What console emus do you like? API, Neve, SSL or...

[Plugintester]

I have uploaded my announced video with 6 different console emus and channel strips, also Telefunken and Helios etc with a guessing game:
6 different console emus and 6 short mixes.
Can you guess the console, do you know the SSL or API or ... sound ?

[Leo1999]

I have uploaded my announced video with 6 different console emus and channel strips, also Telefunken and Helios etc with a guessing game:
6 different console emus and 6 short mixes.
Can you guess the console, do you know the SSL or API or ... sound ?

I dig your video a lot. Telefunken emus on drums are surprisingly pretty good. When I demoed PA Neold I did not like it that much. Unfortunately I do not know on which mix you used Telefunken, I only think to know that MIX1 is API.
What would you recommend Arturia or Plugin Alliance Telefunken emulation ?

[Plugintester]

I have uploaded my announced video with 6 different console emus and channel strips, also Telefunken and Helios etc with a guessing game:
6 different console emus and 6 short mixes.
Can you guess the console, do you know the SSL or API or ... sound ?

I dig your video a lot. Telefunken emus on drums are surprisingly pretty good. When I demoed PA Neold I did not like it that much. Unfortunately I do not know on which mix you used Telefunken, I only think to know that MIX1 is API.
What would you recommend Arturia or Plugin Alliance Telefunken emulation ?

Well, it depends. I used the Telefunken Arturia Neold combination twice on a bus.
Neold compressor is my go-to plugin on piano, electric piano, clavi and organ. An electric piano or Clavi can be very dynamic and Neold tames it in a pleasant way and makes it sit well in a mix

[Bodhisan]

Nice to hear comparisons with headphones on (who else but us audiophiles would even care about the subtle or even not-so-subtle differences?) - and you inspired me, oh great Plugintester, to take a serious look at Arturia's Pre V76, which I tried on vocals, and it did something very nice that's now made it into my vocal chain. Thanks!

[Skyfall72]

If you guys are really into emulations hardware no one does it better than Antelope Audio I mean seriously NO One!
You would think UAD or AA one is the best ...?
Antelope SSL channel sounds and behave like a piece of hardware. It gives punch clarity and vibe just like your favorite record. I mean the sound is not even close to one's from PA, waves, even UAD or AA.
I really should make a videos

[_leras]

At the moment I like the Lindell 80 Neve emulation for general tone shaping (before going into a tape sim e.g.).
I also have used IK white channel, mostly on drums, sometimes bass.

The 80 sounds great but it's not really an all purpose channel strip, it's more of a tone strip.

I do think if you mix a track with the same channel, you can get a 'record' sounding vibe. The EQs changes/and phasing from changes just match the sounds you'll have heard on records. However, I think you can get a better sound by using better individual tools and processing on the key channels.

The best sounding strips I have are from UAD, but the brainworx ones are pretty good too.

he most flexible and usable that I have worked with in the past couple of years is the Waves Omnichannel the Andrew Schepps designed. It just so flexible and quick to work with: different slopes for hp/lp, different curves for eq bands, different compressor types, built in saturation and a limiter. For most tracks in a mix this can be more than enough.

[jBam]

I've enjoyed setting up digital "studios" in my daw, with channel strips setup as a full console; comps or certain styles/eras setup on buses etc. I use cubase, and export whole mixer sections as exported channels (with all routing etc) so I can import a full mixer and bus setup as required (although I have pretty comprehensive templates setup that I don't often f**k with).... It's actually been a really enjoyable way to mix whilst integrating new and old vst purchases. "Studio 1 needs a new modern opto" - sweet... justifies another purchase lol...

So I have a classic new, classic old, old old, and modern (e.g. izotope) mixer and separately similar buses setup I can easily access.

I've always enjoyed mixing with channel strips and love the vst access to a LOT of cool equipment for not many $...

Really like brainworx/lindell... tmt is... a bit silly, but happy with results (silly as in "that is literally the most f**ked up poorly calibrated console I've ever heard"... just cause there's "tolerances" in electronics, doesn't mean a circuit omits all its internal trim pots etc to allow for that in calibration... lol...). I do like the sound of all of them though... a lot. So I use them... and I don't even hate the tmt in application - just wish they had an "amount" fader or a bunch of levels (0, 25, 50, 75, 100).

For reference, I do electronic... techno/house... in that space, my thoughts:

- Go to / most familiar: ssl style... I use/own bworx j/e regularly. E drum mix; j musical parts. I used to use waves a lot at a previous studio. My conclusion is: it was shit compared to brainworx... thin and narrow... the new waves ssl - can't comment on though.
- New love: lindell api for full drum parts mix; the old neve one for kick was a surprise too... didn't expect it to be nice on a dance kick like that... I struggled to get a full drum mix through it though...
- soft tube A Channel is really nice. I have some minor complaints with softube loading times, but the latest update seems to have sorted that. Probably gonna try a new techno mix setup with that on drums... its... really good on drums... punchy modern sound...
-psp infini strip: very good. Annoyingly good... excellent system, allowing you to swap an eq style for another whilst retaining settings (as best as possible). I have a feeling that if I had this first, I might have not bought so many channel strips lol... I use it sparingly at the moment, usually on musical parts. It's probably great on everything... and it's always my best A/B on tom's...
-what else... ddmf the strip is nice. Subtle... but very usable. I use it as a default in several templates... it's pretty low cpu and is nice and broad-brush.

So: yes - there's a few there... but I use them all regularly (thanks to that fake studio setup I mentioned)...

Sorry - long post... TLDR: "ssl, then api, then neve, then misc." lol...

[simon.a.billington]

I had the tendency to collect all the strips from IK, Waves and Plugin Alliance.

I like to match the consoles to the project, sometimes even mix them up. Just before mixing I will place them all across my whole mix and audition them one by one. It takes a few minutes, but it worth it just get get that little extra out of your mix.

In terms of flexibility I would have to say Scheps Omni as well. It's pretty much what I envisage a modern-day console channel strip would be if they were to reinvent it all over.

[Aryez187]

"I had the tendency to collect all the strips from IK, Waves and Plugin Alliance."

+1 to that...especially with the constant sales and loyalty vouchers, still though I don't find myself really using them very much.

[Bodhisan]

"I had the tendency to collect all the strips from IK, Waves and Plugin Alliance."

+1 to that...especially with the constant sales and loyalty vouchers, still though I don't find myself really using them very much.

Is that because you're using individual plugins, or is it simply because you have so many, that you only use one or two? Until a few months ago, I had not been bit by the channel strip bug, and was content with using Toneboosters 4 e.q. and Barricade - but they kept crashing Logic when I would try to pull up projects - TB said it was Logic's problem. Anyway, I bought Fuse's VCS-1 when it was on sale - and haven't looked back. I've since gotten quite a few channel strips, but also enjoyed the technique mentioned by others and by Simon above to use only one console per project - which makes sense for continuity...and having the feel of being in a studio. Because I spend about 5-6 hours a day or more "creating" music, I sometimes will pump out two songs a day, but usually one a day - music, lyrics, etc. - I'm like the Brill Building (but it's probably more like an OCD), though I lay no claim to quality of songs other than I'm very happy with sound.

To that end, I've created 15 templates that use only one channel strip or combo of "like equipment," which allows me to enjoy all of the channel strips, though maybe only once every week or two. And I realize nobody really cares what I personally do, but here are my templates, just in case someone might be curious after reading the above:

Analog Obsessions: (1) API, (2) Neve 1073, (3) Neve Portico, (4) SSL, and (5) Collins; Black Rooster's (6) Pultec (with BR's LAA) and (7) Heldon (which I really like); (8) Bx Focusrite SC (came with my interface); (9) Fuse VSC-1; (10) Lindell API; (11) Lindell Neve; (12) Logic's Pultec with Logic's Comp on FET setting - interestingly, Logic's Pultec has a really nice compression, and it's the only template I use where I don't need to use compression on vocals); (13) Waves SSL EV2; (14) Arturia's Trident with Comp Tube-STA (totally surprised and impressed with using a second one for de-essing vocals); Last, but not least, though I'm sure I'll be getting Scheps Omni and TG12345, (15) three components from Toneboosters 3 tools (3's do not crash Logic Catalina for me): EQ3 and Evoke3 for vocals - which, so far, gives me my smoothest vocals, and it may well be the sibilance portion of Evoke, and I use the Bus Compressor on the master. For all templates, I have Air Windows Console 7 on all tracks, and I use Toneboosters ReelBus3 and Sibalance before the channel strips/components. For vocal chains, I also use the Toneboosters Gate3 if there is no gate on the strip, PA's SPL De-Esser, and Arturia's V76 Pre.

[Aryez187]

"I had the tendency to collect all the strips from IK, Waves and Plugin Alliance."

+1 to that...especially with the constant sales and loyalty vouchers, still though I don't find myself really using them very much.

Is that because you're using individual plugins, or is it simply because you have so many, that you only use one or two? Until a few months ago, I had not been bit by the channel strip bug, and was content with using Toneboosters 4 e.q. and Barricade - but they kept crashing Logic when I would try to pull up projects - TB said it was Logic's problem. Anyway, I bought Fuse's VCS-1 when it was on sale - and haven't looked back. I've since gotten quite a few channel strips, but also enjoyed the technique mentioned by others and by Simon above to use only one console per project - which makes sense for continuity...and having the feel of being in a studio. Because I spend about 5-6 hours a day or more "creating" music, I sometimes will pump out two songs a day, but usually one a day - music, lyrics, etc. - I'm like the Brill Building (but it's probably more like an OCD), though I lay no claim to quality of songs other than I'm very happy with sound.

To that end, I've created 15 templates that use only one channel strip or combo of "like equipment," which allows me to enjoy all of the channel strips, though maybe only once every week or two. And I realize nobody really cares what I personally do, but here are my templates, just in case someone might be curious after reading the above:

Analog Obsessions: (1) API, (2) Neve 1073, (3) Neve Portico, (4) SSL, and (5) Collins; Black Rooster's (6) Pultec (with BR's LAA) and (7) Heldon (which I really like); (8) Bx Focusrite SC (came with my interface); (9) Fuse VSC-1; (10) Lindell API; (11) Lindell Neve; (12) Logic's Pultec with Logic's Comp on FET setting - interestingly, Logic's Pultec has a really nice compression, and it's the only template I use where I don't need to use compression on vocals); (13) Waves SSL EV2; (14) Arturia's Trident with Comp Tube-STA (totally surprised and impressed with using a second one for de-essing vocals); Last, but not least, though I'm sure I'll be getting Scheps Omni and TG12345, (15) three components from Toneboosters 3 tools (3's do not crash Logic Catalina for me): EQ3 and Evoke3 for vocals - which, so far, gives me my smoothest vocals, and it may well be the sibilance portion of Evoke, and I use the Bus Compressor on the master. For all templates, I have Air Windows Console 7 on all tracks, and I use Toneboosters ReelBus3 and Sibalance before the channel strips/components. For vocal chains, I also use the Toneboosters Gate3 if there is no gate on the strip, PA's SPL De-Esser, and Arturia's V76 Pre.

Honestly what I found worked best and simplest for my needs was Izotope MP 4.1... I know that most people would say that's kind of amateurish or even cheating, but for me -- I definitely understand that your mileage may vary -- it just was the best option.

[Bodhisan]

In this day and age, there is no "cheating." Whatever works, eh? Until recently, the engineering portion of recording did not appeal to me at all - just a necessary evil - all I used to want to do was write a song and record it. But now, I totally am immersed in the plight of being an engineer for my music - I love it, and I love the intricate - if you can really say that, partnership between the components in a strip or like plugins. To be honest, though, with all my different templates, I can't tell one from the other ( ), other than with the vocals, as e.q.ing is always unique to each strip/plugin.

[Pilonsky]

Can’t go wrong with SSL. The API 560 eq and 2500 compressor are awesome. I prefer them over the SSL for some reason. The graphic eq is a great way to quickly carve out the frequencies you want out of an instrument, particularly if it’s playing a secondary role in a mix. The API 2500 is great for dialing in compression, particularly on busses (though it’s good for anything). The Neve stuff I haven’t taken to yet. It always sounds muffled and unfocused. Though all I’ve tried is the Waves V comp, and the soundtoys decapitator Neve channel emulation. For API wins, though SSL sounds great.

[simon.a.billington]

"I had the tendency to collect all the strips from IK, Waves and Plugin Alliance."

+1 to that...especially with the constant sales and loyalty vouchers, still though I don't find myself really using them very much.

Is that because you're using individual plugins, or is it simply because you have so many, that you only use one or two? Until a few months ago, I had not been bit by the channel strip bug, and was content with using Toneboosters 4 e.q. and Barricade - but they kept crashing Logic when I would try to pull up projects - TB said it was Logic's problem. Anyway, I bought Fuse's VCS-1 when it was on sale - and haven't looked back. I've since gotten quite a few channel strips, but also enjoyed the technique mentioned by others and by Simon above to use only one console per project - which makes sense for continuity...and having the feel of being in a studio. Because I spend about 5-6 hours a day or more "creating" music, I sometimes will pump out two songs a day, but usually one a day - music, lyrics, etc. - I'm like the Brill Building (but it's probably more like an OCD), though I lay no claim to quality of songs other than I'm very happy with sound.

To that end, I've created 15 templates that use only one channel strip or combo of "like equipment," which allows me to enjoy all of the channel strips, though maybe only once every week or two. And I realize nobody really cares what I personally do, but here are my templates, just in case someone might be curious after reading the above:

Analog Obsessions: (1) API, (2) Neve 1073, (3) Neve Portico, (4) SSL, and (5) Collins; Black Rooster's (6) Pultec (with BR's LAA) and (7) Heldon (which I really like); (8) Bx Focusrite SC (came with my interface); (9) Fuse VSC-1; (10) Lindell API; (11) Lindell Neve; (12) Logic's Pultec with Logic's Comp on FET setting - interestingly, Logic's Pultec has a really nice compression, and it's the only template I use where I don't need to use compression on vocals); (13) Waves SSL EV2; (14) Arturia's Trident with Comp Tube-STA (totally surprised and impressed with using a second one for de-essing vocals); Last, but not least, though I'm sure I'll be getting Scheps Omni and TG12345, (15) three components from Toneboosters 3 tools (3's do not crash Logic Catalina for me): EQ3 and Evoke3 for vocals - which, so far, gives me my smoothest vocals, and it may well be the sibilance portion of Evoke, and I use the Bus Compressor on the master. For all templates, I have Air Windows Console 7 on all tracks, and I use Toneboosters ReelBus3 and Sibalance before the channel strips/components. For vocal chains, I also use the Toneboosters Gate3 if there is no gate on the strip, PA's SPL De-Esser, and Arturia's V76 Pre.

Honestly what I found worked best and simplest for my needs was Izotope MP 4.1... I know that most people would say that's kind of amateurish or even cheating, but for me -- I definitely understand that your mileage may vary -- it just was the best option.

Oh I use those plugins too, Well not the whole suite as I don't have it, But Neutron & Nectar certainly, amoung a few others.

I actually use those in conjunction with the other channel strips. The iZotope handles the transparent and fine detail work, where as the emulations add the tone and character. It's not that I use all the features all the time, only the features I need for a given track in that given context. It's all there in a simple workflow ready to go with a minimal of fuss

I still think I might have an OCD problem with collection channel strips however!! .

[Aryez187]

Haha yeah and especially with how they always seem to be able to do that one thing we always
feel like our current strip lacks...can definitely be hard to resist