Thank you, rcprod.

I've been concerned for a long time 'cause I bought the original mic-and-pre pack when it first came out, and the store has had it sitting in its box all this time.

I'm hoping to be able to use it in 6 months' time, but I've said that before and failed to get to my goal of having all the bits necessary to get my room up-and-running, so here's hoping...

sorry I dont want to high jack this thread but i started a thread here asking about sending VMS Mic for repair, maybe someone here can help me out please

Sending Slate VMS ML-1 in for repair

Do it! And buy all the mic packs, too... I dig mine a lot... I also have the little sdc and really like it and its mic model pack, too

For those of you still trying to decide on the system here is my new video and conclusion to my Emulations vs Clones series. I posted Part I earlier in this thread. I hope this helps one way or another.

Hello,

Pretty interesting by those Slate digital VMS emulation.

I see there are several hardware microphone proposed.

Is is mandatory to use the VMS ONE preamp? I have a uad Apollox8 audio interface. I heard there can be some latency delay when using the VMS with the UAD apolllo Interface???? Is this true??

You understand that I am a bit lost with that VMS product.
Can someone explain me more in details how it works and reply to my questions above.
Thank you
Best
Sergio

Sergio, in theory the flatter / more-transparent the mic preamp you use, the more-authentic the mic models will sound.

Make sense? The VMS ONE was designed with this in mind, as I think were the preamps in the Slate interfaces. You could use any preamp you like, but the more it add its own colour to your mic signal, the less-accurate to the originally-modelled mic's the outcome will be.

HTH, mate.

Im lost too in the sense of do I need the pre or not? It appears that the pre is just designed to be the best match going in and then its up to you to shape the sound with plug ins vs your hardware.

When recording, do you print the mic and pre settings or can you record neutral and apply a mic choice and pre choice later?

And if you record with hardware pre/comp can you still apply the slate pres? I assume the answers to above are all either or.

I have owned the VMS for a few years now.

No, it is not necessary to use the Slate preamp. HOWEVER - the emulation software is designed to make the mic sound exactly like other mics. If you run the mic through a different preamp, the software will then be applying the sound profiles to a different sound than the one it was designed to receive. A good analogy would be like trying to use Sonarworks to correct the sound of a pair of Sennheiser HD600s, by applying the correction profile of a set of HD700s. So essentially, the software will still run, and it may even sound good, but it wouldn't be accurately modeling the microphones that it was designed to emulate exactly, which is kind of the whole point of the thing. The VMS software was designed to receive the sound of the Slate mic, into the Slate preamp, into a LINE IN (without additional preamp) on an interface, in order to be accurate. If you use an analog comp on the way in, that, too, would color the sound, thereby skewing the accuracy of the emulation software.


And no, there is no need to print the mic and pre settings as you are recording. I always record without the slate software even running, and then apply it, and fiddle with it, afterwards.


While I do like my VMS, the fact that I need to use the Slate preamp for the whole thing to even be worth it, means less portability and less flexibility. I have had my eye on the Townsend Sphere for a while. That can be used with almost any pre, and it has dual capsules for more flexibilty with regard to proximity effect and off axis response.

Hope that helps
-TKB

Is the slate software preamps needed? Or does a waves 1073 or brainworx neve 1073 do the same thing as the slate pre?

What is tempting me here is that I currently use a manley ref c - neve 1073 - 1176. Thats a solid chain but when I chose this chain I knew it wouldnt be perfect for everyone. Sometimes I want a 47 or 67 and the option to have a 800g excites me. Of course having a c12 and 251 there too is great. But I dont know if its worth giving up a solid reliable chain and go to this? I feel like it may be a step back.

I'm sure one of those pre emulations you have will "work", but once again, the Slate system is designed to work most accurately with its own software. The VMS software comes with its own neve 1073 emulation anyway, if that's what you're after.

So you don’t have to buy the pres separately? This is what’s confusing.

If I buy the mic only what do I get?

If I buy the mic and pre?

I thought they came with the fg73 and the other one (not sure what it is). But then I saw them for sale individually for $150 so I’m confused.


I guess I have been looking at this slate system in a different way. It’s basically just a super clean platform to capture a signal Then applies samples or eq curves over that. So you can technically use a u87 into this software and change the mic right? Although I’m sure it will sound terrible. For some reason I thought the software only recognized the slate mic but seeing the preamp is just an xlr in and line out that’s wrong.

When I purchased the VMS, it was only available as a package including their hardware preamp as well. I'm not sure if you just purchase the mic if it comes with the 76 and 73 preamp emulations. My guess is that it does, but you can always email them directly to be sure.

And yes, you are correct - the system can receive an input from any mic. On its own, the Slate preamp functions like any relatively clean sounding pre.

As far as using a real U87 into the software, it's entirely possible that it could sound anywhere from awesome, to horrible. Yes it would change the sound of the mic, but you wouldn't be changing it to, let's say, sound like a C800 - which, once again, is the point of the whole thing. But what it won't do is accurately model the mics and preamps to sound as close to what they were modeled to sound like. Their software was matched precisely to work with the exact frequency response of their ML-1 microphone.

If you're going by what each company tells you, then the Sphere sits in the same boat with the ML-1. Although Townsend doesn't make a dedicated pre for their mic, they have also previously mentioned using a clean sounding pre to obtain the most "accurate sounding" results; the same thing that Slate Digital now says, regardless of whether it's their preamp, or something from another company. So, between the two, the scenario is pretty much the same, aside from the Sphere requiring at least two channels.

The question that anyone should ask themselves is whether or not "accurate" matters more than simply being able to obtain the best possible sound that they can with either microphone and its accompanying mic emulation software.

Are music enthusiasts going to listen to your recordings and care about "accuracy" either way?

Outside of situations where you are trying to use either mic alongside the real mics that are being emulated, your focus is better spent on doing whatever you can to simply make great sounding recordings. Your personal taste and ears should be the judge of what sounds great for a particular project and what doesn't; but you may be limiting yourselves too much if you fall into the trap of thinking that the mic will only sound its best if used the way that each company tells you to use it (e.g. with an ultra clean sounding preamp, and no other hardware in the chain before the signal reaches the mic emulation software).

@ PettyCash : I'm just about to buy my first VMS ONE preamp, so far I thought I can manage with just the mic and Audient pres. But.. I had the chance to try the mic with the Slate pre and it was kind of a "heureka" moment for me, it all (signal, the sound, emulations) made sense.

I'm finally able to record lead vocals for my solo album at home, yeah

I totally agree. That's why I made sure to state, and then reiterate, that while the emulations are designed to be accurate with the included mic and pre, using the software with other equipment doesn't necessarily mean it will sound good or bad. Only that it won't be exactly accurate with regard to the equipment that it's supposed to emulate.

Absolutely, and for most people, exact accuracy shouldn't be a higher priority than trying to achieve the most useful sounding results possible.

Using the Slate mic emulation software as an example: The most important aspect for achieving a tone that sounds like the mic being emulated is recording with the ML-1 mic itself. The sound signature of that microphone is the most influential piece in the chain. Everything else (pre, comp, EQ, etc.), is playing more of a supporting role, as far as shaping the overall sound is concerned.

IMO, the overall tone matters a whole lot more than the "original intended accuracy". As long as the mic being used is the ML-1, and you're using a chain that compliments the sound of whatever tone you're trying to use from the mic emulation software, the results should be better, not worse. My personal experience with the VMS suggests to me that the results will always be better, if the chain you're using is top quality and meshes well with the emulations you're trying to use.

Is there any news on this? I am really curious to hear the VMS simulating U87's!

The new price for the ML-1 is great. However, since I don’t have a ML-1 yet, I would find a nice price for the ML-1 + preamp system very much appealing. The preamp is needed for the VMS to work as expected.
Will be also a Black Friday price for the whole VMS system?

I’m in the same boat and pretty tempted by the whole VMS. I appreciate the feedback and view points on using a non Slate pre. Curious how my MR816 (which is meant to be pretty clean) will hold up vs the Slate pre.

I have no experience with the MR816, but as long as its preamp is smooth sounding, and you feel it's generally a good sounding pre, you probably don't have anything to worry about, and chances are, the results will sound better than if you were to use the VMS One preamp, which in my opinion sounded way too stark to be pleasing.

Hi, I purchased ML-1 after and I installed Virtual Mix Rack in order to use the VMS. After installation, Cubase 11 (on W10 up to date) takes almost two times longer to start and VMR doesn’t work. I can see Virtual Mix Rack in the plug-in list, but when I click on it nothing happens. Rescanning the plugins (more than 250) crashes Cubase. Uninstalled VMR, installed it again: same behaviour.

This is the first Cubase 11 crash I have experienced. Last week I installed VSX and everything worked like expected. Any idea?

Geez man, bummer.

Make sure you reboot after the installation maybe?

I bought the ML-1 in April last year and really enjoyed using it until it failed on me last month.
Contacted support with an audio clip and they sent a replacement unit with no question asked. Now the replacement mic is giving me the same problems and I'm sending it back again, but asked for a refund instead of another replacement.
I really believe in the VMS system, but in the first place I just want my gear to work flawlessly. I'm really bummed about this since I actually loved using the ML-1 when it worked, and was planning to pick up the ML-2 and the VSX headphones as well. But I can't trust the Slate hardware anymore, so that'll be a no-go.

What problem was it giving you ?

Overall a muffled sound and low output. Too bad, because I really really dig the Slate software, but two broken mics is just too much. Could be the case that the third one’s the charm but I don’t want to risk it anymore. I do have to say Slate support for me is fantastic and they really try their best to keep me happy, even though it’ll be with a mic from another brand in the future.