SlateDigital new FG-A beats API

[Teksonik]

I don't rent plugins..........

[sleepcircle]

oh good. inter-forum politics

also if this presidency has done nothing else to harm the world, it has seen the introduction of the term "fake news," the personal battlecry of everyone who doesn't want to listen to anyone else.

honestly i never thought i'd see it come up in a PLUGIN DISCUSSION. i can't wait for everyone to get sick of that phrase and stop using it.

[badass_billy]

also if this presidency has done nothing else to harm the world, it has seen the introduction of the term "fake news," the personal battlecry of everyone who doesn't want to listen to anyone else.

The term "advertorial" has been around for a long time.

"Native Advertising" is sort of a newer one, made popular around the early 2000's. At least as it applies to online marketing.

No one's trying to start any holy wars. Just trying to help others become aware of some of the devices used by marketers to manipulate public perception of their product. I'm not lying when I say that negative reviews are wiped off gearslutz.

Follow the link:
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-pro ... lizer.html

Now count how many posts have been deleted. It actually shows you which posts have been deleted if you look. And there's a ton of them. I got a chance to view them before they were wiped out, and they were all civil. But they were critical of Slate. And that's what happens on gearslutz when you're critical of those on their protected list. One of the deleted posts, by the way, was a comparison I put together of API plugins, comparing them to hardware. And the results of them were so similar, no person could possibly conclude that there was a meaningful difference between the Waves, Slate, Acustica and the hardware.

Next thing I knew, it was vapor!

It's damaging to the free market and hurts consumers. And people need to be aware of it.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I don't rent plugins..........

You can buy it outrigh for $149 (which seems like a lot for a single EQ IMO). I'd venture to guess it'll be on sale around Black Friday/Christmas.

[badass_billy]

For anyone who's actually still interested, I highly recommend trying the Melda TurboEQ.

It's first preset is an emulation of the API. And of all the ones I tried, it was probably the fullest-sounding in the low end, and the cleanest. Not surprisingly, cleaner than the hardware, but that's a good thing. Plugins are best when they do clean. That's what they do well.

[4damind]

Slate is only the salesman who says funny things and yes, not so many people like him for this. If they have not changed this, Fabrice Gabriel is still the main developer for all this Slate plugins and this guy know what he is doing. I expect at least a great sounding EQ, very close to the original - and that's all what counts.

The question is for me "do you really need all this plugins?" and my answer is more often "no". In the past I bought also a lot of the UAD plugins and after some years I must admit, that most of the stuff I rarely/never used.
I'm no longer in the boat to buy everything which is newly released, so I have more time to make music instead of collecting plugins. This API EQ is not so interesting for me, maybe I would pull the trigger if they released a Pultec emulation

Anyway, I use some Slate stuff since the day it was released (VTM, VMR but not with all plugins, VBC and the formerly console collection which is now a part of VMR) and have only good words for this plugins. Replaced my UAD and improved my workflow/sound a lot. If people love the API EQ, I don't think it's a mistake to buy this Slate emulation.

[Etienne1973]

If they have not changed this, Fabrice Gabriel is still the main developer for all this Slate plugins and this guy know what he is doing.

+1

[izonin]

Slate is only the salesman who says funny things and yes, not so many people like him for this. If they have not changed this, Fabrice Gabriel is still the main developer for all this Slate plugins and this guy know what he is doing. I expect at least a great sounding EQ, very close to the original - and that's all what counts.

Absolutely! Don't think about them as Steven Slate's plugins, as he's not the programmer. They are simply good sounding plugs, coded by a talented guy.

[sin night]

The question is for me "do you really need all this plugins?" and my answer is more often "no"..

+1000

I strongly agree with this.

And, beside the fact that I don't like the idea of renting tools, this is a strong argument against subscription plans for me: the developer has to keep on adding content, but it's very likely I will use just a small part of that (and probably always the same old content). Of course this is a generic consideration, it's not just for Slate's plugins (btw, I have the original VMR and I use it... I think it's a good tool).

Slate plugins are good in my opinion, they do the job. And that's enough for me.
I started caring less and less (actually, I don't really care anymore) how close a plugin compares to hardware: if we make a list of the best emulations around for a certain device, if the plugin is closer to the top positions and it's "good enough" (I mean: being the best plugin of a certain category is not enough, if every avaible option sucks a lot), then I'm fine. I think Slate plugins are usually between the best, so that's enough. I don't need all of them (so I'm quite cold about subscription), but that's another subject.

I don't get the whole discussion about Slate's marketing: it's a really aggressive strategy, he's really present but... do you think that's really effective? I mean: I paid attention once, I paid attention twice, but now I don't listen anymore and I go straight to the point of what's new and then judge with my ears.
And it's the same for virtually every company. If you pay attention to the way they communicate, they always say the same things at every new release. You may have more or less hyperbolic sentences, they may focus on some things... everyone has their own way to communicate, but you can recognize their comunication patterns at each release. After a while, you don't care anymore about what they're saying and you'll go straight to the point (maybe without realising it)...

By the way, I didn't listen yet to the new plugin, probably I don't even need the API sound...
I hoped the thread was more about the plugin and less about the marketing or other forums, but it's always the same with certain brands... (rant off)

[badass_billy]

Slate is only the salesman who says funny things and yes, not so many people like him for this. If they have not changed this, Fabrice Gabriel is still the main developer for all this Slate plugins and this guy know what he is doing. I expect at least a great sounding EQ, very close to the original - and that's all what counts.

For me, it's not all that counts.

How do I know this guy knows his stuff? Because Slate says so. And do I trust anything Slate says? Nope. They're so full of hot air, that I'm seriously at the point where I even question the authenticity of the guy making a Youtube video. Even his fanboys are about the most abhorent group of internet trolls I've ever had the misfortune of communicating with.

I take nothing about Slate at face value. And this isn't some baseless vendetta. They've gone way out of their way, and done everything they can possibly do to earn my mis-trust.

[Zero dB]

I don't know what's going on with Slates modelling but it's like all his ones with non-linearities have this exaggerated softening effect of the whole sound. i noticed it first in VMR on his 1073 emulation,and the 1073 is ANYTHING but soft sounding,it has a prominent bite in the hi-mids and a massive low end if you hit those input transformers with a lot of gain before you even reach clipping the transistors (which is very noticeable on transients)and i can notice it on this API emu too.the thing about the API (i have the 512 pre in 500 series)is that too is also anything but soft.it's a very punchy,tight pre(probably those op amps and transformers) and i've heard the 5500 and it exhibits the same timbre.

Exactly this. Frankly I'm hearing this softening effect on lots of analogue emulation (non linearity) plugins, including Slate, and it's BS. I think it's that 1) developers perhaps are taking advantage of users not knowing how the hardware really sounds (nothing like it!) and 2) that DSP, perhaps, is sadly just not capable of nailing the sound of analogue hardware - many, many aspects but particularly the transient response. DSP is a different sound altogether and it's just not the same at all. Is it the sign of madness? After years and years of developers making claims their plugins sound like hardware maybe it's time to accept it's not possible. I've never heard anything properly close; always those tell tale signs of the software sound.

Listening to lots of commercial pop mixes , which unfortunately seem mainly to be mixed ITB these days, the softening effect you refer to is widespread and it's just horrible. I really miss that sharp, snap of transients you hear on a proper OTB mix or at least a decent hybrid mix. These plugins also seem to majorly roll-off the high end (unlike hardware which sparkles) and in the past couple of years I've also noticed that the majority of commercial pop mixes are majorly lacking in sweet top end too. It's pretty sad. Overall compare mixes coming out today with just a few years ago but especially before 2010 and the sound quality difference is ridiculous - the older stuff just kills it.

Anyway, veering slightly off topic I know. The overall answer is to get DMG Equilibrium and Trackcomp = digital done right (even if the latter does do some analogue emu... none of this softness crap).

[badass_billy]

It sounds like you guys are talking about Kush.

All of their stuff sounds obnoxiously and deliberately soft and fuzzy. But then again that's their trademark I guess.

[pixel85]

Listening to lots of commercial pop mixes , which unfortunately seem mainly to be mixed ITB these days, the softening effect you refer to is widespread and it's just horrible. I really miss that sharp, snap of transients you hear on a proper OTB mix or at least a decent hybrid mix. These plugins also seem to majorly roll-off the high end (unlike hardware which sparkles) and in the past couple of years I've also noticed that the majority of commercial pop mixes are majorly lacking in sweet top end too.

Really? That's contradiction to what I hear: more and more of hyped hi-end where the last thing that could come to my mind is "rolled off, soft highs". Are you sure you're not talking about low quality MP3 files?

[CrystalWizard]

.....These plugins also seem to majorly roll-off the high end (unlike hardware which sparkles) and in the past couple of years I've also noticed that the majority of commercial pop mixes are majorly lacking in sweet top end too.

Really? That's contradiction to what I hear: more and more of hyped hi-end where the last thing that could come to my mind is "rolled off, soft highs". Are you sure you're not talking about low quality MP3 files?

Same here, older stuff has a smooth rolled off top end compared to the new crunchy very high end.

[Zero dB]

Listening to lots of commercial pop mixes , which unfortunately seem mainly to be mixed ITB these days, the softening effect you refer to is widespread and it's just horrible. I really miss that sharp, snap of transients you hear on a proper OTB mix or at least a decent hybrid mix. These plugins also seem to majorly roll-off the high end (unlike hardware which sparkles) and in the past couple of years I've also noticed that the majority of commercial pop mixes are majorly lacking in sweet top end too.

Really? That's contradiction to what I hear: more and more of hyped hi-end where the last thing that could come to my mind is "rolled off, soft highs". Are you sure you're not talking about low quality MP3 files?

Ha, yes def not talking about low quality MP3s. Listening to WAVs on Adam A7s through a Prism Orpheus in a treated room - staggeringly clear and accurate monitoring chain which, unfortunately, also reveals the warts and all when they're there!

Well it could well be that we're talking about a different part of the top end - I'm talking about the really sweet top end stuff, which you hear on analogue mixes and really makes my monitoring sing. A joy to hear. This just ain't there on most ITB boxes. Perhaps it's something also part and parcel with the vastly superior transient response you hear on analogue or ITB mixes (for the record I don't think it's digital per se that's the problem, ie conversion, it's DSP that I'm talking about). A problem that's mitigated to an extent when working at high bitrates, though it's still there I think.

I agree massively about the lower top end (ie the main part) being hyped and harsh on most ITB boxes around at the moment. When it's not deliberate design choices, I think we're hearing the build of up aliasing over dozens (hundreds?) of tracks and it's nasty!! Overall I find it incredibly sad that seasoned mixer pros think this is "good enough"! Wish they'd go back to the SSLs! (eg Mark Spike Stent mixes then vs now). As we all know, digital mixes don't have to sound like this - they can sound good, though not nearly as good as console mixes IMO.

(Btw I say this all as someone who's been mixing ITB for, crikey, nearly 20 years, professionally - doing audio and music for media. About 8 years ago I tried introducing high end analogue in a hybrid setup and discovered it's just another level entirely from plugins...).

Sorry all for going off-topic.

Cheers

ZdB