Zero Latency Preamp Plugins

[BackInCheck]

It's difficult to get zero latency and aliasing-free preamp saturation. Usually it takes some degree of oversampling or anti-aliasing measures, which typically introduce some amount of latency.

Or you use only slight amounts of saturation, which will introduce less aliasing. Some saturation plugins have de-/emphasis EQ, so you can reduce the amount of saturation in the highs (the higher frequencies are particularly prone to introducing aliasing). Or a multiband saturator like FF Saturn, where you only saturate the mid-band.

[AGIGA]

Maybe this?
https://www.softube.com/eu/plug-ins/tape
Extras for Studio One users
If you run Presonus Studio One, you can not only use Tape as a standard plug-in. Adding Tape to your MixFX slot gives you Tape Multitrack. Tape Multitrack includes all the goodies of Tape, but in addition, you get selectable crosstalk between each individual track — and you can easily control the Tape Multitrack settings from a single interface. The Tape and Tape Multitrack license is one and the same. This means that if you're not a Studio One user but at some future point decide to switch to that DAW, you will already have Tape Multitrack installed, licensed and ready to go.

[pabloaldunate]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I have found that Mixwave preamps are 0 latency and that many of the plugin alliance consoles are latency free as well.
I need zero latency plugins to track and also to play live so any suggestion works.

[Vortifex]

Checked my Arturia and Blackrooster Neve preamp emulations and both had 0.73ms latency. SDRR has 0 without oversampling.

[SiliconDeath]

I think ideally you'd want something that has good auto-level compensation, but not many do (I think arturia is closest if memory serves right, but it too has 0.6db constant boost or something, I guess you can save new init presets that have -0.6 or whatever it was, then you're good to go)

Kelvin (3samples in low latency mode) is a very versatile one to use imo, and it has many different modes/style of sounds. This is the one I try out most often.

Theoretically Tupe should be more versatile than Kelvin, but sadly, adjusting the "emphasis" graph for your like is real pita (and also very counterintuitive/confusing). I don't understand why they couldn't make it simple to draw graph with bell curves or something (like sidechain in pulsar audio 1178 plugin, or Fabfilter's Pro-C2), so it's hard to recommend because of that (also it has 84samples of latency in HQ mode).

There are some others that have interesting sound (mixwave plugins) but they have quite badly designed pre/post gain-staging (making it hard to compare with bypass'd dry signal) so it's not an easy no-brainer to recommend, but they do sound good.

PA Vertigo VSS-2 has more than just a preamp, but if you can grab it with a forever 29 voucher or some other means cheap, then it's worth having in your arsenal. It's not quite vsm4 + VSC3 but it's very close, uses less CPU, and they also managed to cram it into much smaller UI space so it's easier to use than two together. The compressor it has is very cool

Also depending what your goal/material is (is it to set some chain that's universally used in all kinds of signal, sort of set and forget, or are you tackling certain song/instrument in said song) then Fabfilter's Saturn2 and Volcano3 are worth looking at too (if you want to emphasize certain frequency's harmonics more).

[simon.a.billington]

Anything that oversampled is going to add latency, So it's an idea to turn it off for live use or when tracking. You could also run your session at x2 the sample rate, this will roughly half your latency and give you a x2 oversampled type of sound.

The downside it it will also place more demand on your CPU.

[db3]

I have found that Mixwave preamps are 0 latency and that many of the plugin alliance consoles are latency free as well. I need zero latency plugins to track and also to play live so any suggestion works.

Fuse Audio has some nice preamps, but they all add some latency. However, the VCS-1 channel strip (with 3 preamp flavours) is zero latency. Currently $15 at PB: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/ ... nnel-Strip

[ampetrosillo]

It's difficult to get zero latency and aliasing-free preamp saturation. Usually it takes some degree of oversampling or anti-aliasing measures, which typically introduce some amount of latency.

Or you use only slight amounts of saturation, which will introduce less aliasing. Some saturation plugins have de-/emphasis EQ, so you can reduce the amount of saturation in the highs (the higher frequencies are particularly prone to introducing aliasing). Or a multiband saturator like FF Saturn, where you only saturate the mid-band.

Apparently there is also a way to (kinda) reduce the amount of aliasing non-linearity introduces. Instead of applying the non-linearity directly, you apply its derivative and then you integrate. It is somewhat expensive and not all that effective (it decreases the amount of higher-order harmonics only slightly, but every little helps). A combination of pre- and de-emphasis, this technique and the choice of a softer waveshaping to start with can make things a bit better, but in the end, it's always going to be inferior or at most equal compared to even 2x oversampling.

[pabloaldunate]

I think ideally you'd want something that has good auto-level compensation, but not many do (I think arturia is closest if memory serves right, but it too has 0.6db constant boost or something, I guess you can save new init presets that have -0.6 or whatever it was, then you're good to go)

Kelvin (3samples in low latency mode) is a very versatile one to use imo, and it has many different modes/style of sounds. This is the one I try out most often.

Theoretically Tupe should be more versatile than Kelvin, but sadly, adjusting the "emphasis" graph for your like is real pita (and also very counterintuitive/confusing). I don't understand why they couldn't make it simple to draw graph with bell curves or something (like sidechain in pulsar audio 1178 plugin, or Fabfilter's Pro-C2), so it's hard to recommend because of that (also it has 84samples of latency in HQ mode).

There are some others that have interesting sound (mixwave plugins) but they have quite badly designed pre/post gain-staging (making it hard to compare with bypass'd dry signal) so it's not an easy no-brainer to recommend, but they do sound good.

PA Vertigo VSS-2 has more than just a preamp, but if you can grab it with a forever 29 voucher or some other means cheap, then it's worth having in your arsenal. It's not quite vsm4 + VSC3 but it's very close, uses less CPU, and they also managed to cram it into much smaller UI space so it's easier to use than two together. The compressor it has is very cool

Also depending what your goal/material is (is it to set some chain that's universally used in all kinds of signal, sort of set and forget, or are you tackling certain song/instrument in said song) then Fabfilter's Saturn2 and Volcano3 are worth looking at too (if you want to emphasize certain frequency's harmonics more).

VSS2 and Tupe are 0 latency?

[SiliconDeath]

Some plugins add less latency on oversampling than others, I guess it involves not using linear phase filters in OS algo. This is probably why some plugins lets you choose if you want it to be zl os or lp (cytomic plugins at least offer an option for you to choose)

VSS2 and Tupe are 0 latency?

VSS you can get 6 samples of latency without FIR OS turned on (so you can run quite high OS rate even with low latency), ableton reports it as 0.12ms so it's very low latency (maybe ok as long as don't have too many such plugins in chain). Tupe is "true" zero latency with 0spl 0ms of latency without the HQ mode, but when you turn the HQ mode it has 84 samples or 1.2ms latency.

[pabloaldunate]

I would not use input FX for this. Just put it in the normal chain and freeze/render later.

What would you use input FX for?

[Danilo Villanova]

I would not use input FX for this. Just put it in the normal chain and freeze/render later.

What would you use input FX for?

Plugins with no latency (no need for oversampling). Amp sims, EQ/filters, etc.

[mixtur.se]

Psp infinistrip has zero latency, and has saturarion, eq and compression

[Plajia]

Sonimus Burnley (Neve 1073 preamp and EQ) is zero latency. I use it for rough mixing or during tracking to estimate what my real Stam audio 1073 will do.

[midi sentinel]

NoiseAsh Preamp collection shows as 0.2ms latency in Studio One Pro.

https://noiseash.com/need-preamps/