VoosteQ Model N Channel

[lloydwin]

I bought this plug after trying out for only 1 day. Initially, I was sceptical thinking it might just be a pretty GUI with some soft clipping algorithms and a bland digital eq, but I was wrong.

I compared this to other Neve eqs and it is better than or equal to any of them:

Gold 5
Firstly, I compared this to Gold 5, which many consider to be the Rolls Royce of Neve emulations and this sounds just as good or if not better at around 1/10 of the CPU. It has that signature warm, lush, velvety Neve sound without the harsh highs that Gold 5 is susceptible to if pushed hard.

My system is a Mac Studio M2 Max running at 96khz on Logic Pro 10.8.1 and one instance of Gold 5 uses 80 percent of one core running at 128 buffer size. The Model N only uses 15 percent of one core at the same buffer size.

Basically, Gold 5 is unusable on modern productions which go over 8 tracks of audio or software instruments unless you have a monster CPU like a M2 Ultra or a 24 core i9.

Scheps 73
Model N wins flat out. The Scheps 73 not only looks grainy and pixelated on my Mac, it sounds grainy and pixelated as well. Definitely showing its age and sounds like a lo-fi effect rather than a Neve EQ.

Lindell 80
Model N and Lindell compressors are about the same, the saturation is more punchy on the Lindell when you turn the oversampling above 8x, but the EQ is much better on the Model N. I never liked the HP and LP filters much on the Lindell - they sound like your regular bland digital EQs that come with every DAW.
[correction Lindell 80 not 50]

BX_Console_Focusrite_BC
The Focusrite sounds very nice, and I was surprised when comparing this with Model N as I could get them to sound fairly close with the Focusrite sounding more clinical and "SSL like" compared with the Model N. They compliment each other very well actually and use about the same CPU.

Logic Pro Vintage Console EQ
The Vintage Console EQ actually sounds better on acoustic instruments and soft synths compared with Model N and beats it with a lovely finesse and airy 3d sheen - it could be using convolution impulses whereas the Model N is an algorithm EQ. But the Model N sounds better on drums and is better at processing bass.

The Vintage Console EQ wins in CPU usage, barely registering any pull on the processor - showing 3 percent on the CPU meter, this could be because it is integrated into Logic Pro and super optimised for Apple Silicon.

That's all the comparisons I could do, can someone please compare the UAD Neve to Model N?

In summary - I'd give it 9/10 and highly recommend it - hopefully the developer continues to refine and update it because I think this could be one of the best channel strip plug-ins out there at the moment, and that is amazing coming from a unknown new company that has only been around for a few months.

[heyheycnv]

I've compared it the Lindell 80, Noise Ash 73, Sonimus Burnley and Schepps73. I preferred it over the other four. Gave me that late 60's vibe, smear and grit way more then the others.
The preamp is the weak link but the eq, comp and age/consoles varieties make up for it. Those are fantastic. Put the preamp from either the Lindell or Sonimus in it for me.

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

My comparision with amek 9099 show that they have different vibe.
Side by side with 9000j is more appropriate ,they both have this tight,focused,hardware feeling in heir dna,but 9000j have more character to me and i'll stay with it.
For less than 20 euro is no brain deal,if i didn't have 9000j would be buy now,just don't need it badly now.
Pream could be improved with some fantasy imho.

[multree]

this is REALLY nice. I like it to fatten and warm things up.... I also like both sound AND look.

[multree]

I wonder what the FAKE unit was that they analyzed for the „fake“ analog flavour setting

[hotmitts]

Well I'm kind of sold on this, going to buy now

[operandx]

New update 1.0.1. Be interesting to see if this fixes the latency issue that some have reported.

[TBlake]

New update 1.0.1. Be interesting to see if this fixes the latency issue that some have reported.

It's been reported that it does. But please post back here with your results.

[bmanic]

I wonder what the FAKE unit was that they analyzed for the „fake“ analog flavour setting

It stands for "fake Neve". So it's some kind of DIY version, or they are being cheeky and calling the company who currently owns the brand name Neve as "fake".. well, because it is. The current brand name owner has no ties to the actual Neve heritage of Rupert Neve.

[jens]

y and calling the company who currently owns the brand name Neve as "fake".. well, because it is. The current brand name owner has no ties to the actual Neve heritage of Rupert Neve.

Well, Mark Crabtree has at this point been the CEO of AMS Neve for about three times as long as Rupert Neve had been at the helm of Neve, so there's that...

[bmanic]

True but I suspect the "fake" moniker is still stuck considering how Rupert lost the license back in the day and the alleged animosity between him and the brand.

Personally I think it's all silly and pointless but that's just how it is. Some people still call current day neves "fake" so I wouldn't be surprised if that's what VoosteQ is doing too.

[jens]

considering how Rupert lost the license back in the day

What do you mean? He simply decided to sell his company and signed a ten-years non-competing clause...

[jamcat]

I think it’s because they didn’t model a real Neve. Because it doesn’t sound anything like a real Neve.

[bmanic]

Well to be fair, the various real neves sound completely different from one another (the various models over the years, including the RND products).. but yeah, as I remember it, a bunch of companies made some 1073, 1084 and 33609 clones (Golden Age Audio had a few on show at AES convention in the 00's) and then one of those companies (SAE/Tom?) who had been showing clones at AES bought the rights to Ruperts name. I don't remember the details of the bad feelings behind it but I know Rupert wasn't all that happy about the end results.

He was quite eccentric and I guess he was a perfectionist in his own mind, meaning he knew what kind of sound he wanted and went for that and if somebody else wanted to do the "neve" thing differently and ended up with a completely different tonality, then he wasn't happy about it having his name on it. At least that's how I've always interpreted the drama.

[BackInCheck]

Lindell 80 vs Model N, both currently go for the same price. Which one should I get?