Brainworx bx_console Focusrite: support fail

[sikdrumz]

I’m a bedroom producer, and was given a free copy of “brainworx bx_console focusrite sc” when Native Instruments/Izotope/Plugin Alliance/brainworx launched their ‘Soundwide’ alliance back in April of this year (2022 - there were a bunch of other freebies that came along with the launch too).

I’m interested in learning more about producing with a virtual console, and have done some research into how eg. a Neve console works. With the Focusrite console emulation, I couldn’t work out what the signal path is through the components. I know that on some Neves you can route the compressor before or after the EQ, but that path is not obvious from the brainworx Focusrite GUI. It’s not mentioned in the PDF manual either.

I contacted the brainworx support team to ask for a description or a block diagram of the Focusrite console signal path, and that’s when things got disappointing…

The first guy who replied said that they don’t provide that information. I found that a terrible response and wrote back to say so, but this ‘support’ guy just closed the ticket.

I emailed back and said I wanted to speak to his manager. The manager came back to me and would only say that the plugin is a 1:1 emulation of the hardware, and there are many videos explaining how the hardware works. He did not provide a link to any such video. I am still trying to find one.

Just wanted to post this here as I think it’s such a massive fail. How can the software manufacturer’s own support not describe how one of their flagship products work? How can they be so unhelpful (and in the first guy’s case = rude) to a customer? If I had bought this software at the launch price of $350, would they still have had no answer to give me?

My overall take is that if the software requires a working knowledge of the actual console, then they shouldn’t have chosen it as a giveaway to thousands of users. If anyone knows how the signal path actually works on the Focusrite Console, I’d be very keen to know!!

[chk071]

If the original developers never created a block diagram, how should support or the company owner provide you with one?

Not even the original's product manuals provide a block diagram.

I would assume that the plugin's signal flow is according to the way the GUI elements are arranged though (left to right), and the order the different sections are described in the manual.

If you think that support at least could have told you that, yes, they could have. Should have. Would have.

[sikdrumz]

Why would the software engineers not provide one? And do you think that studio engineers using the real console do not know the flow?

[chk071]

Why would the software engineers not provide one?

I read a lot of plugin manuals in my life, and only a few of them showed the signal flow of the plugin.

Anyway, have you read the rest of my post? I think your priority should be trying to understand the signal flow, instead of arguing with me.

I would assume that the plugin's signal flow is according to the way the GUI elements are arranged though (left to right), and the order the different sections are described in the manual.

That's valid for almost every plugin I came across, by the way. Left to right signal flow in order of the GUI elements.

[Googly Smythe]

Re: eq position,
There's a button on the gui that's labelled "Post EQ". I wonder...

[Googly Smythe]

Re: eq position,
There's a button on the gui that's labelled "Post EQ". I wonder...

Page 16 of the manual.

[sikdrumz]

I’m hearing people give their own opinions (I have some too), but not really hearing the facts. I just want to know the actual signal flow through the physical channel strip.

[sikdrumz]

Page 16 of the manual.

This page is labelled as relating to the Low Frequency band.

[Googly Smythe]

But the text says,

EQ Post Determines the position of the EQ module, including HP and LP Filters. When engaged the EQ and Filters are after the dynamics, which is the default configuration.

[sikdrumz]

And maybe everyone should know that bullet point 4 on the “Low Frequency (LF) Band” page is actually part of a completely new section, but it’s not very clear to me.

If it is so obvious, why were the paid support staff not able to tell me the same?

[sjm]

PA support is pretty useless based on my experience. I wrote to tell them that they had a bug in their plugins - one of the releases had resulted in all the VST2 versions of the plugins only working in mono in FL Studio (also reported on KVR and the Image-Line forums). I pointed out that this was a problem that all FL Studio users were experiencing, but that the previous versions and the VST3 versions worked fine.

Support wanted to know what OS I was using. I told them, while reiterating that this was not an OS problem, but was experienced by all FL Studio users on all (Windows) platforms.

Instead of looking into the issue or passing on the information to the devs to be fixed, I was directed to legacy installers because I use Windows 7. I replied explaining that I am aware that Windows 7 is no longer officially supported, but that the plugins work and install without problems. The issue being that the VST2 versions of the plugins were all mono, and something was borked in the latest release for all users.

I received another reply that Windows 7 wasn't supported. I replied that I would no longer be purusing the issue as it was clear that the support agent wasn't reading my emails and that the ticket could be closed. Reading comprehension or actually taking care of users does not seem to be something that is part of the culture.

The bug was however fixed in a subsequent release, so someone somewhere had more than 2 brain cells and a basic understanding of the English language.

[rasmusklump]

If the original developers never created a block diagram, how should support or the company owner provide you with one?

Not even the original's product manuals provide a block diagram.

I would assume that the plugin's signal flow is according to the way the GUI elements are arranged though (left to right), and the order the different sections are described in the manual.

If you think that support at least could have told you that, yes, they could have. Should have. Would have.

So they modeled the strip and programmed the plugin without knowing the signalflow?

[chk071]

Yes, because that's exactly what I wrote.

Not.

Try to read and comprehend.

[Googly Smythe]

RE PA Support.
As in all things ymmv.
The one and only time I needed PA support was when I accidentally bought 2 of the same plugin (don't ask). I meant to get Friedman's Dirty Shirley and their Buxom Betty, but I didn't buy them at the same time. Anyways, I ended up with 2 Dirty Shirleys. I sent an email explaining my idiocy and was refunded the same day.
As I say, ymmv, and maybe it depends on whom your email reaches and what your problem is.
You hear similar good and bad stories with most companies.

[Googly Smythe]

So far as manuals go, well, they're not always written by professional writers, they're not always properly proof-read, sometimes they're written by people for whom the language of the manual is not theirs.
So there you go.
And there go I.