NLS vs VCC

[dotl]

Has anyone compared Softube Trident A-Range with the other two?
It also has an input level dependent harmonic content and a saturation knob that's comparable to the drive knob on NLS and VCC.

But...
- no bus emulation
- it's a single channel emulation (allegedly the best one on a console they found)
- cross-talk is not emulated (and perhaps it's better so)
- no metering (but it has an LED light as a saturation level indicator)

I know, it's not the same but still can be used for similar things.

[aaronsmith]

I agree... the Waves Helios Channel can be used also in the same way, a bit more subtle maybe, i think these new plus have more nonlinearity to them though.

[Jeezo]

if you want the real deal on sat and color go for the focusing eq not the trident ...HIGLY underated ...

[dotl]

Originally Posted by aaronsmith

I agree... the Waves Helios Channel can be used also in the same way, a bit more subtle maybe, i think these new plus have more nonlinearity to them though.

Originally Posted by Jeezo

if you want the real deal on sat and color go for the focusing eq not the trident ...HIGLY underated ...

Waves Helios Channel doesn't have an input-level dependent saturation mode, AFAIK...
...and I'm not sure how the Focusing EQ stands in that department but I'm gonna test it
cause that's the most crucial thing IMO.

[dasoundjunkie]

Originally Posted by Hardtoe

Slut

I'm so ashamed

[MusicManic]

I'm demoing the NLS now, and I find that at the levels where it sounds best, it is quite subtle, so I'm wondering if the same effect can be gotten with EQ, or buss compression with something analog sounding like Waves API 2500.

Questions for those of you using either the Slate or the Waves:

Do you find yourselves reducing the use of other plugins that you used to rely on to get the analog sound?
And, are you changing the way you approach your mixes, or are the mixes just sounding better because these plugins are thrown in?
Thanks!

[8 DnB]

Originally Posted by Jeezo

if you want the real deal on sat and color go for the focusing eq not the trident ...HIGLY underated ...

Yeah. You can switch between preserving highs or lows. I love that pack. It's odd but it some of the best soft eq ive heard if used in the right places. Passive on live snares at 0.7, amazing.

[Jeezo]

yep on snare it's absolutly wiked ....iwhen i want a snare to bang : this and the Waves Helios as well as the Duende Channel strip ...

but back on the OP subject

[kaiO]

I tried NSL and I didn't see any reason to buy it. For console simulation, VCC is still the best for me. I'm biased since I own VCC.

[SonicAlchemist]

many thanks for posting these!

Originally Posted by thedigitalgod

this is an NLS vs Slate test i did for myself and a couple of friends -- very informal, very unscientific. the test mix is far from perfect or complete so please don't bust my balls on its imperfections (or gross terribleness, lol), but its what i used because it was the project i had open at the moment.

both VCC and NLS were added AFTER and not mixed into. big download (315mb), but includes full .wav's of:

none
NLS EMI +6
NLS Neve +6
NLS SSL stereo processing +6
NLS SSL dual mono processing +6
VCC SSL +6
VCC SSL 0

one console emulation on every track in the project at the end of the fx chain, and one on the master bus at the beginning of the chain.

no master compression or limiter was applied, peak variations are the sole result of console emulation.

project done at 96/24 with internal DAW processing set to 64bit float, then downsampled/dithered to 44.1/16 after mixdown with izotope RX mbit.

VCC vs NLS

[MusicManic]

After trying NLS and liking it, but not having an iLok 2 to try Slate VCC, I did the unthinkable for me and just bought the Slate VCC sight unseen (or sound unheard) based on the consensus here. In the meantime I bought Sknote Stripbus for $29, and can't believe the sweet sound. I absolutely love it so far!!! It makes me realize that I don't need many or maybe any of the other more expensive saturation plugs I was thinking about! Really great!

[thedigitalgod]

Originally Posted by SonicAlchemist

many thanks for posting these!

i'm very happy you found it useful

[Synth Buddha]

Originally Posted by MusicManic

I bought Sknote Stripbus for $29, and can't believe the sweet sound. I absolutely love it so far!!!

Damn. There goes another $29.99. This stuff needs to stop.

[MusicManic]

Originally Posted by Synth Buddha

Damn. There goes another $29.99. This stuff needs to stop.

I hope you like it as much as I do. It could just be that the developer Quinto happens to be going for a particular sound that I've been struggling to find, which has sort of a heady quality to it. It's not bright or harsh but more of a dizzying, whirling, bubbly, spacey, trippy kind of thing.

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by thedigitalgod

this is an NLS vs Slate test i did for myself and a couple of friends -- very informal, very unscientific. the test mix is far from perfect or complete so please don't bust my balls on its imperfections (or gross terribleness, lol), but its what i used because it was the project i had open at the moment.

both VCC and NLS were added AFTER and not mixed into. big download (315mb), but includes full .wav's of:

none
NLS EMI +6
NLS Neve +6
NLS SSL stereo processing +6
NLS SSL dual mono processing +6
VCC SSL +6
VCC SSL 0

one console emulation on every track in the project at the end of the fx chain, and one on the master bus at the beginning of the chain.

no master compression or limiter was applied, peak variations are the sole result of console emulation.

project done at 96/24 with internal DAW processing set to 64bit float, then downsampled/dithered to 44.1/16 after mixdown with izotope RX mbit.

VCC vs NLS

Thanks for your effort! Very interesting results.

[mista min]

Originally Posted by MusicManic

I hope you like it as much as I do. It could just be that the developer Quinto happens to be going for a particular sound that I've been struggling to find, which has sort of a heady quality to it. It's not bright or harsh but more of a dizzying, whirling, bubbly, spacey, trippy kind of thing.

I am working on a project right now, where I go from VCC into Strip (I don't like Bus, just not my kind of bus comp). And then I used VCC on the master buss with the API 2500 Bus comp + Chiswick Reach or the Glue by itself and I love it. I am using the SSL on both of those emulations.

I need mix one track with NLS, but to be honest I didn't feel it was better or worse than VCC. I did do a test where I placed only the bus plugins from VCC, Satson and Waves NLS on the master bus, exported them one emulation at a time, and then placed them in to a different session with each of the emulations on separate tracks with one last track having the same song without anything on the bus (clean bounce).

I inverted the phase on the "clean" file (no magic plugin mojo on the bus) and listened to the differences... and boy were there differences.... NLS had more bass distortions going on than VCC and Satson. Satson and VCC were similar, but different. Something in the highend was different on Satson then VCC.

Satson's SSL 9000 emulation was my least favorite of all the SSL's... which is what I always use to mix hip hop (which is what I am mixing 9 times out of 10).

So long story short... pick one, use it, be happy

[MusicManic]

Originally Posted by mista min

I am working on a project right now, where I go from VCC into Strip (I don't like Bus, just not my kind of bus comp). And then I used VCC on the master buss with the API 2500 Bus comp + Chiswick Reach or the Glue by itself and I love it. I am using the SSL on both of those emulations.

I need mix one track with NLS, but to be honest I didn't feel it was better or worse than VCC. I did do a test where I placed only the bus plugins from VCC, Satson and Waves NLS on the master bus, exported them one emulation at a time, and then placed them in to a different session with each of the emulations on separate tracks with one last track having the same song without anything on the bus (clean bounce).

I inverted the phase on the "clean" file (no magic plugin mojo on the bus) and listened to the differences... and boy were there differences.... NLS had more bass distortions going on than VCC and Satson. Satson and VCC were similar, but different. Something in the highend was different on Satson then VCC.

Satson's SSL 9000 emulation was my least favorite of all the SSL's... which is what I always use to mix hip hop (which is what I am mixing 9 times out of 10).

So long story short... pick one, use it, be happy

I hear you. I was thinking about the Satson, but I'm assuming it's overkill with VCC and Stipbus and there's no demo nor return policy that I can find.

I'm curious if the API 2500 you refer to is the Waves or the real deal. I demoed a ton of plugin compressors and the one that really did it for me was the Waves API 2500. I loved The Glue as well as a handful of others, but something about the API struck a chord with me. It had a great sounding analog switch, was versatile and the source seemed to jump out and stay really focused.

[TNM]

VCC here, i absolutely *LOVE* it. Was fortunate enough to get it at a steal in one of the audiodeluxe specials.. not one regret.

One that surprised me is strip bus. It sounds great.. but it's a little too cpu hungry unfortunately, so i stuck with VCC, seems to be the best of all worlds, easy to use, fast results

[thedigitalgod]

here's another test including VCC, Strip, NLS, and Satson. clips are raw, unmixed tracks at full 96/24 resolution with one instance on every track and one on the master bus.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/console%202.zip

[MusicManic]

Originally Posted by thedigitalgod

here's another test including VCC, Strip, NLS, and Satson. clips are raw, unmixed tracks at full 96/24 resolution with one instance on every track and one on the master bus.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/console%202.zip

Thanks for posting these. Such subtle stuff going on. It just shows me I need to do some ear training. But if I had to choose at this point I think I'd choose the "none." Where can I buy that?

Edit: But seriously, I think I like a glue-y thing they do, but I don't like what they do to the vocals. Vocal sounds muddier to me.

[thedigitalgod]

Originally Posted by MusicManic

Thanks for posting these. Such subtle stuff going on. It just shows me I need to do some ear training. But if I had to choose at this point I think I'd choose the "none." Where can I buy that?

luckily, theres a special on 'none' right now. . . FREE for everyone! lol

[MusicManic]

Originally Posted by thedigitalgod

luckily, theres a special on 'none' right now. . . FREE for everyone! lol

I can't afford that. I have to keep buying more stuff otherwise I'll have to get down to making music. No good.

[ericzang]

level matching them (this works quite well for matching TB EBULoudness) helps get the right perception of the differences. Does Stripbus have other modes? I subtly liked the Satson (fat channel + master) the best, seemed to expand it slightly. The vcc and stripbus changed the sound in a way I did not prefer. NLS was too subtle. I got similar as good to the Satson above, but subtly different results, by using Nebula with AlexB MWC MBM (Modern White Console, Mix Bus Modern) program on the none track.

I'd like to search out more Stripbus examples, as there must be various ways to use it to get fairly different results I assume.

[thedigitalgod]

heres one with the alexb ssl (clc) program on all tracks and one on the master:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/alexb%20ssl.wav

[ericzang]

thanks, but the dropbox link gives a 404

[thedigitalgod]

Originally Posted by ericzang

thanks, but the dropbox link gives a 404

fixed. sorry, my mistake.

[thedigitalgod]

if anyone cares, here's a really in depth look at Satson. many variations and a comparison between v1.0 and v1.2.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/satson.zip

[thedigitalgod]

this compares The Glue to StripBus' compressor. i tried to get the settings as close as possible with the same amount of gain reduction.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/comp.zip

and this is the newest version of StripBus using multiple variations on the 'C' console and crosstalk.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9282419/str...0%28SSL%29.zip

[evish]

Tried both.
VCC here.
I can hear a real noticeable and well crafted magic with VCC.
Steven came up with the idea after having the same frustration that I had for years with ITB summing.
I trust him and Fabrice on anything they do.

[Sudad G]

Has anyone compared the VCC in "Brit 4K Mode" to the UAD SSL Channel Strip or the Waves or the SSL Duende etc. ? I mean...if you bypass the EQs of those UAD, Waves and and SSL channels and only gain the signal in those channels? Which comes closer to the original SSL E-Series. The same with the Neve Mode compared to the UAD Neve emulations.

I'm planing to purchase the VCC to try out some combinations like VCC for gain and SSL Duende or UAD SSL for EQ etc. Or is it overhelmed to use VCC (in "Brit 4K Mode") in combination with the UAD SSL Channel?

I'm a longtime UAD user and so I have to know wether I would get an enhanced (magical) sound if I purchase the VCC or is it too similar to the UAD SSL and Neve channel strip emulations?

Sudad G