Experience the iconic British console sound like never before with Gold5 from Acustica Audio

[Acustica Community]

Gold represents the ultimate choice for anyone willing to incorporate the sound of legendary vintage British consoles into their workflow.
Along with its routing control section, this is one of the most complex and complete Acqua plug-ins ever released.

We have elevated the Gold suite to new heights with the release of its fifth version, incorporating new features that enhance its accuracy and integrating it with our cutting-edge Hyper technology.


Analog modeling

It's no secret that the sound of our creations is different from the rest.
Our approach is based on sampling, which through the use of FIR filters, allows us to obtain a clean signal with a beautiful frequency/phase response up to the Nyquist frequency.

Very few audio gears have achieved iconic status like the ones we tested to create Gold. It is the most extensive and versatile set of plugins of its kind available today.

We spend countless hours developing these no-compromise plug-ins to give you nothing but the best sound and a ‘feel’ that is as close to the actual hardware to the greatest possible extent.

With Gold5, you have one of the best, high-quality professional audio software plug-in suites in your audio workstation.







What's new?

• Hyper 2 saturation & compression technology.
• All new Hyper preamps.
• An ULTRA Shape control to make the distortion more or less pronounced.
• Numeric labels for all controls.
• High quality oversampling (up to 64x,with perfect phase response).
• Resizable GUIs*

*Choose between 3 magnification values (1x - 1.5x - 2x) from the top left ▼SIZE drop-down menu.
Once the desired size is selected, the plug-in must be removed and re-loaded to apply the changes. This action affects the currently selected plug-in. New instances of the same plug-in will open with this magnification.


What you get

Gold5 includes 9 different equalizers, 2 extremely rare compressors, and a total of 52 preamplifiers available inside the PRE standalone module.
Anyone searching for faithful analog emulations must try this vintage British channel strip.


Gold5 (Channel-strip)

To help you fully unleash the true potential of your mixes, you can use the individual modules of the Gold5 channel strip as separate plugin processors, allowing you to use each component separately for even more versatility.




Gold5 GUI



Gold5 PRE (standalone preamps module)

Gold5 preamp plug-in includes several emulations derived from vintage and rare units. This section emulates their corresponding circuits' frequency/phase response and harmonic distortion.




Gold5 PRE GUI



Gold5 EQ (Equalizer standalone module)

The Gold5 EQ comprises two sections (HF/HMF and LMF/ LF), each with a variety of selectable equalizer units. With all these available EQ combinations, you’ll always be able to find the perfect match for the tracks you’re mixing.




Gold5 EQ GUI



Gold5 COMP (standalone compressor module)

Gold is equipped with two different compressors, the 8252 and 8254.
The 8252 compressor/limiter was the first unit supplied with germanium transistors running on a -24v power supply, and it was the predecessor to the 8254.
The original hardware in the 8254 is a classic compressor built around a diode-bridge cell. It was created in 1969, and its effect is often described as “smooth” and “creamy.”




Gold5 COMP GUI



Additionally, each plug-in included in the Gold5 suite comes in a 'standard' version and an alternative 'ZL*' version, which operates at *zero latency and is thus suitable for use when tracking (at the cost of extra processing resources).

NOTE: Please remember that for each plug-in in the Gold suite, we recommend calibrating your input levels to: -18dBFS = 0dBu.
This way, you will avoid unwanted distortion or unpredictable behavior due to excessive input levels.

We recommend reading the Gold5 user's manual to get the most out of this new plug-in suite.


About Acustica Audio's Hyper technology

Thanks to our new Hyper and Hyper2 technology, we can now deliver even more realistic and convincing compression, saturation, filters, and preamp signals in the digital domain by emulating the sound of analog recording equipment with lower CPU consumption and improved stability.


Technical information & compatibility

• Supported formats: VST2, VST3, AAX, and AU.
• Available sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz.
• Windows 10 and 11 compatible.
• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) to macOS 13 (Ventura) compatible.
• Intel, AMD, and ARM compatible.
• Apple Silicon native (Rosetta not supported).


Price and availability

Gold5 introductory price: €69 | 65% OFF until June 7, 2023 (reg. price €199)* Get it here!

*This upgrade is FREE for current Gold owners.
Gold5 should be available in the Aquarius 'purchased' section.


The product is at an introductory period for the first four weeks after release or until the first official version is released; this implies that the product may receive improvements, changes, or fixes available through Aquarius Desktop updates.


Try our FREE 30-Day Trial
Note: Gold5 trial version includes 44.1 - 48 - 88.2 - 96 kHz sample rates.
Please remember that trials expire 30 days after authorization, and we strongly recommend not using trial products in commercial sessions or any important project.


Gold5 user's manual

Gold5 webpage: https://www.acustica-audio.com/shop/products/GOLD

[musicdoc]

The interface is beautiful, but do these plugins still cripple your computer after just a few instances? I never really kept up with the Aqua platform. Just seemed like too much trouble at the time with all the bouncing and freezing. But that was years ago.

[seangm]

The interface is beautiful, but do these plugins still cripple your computer after just a few instances? I never really kept up with the Aqua platform. Just seemed like too much trouble at the time with all the bouncing and freezing. But that was years ago.

They have a new techonology now called "hyper" which uses much less CPU.

[Hettoblaster]

CPU is now about 1/3 of Gold 4

[musicdoc]

So would running like 20-30 instances of this plugin on a modern computer by feasible?

[Raksha]

I find it strange that this forum is so silent about this release. I bought it, and find it to be really great. The pres and the eqs are great. Haven't used the compressors that much yet, but with AAs new hyper technology, I'm sure they have improved those as well. I'm pretty sure Gold 5 will replace Lindell 80 series in my workflow.

[The Noodlist]

I find it strange that this forum is so silent about this release. I bought it, and find it to be really great. The pres and the eqs are great. Haven't used the compressors that much yet, but with AAs new hyper technology, I'm sure they have improved those as well. I'm pretty sure Gold 5 will replace Lindell 80 series in my workflow.

So is Pink, currently on sale @€59. The Acustica tech is just cleaner to my ears. Algorithmic compressors slightly reduce intelligibility when the GR meter reaches the max IMO. Same with the EQ, cleaner.

Can we get a mouse over tooltips? And a revamped Aquarius? With the ability to select multiple instances, hide (like legacy) and sort by purchases by name/date/purchase? Just the basic functions we expect to make a better user experience.

The install all option could have a tick boxes to deselect items not required or desired to install, could be a great help when doing a fresh install. Install all, would this also install the legacy libs along with the superseded versions?

[Synthman2000]

I find it strange that this forum is so silent about this release. I bought it, and find it to be really great. The pres and the eqs are great. Haven't used the compressors that much yet, but with AAs new hyper technology, I'm sure they have improved those as well. I'm pretty sure Gold 5 will replace Lindell 80 series in my workflow.

Maybe it is great ? A lot of the console emulations are something worth having if you are a good mixer. If you are a hobbyist and your recording/mixing/ production chops are not together, all of this is pointless, you are better off just practicing mixing in your DAW and get better at mixing first. For that you spend money on good speakers and good acoustics and invest in time. Otherwise it will be a bad mix through an SSL/Neve emulation.

Adding console emulation to a bad mix is is pointless unless that mix is great already.

If you are making music, mixing music and releasing music at a decent quality level console emulation is worth considering.

If your instrumental balances are wrong, you have tonal imbalances in your sources and your mix overall, distortions that were not intentional, too much reverb, phase problems, clipping, mono incompatibility, your mix is too mono, artificial stereo width, sibilance on your vocals, inconsistent vocal levels, pops in your vocals etc. console emulation is meaningless.

There was another plug in released recently by another company and all I could think was, great... more distortion, that's all people need. The icing on the cake, not... more distortion to hide a bad mix.

Don't just keep piling on the next cool looking tool if your mix is not holding up to the music you personally hold in high esteem. Keep working on the basics and do it with good monitors and good acoustics.Boring .. maybe if you don't understand anything about sound but ultimately more productive and a realistic way of improving the presentation of your music.

[Acustica Community]

I find it strange that this forum is so silent about this release. I bought it, and find it to be really great. The pres and the eqs are great. Haven't used the compressors that much yet, but with AAs new hyper technology, I'm sure they have improved those as well. I'm pretty sure Gold 5 will replace Lindell 80 series in my workflow.

So is Pink, currently on sale @€59. The Acustica tech is just cleaner to my ears. Algorithmic compressors slightly reduce intelligibility when the GR meter reaches the max IMO. Same with the EQ, cleaner.

Can we get a mouse over tooltips? And a revamped Aquarius? With the ability to select multiple instances, hide (like legacy) and sort by purchases by name/date/purchase? Just the basic functions we expect to make a better user experience.

The install all option could have a tick boxes to deselect items not required or desired to install, could be a great help when doing a fresh install. Install all, would this also install the legacy libs along with the superseded versions?

Our team is working on improving Aquarius, plus many of the features you mentioned are planned.

If you like, it would be very helpful to hear your feedback via ticket so we can forward directly to the right sector:

How to send a suggestion about our products or services.
https://acusticaudio.freshdesk.com/supp ... r-services

Thank you

[The Noodlist]

Our team is working on improving Aquarius, plus many of the features you mentioned are planned.

If you like, it would be very helpful to hear your feedback via ticket so we can forward directly to the right sector:

How to send a suggestion about our products or services.
https://acusticaudio.freshdesk.com/supp ... r-services

Thank you

Might just do that, thanks.

[soulata]

I have Softube Console British A. Anyone compared the two?

Anyway, wanted to try Straw and Ultramarine4 but almost filled my main hard drive with their insane install size.

I guess I have to check how to install those on my other drive and how to remove what's not needed after installation.

Because installing Straw (should be around 6 gig) "cost" me around 16gb disk space which I feel is way too much.

k

[Acustica Community]

I have Softube Console British A. Anyone compared the two?

Anyway, wanted to try Straw and Ultramarine4 but almost filled my main hard drive with their insane install size.

I guess I have to check how to install those on my other drive and how to remove what's not needed after installation.

Because installing Straw (should be around 6 gig) "cost" me around 16gb disk space which I feel is way too much.

k

After installation, you can purge the stage area (where the plugins are downloaded and unzipped) and/or move it to an external drive with more space. Bear in mind it's a four-plugin suite with sampled hardware and a lot of preamps! https://acusticaudio.freshdesk.com/supp ... -area-path

[soulata]

I have Softube Console British A. Anyone compared the two?

Anyway, wanted to try Straw and Ultramarine4 but almost filled my main hard drive with their insane install size.

I guess I have to check how to install those on my other drive and how to remove what's not needed after installation.

Because installing Straw (should be around 6 gig) "cost" me around 16gb disk space which I feel is way too much.

k

After installation, you can purge the stage area (where the plugins are downloaded and unzipped) and/or move it to an external drive with more space. Bear in mind it's a four-plugin suite with sampled hardware and a lot of preamps! https://acusticaudio.freshdesk.com/supp ... -area-path

Thanks. Will do. The next time I get an hour to myself

Probably sometime in 2028.

[idoru97214]

I have Softube Console British A. Anyone compared the two?

Anyway, wanted to try Straw and Ultramarine4 but almost filled my main hard drive with their insane install size.

I guess I have to check how to install those on my other drive and how to remove what's not needed after installation.

Because installing Straw (should be around 6 gig) "cost" me around 16gb disk space which I feel is way too much.

k

After installation, you can purge the stage area (where the plugins are downloaded and unzipped) and/or move it to an external drive with more space. Bear in mind it's a four-plugin suite with sampled hardware and a lot of preamps! https://acusticaudio.freshdesk.com/supp ... -area-path

Thanks. Will do. The next time I get an hour to myself

Probably sometime in 2028.

Took me 5 minutes.

[soulata]

No doubt. It was a joke. Kind of. I don't turn on my studio computer for weeks these days, though.