Hey guys. This may come as a surprise, but for the last year we've been secretly developing a plugin called the Virtual Console Collection.
What it aims to do is precisely emulate the sound of mixing through a legendary analog desk. We've worked very hard on the algorithms and we're happy to say that in our testing, it was extremely difficult to pick out the real desk verse the emulation in an blind A/B test.
Fabrice Gabriel implemented modeling techniques that capture the entire dynamic response of the desk, meaning that the sound of the desk, (depending on the emulation), can change as you drive it harder.
Its a two plugin package including the Virtual Channel and Virtual Mixbuss. The Virtual Channel is applied to all channels, the Virtual Mixbuss can go on master faders and some groups.
This is a beta version, and it must be shared that users may find some initial bugs. Therefore, this version is being offered for $50 less then the final retail version, and will be updated to the final version when completed for no charge.
We can't track bug reports in this thread, but we will certainly work with you if you post detailed reports at our support forum
www.slatedigital.com/forum and via our support ticket system
www.slatedigital.com/support. Its probably a good idea to check the support forum to make sure your bug hasn't already been reported.
A demo of the VCC will be posted tomorrow and will be fully functional with the exception of a rather loud and awful belching sound every four seconds. I kid, I kid. It'll have a quick mute every 30 seconds, and this time we'll make sure to have it all synced up so you'll have 29 second bursts of precious audio to test the VCC on. I'm really sorry for those of you who dislike this type of thing and from the bottom of my heart I wish we didn't feel forced to implement it. But this is the policy right now.
These gearslutz announcements have a tendancy to attract people who share their opinions in a somewhat unprofessional manner. We can't stop this,
but I do ask that everyone shares their comments, suggestions, and opinions with respect. We'll be glad to return the respect by listening to you, implementing your suggestions, improving things based on your requests, and helping you out with any problems. Our main goal is to receive an email from you telling us how great your mixes sound with our products.
About Console Emulation:
Console emulation is not like adding an eq or a compressor to a source. For the most part, its quite subtle. Running audio through the console circuitry tends to add some minor nonlinearities like harmonic distortion, phase distortion, saturation, and crosstalk. Some people find that these small bits of nonlinear artifacts add a "vibe" to the mix, which is why so many major mixers still prefer to mix through analog desks.
We hope you enjoy the Virtual Console Collection, and make great music. Visit our online shop at
www.slatedigital.com to purchase.
Steven Slate