What preamps are included with Sonar?

I recently watched a video series where the instructor, a professional mix engineer, used a preamp plug-in before (in front of) a console emulation. He was using this chain for mixing, not recording. This got me wondering what preamps are included with Sonar.
 
The TL-64 Tube Leveler (Platinum only) is described here as a preamp/processor.
 
Are there any others I'm missing?

To add to what Craig said, there are lots of plugins with Sonar that could be considered to give pre-amp like coloration. For example the tube plugins or the console emulator. It depends what parts of a pre-amp you are trying to emulate.
 
I think Craig was mainly talking about gain itself. I think when you mention pre-amp plugins you are also talking about coloration.
 
I've used lots of different equipment at this point and I can honestly say I can't imagine a Ribbon Mic plugin. :P
You need the mic.
 
My real compressor is really nice and there aren't any plugins that work the same for me.
 
So, you can add color, but capture the very best recording you can first.

telecharge

gswitz
I think when you mention pre-amp plugins you are also talking about coloration.

Yes, that's the impression I got from the videos.  He had various preamps on the group buses and the mix bus, but didn't go into detail. It may not make much of a difference, if any at all, but I thought I would experiment.
 
Thank you both for the answers.
 

Are you sure they were preamps? Because those are not normally something you put on buses, let alone the mix bus. Sounds more like console emulation or a mild "analog style" compressor or channel strip. Preamp plugins are relatively rare as it is.

Ok. Not familiar with the Slate products, though I know they're popular. I can't think of a reason to put a preamp on a bus. Except "if it sounds good it is good" of course. Must be some analog coloration that he's going for. There's a bunch of things included with Sonar you could use for that, though I think none of them are called "preamp".

I use the Scheps on every Vocal track that leaves my studio.
Not just for the built in pre amp but the EQ section is amazing (its simple).
But the tonal characteristics are great for dialing voice detail.

chuckebaby
the tonal characteristics are great for dialing voice detail.

Thanks, Chuck.
 

Sanderxpander
Softube Saturation Knob

On a somewhat unrelated note, two of the guys that run PT Expert said this would be their choice as their desert island "harmonics" plug-in. I found that interesting. I know saturation/distortion adds harmonics, but I've not seen the Sat. Knob referred to that way.
 

AT makes a good point. Additionally, I would say that the "distortion" that a good preamp adds should be very minimal. So you should be looking for a very subtle/mild effect, which is why I mentioned that specifically about the Softube knob. Once you start hearing obvious distortion, you've gone too far. Like going from one track to two tracks doubles your volume, similarly does distortion "add up", especially if you use the same plugin on multiple tracks.

Im not sure the digital age is quite there yet with exact replicating characteristics of a good pre amp.
We are close, but even good Guitar Sims like Bias FX and its mimic features that allow one to replicate amp sounds is a great feature but still missing some tonal quality's.
 
Im not ready to throw away my analog pre amps yet .
I almost came close to letting go of a majority of it a few years back, as I wanted to work strictly in a box. 
But it just wasn't happening. there was something still missing.
 
I don't believe its just the tubes either, its the transformers, the diodes, right down to the caps.
Software can only do so many things. your at the mercy of your PC.
 
Sorry, I might have taken this in a totally different direction here. My apology's to the OP.
All im really trying to say is (I believe) its a bit more than adding digital noise. Its the way each pre amps hardware reacts with its own living parts (hum, warmth, the grade of components) the whole 9.
 
When you look at the construction of a good pre amp, there is just no way it can be completely emulated by a board/CPU.

I think it's also important to define what we mean by "distortion." There are non-linearities inherent in analog amplifiers and these are more or less random. People often say that digital audio "collapses" the soundstage but I think that's not really what's happening, it's that the non-linearities between the left and right channels in analog gear expand the soundstage by creating differences between the left and right channels (thus adding a sense of width) that don't exist with digital. 
 
Another reason is that many audio interfaces have more crosstalk than what happens in an analog console, and this is typically at the highest frequencies, which are the most directional frequencies and therefore contribute to a feeling of width. I've measured high-frequency crosstalk on some well-known and popular interfaces that measures -45 dB or so, which is audible. (FWIW not to get too Gibson Brands rah-rah, but the TASCAM UH-7000 has extremely low crosstalk because they have separate power supplies for each channel, and really fastidious circuit board layouts. This kind of attention to detail does make a difference.) So something like a Console Emulator's non-linearities are perhaps adding some very slight degree of distortion, but they're also trying to "undo" the collapse that happens with crosstalk and the identical characteristics of digital data streams.
 
Howver...for a sense of perspective, because an XYZ preamp was used on a bunch of hits doesn't mean anything. I'm sure quite a few hits have used Mackie VLZ preamps. All that matters is the emotional impact of the music. If overdriving something or non-linearities contribute to the emotional impact, that's the only reason you would want to use them. I use the Console Emulator because it provides a sort of clarity that I believe does improve the music's emotional impact by giving it a slight amount of (for lack of a better term) "presence."

Anderton
I use the Console Emulator because it provides a sort of clarity that I believe does improve the music's emotional impact by giving it a slight amount of (for lack of a better term) "presence."

Thanks, Craig. Your latest Friday tip and the videos I mention in the OP definitely have me rethinking the way I've been using the console emulations.
 

ArcRex
I like to put the Tube Saturation in front of the AmpSim(in a fxchain) in the Prochannel an use it as a preamp to the Amp Sim. I don't use any drive, I just adjust the input to a nice clean sound then I increase the output to make the amp sim break up. It sounds right to me. 

Thanks for this, too. I noticed Craig had the Tube Saturation module in his Friday tip screenshot. Usually, the Softube knob gets all the love.

Anderton

ArcRex
It sounds right to me. 

And really...nothing else matters 

Unless you have clients that disagree.

telecharge
On a somewhat unrelated note, two of the guys that run PT Expert said this would be their choice as their desert island "harmonics" plug-in. I found that interesting. I know saturation/distortion adds harmonics, but I've not seen the Sat. Knob referred to that way.
 

Saturation, whether created in an SSL pre's transformers, a Mesa Boogie head or a cheap fuzz pedal, is always a combination of harmonics and compression.

Softube's Saturation Knob is very good. I'm generally reluctant to use much digitally created saturation/distortion because I often feel it lacks something I can't define but can "feel" when compared to transformers, valves, diode clipping, transistor fuzzes etc., but the Sat Knob is something I use and find musical. If I could only have one saturation plugin that would be it.

D16's Devastator 2 is also pretty good, and Waves' Saphira are also pretty good in my opinion, perhaps because they're subtle as such things go, don't try and overdo things and blend nicely rather than sounding like a "glued on" addition to the original audio. At least, that's how they strike me.