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I haven't mixed a project w/o Slate's Virtual Console Collection since I got it. Really love the way it glues a mix together and the extra gain control on each track is awesome. I usually crank the drive knobs to get more analog flavor, but find myself pulling all the back on the gain on all the channel strips and beginning a mix that way. I seem to get really great results.

The manual suggests that the channel strip be the first VST you load on a channel, I've not experimented a lot with placing it elsewhere. It's pretty subtle and to my ear sounds best in the first position.

Tips/tricks? How are you using your console emulation? Anyone have any compare/contrast info on the three I've listed? Anyone know of ones I've not? I'm sure UAD and some high end/boutique companies have them. Waves NLS, Slate VCC and Satson? When NLS came on the scene my sense of things, mostly from reading gearslutz, is that Waves NLS was more useful as a saturation FX because it was too unsubtle and a small hold out claims Satson to be the clear winner.

I like Slate VCC, a lot, you don't really notice what it's doing until you disable all the VSTs on your mix and then you go "OOOOOH". I'm still curious about Satson as it's the cheapest by a long shot, 39USD. The filters are supposed to be amazing.

I use the Satson one, its brilliant.

The filters are clean and precise, the general sound of it is exactly how you say - you don't notice it too much on its own but completes the mix.. When you turn it off on all the channels you're like "this track sounds dead..".

I wouldn't say its something you 'HAVE' to have to get a good mix, nor will it give you a good mix but its just one of those plugins you can help build a chain with.

Satson coupled with The Glue is on 90% of my channels these days my mixes sound better because of it.

I want to get one, I'm not sure what though - I keep meaning to try the free version of Satson that came with CM although it has been stripepd of most features.

I'd have though placing it at the end of your mixer FX would have been better tbh, idk why that's just how I thought you'd have to set it up - so the audio from the channel goes through the emulator (get's processed) and then goes to your buss/master.

@lengend4ry - I also use The Glue on a lot of things, it's a staple on all my mix busses nowadays.

legend4ry wrote:I use the Satson one, its brilliant.

The filters are clean and precise, the general sound of it is exactly how you say - you don't notice it too much on its own but completes the mix.. When you turn it off on all the channels you're like "this track sounds dead..".

I wouldn't say its something you 'HAVE' to have to get a good mix, nor will it give you a good mix but its just one of those plugins you can help build a chain with.

Satson coupled with The Glue is on 90% of my channels these days my mixes sound better because of it.

Yea. Exactly, not a magic mix fix by any means, but I love it. The Glue on 90% of your channels? Hrm...I'm curious about this.

(now you have me wanting Satson again, even though it's totally redundant besides the filters).

mthrfnk wrote:I want to get one, I'm not sure what though - I keep meaning to try the free version of Satson that came with CM although it has been stripepd of most features.

I'd have though placing it at the end of your mixer FX would have been better tbh, idk why that's just how I thought you'd have to set it up - so the audio from the channel goes through the emulator (get's processed) and then goes to your buss/master.

@lengend4ry - I also use The Glue on a lot of things, it's a staple on all my mix busses nowadays.

You have it on the start of your chain because its essentially pretending to be like an analogue desk, where its already built in.

So in theory, its a transparent plugin!

fragments wrote: Yea. Exactly, not a magic mix fix by any means, but I love it. The Glue on 90% of your channels? Hrm...I'm curious about this.

(now you have me wanting Satson again, even though it's totally redundant besides the filters).

Glue has its own kind of analoguey sound too - so even if I am just catching high peaks with it (1:2 / -7) it gives things a nice sound.

legend4ry wrote:

mthrfnk wrote:I want to get one, I'm not sure what though - I keep meaning to try the free version of Satson that came with CM although it has been stripepd of most features.

I'd have though placing it at the end of your mixer FX would have been better tbh, idk why that's just how I thought you'd have to set it up - so the audio from the channel goes through the emulator (get's processed) and then goes to your buss/master.

@lengend4ry - I also use The Glue on a lot of things, it's a staple on all my mix busses nowadays.

You have it on the start of your chain because its essentially pretending to be like an analogue desk, where its already built in.

So in theory, its a transparent plugin!

fragments wrote: Yea. Exactly, not a magic mix fix by any means, but I love it. The Glue on 90% of your channels? Hrm...I'm curious about this.

(now you have me wanting Satson again, even though it's totally redundant besides the filters).

Glue has its own kind of analoguey sound too - so even if I am just catching high peaks with it (1:2 / -7) it gives things a nice sound.

OK. That makes sense that it would be at the beginning of the chain then, because on the desk that strip is the first thing the signal goes through.

I see about the Glue. I might have to give that a shot with some of my analog emu compressors and see what I come up with.

I use VCC/VTM and think they're really great plugins. My biggest caveat is how much cpu it hogs when you have them slapped on every channel (using a MacBook that is a few years old). I tried to make a template for every track I start, but it was at 60% usage at standalone. I just leave them off until after I've got the track produced and (mostly) mixed.

zakski wrote:I use VCC/VTM and think they're really great plugins. My biggest caveat is how much cpu it hogs when you have them slapped on every channel (using a MacBook that is a few years old). I tried to make a template for every track I start, but it was at 60% usage at standalone. I just leave them off until after I've got the track produced and (mostly) mixed.

VTM is the real CPU hog, I find I can slap on quite a few Slate channel strips w/ no troubles. But yea, I should maybe start working that way. I have found after beginning to use VCC I do max out my CPU quicker.

I have the combo as well. VTM is a beast. I'll pretty much put it on anything and push the input, reducing the output : )

I've tried the NLS, it's really good because you can select which console you want it to sound like (SSL, NEVE, EMI) which all sound completely different. I've used it mainly on the busses (drum, bass etc) and then the master one as well.

outbound wrote:I've tried the NLS, it's really good because you can select which console you want it to sound like (SSL, NEVE, EMI) which all sound completely different. I've used it mainly on the busses (drum, bass etc) and then the master one as well.

Yea. I've heard you can hear the differences between NLS more clearly than with VCC. VCC, I think, emulates the exact same models (I know it does NEVE an SSL).

I use vcc on every project now since xmas and its really made a notable difference to the overall vibe to my tracks. Check out my track called iron lung under my other alias Libra and listen to the overdrived filtered goodness of the breakdowns. All courtesy of vcc. Will buy satson later this month.

Anybody tried this, similar concepts again:

http://www.sknote.it/StripBus.htm

Shit's only 30$

Depone wrote:I use vcc on every project now since xmas and its really made a notable difference to the overall vibe to my tracks. Check out my track called iron lung under my other alias Libra and listen to the overdrived filtered goodness of the breakdowns. All courtesy of vcc. Will buy satson later this month.

Maybe its because I dropped some serious cash on it...but vcc and vtm are vsts im convinced are pure magic if you already have a clue about mixing/gain staging.

Not heard of that one mthrfnk but will check it.

Watching

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-co ... atson.html

Sknote vs. VCC vs. Satson.

Might have to pick up both Sknote and Satson after hearing Dasoundjunkie speaking about mix and match : )

Been reading a few things about it, looks great.

I like the hi/low and mid/side controls too.

mthrfnk wrote:Been reading a few things about it, looks great.

I like the hi/low and mid/side controls too.

I've heard great things about the Satson filters. I missed the M/S control on the SkNote. Gonna have to demo these and pick them up.

Satson is amazing and at the price I'd say it's a must have. I don't really use it much for mixing my electronic stuff (except for creative saturation/overdrive), but I use it on all my metal/rock mixdown projects. Love it.

3rdeye wrote:Satson is amazing and at the price I'd say it's a must have. I don't really use it much for mixing my electronic stuff (except for creative saturation/overdrive), but I use it on all my metal/rock mixdown projects. Love it.

Curious why you don't use it on electronic projects?

It doesn't really suit the way I work in that realm. One of its intended uses is to have one instance inserted on every channel to assist with mixdown gain structure (calibrating the level of each channel's signal to 0vu). I use a lot of tracks and can't really be bothered doing this on every one of them Also, I don't really want to make use of the other features of the plug, such as crosstalk emulation, in my electronic stuff.

I basically use it to emulate mixing workflow on an analogue console. I don't mix my electronic stuff in the same way as studio recorded material such as rock/metal (which I often do on large-format analogue consoles such as SSL/Neve) so it doesn't really fit with the way I work for dubstep/dnb or whatever.