Control + Z Studios
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Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
Is anyone using the Slate Digital Plugins with Sonar Platinum? I see that they don't "technically" support Sonar but "may work". Sounds sketchy but the amount of stuff that you get for $25 a month seems INSANE! Maybe I am being snowed by the audio in the video examples on their website but I was like "SIGN ME UP!" . . . until I saw the requirements. So, possible problem scenarios: - Is it really $25 a month or do I have to pay an "up front" cost or the whole year or iLock (which brings me to possible problem:)
- iLock2 device: Yay! Back to a freakin' DONGLE. Didn't we "86" that crap back in the late 90's, OMG - must be a Mac thang. I see a post in the Hardware section about some issues with iLock but iLock2 is "better" blah, blah, may work, no it doesn't. no it's Slate, No it's the PC - I dunno. I do know that USB ports CAN go WONKY, as I spent weeks chasing down this buzzing sound in my audio and was pulling out my hair and cables. It turned out to be the internal USB controller chip and once I put in a USB card (which, BTW uses its OWN controller chip) the problem was gone, FINALLY! Uggh! It also stopped some random BSOD that had "USB" in the message (couldn't read all of it that fast). So, I can see how this could be a potential pitfall with iLock not being happy with power, control, sharing, blah, blah, doesn't work.
- Plugins don't load in VST scanner correctly
- Plugins are memory hogs and end up making IK Multimedia seam like a dream (some of you know what I am talking about). Slate swears you can put "thousands" of instances on your tracks. Yes, he said the word "thousands". I had to roll it back and hear it again. What the freak is he running?
Anyway, this is long enough to get started. There is a thread on iLock in the Hardware section if you are having issues with that.
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eph221
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 13:07:10
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I've used them. All very resource hungry. Worse than the waves signature series.
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Zargg
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 13:17:10
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Hi. I only have "revival", but it works like expected. Sorry to be of no more help.
All the best.
Ken Nilsen ZarggBBZWin 10 Pro X64, Cakewalk by Bandlab, SPlat X64, AMD AM3+ fx-8320, 16Gb RAM, RME Ucx (+ ARC), Tascam FW 1884, M-Audio Keystation 61es, *AKAI MPK Pro 25, *Softube Console1, Alesis DM6 USB, Maschine MkII Laptop setup: Win 10 X64, i5 2.4ghz, 8gb RAM, 320gb 7200 RPM HD, Focusrite Solo, + *
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btsabq
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 13:26:54
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☄ Helpfulby karhide 2016/04/11 15:50:41
eph221
I've used them. All very resource hungry. Worse than the waves signature series.
Hmmm. I have a very different experience with the Slate Plugins. I have the VMR on many (almost all) tracks and also use the VTM and VBC on several tracks on my i5 machine and they barely take any resources and perform very well. Now the FG-X limiter plugin is a resource hog, but that is meant for 2-track mastering. Other than that I think Slate's plugins are some of the best sounding and performing vsts around. YMMV.
* UAD-2, Slate Mix & Master Suite, MJUC, Disto, RC24, Valhalla, etc. * MOTU 828MKII Black Lion Mod * SPlat 64bit * Benchmark DAC-1 * Mackie HR824
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Control + Z Studios
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 13:53:53
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I guess I should have mentioned that I have an Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM, using a Tascam US-2000 interface (USB 2.0) with ASIO drivers on "Lowest Latency". It took me a while to figure out that I had ASIO set on one preference but WDM on playback. That was giving me a noticeable lag when I would use input monitoring on something like Amplitube 3. I was bummed until I got ASIO on everything and now it is NO latency. I mean NONE, and I am ABUSING the pro channel on every channel of audio in my sessions. So far, so good except I did notice that when I started recording some new tracks into a project that was loaded up with plugins and pro channel mods, the audio would be out of sync. REALLY bad, where I had to slip edit the track into shape with the others. This confounded me until I learned about Sonar's most underrated feature for performance: QUICK FREEZE! (if you don't know what this is, you need to look it up). That totally fixed my sync issues as well as some random dropouts.
I would be okay if I could run some of the Slate Plugins (not "thousands") on my tracks AFTER tracking is mostly complete and use the Quick Freeze or just freakin' commit and bounce things down (it's really hard to commit isn't it?) to do final tweaks and mixdown.
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davec69
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 14:26:18
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I subscribed to the Slate subscription as soon as it was made available. Love them. In answer to your questions:
1. I only pay 19.99 mo. The 24.99 subscription price also includes the additional LX480 Reverb plugin. I have enough reverbs. When I started my subscription, I paid 19.99 via Paypal the first time, and each month, I pay 19.99. I can stop my subscription anytime, and start up again anytime I want.
2. This was my first experience using Ilok. Slate sent me the dongle free when I subscribed. When it arrived, I plugged it into a free USB slot, and went through the licensing process. After that, I forgot about it. No issues, problems or worries. I'd much prefer a system without Ilok, just on principle, but in practice, Ilok really isn't that bad, at least for me.
3. In Sonar Platinum, I've never had an issue with Slate plugins not loading. Each time there is a Slate update, I install it, and on the first Sonar startup, the plugins get scanned by Sonar. That's it. Contrast that to Waves shells, which I have to wait to be scanned on each Sonar startup.
4. I'm not sure why some people say that Slate plugins are memory hogs. I have a few songs in which I only used Slate plugins, on every channel. The resources are no higher than any of my previous songs, which do not use Slate plugins. There is one exception. Slates master buss processor, FGX, I think. That beast sounds great, but is definitely a resource hog.
In summary, I've been very happy with Slate plugins. I feel they are a great deal for the money.
Toshiba P75-A7200 LaptopIntel i7-4700MQ 16GB RAM2 x 1TB Hybrid DrivesWindows 10Sonar Platinum (Last Update)Cakewalk Bandlab (Latest Update)Roland Quad Capture (Bios 1.04 / 1.52 drivers)
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dcumpian
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 14:57:44
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Slate's plugins work fine with Sonar, but there is nothing especially exceptional about them that you can't find in many other plugins. As you alluded to, I have had issues with Slate's VMR not authenticating the first time a project is opened with it, but it always works after that.They are as good as similar plugins from Waves, PSP and so forth.
Would I buy them again? Probably not.
Regards,
Dan
Mixing is all about control. My music: http://dancumpian.bandcamp.com/ or https://soundcloud.com/dcumpian Studiocat Advanced Studio DAW (Intel i5 3550 @ 3.7GHz, Z77 motherboard, 16GB Ram, lots of HDDs), Sonar Plat, Mackie 1604, PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL, ESI 4x4 Midi Interface, Ibanez Bass, Custom Fender Mexi-Strat, NI S88, Roland JV-2080 & MDB-1, Komplete, Omnisphere, Lots o' plugins.
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bapu
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 16:02:26
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Control + Z Studios
Is anyone using the Slate Digital Plugins with Sonar Platinum? I see that they don't "technically" support Sonar but "may work". Sounds sketchy but the amount of stuff that you get for $25 a month seems INSANE! Maybe I am being snowed by the audio in the video examples on their website but I was like "SIGN ME UP!" . . . until I saw the requirements.
So, possible problem scenarios:
- Is it really $25 a month or do I have to pay an "up front" cost or the whole year or iLock (which brings me to possible problem:)
- iLock2 device: Yay! Back to a freakin' DONGLE. Didn't we "86" that crap back in the late 90's, OMG - must be a Mac thang. I see a post in the Hardware section about some issues with iLock but iLock2 is "better" blah, blah, may work, no it doesn't. no it's Slate, No it's the PC - I dunno. I do know that USB ports CAN go WONKY, as I spent weeks chasing down this buzzing sound in my audio and was pulling out my hair and cables. It turned out to be the internal USB controller chip and once I put in a USB card (which, BTW uses its OWN controller chip) the problem was gone, FINALLY! Uggh! It also stopped some random BSOD that had "USB" in the message (couldn't read all of it that fast). So, I can see how this could be a potential pitfall with iLock not being happy with power, control, sharing, blah, blah, doesn't work.
- Plugins don't load in VST scanner correctly
- Plugins are memory hogs and end up making IK Multimedia seam like a dream (some of you know what I am talking about). Slate swears you can put "thousands" of instances on your tracks. Yes, he said the word "thousands". I had to roll it back and hear it again. What the freak is he running?
Anyway, this is long enough to get started. There is a thread on iLock in the Hardware section if you are having issues with that.
1. The full boat (including the LXP-480) is $25. No upfront fee and cancel/startup anytime you want. 2. I have not had a single problem with my iLok2 since I got it and that is going on 5.25 years now. 3. They load fine in the scanner, except you don't see the VMR modules as they are selected from the VMR. 4. No memory hogs except FG-X. Supposed to see a new version one day that will load in the VMR. I'm not holding my breath since it's been nearly a years since 'ol Steven claimed they were working on it. Slate's plugs have been beddy beddy good to me.
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Control + Z Studios
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 16:56:58
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Sounds like enough positive feedback to try it and see for myself. Nothing to lose but $25, which is funny since I do less research on WAY more expensive gear, haha! Maybe I am a "sucka" for the audio examples on the website but if even only half of them work as presented, it seems worth only $25 a month to try out. I will post back after giving it a proper QA test on MY stuff and report back for anyone else who may be interested.
I totally agree that you can get great sounds from other plugins but I guess the bigger value to me is that if I find that I only end up really leaning on a certain "few", then I can decide whether or not to take the plunge and then buy a permanent license for just the "bits" (pun IS intended) that I like, as they are also sold separately and in smaller groups.
SONAR is still best bang for buck monthly, though! They are CONSTANTLY making things more stable as well as practically handing away great new features. Thanks guys!
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Razorwit
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 21:21:39
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One quick note as you try them, the VST3 versions have always been problematic for me, so if you run into strange behavior with them try the VST2 versions. Other than that no complaints from me...pretty much UAD, Slate and FabFilter these days here for me.
Dean
Intel Core i7; 32GB RAM; Win10 Pro x64;RME HDSPe MADI FX; Orion 32 and Lynx Aurora 16; Mics and other stuff...
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Resonant Serpent
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/11 21:41:57
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I've had an ilok for years with no glitches. Just don't immediately upgrade in case there's a bug. Let it sit for a month, check gearslutz for problems, then install if all seems well. The older Slate plugs were resource hogs. The new Virtual Channel only takes up around 5% what the old one did. They've been optimized, and work great. FG-X isn't really a plug you should keep inline anyway. Meant to be used alone for mastering.
I consider Slate plugs to be superior to others in how they sound, especially when pushed with a hot signal. Behaves more like hardware, including the noise, which you can usually switch off. Slate and Lexicon are all I use these days for mixing.
A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night. It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world. - Aldo Leopold
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skitch_84
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/12 21:32:52
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I subscribe to the Everything Bundle and pay yearly. Without question it was one of the best purchases I've ever made. Slate plugins have replaced nearly every other plugin I was using. The only exception is when there simply isn't a Slate plugin for a particular effect (such as delay, etc.).
As for being power hungry, I don't have any problems and I have up to two instances of VMR loaded on every single track (usually around 18 or so). Virtual Tape Machine can get a bit much if you use a ton of them, but just using them on your buses (instead of on individual tracks) is probably fine. I've never experienced any problems with the FG-X using too much power because I only ever need one instance of it (for the final mastering stage).
The sound that these plugins give you, and their ease of use since most of them are integrated in the VMR (this convenience is a huge factor for me), is absolutely worth the price of the subscription.
By the way, I compose primarily orchestral/world/ethnic style video game soundtracks, so that should attest to how versatile the plugins are. They'll work well on pretty much any style of music.
Chris Porter www.cportermusic.comListen to my original work on Soundcloud and YouTubeGet my original soundtracks on Bandcamp Sonar Platinum "2017.04", Windows 10 64-bit, ASUS Z170-A, i7 6700K (4.0GHz), 32GB DDR4 RAM, 250GB SSD 850 EVO (OS/Sonar/Plugins), 1TB SSD 850 EVO (Sample Libraries), 3TB WD Black HDD (projects/audio), Noctua NH-D14 Cooling Unit, PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface, M-AUDIO Oxygen49
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townstra
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/13 20:14:33
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I use Slate FG-X with Platinum and it works fine. Much better since I upgraded to a more powerful computer since it is a resource hog.
Regards, Tracy Sonar Platinum, Harrison Mixbus 4, Melodyne 4 Studio, Slate Digital FG-X, ARC 2, Windows 10 Pro x64, Intel I7-4790@3.6ghz, 16 Gb RAM, GeForce GT730, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20, Behringer ADA8200, Prodipe Ribbon 8 monitors, Prodipe Pro5 monitors, Behringer B2030P monitors, Korg nanokontrol, Korg microKey, Samson Graphite MF8, rack full of channel strips and processors, lots of guitars, basses, and pedals. www.TracyTowns.com
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Control + Z Studios
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/25 13:45:30
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Just an update:
I signed up for the monthly payment plan on a Sunday and got my brand new "ilock2" device the following Friday. I followed the instructions that are provided from Slate when you place your order and everything went without a hitch (pretty impressive, so far). So, I pull up a simple project that my daughter is working on and basically "undo" all of my Pro Channel setup and any extra EQ or Compression plugins from all of the tracks and buses. Then, I solo the acoustic guitar and get to tweaking.
First impressions: Not that blown away. Surprised? I was, too. Don't get me wrong, these are great plugins and if you were running a DAW that didn't offer as much as Sonar, maybe it would have been more impressive to me. I found myself chasing my tail as I added more and more pieces and swapped the modules around and around until my ears were toast. I will say that I have not seen any dropouts, glitches, or problems with having basically ALL of the VMR modules on each track and then FGX only on some buses. Only issue seems to be the method of bypassing the whole rack. It's best to do within the rack itself instead of trying to disable it within the plugin bin windows in the Console or Inspector view. That did seem to make some garbage appear for a split second but enough that it is hard to compare. If you use the "A" vs "B" in the VMR, that works better.
Least impressed module: The preamps. I need more time to try different tracks but I really thought that it would make more of a difference on an acoustic guitar. I had to turn it almost all of the way up to hear much of a difference and then it was distorting. Haven't done a vocal yet, so maybe this will change.
Most impressed module: The freakin' FREE one, "Revival"! Yes, the free one (if you have an iLock) impressed me the most. It makes a great harmonic exciter without getting really harsh or boomy.
Another downer is the metering. It's rather deceptive compared to Sonar's Pro Channel. I know that we shouldn't mix with our eyes but I love that I can instantly see if any single module is being overdriven or even the whole Pro Channel for that matter. I miss that, already. Slate's modules look real pretty but I don't trust what the meters are showing versus what I am hearing.
I will continue to experiment but compared to the Pro Channel and all that comes with Sonar Platinum for LESS than just the Slate Plugin suite, I would not bother with this unless you have lots of extra money and use word like "WARMTH" a lot when describing tones.
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dcumpian
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/25 14:06:31
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Control + Z Studios
Just an update:
I signed up for the monthly payment plan on a Sunday and got my brand new "ilock2" device the following Friday. I followed the instructions that are provided from Slate when you place your order and everything went without a hitch (pretty impressive, so far). So, I pull up a simple project that my daughter is working on and basically "undo" all of my Pro Channel setup and any extra EQ or Compression plugins from all of the tracks and buses. Then, I solo the acoustic guitar and get to tweaking.
First impressions: Not that blown away. Surprised? I was, too. Don't get me wrong, these are great plugins and if you were running a DAW that didn't offer as much as Sonar, maybe it would have been more impressive to me. I found myself chasing my tail as I added more and more pieces and swapped the modules around and around until my ears were toast. I will say that I have not seen any dropouts, glitches, or problems with having basically ALL of the VMR modules on each track and then FGX only on some buses. Only issue seems to be the method of bypassing the whole rack. It's best to do within the rack itself instead of trying to disable it within the plugin bin windows in the Console or Inspector view. That did seem to make some garbage appear for a split second but enough that it is hard to compare. If you use the "A" vs "B" in the VMR, that works better.
Least impressed module: The preamps. I need more time to try different tracks but I really thought that it would make more of a difference on an acoustic guitar. I had to turn it almost all of the way up to hear much of a difference and then it was distorting. Haven't done a vocal yet, so maybe this will change.
Most impressed module: The freakin' FREE one, "Revival"! Yes, the free one (if you have an iLock) impressed me the most. It makes a great harmonic exciter without getting really harsh or boomy.
Another downer is the metering. It's rather deceptive compared to Sonar's Pro Channel. I know that we shouldn't mix with our eyes but I love that I can instantly see if any single module is being overdriven or even the whole Pro Channel for that matter. I miss that, already. Slate's modules look real pretty but I don't trust what the meters are showing versus what I am hearing.
I will continue to experiment but compared to the Pro Channel and all that comes with Sonar Platinum for LESS than just the Slate Plugin suite, I would not bother with this unless you have lots of extra money and use word like "WARMTH" a lot when describing tones.
Agreed. Revival is pretty cool in particular use cases. Regards, Dan
Mixing is all about control. My music: http://dancumpian.bandcamp.com/ or https://soundcloud.com/dcumpian Studiocat Advanced Studio DAW (Intel i5 3550 @ 3.7GHz, Z77 motherboard, 16GB Ram, lots of HDDs), Sonar Plat, Mackie 1604, PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL, ESI 4x4 Midi Interface, Ibanez Bass, Custom Fender Mexi-Strat, NI S88, Roland JV-2080 & MDB-1, Komplete, Omnisphere, Lots o' plugins.
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davec69
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/25 14:43:23
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I would agree with your initial review. When I first got the Slate bundle, I could have written the same initial response that you wrote above. I would only recommend that you take a little time to get to know the plugins.
The Slate plugins (to me) seem to be more closely modeled on the original counterparts, and don't have the exaggerated response, that many plugins have. The preamps are a good example of this. When you turn up the gain in the Slate preamps, they don't tweak a bunch of other stuff in the background, to give you more of a perceived effect. They do seem to react more like the original preamp would react. This can sound less than stellar, when taken out of context, or solo'd, but I have found that they do work in the mix. If found that I'm much less likely to get the over-processed mix, when using the Slate plugins.
With that said, I also use the Sonar plugins, which are also very nice plugins. I could happily do a mix with only the Sonar plugins.
Toshiba P75-A7200 LaptopIntel i7-4700MQ 16GB RAM2 x 1TB Hybrid DrivesWindows 10Sonar Platinum (Last Update)Cakewalk Bandlab (Latest Update)Roland Quad Capture (Bios 1.04 / 1.52 drivers)
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Resonant Serpent
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/25 16:02:04
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When you strap the preamps and VCC over 40 tracks and throw the tape on the master bus, and mix into it instead of adding it later, it does make a huge difference. Mix one track that way, then turn them off. Then you'll see why people use them. Then again, it's not for everyone. My favorite albums are recorded to tape with hardware in real studios, and even 4-track necro production, and I can nail both of them ITB now. If you're already killing the dynamics in your mix, then you're not going to feel it as much. The saturation works best with dynamic material. I also recommend Softube's free Saturation Knob. An excellent source of analog mojo.
A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night. It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world. - Aldo Leopold
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Control + Z Studios
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Re: Sonar Platinum and Slate Digital Plugin Subsription
2016/04/26 17:32:58
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I was talking to my wife this morning about the whole "vintage" thing that is the Holy Grail for us older cats that are used to hearing vinyl and can actually hear what is missing from the digital. I was telling her that we are basically trying to put the "ghost" back into the host by modeling all of those imperfections and random "artifacts" that we so long for. The funny thing is that we get all amped up and excited if someone has an actual hardware piece of gear like an LA-2A or Fairchild and these things cost through the roof (old parts is hard to find, of course) yet, back in the day, the guys were like: "Yeah, it's one of those crummy Pultec's again, blah!" and they were just what was available at the time. Who would of guessed that the imperfections are so pleasing?
Younger kids mostly have never even HEARD that sound, let alone know what we are talking about and if they were to hear an album, they would say: "Ewww! What's all that crackling and popping? Sounds really hissy and I have to turn up my volume ALL THE WAY TO '4' to even hear it, yuck!" Classic.
I have even read that those same crunchy tones that we grew up listening to and miss the most are replaced by the MP3 garbled bit noise for kids, NOW. If they don't hear some of that, they think that there is something wrong.
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