Feeling a little insecure over here with my lack of proper console emu

What say you? Are these things necessary to get great sounding mixes ITB?

What difference have they made for you?

they make my mixes sound more analog

actually i dont really know i've never actually properly used my Waves NLS on a mix. I should try that and get back to you.

Necessary? No...

Make a nice difference where its suitable? yes...

I like my mixes to stay in digital

I have Satson, RC-Tube and Stripbus. I use them 90% of the time and i like what they do.

wrong thread

??

In my understanding and terribly simplified, console emus do really four things: Compression, Saturation, Cross-talk and adding noise. With many console emus, all these components are interlinked and influence each other.

Many single VST compressors have some kind of inbuilt saturation anyway when pushed hard. For example, the Waves API compressors do saturate (when driving hard) and also add optional noise. Adding console emus and driving them hard is then like doubling up, which might be a good or bad thing, depending on the music style. IMO, I think the key of using console emus in general is to be as subtle as possible, especially if there's already other compressors/saturators in the effect chain.

Cross-talk is something I can completely live without and find nothing nice about it, again just my 2c.

Of course they're not necessary... But they are a nice option

lol i mean i posted in the wrong thread

i think i did that wrong

I've decided to sell my copy of NLS for $104 canadian if your interested

no way

Not you, i was talking to any other people who are interested.

They are just another way of purportedly "analog-izing" things. You could ask the same about a tape emu or a tube preamp emu. The difference that's starting to emerge with things like the Waves NLS one is that they literally model many different channels, not just one (like in their Helios HLS plug-in) and they claim the subtle interactive differences, if you put a unique channel on each of your tracks then sum them, makes it pick up more of that analog console mojo.

What exactly is that analog console mojo you might ask? I don't know really, but many people with the money think it's worth paying a lot for, even today when it's not in any way practically necessary.

what about zero-crosstalk digital summing mojo?

eh?