Any way I can mimic a 90's effects rack?

[DJDJ]

An effects rack of what exactly? Compressors? EQ? Reverbs? Delays? Multi-FX?
Best I've found if sound quality is what you're after is going to be a mix of convolution stuff + a decent DAC emulation + bits of algorithmic plugins to round it out.

Some plugins to start with:
-some sort of good convolution reverb plugin + a set of Alesis Quadraverb IRs. I like the Kineticsoundprism collection, which has Quadraverb, but also H3000, H8000, and a bunch of other old springs & stuff. Worth it for the Quadraverb IRs alone.

-Dusty Devices Phaser-DDL for that DP4 phase

-Acustica Nebula + libraries for compressors, flangers, phasers, etc. I really love the Tim P Focus, which is a Focusrite Trackmaster for a great compressor from that era. But Nebula really opens up access to a lot of great hardware tier sound libraries.

-Inphonic RX950 for Akai sampler DAC emulation. It's a great plugin.

-Beatskillz Samplex3 for other well done DAC emulations for samplers. Great for making efx more lofi

-For a multi-fx unit emulation, Guitar Rig is a solid choice, but you might have to process it's output through something to make it a little more lofi. But components wise, it's got all the building blocks that youd find in most 90s rack gear for effects. The Eventide plugins would be a decent choice too, or the Soundtoys stuff.

[Hidenori]

I'm using RC-20 by XLN Audio and Dirty Tape by Softube for that sometimes. Also, using UVI Soundware to get the old synths/samplers' sound instantly, which is not the "effector (effects rack)" through anyway.

[Winstontaneous]

Actually, the best way to mimic a '90s effects rack is to cover yourself in ratty black carpet with chrome trim, be really heavy, and sit very still!

[jens]

Emulating a digital FX unit without infringing on copyright somewhere (or resulting in something merely 'similar to' the original) is probably really hard; in the same realm as 'why haven't they done a SY-99/D-50/M1' that always gets asked.

Nonono - the problem with these and copyright lies solely in the ROM-library, which makes up a big part of their specific sound (all three of these use short samples).

[HAL76]

Eventide, esp. H3000
Geaphical EQ
Overloud Modula
...

but most important imo is delay / Haas effect.

And mono Signals as input.

Quantum Leap: Sherman Filterbank

[jens]

an SQ80 which does have sample content.

Nope, it's just single cycle waveforms, which to emulate (rather than to re-record* (legal) or sample (illegal)) is rather trivial.




*i.e. say the D50 uses a short (attack-phase) sample of a pan flute for a certain patch. You could set up a mik and record a pan-flute for a D50 emulation in order to re-create that patch. Since you'd own the copyright for that recording this would be legal.

[dionenoid]

And the behringer composers were/are just straight clones of the dbx 266 iirc, so in an ideal world shouldn't sound much different from a 165 emulation with random noise added.

The Behringer Composer was around years earlier than the DBX 266. So pretty weird how it could be a clone of a product that didn't exist yet.

Behringer Composer is a copy of the Drawmer DL241. This is widely known and also stated by Drawmer themselves. I used to own both (og DL241 and og MDX2000) and operation was identical.

Also, the DBX 165 costs around 1700 bucks 2nd hand and is considered to be a classic, while the DBX 266 is a budget product which costs around 150 bucks new (i had 4 of them at one point). They are 2 completely different things, both in sound and operation.

[dionenoid]

I really love the Tim P Focus, which is a Focusrite Trackmaster for a great compressor from that era.

The Focusrite Trakmaster was introduced in 2001, so pretty much impossible to find in a 90's effects rack.

But yeah, it's a very good Nebula lib, highly recommended like everything else from Tim P really.

[Teksonik]

an SQ80 which does have sample content.

Nope, it's just single cycle waveforms, which to emulate (rather than to re-record* (legal) or sample (illegal)) is rather trivial.

SQ80:
"Each voice can combine up to 3 of the 75 waveforms. These waveforms include multi-sampled transient attack waves such as violin bow, plectrum picks, mallet, hammer, breath attacks and percussive sounds. There are also 5 sampled drum sets."

https://www.vintagesynth.com/ensoniq/sq80.php

The length of the samples has nothing to do whether it's legal to copy them or not. A single cycle waveform is a sample.

So your "nope" is an incorrect response to the part of my post you quoted: "an SQ80 which does have sample content".

This is from Arturia's SQ80V emulation:

SQ80V.png

So either they have received permission to duplicate those waveforms or no one owns the rights anymore or they just rolled the dice and hoped no one would file a copyright complaint. The emulation would not be as close as it is without the original factory sample content.

*i.e. say the D50 uses a short (attack-phase) sample of a pan flute for a certain patch. You could set up a mik and record a pan-flute for a D50 emulation in order to re-create that patch. Since you'd own the copyright for that recording this would be legal.

You know as well as I do (or should anyway) that Eric Persing vigorously protects the D-50 sample content.

That's why the only true emulation is from Roland themselves. Ask yourself why Arturia (or any other developer) hasn't done a D-50 emulation even though it's one of the synths that defined an era and can be heard on countless records and movie scores of the time.

Whether you can sample things to make D-50 type patches is another subject altogether.

Try duplicating the iconic and at the time ubiquitous "Native Dance" D-50 patch without the proper samples.

The subject here is emulations not approximations.

Once again we see the attitude that all analog emulations are expected to be 100% dead accurate or people will complain but an emulation of a digital or hybrid synth can just be "any sample close enough will do".

[fmr]

You know as well as I do (or should anyway) that Eric Persing vigorously protects the D-50 sample content.

That's why the only true emulation is from Roland themselves. Ask yourself why Arturia (or any other developer) hasn't done a D-50 emulation even though it's one of the synths that defined an era and can be heard on countless records and movie scores of the time.

Whether you can sample things to make D-50 type patches is another subject altogether.

Try duplicating the iconic and at the time ubiquitous "Native Dance" D-50 patch without the proper samples.

The subject here is emulations not approximations.

Once again we see the attitude that all analog emulations are expected to be 100% dead accurate or people will complain but an emulation of a digital or hybrid synth can just be "any sample close enough will do".

I think the problem resides in the fact that, commercially, launching such a product with sample content that is known to have been rebuilt in order to avoid copyright would immediately be regarded as "not good enought" and "iferior" (even if the sample content is well done and even of better quality and expanded). People are (too much, IMO) focused in a somehow impossible "perfect emulation" while (again, IMO) having a perfectly done synth engine is much more important than the sample content.

Although Arturia emulations are superb, my favorite products are Pigments and Minifreak V (and maybe the new Augmented series). None of these is emulating anything (well, the Minifreak V is emulating their own Minifreak).

[Alyctro]

If we're talking Samplers, then people are forgetting that whatever the end media was, it was heavily compressed before going into the sampler. And the sampler would most likely cut off any dithering or resonance artefacts.

[Teksonik]

I think the problem resides in the fact that, commercially, launching such a product with sample content that is known to have been rebuilt in order to avoid copyright would immediately be regarded as "not good enought" and "iferior" (even if the sample content is well done and even of better quality and expanded).

I wouldn't mind an Ensoniq VFX with expanded and updated sample content but then it wouldn't be a true emulation.

People are (too much, IMO) focused in a somehow impossible "perfect emulation"

Yes and it's the analog crowd that is guilty of this. "It doesn't sound anything like the original" is their mantra.

My point is if people can desire a near 100% accurate emulation of analog synths then others should be allowed to desire the same level of accuracy in a digital or hybrid synth.

while (again, IMO) having a perfectly done synth engine is much more important than the sample content.

Not in a synth that is based at least in part on samples. You can nail the synth engine of a D-50 but without the original sample content (yes in all its low-fi glory) then it's not an emulation but an approximation.

The D-50 is one synth from that era that I never owned so I would want an emulation to be accurate. Same with the VFX which I did own. I'd want an emulation to be accurate but again it could also expand on the original by including additional sample content at modern specs.

Someone will no doubt say "but you can make those type of D-50/VFX sounds with other synths", to which I reply, the same could be said for every simple analog synth emulation ever released.

You could make those type of sounds with the other five hundred analog emulations and most synths that aren't even emulations if they have the classic waveforms and filters.

"Yes but they wouldn't be accurate". My point exactly.

Anyway it's all off topic to the thread. Back on effects units from that era of time, I still think an SPX-90 would fit the OP's request and I see no technical reason why it couldn't be emulated. The SPX-90 and DX7 combination was pretty ubiquitous around here during that era and did sound great together for the time.

[carrieres]

Emulating a digital FX unit without infringing on copyright somewhere (or resulting in something merely 'similar to' the original) is probably really hard; in the same realm as 'why haven't they done a SY-99/D-50/M1' that always gets asked.

2 of the 3 synths you mentioned have been done :
https://korg.shop/software/korg-collection-m1.html
https://www.roland.com/us/products/rc_d-50/

[NikkiA]

2 of the 3 synths you mentioned have been done :

The 'they' in context was Arturia

[DJDJ]

I really love the Tim P Focus, which is a Focusrite Trackmaster for a great compressor from that era.

The Focusrite Trakmaster was introduced in 2001, so pretty much impossible to find in a 90's effects rack.

But yeah, it's a very good Nebula lib, highly recommended like everything else from Tim P really.

Pretty sure I saw OP mention 90s-early 00s in this thread. Sure, not technically 90s, but still one of the few examples of a lower end compressor that might have been used in a rack setup in the early 2000s. AND, more to the point, it sounds great. You can keep it out of your purist 90s software rack, but I’ll keep it in mine