimlined his gear and I think that's the ABCD gear

[@AlexReidStudios]

I really need a tutorial on how to listen the differences, I'm lost

[@seductivealienanimations]

From my understanding, back in the day no one ever switched to SSL’s for their sound, it was for their automation. So to try to emulate that sterile, boring sound in the box doesn’t make any sense. The only way to get any vibe out of the SSL duality was to turn on the variable harmonics, and those sounded kinda gross.

[@PaulThird]

Interesting. I have heard this thing about SSL's being viewed more as a machine if that makes any sense compared to neve which is viewed as this colour console

[@seductivealienanimations]

@@PaulThird Yeah I’ve had a few mentors that were there at the time and it was really just about superior automation and reliability, and you just made sure you tracked on a Neve or an API or a Trident, anything with a sound to it, and then mix on the SSL for 1980s surgical convenience. With an 8 ball of coke on the console. Listening through NS10s to make sure the song really slapped out of a $40 boom box. Yikes.

[@bontempo1271]

@@seductivealienanimations Yes originally they went to SSL because that new tech was a level up for the craft. Its literally the reason for the 80s sound. That couldnt be done prior. But it does have a sound, of course it does, we hear it everywhere for decades. Neve etc gives it some beef, and SSL sews it up all nice and tight.

[@palodine1]

@@seductivealienanimations Totally agree

[@SonnyCrackBeats]

I used a 4000E for 9 years and a lot of experience on a 9000J.. TBH, I was entirely happy with Waves since it's release, I'd rank it 85/100. I have tried all of the SSL plugins except the Acustica ones. My goto is BX for the strip but I still use the Waves master bus on my 2 channel, maybe out of habit but I love the sound (and yes, I've tried all of the master busses, they are all fine as well).

[@PaulThird]

Was there any example there that you felt had more of an 'SSL sound' in terms of how it changed the source for its pass through. I think after hearing brauer uses the 9000J just for pass through it intrigued me to hear what a 'console' sound has compared to ITB

[@SonnyCrackBeats]

@@PaulThird Man... Out of the 3 the BX sounded like closest with the Acustica hair different but like yourself, I did like the Slate sonically but I'm guessing it's just a personal taste thing.

[@PaulThird]

Yeah it's totally subjective. I think I'll enjoy the neve one better next week as I hear more about the console sound of neves more than any other desk

[@SonnyCrackBeats]

@@PaulThird SSL's were huge in my genre (Urban, Pop).. Neves are generally the go-to for rock/jazz/alternative.. None of these are rules and both can be used great for all... I never got the chance to really dig in with APIs but I love their pre and EQs, I like some of the plugin offerings though, really nice at 60-80hz...

[@SonnyCrackBeats]

@@PaulThird And again, I love you content! Keep it up! When I get the cash I might buy into the Acustica stuff, seems very nice it's just not in my budget for now.

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

Would love to hear you test the FPGA antelope audio compressors and EQs. As they are hardware in theory. They sound really good from the demos I have heard. Lots of FPGA preamps, EQs, and compressors of the famous gear. NEVE, SSL, etc.

[@PaulThird]

Is that the stuff you need their hardware to use?

[@theblowupdollsmusic]

@@PaulThird Unfortunately it is. Maybe it could be a Patreon purchase in the future.

[@PaulThird]

Yeah.. It is right up my street to be fair. Audio geekness to another level haha

[@bontempo1271]

​@@PaulThird That FPGA tech is what i was talking about as a way to truly emulate hardware. Antelope put the FPGA chips in their interfaces, and made plugins for it. I have seen just one random comparison video, and they do sound good, but the thing with this FPGA technology, is that the limitation is the skill or time of the developer ! So for example, the Antelope plugins may not have nailed it, but that doesnt mean that FPGA cant. I also didnt realise that part of Behringers success with recent synth clones, is that they use FPGA to emulate old chips that cant be mass manufactured anymore. And their synths are really spot on ! Its amazing. Its a dream for us guys who cant afford the ridiculously high prices of a fully hardware studio. I just wish more developers would pursue this avenue.

[@rnbyido]

What about the SSL Native Plugins? Channel Strip 2 which is meant to be an emulation of the SSL 9000 desk

[@PaulThird]

Is that got THD in it? I've never checked it out

[@cypressmuzik]

Very Informative Paul! Would like to see what your thoughts on the softube console ssl are..

[@JustinNathanielAdams]

2:01 Oh, curse you! hahaha 😂"I've been waiting paaaaaatientlyyyyy"

[@PaulThird]

this whole console thing will be the last of this multitrack.. im done hahaha just need to find a decent royalty free multitrack now

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Yes, the Slate and BX sound pretty close. The Slate may have a little more low end but that could just have been the console I was using. Used a 4000E for 7 or 8 years.

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@lydfar2392]

I agree with the Sigma and the hole summing gimmick. The console emulation should come from the slightly compression, when you drive the busses. Not necessarily as an effect, using the fades, but also naturally through layers of boosting EQ and adding level with compression... I don't find that the AA stuff can do that. You won't get the natural clipping/compression of channels, pushing groups and master bus IMO. Is more like a static picture to me. The technology. From what I hear, your tests only shows the slightly preamp coloring and therefore the results are very similar. It would be interesting to see a test of how much RMS, you can push with these plugins, before they stats to break up and damage the mix. I would expect the algorithmic plugins to be closer. But without any real analog chain to compare with, it's always a challenge to get something real meaningful out of it. To be more certain, I mean. For me at least. It's not a criticism by any means. I would have to mix a hole song through one these things, to see/hear how it reacts and feels. Unfortunately, I don't have an Sigma or console I can spare, for you to try - so I'm really not much of a help here. 😅 Best regards...

[@JBULLY1]

Why not SSL native plugs?

[@WayneDawkinsThePartyMan]

I don't think it is possible. Too many parts working in cohesion. Waves had a good idea by emulating each pre in NLS but the workflow was not implemented correctly I think. I always get a bit doubtful when I see drive knobs on these plugins. The Waves CLA channel strip and the UA stuff should be how it is done. It is clear though that we are not there because non of these plugin makers never do a video where they compare their plug to the gear they modeled. Even if they do it will be audio examples, never the actual video of the process. The cop out will always be no two hardware sound alike or you can make good music with any decent plug. My response is...why then do these models and make outlandish claims of how accurate they are

[@PaulThird]

100% agree 🙌🙌🙌 Steven Slate claims "plugins are tools at the end of the day and should be seen as such".. But then markets that his plugin is the most faithful recreation ever 😂

[@MichaelHattem]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/emG3o4eGdr2AZ6s

[@SonnyCrackBeats]

Hey Paul - revisiting this - did you ever do a review on the SSL Native version 2? (the one with the UC1?)

[@PaulThird]

Nah tbh I lost interest in them after finding out there was no harmonics in the plugs. Seemingly in the update the E setting has harmonics, the curves look different and oversampling has been added in but being completely honest the whole SSL native range reaks of using the name to sell without actually wanting the product to sound like the real thing. The fact that we are so many years on and they've just added harmonics is alarming to me personally. And also the change in curves.. I thought the original version was the closest thing to a modelled SSL? Haha Know what I mean. Guys like me look at that and just go...hmmm..strange.. No thanks

[@PatrickPleau]

Sand is more 3D. well what's new? ;)

[@JasonBuffin]

These plugins do fundamentally different things. The BX is a channel emulation while the Slate VCC is console emulation. Waves also has the NLS plugin which is a console emulation plugin. The console emulation is all about the summing and what happens when all the channels sum down to the master fader and adds that accumulation of saturation through each channel that builds up into the master channel. The channel strip plugins don't have non-linear summing like Waves NLS, Slate VCC, Harrison Mixbus, etc. You would want to use the channel strips together with the summing plugins for the best results. I personally switched over from virtual summing to summing on an SSL SiX console.

[@PaulThird]

the main reason I was so intrigued at first was due to brauer using the BX channel strip at the end of his chains as he said it sounded like running through his old 9000J console. Even still though.. When you look behind the hood of a 'console" emulation and "channel' emulation it Still boils down to linear frequency response and harmonics. Slate has the channel vcc which is just a specific frequency response with modelled THD. Actually the most unrealistic as its the same linear frequency response and THD on every channel (unless you utiluse the drive mode) The mixbus vcc is still a linear frequency response with certain harmonics, just different to the channel vcc. A summing plugin is just a set linear frequency response and harmonics of a set console being hit a certain way. It's actually very niche when you think about it where running the channel strips with slight analog variances like TMT or using different lines like in the Acustica pre.. In the digital domain it should still build up when it comes to the master... Well in my head that's what I think. The summing plug will still give you a console sound but not the console sound of you working through the desk on every channel. Which would explain brauers use of the 9000J at the end of every individual track IF that makes any sense haha 😂 In terms of the waves NLS I was actually speaking to an engineer about this and they told me that the NLS was never gonna faithfully get that summing sound due to the amount of aliasing in it. I remember seeing it on gearslutz years ago. Even oversampled it's apparently still one of the worst for aliasing which is the reason why many engineers jumped ship to slate, Harrison etc over the years for this. Tbh even still as I can pick out the slate as the one I prefer in the very final blind test with the dry mix I was really struggling to tell the difference, could've went either way so still could have ended up picking the dry haha

[@JasonBuffin]

@@PaulThird I gave up on NLS because I thought it was too much of a tone print on my mixes. But the aliasing would be an issue too. I know Slate talks a lot about the "non-linear" characteristics in their plugins so I'm lead to believe there is more going on than just simply 2nd and 3rd order harmonics. The Console Shaper in Studio One Professional is interesting because it includes crosstalk which bleeds channels into whatever is next to them which is also a part of what made consoles what they were. I use the SSL Native channel strip on every channel at the beginning of the chain. I use it for gain staging, initial compression, basic EQ before adding other plugins. Then all my channels bus down to 4 stereo aux hardware sends to my SSL SiX console.

[@vigilantestylez]

@@PaulThird yeah I seen his videos where he insists he runs the 9000 J plugin over the entire session for the "sound". He does very little actual moves on the plugin, and uses all sorts of plugin that emulate outboard gear, but that 9000 J sits at the end of his plugin chain all the time. Which now gets me thinking... The 9000 J plugin has the THD turned off by default, so what sound is he really getting from it?

[@PaulThird]

THD in bx plugs is just a soft clipper though. I thought for years that it was the key to the total harmonic content in the plugs but it's simply emulating hitting the inputs harder into soft clipping. They'll be a pass through of some sort but id still imagine the real 9000J to be extremely clean still for pass through

[@vigilantestylez]

@@PaulThird wow! That does make sense. And so by putting the plugin at the end of his chain through the whole mix he just uses the plugin as a soft clipper. This is very interesting.

[@peterheinen6110]

Not SSL fan here. I do use the ssl buss compressor regularly - a no brainer when i have no time or stamina. For strips, i prefer lindell 80 series. The HLS has so much color, use it on "sterile" recordings. Finally the softube class a american console is a beast on its own. I use it when tons of punch are needed - it never fails me

[@escalonae]

I always thought the 9k console was the worst you could do when aiming to the "SSL" sound (for those who like that sound). Having said that, your work is always appreciated Paul. Thanks for your effort.

[@PaulThird]

I genuinely have no clue when it comes to SSL consoles haha

[@seductivealienanimations]

I think the worst would be the SSL Duality!

[@NovianLeVanMusic]

@@PaulThird I would have used Bx's 4000 E to match the Slate VCC 4K E. The 9000 K is a different series of SSL console. The E and G series are the most iconic. Bx's 9000 J is cleaner, in my opinion a little harsh, and is commonly described as being good for electronic music.

[@PuntoZeroMusic]

why you don used SAND BUS PRE too jut like you did with Slate? Unfair camparison

[@PaulThird]

To be honest I thought the bus pre was the bus compressor for whatever reason. Tried it out there and to be fair the bus pre on the master fixed a lot of the punch I felt I was missing. Theres going to be an SSL vs NEVE next week anyway so easy enough to add in other test to show the difference with the stereo bus pre on

[@DalleyMusic]

Please do a video for the SSL Native plugins! They are coded from the SSL C200 board I have been told. They sound great and they are made from the actual company everyone is trying to emulate.

[@PaulThird]

Old code though. Don't think they have any harmonics in the EQ or compressor. Was told that's why they released the x saturator seperately. The no harmonics thing doesn't sit right with me as thats what makes it more digital to me. I'm still to try in plugin doctor myself but been told by native users that's the case but I'd still rather check myself. I know the bus comp doesn't as you could hear it in the g bus shootout but the eq's would really surprise me but it is old code so dunno

[@DalleyMusic]

@@PaulThird You should still demo them though. They sound very good imo.

[@vigilantestylez]

@@PaulThird I ran the SSL native channel through plugin doctor, and the compressor seems to add harmonics when engaged. But when it's not... nothing. Ultra clean. I did this with both v6 and channel strip 2. Both are exactly the same.

[@PaulThird]

I think since this video they updated the compressor and added in harmonics thus why it now has oversampling but somebody else tested the channel strip and your right without the compressor the eq's as clean as a whistle

[@bighousemusic628]

Sand all the way it just sounds wide full 3d you name it im not bashing on the others but sand sound scary real like the real thing

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@MixingMAN]

SATSON CONSOLE EMULATION ?

[@doingmy10khrs58]

No experience, far from it, but from what I have picked up, the SSL SOUND would be easier to pinpoint if the compressors had their characteristics all over the mix. Please correct me, if I am wrong. Yeah, I realise just going through a desk produces a sound and perhaps experienced people would hear that...

[@PaulThird]

We'd need to ask Brauer on the desk sound thing haha unfortunately I doubt he'll drop in the comments on this video 😂

[@doingmy10khrs58]

@@PaulThird hehe, fjngers crossed

[@PaulThird]

🤞🤞🤞🤞

[@mrmorpheus9707]

No UAD SSL? HUH WHAT! J series ive worked on..Bx is damn close

[@PaulThird]

Didn't have the UAD pci card at that time

[@fonzflex5608]

andy scheps has on his mixbus the slate VCC on a particular setting because, he says, "I dont know why but this way the kick always sits better in the mix". Then he doesnt seem to be using the slate stuff at all. Just as info. Oh, thx for the comparision.

[@PaulThird]

Did you check out the part 2 I made yesterday utilising the bx and sand bus pre on the masters for the final blind test? Many people are struggling to hear any real diffrence now between the slate, bx and acustica now

[@fonzflex5608]

@@PaulThird yes I did, thanks. Obviously another session of the plugin on the stereo bus gives an other percentage of...that plug in. But, unless it is a summing system, I don't think it can affect at a very high level. The Slate system claims to be a sort of summing plugin, but it is not, in the end. Brainworx has the Lindell series [for Neve emulation or API], which has the channel strips with TMT and also the BUS channels, with just one fader and no EQ, for the group busses and for the masterbuss. But it is not a summing system, as well. The only one plugin I know that is a real summing system is the waves NLS, which also has an SSL module. From this point of view, it's the best "SSL sounding system". Obviously it doesn't have compressor, eq, and all.

[@PaulThird]

Ive never really understood the benefit of NLS in these modern times. I get it at the time of release as it was giving you 30 odd different variations per channel but nowadays BX consoles give you the TMT and Acustica has all of the sampled line and mic pre's so you get the non linearities of the frequency response. In terms of the harmonics they don't suffer from crippling aliasing which trust me.. Its frightening in NLS. Even. At 192khz which is its maximum supported rate the aliasing is a killer.. And that's with the drive at 0. It completely ruins your mix and adds in unmusical frequencies into the spectrum that the hardware definitely doesn't do. In terms of the summing bus. this part of the Plugin has a set linear frequency response. So what your doing tonally is puting these tracks into another pre. Waves were super crafty here as they purposely made it louder by 0.8db so your going to perceive it as louder just passing through it. In terms of aliasing again.. soooo much its just not funny. The modern plugs actually give you a more realistic sound as you can stick the Sand line pre on every track (alternate the channels), another line pre on your bus and then the BUS pre on your master. Without any aliasing. Its all the same thing. The VCC and NLS summing part of the plugins are simply a set linear frequency response of a desk with 30 odd channels being hit a certain way running into it. Doesn't matter how you hit it going into the plugin the linear frequency response won't change. All you can change slightly is the harmonics. A summing plugin is a gimmick as its a fixed printed response of a console being driven a certain way. Its not the way you've went into it. That's the thing. A summing plugin is a tone but don't be fooled with the whole VCA group thing into thinking that it acts like the real deal. As long as its got a fixed linear frequency response and THD that already emulates a different harmonic response of whats bring fed it into it.. The summing will only ever be an adapted recreation of another summed console.. IF that makes any sense 😅

[@聂宇讲真的]

SSL Native Channel Strip🏆

[@tomman7729]

AlexB 9KC 🌶

[@PaulThird]

Kind of pass through sound does it give?

[@tomman7729]

I’m using it with azzimov skin and mainly for the flavor using the harmonics and G-drive, but sometimes the EQ-curves you get from the group and mix bus presets are kind of fire.

[@dawnderhenker]

i love this n4 library too. But how do you use it on Sends? I learned a time ago, you should put a Bus Pre on the last insert of the Send Channel (in contrast to the first insert on tracks and groups). And in the older librarys of AlexB, there is also a extra Pre for Send Channels, but not in the new 9KC

[@tomman7729]

@@dawnderhenker I haven’t tried it on my sends/return/fx tracks yet, if that’s what you mean? Cause I do think I get enough of it on my tracks + buses/groups. But it might be worth a try;)

[@YuriIlyin]

Until Alex releases the GE version, the library don't be sound and behavior like what he sampled from, due to very short kernel length: 50/50/50. Which does not reveal the full sound and leads to truncate - ripple effect. Same thing to Sand, but there you can manually set the kernels from 50 to almost 500ms. Of course it will lead to more CPU consuption, but reveal sound exactly what they sampled for. Alex need time to resample all his consoles to the normal standart. At the moment, only 3 consoles are ready: Neve 88RS, Studer 900 and Neumann SP79.

[@Fwuzeem]

I guessed all correct. The J is very different to the E though, and has much more of a poprock sound than the E that is more of a punkrock sound

[@PaulThird]

That's quite an interesting take on it 🤓 what did you pick in second video?

[@aisharpproductions1351]

I own and use daily, an SSL Sigma. To my knowledge, an SSL console tends to sound a bit more textured and "BIG". BX's texture seems spot on. I never liked AA's Sand. Slate's sounded the best to me, for this mix, and was very similar to BX. The SSL sound that everyone is after requires pushing the desk into the red. The Sigma, for example, opens up and lifts the mix in a cool way, when pushed. It gives my tracks and mixes a "finished" sound. In my opinion, a real console sounds the best, but I don't have the luxury to spend $50k on one. LOL

[@PaulThird]

Totally.. Man that sigma looks coooool 😎

[@aisharpproductions1351]

@@PaulThird Exactly! haha! Keep up the great work, Paul. You're a breath of fresh air!

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@j.stribling2565]

Thanks for sharing that @Airship Productions. I’ve been thinking about acquiring the Sigma - isn’t it amazing that we can get our hands on this kind of circuitry for essentially 1/10th the price of the “real” thing. I remember back in the 90’s the Synclavier was $250K. Now, I can get 10x the performance from a unit that costs less than $3K. And so it goes...

[@aisharpproductions1351]

@@j.stribling2565 -- Very true. Since my original comment, I bought a converter that costs over $15k brand new for under $5k. It beat my Dangerous and Apollo X Series converters as well, significantly! Great times we live in! Happy mixing!

[@iamkingriot]

The softube one is half decent if you ask me mate

[@PaulThird]

i think softubes pricing really puts me off. most ive tried ive thought highly of but some of those prices are frightening haha

[@iamkingriot]

@@PaulThird fair mate, I've got the console one and was around the time when you'd get both the ssl and the neve thrown in for free, had it not been the case probs not worth it

[@stupidusername38]

11 minutes of torture, yes its the Patiently song

[@PaulThird]

😂😂 And still I forget to look for new multitracks. Its 100% the last time I'm gonna use it. I can't do it any more. Good recordings but the vocals are awful

[@j.stribling2565]

Haha. My wife told me her patience was up! Next time I’ll need to close the studio door. I made the same picks as you, rating the Slate #1. I was surprised that the 9000j sounded just a tiny bit squashed to my ears.

[@PaulThird]

I'm so glad I've moved sessions now. my wife was saying she could even hear it through my headphones haha 😅

[@stupidusername38]

@@PaulThird you should explore the Cambridge Music site run by Mike Senior plenty of free unmixed take available for free download to practice on

[@j.stribling2565]

@@PaulThird Well now, I hope you took the pink comfy chair with you 😄

[@bighousemusic628]

Sorry Paul but bx 9000 is identical to the console next sand

[@doingmy10khrs58]

There is a thread on Gearslutz called: "that" ssl sound? Some posts by people who know their sh#t. ;9

[@PaulThird]

👌

[@thisscottishaspie5961]

🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@PaulThird]

Remember to check out my autism channel if you want to learn more about my life 🤓

[@57humbucker29]

Print with as much color as you can using preamps and high quality compressors. Be brave. Bake the harmonics and saturation into your tracks.

[@thegroove2000]

Im sure its pseudo. The GUI and the marketing deceives perceptions.

[@100states6]

Sands the closest to that typical SSL sound.

[@moitoieuxnous1648]

SSL are the best overated console in the world cause they dont colir the chain... Unlike neve... who suck

[@stupidusername38]

i didn't know Slate offered an SSL model

[@PaulThird]

I used to use the neve quite a lot and RCA on vocals but I don't know why, when I started taking slate stuff off my mixes sounded more open so I stopped using them.

[@PaulThird]

Yeah the aliasing is an absolute brute on the NLS. Was actually speaking to another engineer about it last week as they were trying everything to remove the aliasing out of the NLS as it had become unusable for them