# Favorite Channel Strip Plugin? (2021 Edition)



## Crowe (Nov 12, 2021)

I didn't want to necro a 6-year old thread, so I figured maybe it's time for an updated opinion.

I'm looking for a channelstrip plugin. I had settled on the Scheps Omnichannel, but I've since decided I really don't want to buy into the Waves ecosystem so that's no longer an option.

So. I'm wondering what ya'll like to use in the way of Channel Strips for both mixing and mastering.

I currently use... Nothing. So I'm sure there's no way but up...

EDIT:

Talk about oversampling, aliasing and samplerates can be moved here.


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## easyrider (Nov 12, 2021)

What DAW do you use?

Softube Console One









Console 1


The best console for DAW-based mixing and mastering. Includes hardware and software, fully integrated.




www.softube.com


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## Crowe (Nov 12, 2021)

easyrider said:


> What DAW do you use?
> 
> Softube Console One
> 
> ...


Cubase 9.5


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## easyrider (Nov 12, 2021)

Crowe said:


> Cubase 9.5


Tight Integration with Cubase as well….

It comes with an SSL channel strip but Register a new Console 1 and get British Class A on top.

The other strips are on sale often its a top class sound with a top class workflow that can also control your DAW.


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## el-bo (Nov 12, 2021)

I don't use them anymore, as these days I just usually call up Logic's separate 'stock' plugins. I still have a soft-spot for Wavearts' Trackplug, and if I decide to go back to channel-strips I'll definitely upgrade to the latest version. I still love having a full interactive parametric display, as an adjunct to knob-control. It also has great brick-wall filtering

In terms of a CS that I think ticks the most boxes, my vote goes to TBProAudio's CS-5501. Don't own it, but perhaps one day 









CS-5501


CS-5501 is a multi functional channel strip providing all necessary tools to process all kind of audio signals like vocals and instruments.




www.tbproaudio.de


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## Russell Anderson (Nov 12, 2021)

The new Fuse channel strip is about the only one I’ve ever considered buying.


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## easyrider (Nov 12, 2021)

Russell Anderson said:


> The new Fuse channel strip is about the only one I’ve ever considered buying.


Why?


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## Crowe (Nov 12, 2021)

Russell Anderson said:


> The new Fuse channel strip is about the only one I’ve ever considered buying.


It looks very spiffy and very much within the line of what I want to spend on a Channel Strip. 

Commencing Research.


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## M_Helder (Nov 12, 2021)

bx_console SSL 4000 E
Can be had for peanuts on sale.

Classic knobs layout. Being familiar with AWS line, makes it super fast and easy for me to dial in the sound I need. And I actually like the idea of having 72 variable channels instead of just 1 channel strip.

Doesn’t color the sound much, though (apart from compressor). So Scheps might work better for saturation purposes. 🤷‍♂️


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## Jeremy Spencer (Nov 12, 2021)

Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC

Picked it during one of those PA $29 sales and I really like it.


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## Gary Williamson (Nov 12, 2021)

KIT Plugins — Welcome


World-class analog-modeled and digital plugins that bring iconic character and legendary attitude to your productions.




kitplugins.com





I've been meaning to give the BB N105 V2 a whirl one of these days.


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## premjj (Nov 12, 2021)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC
> 
> Picked it during one of those PA $29 sales and I really like it.


It is on sale at $49.99 currently.

The $25 monthly voucher (same code issued to everyone this month I believe) should bring it down to $24.99.

Code: 2021-11-25wn?97woef87fsR 
(Needs minimum order value $32*)*


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## José Herring (Nov 12, 2021)

I'm not too much of a fan of Channel Strips but I really like this one--

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/bx_console_amek_9099.html


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## lux (Nov 12, 2021)

I just got the Unichannel from United Plugins and sounds nice, I used Frontdaw for a while now and this kinda extends it with three eq modules and three comp.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 12, 2021)

If you have to exclude Omnichannel I would go for Brainworks SSL J


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 12, 2021)

To me, the first question back on this is always: have you considered, and tried, mixing separately from your regular DAW in Mixbus32C? That is ultimately the cheapest route, for sure, because then you never have to chase any other latest-and-greatest channel strip plugins (which is an endless parade every year).

I try several, and always end up selling them. I think CS plugins just aren't my thing. However, I often do export and mix in Mixbus32C. Maybe that's spoiled me.

If Fuse makes a few tweaks to the visuals and a couple of minor feature updates, I think their new one is near the top of the list. And it's only $29 right now. It just does what a channel strip usually needs to do, especially for tracking, and does it well (sounds great). If you want an elaborate, all-in-one channel strip, it's hard to beat TBProAudio's CS5501. The only channel strip I've kept installed is the SSL one - I bought the compressor v2 and it came with the CS. I use the compressor on almost every track it seems, and never use the CS.


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## jben (Nov 12, 2021)

I have three channel strips (Scheps OmniChannel, PA Focusrite SC and Flux Evo Channel), and although I use all three, I generally prefer the Focusrite, as I get the sound I want quickly with it.


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## José Herring (Nov 12, 2021)

lux said:


> I just got the Unichannel from United Plugins and sounds nice, I used Frontdaw for a while now and this kinda extends it with three eq modules and three comp.


Unichannel looks good!


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## lux (Nov 12, 2021)

José Herring said:


> Unichannel looks good!


yup, I find it's GUI pretty usable as well.

To me usability makes a difference when it comes to channel strips, mostly as I didn't grow up attached to a real SSL or Neve console, so I can't see a single reason why I should loose my eyes by using an exact replica of a channel whose controls disposal was strictly related to the lack of space. Using the same knob for, let's say, frequency and gain just because the original console had it is almost unbearable to me.

I had the mix&master sub from PA for a good amount of time, and, while I liked the SSL and Neve emulations soundwise I couldn't stand how hard they were to deal with small knobs full of multifunctioning states just for the sake of emulating a real console. I had better luck with the Focusrite, definitely more usable. Loved the Lindell stuff as well.

What I mean is that I would love having all of these channel strips emulating just the sound of their real respectives but with a spacious and usable interface. I always ended up using separate plugins for this exact reason. IK Multimedia makes some pretty usable GUI's for T-Racks that's the reason I very often end up loading one of their compressors or EQ's.


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## Seymour Caiman (Nov 13, 2021)

Has anyone made use of Analog Obsession Channev? https://www.patreon.com/posts/52960238


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## Henu (Nov 13, 2021)

Slate.


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## MarcusD (Nov 13, 2021)

The most versatile channel strip I've used is Scheps Oni Channel by Waves. Mainly because you can work in M/S for each module.

Having said that, IMO the best sounding is the SSL Channel Strip 2 by Solid State Logic. Followed by BX SSL and some of their other channel strips.


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## Yellow Studio (Nov 13, 2021)

I'm very happy with my SSL UC1!  
Expensive but so nice to touch real knobs and I've stopped looking for other alternatives. Great sounding filters, feels like I'm mixing on a real console, which in one way it is.


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## Russell Anderson (Nov 13, 2021)

A rather OCD metal mixer I know regularly sings the praises of PSP Infinistrip.


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## Trevor Meier (Nov 13, 2021)

Having recently gone down this rabbit hole, I’ve made several unexpected discoveries:

Many otherwise excellent channelstrips alias badly in an attempt to save CPU power. For example: Scheps OmniChannel and the new Fuse VCS-1. Anything with compression and especially saturation or non-linear EQs needs to be checked carefully. I highly recommend using an -8dBFS sine sweep in iZotope RX to test for aliasing with saturation and compression set to fast attack/release.

Many channelstrips look great but aren’t as functional. Scheps OmniChannel is my fave for utility, but alas the aliasing meant it had to go. As well, EQ curves on channelstrips vary widely. 

TBProAudio’s CS-5501 V2 strikes a nice balance with selectable oversampling, good audio quality and many functions available, but I find the interface a bit too “clicky” and imprecise during everyday usage. So I’m the end I often end up using separate plugins for saturation, EQ and dynamics - mostly Tokyo Dawn for the latter, and Wavesfactory Spectre for saturation.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 13, 2021)

Trevor Meier said:


> Having recently gone down this rabbit hole, I’ve made several unexpected discoveries:
> 
> Many otherwise excellent channelstrips alias badly in an attempt to save CPU power. For example: Scheps OmniChannel and the new Fuse VCS-1. Anything with compression and especially saturation or non-linear EQs needs to be checked carefully. I highly recommend using an -8dBFS sine sweep in iZotope RX to test for aliasing with saturation and compression set to fast attack/release.
> 
> ...


There are multiple counts of engineers killed by aliasing (and pre-ringing) every year!

Why use your ears when you can rely on plugin doctor and internet tales?
All those thousands of albums and soundtracks made in the last 20 years with multiple old plugins pululating with aliasing might have actually be the reason for mass migration, global warming, and obviously Corona Virus.

Aliasing shmaliasing, how does it sound?

Sorry for being harsh, I don't mean to be an ass to anyone, but misinformation is always a bad thing.
My kindest regards


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## re-peat (Nov 13, 2021)

With a plugin like DDMF’s Metaplugin, you can assemble your very own channel strip. Pick a VU-meter (or pick two: one as the first and another one as the last plugin in the chain), your favourite EQ, your nr.1 compressor, your top choice saturator or whatever else you wish to include, line it all up in Metaplug in whatever order suits you best, add oversampling if you like (*), et voilà: homemade channel strip.

(You can also load the Scheps, all on its own, into Metaplugin and enable oversampling for just that instance.)

_


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## re-peat (Nov 13, 2021)

Forgot one thing: if you consider *Metaplugin* too expensive or for some other reason not appealing, there's also Kushview's *Element* which allows you to do more or less the same thing and lots besides. For a much lower price.

_


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## proggermusic (Nov 13, 2021)

I went on a bit of a channel strip tear last year and ended up with a bunch of them: Brainworx SSL G and E, Focusrite, Neve; NEOLDV76U73 (kind of a strip, pre plus compressor); Waves REDD channel (really like it, but like OP I'm not a fan of WUP). Frankly, I think they're all very good.

The new Fuse Audio channel strip might be the best of all of them, though. I only got it a couple days ago but it just does... everything I want it to do. The EQ is incredibly smooth and pleasant and worth the price of admission on its own. The gentle coloration from the preamp emulators sounds GREAT and I look forward to playing with those options more! Fuse does incredible stuff, I'm a massive fan. Ray D has taken over almost every project I'm doing these days.


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## Trevor Meier (Nov 13, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> There are multiple counts of engineers killed by aliasing (and pre-ringing) every year!
> 
> Why use your ears when you can rely on plugin doctor and internet tales?
> All those thousands of albums and soundtracks made in the last 20 years with multiple old plugins pululating with aliasing might have actually be the reason for mass migration, global warming, and obviously Corona Virus.
> ...


As someone that uses his ears I find aliasing intrusive and problematic. Saturation and non-linearities have become more common as mix tools, so aliasing has become more prevalent as many plugins don’t prevent it. If you can’t hear aliasing or like the sound that’s fine, but I can hear and don’t like the sound. So my advice is, if it’s important to someone looking for new channelstrips, is to test for it.


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## Trevor Meier (Nov 13, 2021)

re-peat said:


> With a plugin like DDMF’s Metaplugin, you can assemble your very own channel strip. Pick a VU-meter (or pick two: one as the first and another one as the last plugin in the chain), your favourite EQ, your nr.1 compressor, your top choice saturator or whatever else you wish to include, line it all up in Metaplug in whatever order suits you best, add oversampling if you like (*), et voilà: homemade channel strip.
> 
> (You can also load the Scheps, all on its own, into Metaplugin and enable oversampling for just that instance.)
> 
> _


I did try Scheps in Meta, unfortunately just oversampling doesn’t fix the aliasing. You have to filter immediately after the non-linear stages in order to prevent the frequency reflections, but since it’s all-in-one there’s no access to filter between components. 

This could work well for single-use plugins though, like a saturating compressor. Oversample in MetaPlugin, then filter before passing on to EQ etc. In the end I find it easier to use plugins like Tokyo Dawn that take care of that in their design.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 13, 2021)

Trevor Meier said:


> As someone that uses his ears I find aliasing intrusive and problematic. Saturation and non-linearities have become more common as mix tools, so aliasing has become more prevalent as many plugins don’t prevent it. If you can’t hear aliasing or like the sound that’s fine, but I can hear and don’t like the sound. So my advice is, if it’s important to someone looking for new channelstrips, is to test for it.


I totally disagree. Respectfully. 
I like plugins that sound good to my ears and dislike plugins that sound bad to my ears.
The analysis and tech specs come later.

Again does every single album and movie before maybe 3-4 years ago (when Plugin Doctor became popular and these ideas started to do the round in forums online) sounded bad?
They had often mostly Waves and Soundtoys and McDSP plugins used on them with 0 oversampling.

I am not saying aliasing doesn't have an effect. But it is mostly overstated and IN MY OPINION doesn't have such a big influence on the final results. Especially if you work in sample rates over 44.1Khz (48Khz is great)

So I personally believe that testing a plugin for aliasing as a factor ahead of the actual sound is not the greatest advice.


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## 18dBFS (Nov 13, 2021)

As I am a huge Sonimus Fan I like the Satson CS: https://sonimus.com/products/satsoncs


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## Trash Panda (Nov 13, 2021)

Neutron 3


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## Dietz (Nov 13, 2021)

_Slightly OT reply:

I own at least a dozen of channel-strip plug-ins, but truth to be told: I hardly ever use them. 8-/ 
_If_ I do so, I either reach out for a certain EQ or certain distortion/saturation effects. ... maybe I'm just old enough to remember the restrictions of analogue consoles, so I'm still happy to have all the options I get from individually inserted components in my DAWs' channels ... 8-)_


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## Anthony (Nov 13, 2021)

The two channel strips I use most are Waves' Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain and Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC from Plugin Alliance.

However, after realizing that I often used just the EQ or compressor in these plugins, I moved away from them and started using just EQ- and compressor-only plugins. For example, I find the Mäag Audio EQ4 and SPL IRON compressor to be very useful in 'polishing' a mix. As such, both sit on my master bus.

Cheers...


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## jcrosby (Nov 13, 2021)

Seymour Caiman said:


> Has anyone made use of Analog Obsession Channev? https://www.patreon.com/posts/52960238


I have, and think their stuff is just as good as anything else considered higher end in the digital realm...

Tuba's also pretty fantastic. It appears to be a loosely based on the UA 610. 
(Now part of thier NOS tube bundle which also comes with a variable mu...):



https://www.patreon.com/posts/nos-bundle-49184069



Loaded's also pretty cool.



https://www.patreon.com/posts/loaded-step-by-40299242


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## M_Helder (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> There are multiple counts of engineers killed by aliasing (and pre-ringing) every year!
> 
> Why use your ears when you can rely on plugin doctor and internet tales?
> All those thousands of albums and soundtracks made in the last 20 years with multiple old plugins pululating with aliasing might have actually be the reason for mass migration, global warming, and obviously Corona Virus.
> ...


Sounds like digital crap aka digital hiss.


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## M_Helder (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> I totally disagree. Respectfully.
> I like plugins that sound good to my ears and dislike plugins that sound bad to my ears.
> The analysis and tech specs come later.
> 
> ...


There might not have been oversampling back in the day, but sample rates and D/A conversion surely existed? Aliasing almost goes away at 48khz and up, so I really doubt that this hits you are talking about were recorded and processed at aliased sample rate of 44,1khz. Just a guess, of course.

That said, I honestly don’t know a single engineer working on that low of a SR. So even though aliasing certainly exists, there are workarounds that you yourself have said. No need to dismiss it as a “myth”.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

M_Helder said:


> There might not have been oversampling back in the day, but sample rates and D/A conversion surely existed? Aliasing almost goes away at 48khz and up, so I really doubt that this hits you are talking about were recorded and processed at aliased sample rate of 44,1khz. Just a guess, of course.
> 
> That said, I honestly don’t know a single engineer working on that low of a SR. So even though aliasing certainly exists, there are workarounds that you yourself have said. No need to dismiss it as a “myth”.


Sample rates and DACs did exist certainly. What do you mean by that?

Actually a lot of stuff until not long ago was often recorded at 44.1Khz indeed.


Some professionals even still happily use it although the standard has shifted to 48kHz also outside of the video related world.


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## M_Helder (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> Sample rates and DACs did exist certainly. What do you mean by that?
> 
> Actually a lot of stuff until not long ago was often recorded at 44.1Khz indeed.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I meant that even though oversampling might not have been used, higher sample rates are common if not standard in professional world.

Ok, I’ll bite. Name one movie/tv show/album that you know as a fact was produced in 44,1khz. Not bedroom beatmaker stuff, but actual professional work.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

M_Helder said:


> Sorry, I meant that even though oversampling might not have been used, higher sample rates are common if not standard in professional world.
> 
> Ok, I’ll bite. Name one movie/tv show/album that you know as a fact was produced in 44,1khz. Not bedroom beatmaker stuff, but actual professional work.


Higher sample rates like on DAT? ADAT? Early PT rigs? Sony 3348? Higher sample rates over 48Khz are a modern luxury that was not even available. 196 was science fiction.
Nobody recorded higher then 44/48.

TV shows/film have almost always been a 48Khz thing at least since the early 2000, so probably not many if at all.

Maybe you start: Name albums that were recorded at higher SRs before 2015.

Many of them were 44.1Khz. I don't have tech specs for each album ever released but I am familiar with the professional workflow, I have been hanging around studios (sadly as I'm old) for a bit now, 
and I sincerely have no idea what beatmakers do.

16 to 24 bit as a standard was a much more significant stride forward then higher sample rates.


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## M_Helder (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> Higher sample rates like on DAT? ADAT? Early PT rigs? Sony 3348? Higher sample rates over 48Khz are a modern luxury that was not even available. 196 was science fiction.





AudioLoco said:


> Nobody recorded higher then 44/48.
> 
> TV shows/film have almost always been a 48Khz thing at least since the early 2000, so probably not many if at all.
> 
> ...


Like on AVID Pro Tools HD boxes housed in pretty much any pro studio since the early 2000s. Up to 192khz as standard.

Anyway, sorry for hijacking your thread @Crowe .

I’ll reiterate and move on.
- aliasing is real, not a myth but a proven fact
- is it a factor when choosing plugins? depends. For me and @Trevor Meier it apparently is
- can it be clearly heard? Again depends on the type of tests and projects you run. When we are talking real world use, with 100+ orchestral track counts and an aliasing channel strip on each one of them? It cheapens the sound for me and adds unwanted harshness. So, yes. However, there are workarounds.

YMMV, obviusly.

Edited: fixed the formatting.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

M_Helder said:


> Like on AVID Pro Tools HD boxes housed in pretty much any pro studio since the early 2000s. Up to 192khz as standard.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for hijacking your thread @Crowe .
> 
> ...


Yes, let's go back to the original topic. Apologies to the OP on my part too.

To reiterate, I didn't say aliasing doesn't exist, because...science.
I said it is not such a significantly audible aspect by which to chose a plugin over another.
I say Potatoe you say Potato...


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## Crowe (Nov 14, 2021)

M_Helder said:


> Like on AVID Pro Tools HD boxes housed in pretty much any pro studio since the early 2000s. Up to 192khz as standard.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for hijacking your thread @Crowe .
> 
> ...


Don't worry about it, it's not like it's a meaningless discussion.

Personally, I've settled on the new Fuse VCS-1. I really like the sound, there's no annoying DRM involved and it's very nicely priced.

Nonetheless, please continue the conversation, I believe there to be value in discussing channel strips.


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## Russell Anderson (Nov 14, 2021)

As the VCS-1 is the only one I may spring for ($30 is a great price for dipping your toes in the channel strip workflow, when it comes with multi-track controls and the Fuse level of quality for saturation/compression), I’m hoping external oversampling from DDMF can resolve it, or using it in a higher-samplerate project. Or that there are oversampling options hidden somewhere. Else, we should probably bother the dev about adding some as from what I understand his products are generally very good-quality.


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## Learningtomix (Nov 14, 2021)

I have used various channel strip plugins, mostly from Plugin Alliance and Waves, though I currently favour the Harrison 32c. I doesn't have saturation, but does have a compressor with different modes. The eq & filters sound good to me and the gui is relaxing to my eyes.

The new Fuse looks appealing, though, and at a great intro price, so I may buy it.


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## Dietz (Nov 14, 2021)

M_Helder said:


> Ok, I’ll bite. Name one movie/tv show/album that you know as a fact was produced in 44,1khz. Not bedroom beatmaker stuff, but actual professional work.


FWIW: I mixed about 400 albums and countless single tracks (quite a few of them chart-topping), music for hundreds of company videos, several dozens of TV shows and movie scores during the last 30 years or so. You might not know many of them as I'm located in Central Europe, but I know for sure that most of them have been (highly) professional productions (eg. Eurovision Songcontest, the mother of all casting shows, with a typical audience of 200 Mio. people). About 5% of them have been using SR higher than 48 kHz, about 40% were in 44.1 kHz.

96 kHz (and above) is mostly a marketing feature, sorry to say so. ... this doesn't mean that internal oversampling wouldn't make sense in case of certain plug-ins, though.


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## re-peat (Nov 14, 2021)

Like Helder says, it’s the accumulation of less-than-stellar plugins which each bring their own little bit of sound deterioration into the mix, that some, myself included, find undesirable.

Nothing wrong with using a few Analog Obsession plugins here and there — they’re fine plugins (though in no way a step-up from what my DAW has to offer, in my experience) — or some Waves or PluginAlliance channel strips, but use them on every single track and sum the lot through a master bus that has several more of them inserted, and that’s going to affect your sound. As will happen —as many people seem to have gotten into the habit of doing, quite foolishly in my opinion — if you send every single one of your tracks or busses through some popular fancy-looking tape-simulator or saturator, in the hope that things might start sounding warm and analog. What you’ll likely end up with is the exact opposite of what you were after: that unmistakeably digital ‘mock-analog’ sound. And few things sound more digital to my ears than fake analog. The audio equivalent of those evening-long titles you can rent that will turn your TV into a fireplace.

Whether you find that problematic or not is entirely a matter for your own judgement of course, but I don’t like it. That typical DAW-sound, I mean. Always slighty congested, always a bit flat (in the sense of one-dimensional), never really breathing, and with no real depth, energy, texture, definition or attitude.

Now, that DAW-sound has never stopped a great track from becoming a hit or a success, amazing records have been made that have that sound, and no career has been prevented from happening because of it, but that doesn’t mean we all have to accept it as today’s and tomorrow’s standard for audio quality, do we?

And there’s something else: a lot of the axioms, principles and wisdom that govern the choices of the pro audio world were not arrived at by people who use sample libraries as their main audio source for their tracks and mixes. When, say, Alan Meyerson, Dave Pensado or George Massenburg talk about audio quality, they’re talking about something completely different than what we are talking about when discussing the same subject. We, mock-uppers, begin our productions with a very serious disadvantage: the compromised, often inferior sound from our samples. (You will all probably disagree with me, but I can’t name a single orchestral library that has a really good sound. And mixing them up or stacking them on top of one another, doesn’t improve things.) If your mix consists almost entirely of sound that comes oozing out of Kontakt or whatever, you’re not going to hear the same audio quality at the master bus as someone does who works with expertly recorded, top-quality audio from real instruments. And that’s not a subtle difference. Anything but subtle, that is. Another reason, it seems to me, (if you care about any of this anyway) to maybe think twice and be a bit careful about the sort of processes you submit your tracks to.

_


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## Bee_Abney (Nov 14, 2021)

A few thoughts on the topic of choosing a channel strip.

First, ears are unreliable. They are interpreted by brains, and brains are not reliable. One should trust ears because doing so is the _most_ reliable method, not because they are trustworthy.

Testing for the presence of X does not establish that it causes Y, or constitutes Y. Scepticism about the relationship between X and Y is not scepticism about the existence of X.

The sounds coming from sample libraries were recorded from real instruments by experts, often in fantastic conditions. There are many reasons why it may be hard to get good results from them, but that isn’t one of them.

If one is making music for other people to listen to, then one has reason to care about how things sound to them and what their tastes might be. Not everyone does make music for other people to listen to; I do. Given that my hearing has its limitations, I am very interested in using metering and so on if I know what to look for. I don’t know if aliasing is something I have reason to look for or not.

If one is choosing a channel strip one first needs to know what it is for. The discussion of that question has remained implicit but clearly implied in a number of the comments; it might help to bring it into the open. There are clearly a variety of purposes for which a channel strip might be desired, and might be a good tool. For myself, emulating any particular analogue sound would not be one of them, though it will be for others. Tying the mix together in a way that is not simply about a shared compression on the master bus would be a leading issue for me.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

re-peat said:


> Like Helder says, it’s the accumulation of less-than-stellar plugins which each bring their own little bit of sound deterioration into the mix, that some, myself included, find undesirable.
> 
> Nothing wrong with using a few Analog Obsession plugins here and there — they’re fine plugins (though in no way a step-up from what my DAW has to offer, in my experience) — or some Waves or PluginAlliance channel strips, but use them on every single track and sum the lot through a master bus that has several more of them inserted, and that’s going to affect your sound. As will happen —as many people seem to have gotten into the habit of doing, quite foolishly in my opinion — if you send every single one of your tracks or busses through some popular fancy-looking tape-simulator or saturator, in the hope that things might start sounding warm and analog. What you’ll likely end up with is the exact opposite of what you were after: that unmistakeably digital ‘mock-analog’ sound. And few things sound more digital to my ears than fake analog. The audio equivalent of those evening-long titles you can rent that will turn your TV into a fireplace.
> 
> ...


First of all, using oversampling plugins is the last thing that could be useful to make many productions improve in my opinion. Again I'm not implying it is a non issue, but it is (IMHO!) a very small aspect out of milions of other much more important production/recording/monitoring/mastering practices and knowledge.

Grammies for best sounding albums have been won with ITB mixes done with super aliasing Soundtoys and Waves all over the place. One of those albums "Brothers" by the Black Keys, is IMO one of the best sounding Rock albums of the last 20 years. If there is, on that album, and on so many others, that "typical congested DAW sound" my ears don't notice any of that.

Many ITB mixes sound harsh because of the mixing choices made, not because of the medium itself.

In the last 20 years, there is always someone that knows "the solution" to digital harshness. This season it is oversampling. Last season it was tape plugins, before it was passing the whole mix thorough an outboard Neve preamps, etc etc....

Also, if I may, you might be making a generalization mistake of not considering some of us might come from the engineering world first and then started being "mocker-uppers".... Some of us have recorded and mixed live instruments way before started fiddling with sample libraries. So I don't understand that point, I apologize if I misunderstood or something. 

Look at what happens with the LUFS argument. The working prestigious mastering engineers churning out the hits are completely ignoring those new loudness guidelines, while the bedroom kids are obsessing about their -14 LUFs (or less!) on the FL master bus, and spreading myths on the internet.
(*


https://gearspace.com/board/mastering-forum/1252522-targeting-mastering-loudness-streaming-lufs-spotify-youtube-why-not-do.html)


*
i perfectly agree about not accepting past standards when a tech improvement is available, and implementing extra oversampling functions on new plugins is surely positive, but honestly the "aliasing tragedy" is way overstated (IMHO!!!).


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## Bee_Abney (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> First of all, using oversampling plugins is the last thing that could be useful to make many productions improve in my opinion. Again I'm not implying it is a non issue, but it is (IMHO!) a very small aspect out of milions of other much more important production/recording/monitoring/mastering practices and knowledge.
> 
> Grammies for best sounding albums have been won with ITB mixes done with super aliasing Soundtoys and Waves all over the place. One of those albums "Brothers" by the Black Keys, is IMO one of the best sounding Rock albums of the last 20 years. If there is, on that album, and on so many others, that "typical congested DAW sound" my ears don't notice any of that.
> 
> ...


I admire your humility, however opinionated it may be!!!!


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> I admire your humility, however opinionated it may be!!!!


Cheers, I don't know if to take it as a compliment... (probably not?)


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## Bee_Abney (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> Cheers, I don't know if to take it as a compliment... (probably not?)


It was more of a wry reflection on the niceties of internet discussion, but definitely a compliment too! You were being very nice!!


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## Crowe (Nov 14, 2021)

My apologies. When I said 'Continue the conversation' I meant the conversation about Channel Strips. I'm sure the conversation about Oversampling and 44.1/48/96khz would better be suited taking place in its own topic where people can find it more easily.


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## Crowe (Nov 14, 2021)

I've made a thread >>here<< where ya'll can go to town on the topic of samplerates, aliasing and oversampling.

I've no clue what most of you were on about anyway, so I hope this will prove to be informative XD.

EDIT:
I now have somewhat of a clue what you all were talking about and it's an interesting thing to think about. I do work at 96khz during Sound Design sessions and 48khz when composing so that's something at least.

I suppose I'm going to be hearing a whole new set of sound-issues during my next session. Luckily I'm mostly into industrial, digital harshness is expected.

So. Rule of thumb. Don't use non-oversampling channel strips on every channel?

I was kinda looking for one just for on my Master Bus anyway so that works out.


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## lux (Nov 14, 2021)

re-peat said:


> Nothing wrong with using a few Analog Obsession plugins here and there — they’re fine plugins (though in no way a step-up from what my DAW has to offer, in my experience) — or some Waves or PluginAlliance channel strips, but use them on every single track and sum the lot through a master bus that has several more of them inserted, and that’s going to affect your sound. _


I understand what this comes from, and overall agree if we speak mockups. I personally hardly used a single channel strip on mockups or added compression/saturation when using sampled orchestra, with the exception of sometimes a tape emu when it comes to taming an excess of top end and some mixbus things. Also it's probably unnecessary when it comes to genuinely recorded jazz or chamber stuff, perhaps ethnic music, just as examples.

Have to say though that if we speak a lot of the music production world it's a different story. "Affecting your sound" is something often considered desirable in quite a few musical styles and mixing contexts. It's also the basemement of hundreds mixing sessions leading to charting hits and grammy winner albums and singles. Wether we like that or not, it's a matter of fact. So many records sounds are built on a pile of saturation chains where the sound itself lives and forges out of this quality. And we're not speaking industrial, but pop, rock, hip hop, reggaeton...you name it. And those piles of saturation chains carry also a good amount of aliasing and digital imperfections. Sometimes digital imperfections are part of the chain when using multiband bitcrushing or digital clipping or stuff like that.

Of course there's plenty of different opinions out there among the engineers themselves. Many hate adding colouring vst's on each track while others can't live without. Some use just transient shapers while other never use them and use classic compressors. Some like to mix with just eq's and a tad of compression. Some mess up the session with at least five vsts per track. Many can't do without their army of external gear while others are know to work mostly ITB (think Serban Ghenea just as an example of the latter). Some use sample replacement as a common pratice (I mean replacing a proper recorded kick with a sampled - imperfect - kick, or layering the two to get a new sound out of it). 

What I mean is that yes, it affects your sound, that's an undeniable reality. Wether this is something desirable or not depends on the context probably.


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## re-peat (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> First of all, using oversampling plugins is the last thing ...



I fear you misunderstood rather a lot of what I wrote, AudioLoco. Reading your somewhat feverish reply, I was almost constantly wondering which point of mine you were responding to, and most of the times, I had no idea.

I never said or even suggested that (insisting on) oversampling (in plugins) is the way to go. I also never suggested that there is something objectively wrong with the ITB sound. All I said was that I don’t like it. If you do, that's totally fine with me. But me, I don’t particularly like what I hear coming out of my DAW and I’m also not wild about the sound quality of most of my sample libraries. But that’s a strictly personal thing.

(And to put it a bit in context: I also don’t like the sound of Donald Fagen’s “The Nightfly” by the way, even though that is widely considered one of the best-sounding albums ever released. Love much the music on that album, but I really don’t like the way it sounds. Or, other example: Brian Wilson’s 2004 remake of “Smile” sounds utterly dreadful to my ears. And that was made, as I understand it, using mostly UAD-plugins. Not that these plugins are to blame for everything, but the fact is: I don’t like the sound of that album. I have a problem with all of Zappa’s late 80’s and 90’s releases as well, again: from a strictly sonic perspective. And at the same time, I have dozens of albums of recent years, very likely tracked, mixed and produced inside the computer, which I think sound phenomenally good.)

And talking about ‘sounding phenomally good’ brings us, of course, to The Black Keys’ “Brothers”. That album, however, never won a Grammy for best sound. Wasn’t even nominated for it. (All of its five nominations were in other categories.) I agree with you it’s a fantastic sounding album, but seeing as most of it was recorded, the old-fashioned way, in Muscle Shoals using equipment of the 50’s and 60’s, I would hardly pick that album as representative of the ITB-sound, even if it was finished and mixed entirely inside the computer. The authentic vintage vibe of the raw recordings (and the distinct quality of that audio) define the sound of the album much more than the mixing and/or production do.

I also don’t understand what our respective pasts in whatever field of music production we may or may not have been active in, have to do with anything we’re discussing here. Working with DAW’s, plugins and virtual channel strips is completely different from setting up microphones, calibrating tape machines, checking levels and understanding the ins and outs of hardware. It’s not because one is a master at the latter, that he or she is automatically also to be trusted to talk sense about the former. A highly skilled oils-on-canvas artist isn’t necessarily an authority on working with CorelPainter or Rebelle painting-software either.

I guess what I was trying to say was that I have a very specific sound in my head for much of my music, and neither my DAW nor many of the popular plugin brands seem to help me to get close to it. (Mine is not a contemporary, trendy sound and certainly not a widescreen epic sound, it’s more something intimate and perhaps slightly early-70’s-inspired, I suppose.) And what I’ve discovered in recent months, after testing many of PluginAlliance’s channel strips and plugins, a couple of Waves', all of AnalogObsession’s plugins and lots of stuff from other developers, and also spending quite a bit of money along the way, is that I get closest to what I hear in my head by using a certain quality of plugins — DMG Audio, a few Acustica’s, Goodhertz, Sonnox, … things like that. There might be a psychological angle to all this as well of course — the mind playing its cunning games and all that — but the undeniable fact, for me, is: working with my recently purchased batch of plugins — the ones mentioned — has brought me closer to where I hope to get, soundwise, than I’ve ever gotten before. But again: strictly personal situation, all of this. I most certainly don’t put this forward as an example that deserves to, let alone should be followed.

_


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

re-peat said:


> I fear you misunderstood rather a lot of what I wrote, AudioLoco. Reading your somewhat feverish reply, I was almost constantly wondering which point of mine you were responding to, and most of the times, I had no idea.


I fear that indeed at this point I have no clue what you were on about even though I think I understood exactly what you wanted to say... 

I'm not going to get into who said what, but your position seemed pretty clear from your post...

You are correct about the Grammy, and I also get where you are coming from in reagrds to the work done prior to mixing Brothers... but that album - apart from Muscle Shoals and and brilliant writing, playing, recording is literally the sound of Decapitator, (if you know the plugin you recognize the sound) an old non-oversampling plugin, and a software Sansamp a plugin from 1523. And most importantly brilliant sound choices by Tchad.

Anyhow, we have been literally thrown out of the thread- *rightly so,* by our kind OP, so... see you around!
(Sorry sorry Crowe!)


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## Crowe (Nov 14, 2021)

What do you fine folks think is vital on a channel strip? I've been looking around and it doesn't really seem like every Strip is conceived equal. Compressors and Equalizers are generally standard but Input Gain, Pre-amp and Stereo Field seem to be included on a case-by-case basis.






Also, do you think a good, comprehensive Channel Strip is useful as a Mastering tool? I fear I may have misunderstood what people generally use these for. And on that note, what do you use your Channel Strips for? Why do you reach for one of these instead of inserting individual Compressors and EQs of your choice?


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## SupremeFist (Nov 14, 2021)

Some people pay big dollars for hardware clones of old 12-bit samplers, so I say everyone should just use what they think sounds good.


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## Trevor Meier (Nov 14, 2021)

Russell Anderson said:


> As the VCS-1 is the only one I may spring for ($30 is a great price for dipping your toes in the channel strip workflow, when it comes with multi-track controls and the Fuse level of quality for saturation/compression), I’m hoping external oversampling from DDMF can resolve it, or using it in a higher-samplerate project. Or that there are oversampling options hidden somewhere. Else, we should probably bother the dev about adding some as from what I understand his products are generally very good-quality.


Agreed, I have a bunch of his plugins and they’re all very well controlled with aliasing. Probably worth asking him about it


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## AudioLoco (Nov 14, 2021)

Crowe said:


> What do you fine folks think is vital on a channel strip? I've been looking around and it doesn't really seem like every Strip is conceived equal. Compressors and Equalizers are generally standard but Input Gain, Pre-amp and Stereo Field seem to be included on a case-by-case basis.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The strip thing is partly as a way of emulation the olden way of mixing on a board. So it is intended to help making rapid decisions (if you have ever seen a video of CLA mixing for example, you know what I mean for quick) as you have everything at fast mouse reach and you need to open 1 plugin instead of 2-4. 
It is also obviously a way to emulate the actual sound of this and that board with some plugins having even EACH channel modeled, with it's slight imperfections from channel to channel .

I enjoy using Omnichannel sometimes because how fast you can set a good sound, the pre section is really nice, the low cut is ready to engage, the EQ points chosen are very useful and the compressor is fast to set and sounds good.
The SSL J sounds pretty pretty good too and is fast to use.

Although I still mostly prefer loading my plugins of choice for each role.

Also there are some channel strip plugins that have maybe one component which sounds really really good and are worth using just for that. For example the compressor/limiter on the Waves TG12345 is recognized by many as one hell of a special sounding compressors. It is truly stellar for some applications.

As for use on the master bus/mastering:
One channel strip plugin I can think at the moment of that is made specifically for the master bus is the Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain, but even being a fan of many Waves stuff I really am not impressed by it.
The original TRacks, when it came out, was a standalone (non VST) channel strip made for mastering.
I'm pretty sure there are others too....

Usually channel strips plugin are not the ideal for master bus/mastering duties because their processors might be a bit more "crude" and aggressive from what you need in that kind of role.
For example the compressor types on SSL emulations are really not ideal for that (great on drums for sure!), and also some have fixed EQ points that are not designed for that use. The pre-amp part of a channel strip also is not usually very useful if not for processing individual channels.
Mostly also on board there is no limiter, or good enough limiter for master bus duties/mastering.
Having said that, maybe others do find a channel strip useful for that. Everyone has their own ways.

It is preferable in my opinion to have one tailor made "hi end" plugin for each role, for example:
Precision EQ, charcter EQ, precision/fast compressor (VCA type for example), colored compressor (might be VARI-MU type), a color/saturation box, stereo field control, limiter.

Sorry about the papyrus, I hope this might be useful to the thread in any way, especially more then me blabbering endlessly about the importance or lack of importance of oversampling and aliasing....


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## Bee_Abney (Nov 14, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> The strip thing is partly as a way of emulation the olden way of mixing on a board. So it is intended to help making rapid decisions (if you have ever seen a video of CLA mixing for example, you know what I mean for quick) as you have everything at fast mouse reach and you need to open 1 plugin instead of 2-4.
> It is also obviously a way to emulate the actual sound of this and that board with some plugins having even EACH channel modeled, with it's slight imperfections from channel to channel .
> 
> I enjoy using Omnichannel sometimes because how fast you can set a good sound, the pre section is really nice, the low cut is ready to engage, the EQ points chosen are very useful and the compressor is fast to set and sounds good.
> ...


This was very helpful indeed. Having all the basic mixing effects on a single page is a big attraction for working through a lot of tracks. And it also helps if they have been designed well to work together, so there isn’t too much fighting against each other. Then there is the desire to have all tracks feel like they belong together, and having the same range of parameters applied to them could help with that.

I have tried a few, including the bx Brainworks Focusright one; but I haven’t anything I like better than certain individual plugins (different ones on different projects). It would be a major plus point if the functions could be re-ordered and individually deactivated (not just set to a neutral state but still colouring the sound somewhat), in a modular fashion.

I rather think that a channel strip doesn’t need to be surgical or lean towards extremes. Those can be best handled by specialist plugins. But you do want it to be flexible enough to cover your instrument groups.

As some have mentioned, they may nit be the best idea for each track where there is a high track count. So I’m also curious as to how far they can work on a bus.

I also wouldn’t want many functions on a channel strip. A pre-amp, EQ, Compressor and stereo widening or narrowing (multi-band would be nice) would be enough, I think, to tie things together. Perhaps.

I’d love to hear more suggestions, although a number have been metioned already that I want to read up on.


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## Geoff Grace (Nov 14, 2021)

I don’t use channel strip plugins often enough to have a favorite, but I’ve been enjoying the sonic signature of the Lindell Audio 80 Series lately.

Best,

Geoff


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## axb312 (Nov 15, 2021)

Maybe this?









SSL EV2 Channel Strip Plugin | Waves


SSL EV2 is a new, elevated take on the legendary SSL 4000 console sound, re-modeled from the ground up for a new level of analog richness – plus new features including the original O2 Brown EQ and all-new mic preamp saturation.




www.waves.com


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## cedricm (Nov 16, 2021)

axb312 said:


> Maybe this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


A good review here:


TLDR: Nice, but consumes a LOT of CPU, which isn't great for a channel strip.


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## tomosane (Nov 18, 2021)

I quite like the new VCS-1 from Fuse, I feel like it strikes an excellent balance between functionality, ergonomics, non-existent CPU usage and zero latency... The aliasing doesn't seem too bad to me based on some initial real-world usage testing, but I can understand why it would worry some (OTOH, as far as I know, it's simply not possible to have zero latency and no aliasing at the same time, so it's always gonna be a tradeoff)

But one plugin I feel really deserves to be mentioned here is SDRR from Klanghelm. It's nominally a saturator plugin but one of its four modes (Desk) is designed to be used as a channel strip. Very few controls but sounds phenomenal, and the optional oversampling is great in that it introduces *very* little extra latency.


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## proggermusic (Nov 18, 2021)

I'll heartily second both the Fuse VCS1 and the Klanghelm SDRR! SDRR was my first good third-party saturation plugin, and while I don't use it too much these days, I did for a long time and it always got the job done. The "Desk" configuration really is great, and many of the presets are extremely cool, too, which is a nice bonus.

I have absolutely zero complaints about VCS1. I do all my projects in 48/24, so I generally don't worry too much about aliasing, but Ray is one of the best developers in the game and I'd use any of his plugins with confidence on the most critical projects.


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## Crowe (Nov 25, 2021)

I've gone and bought the Fuse VCS-1 and I cannot find anything wrong with it. It's beautiful and responsive. I guess it's a good thing I've never used a 'classic console' so I can't have any of those color (hah) my experience.


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## Bee_Abney (Nov 25, 2021)

Crowe said:


> I've gone and bought the Fuse VCS-1 and I cannot find anything wrong with it. It's beautiful and responsive. I guess it's a good thing I've never used a 'classic console' so I can't have any of those color (hah) my experience.


I'm glad you found one to go with and that it hasn't disappointed you!


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## sostenuto (Nov 25, 2021)

proggermusic said:


> I'll heartily second both the Fuse VCS1 and the Klanghelm SDRR! SDRR was my first good third-party saturation plugin, and while I don't use it too much these days, I did for a long time and it always got the job done. The "Desk" configuration really is great, and many of the presets are extremely cool, too, which is a nice bonus.
> 
> I have absolutely zero complaints about VCS1. I do all my projects in 48/24, so I generally don't worry too much about aliasing, but Ray is one of the best developers in the game and I'd use any of his plugins with confidence on the most critical projects.


Only looking for 'positives' here, cuz may add both. How would you distinguish most notable details separating these _ in your specific usage _ of course. Have IVGI btw.

OBTW ..... maybe keep $17. back for Kush Omega TWK ? BlkFri deal for respected saturator plugin.








Omega Transformer Model TWK


Model TWK is a vintage distortion pulled straight from the heart of Kush's own Tweaker hardware compressor. The sound of Omega TWK comes from modeling the way Tweaker overdrives a pair of “supermatched transistors” feeding a long chain of dirty 70's op-amps, all of which have specs that, by...




thehouseofkush.com


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## proggermusic (Nov 26, 2021)

Well, if I were just going to buy one of the two (between SDRR and VCS1), I'd go with VCS1. It's much more full-featured, versatile, flexible, overall useful... and the gentle saturation its preamp models provide is absolutely excellent. The EQ is also REALLY nice and smooth.

I have a ton of respect for Klanghelm, but honestly the various developers Ray Dratwa works with (NEOLD, Black Rooster, and Fuse, which is all him) have totally taken over every instance in which I used to use a Klanghelm plug. For now, anyway.


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## sostenuto (Nov 26, 2021)

proggermusic said:


> Well, if I were just going to buy one of the two (between SDRR and VCS1), I'd go with VCS1. It's much more full-featured, versatile, flexible, overall useful... and the gentle saturation its preamp models provide is absolutely excellent. The EQ is also REALLY nice and smooth.
> 
> I have a ton of respect for Klanghelm, but honestly the various developers Ray Dratwa works with (NEOLD, Black Rooster, and Fuse, which is all him) have totally taken over every instance in which I used to use a Klanghelm plug. For now, anyway.


Appreciate this ! Hope you can comment .... Plugin Alliance has NEOLD V76U73 today at $30. with codes. Is this preferable to FUSE alternative ?


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## proggermusic (Nov 26, 2021)

Not necessarily preferable, just... comparable. And great. Since the NEOLD version has both preamp and compressor integrated into the plugin, the way they interact can be pretty cool. Definitely worth $30, IMO!


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## Crowe (Nov 26, 2021)

proggermusic said:


> Well, if I were just going to buy one of the two (between SDRR and VCS1), I'd go with VCS1. It's much more full-featured, versatile, flexible, overall useful... and the gentle saturation its preamp models provide is absolutely excellent. The EQ is also REALLY nice and smooth.
> 
> I have a ton of respect for Klanghelm, but honestly the various developers Ray Dratwa works with (NEOLD, Black Rooster, and Fuse, which is all him) have totally taken over every instance in which I used to use a Klanghelm plug. For now, anyway.


I acquired the full Black Rooster pack too this BF. I didn't know they were developed by the same person, but that makes sense. All of these plugins sound amazing.


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## proggermusic (Nov 26, 2021)

Crowe said:


> I acquired the full Black Rooster pack too this BF. I didn't know they were developed by the same person, but that makes sense. All of these plugins sound amazing.


I know there are a number of good people involved at Black Rooster, not just Ray. But he's definitely been involved in all three of those companies (BR, Neold, and Fuse), as well as several others with much bigger names. He and those who work with him are certainly some of the best in that field. And I agree, the BR plugs are fantastic, and an unbeatable value when they do deals like this.


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## jben (Dec 11, 2021)

I recently bought the Fuse VCS-1 and I have been testing it against other plugins (Claro EQ, Maniac Compressor) as well as the PA Focusrite SC. Without being better or worse than the others, it's the one giving me the sound I want the fastest, and I find it more complete than the Focusrite SC: the "width" parameter and the three preamps built into the VSC-1 are very convenient. Also, the "console" view allows me to switch very quickly between the different instances of the plugin (I usually use my laptop). 

PS: I've only been mixing for a short time and I still have a lot to learn. I think, as the channel strip is free of visual distractions, that it helps me to focus on the sound, so I will use it also as an ear training to understand the mixing process better than relying on graphical aids.


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## mafgar (Dec 22, 2021)

HOLY fuck I didn't realize SDRR could act as a channel strip and I love it


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## ControlCentral (Dec 29, 2021)

Learningtomix said:


> I have used various channel strip plugins, mostly from Plugin Alliance and Waves, though I currently favour the Harrison 32c. I doesn't have saturation, but does have a compressor with different modes. The eq & filters sound good to me and the gui is relaxing to my eyes.
> 
> The new Fuse looks appealing, though, and at a great intro price, so I may buy it.


A quibble - IIRC it may not have a saturation _knob _but part of it's raison d'etre is its built-in saturation which it has up the wazoo at every gain stage. I actually dropped it as a contender because I couldn't dial back all the saturation it was adding.


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## ControlCentral (Dec 29, 2021)

I think the Fuse strip is a great choice for the OP and true no-brainer for the intro price and a reputable company. Coming from an analog studio console background, I had been looking for a strip for years mostly because of workflow-- I just want some muscle memory and to reduce the analysis paralysis syndrome I was getting because of all my exponentially increasing options. (Waves was out because of a feud I have going with them from back in the '90s. I tried their original SSL strip long ago but though it sounded like @#$ anyway). The one that has stayed for over a year now is the PA SSL G. It makes your input sound like it went through a console, in a good way, and adds a classy harmonic sheen that accumulates nicely over your multiple tracks which is part of the point of a good console sim/ strip. And you can run it cleaner or fuzz it up with the virtual THD knob to taste. I have the compressor set to a default high threshold, low ratio rms mode that just shaves off the transient stubble which is perfect for tracking or a baseline for mixing chores. It pretty much does 90% of what you would want and is perfect as your only plug on non-critical sounds, just as in a 'real' studio your top-shelf gear could be additionally inserted where necessary. I also have the PA Neve sim which is equal in quality but the workflow is a bit weirder and the eqs are too sharp for my taste although it's perfect in some use cases like rock (which i don't do) or to give some grit to drums (the SSL has no grit).
I'm going to also throw out a dark-horse option here because I really like the plugs and underdog one-man-shops but *LVC Audio* has a really nice strip called Preamp MAX that's $25 until the end of the year. It has different preamp sims built-in and is well though out in terms of the options it offers including multiple EQ styles and curves, variable oversampling rates and styles... It's a bit Knob Man graphically but don't let that deter you. It sounds and specs really well. Also, if you're a [email protected] mf like I was at one time, their *T-Chain* line is a freemium offering that allows you to chain together free modules that can be clean as a whistle and offers a la carte preamp sims, compressors (some available standard in the MAX plugin) and an oversampling module for those who care for or can hear such things. If the DIY appearance doesn't scare you off there are some real nuggets in there, IMO.
The Flux Evo channel is also good if you can get it on sale but a bit iconoclastic in design with some niggly things that bug me but clearly designed by someone who actually mixes stuff and not just a programmer selling _ANALOG!_ and a skeuomorphic interface. Not my default but worth a spin as a do-it-all strip especially for acoustic multi-mic recordings.


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## Trevor Meier (Dec 29, 2021)

Thanks for the tip! Checking them out. 

I picked up the Lindell 50 in a recent Plugin Alliance sale, and it’s quickly becoming my fave.


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## ControlCentral (Jan 1, 2022)

ControlCentral said:


> The one that has stayed for over a year now is the PA SSL G.


If you have a mailing list voucher from Plugin Alliance you can get the *SSL 9000J* for like $25 until 1/3--Completely bonkers.  That's actually the one I highly recommend FWIW, _not the G_. Here's a walkthrough of the bx strips so you can hear the differences for yourselves.


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## cloudbuster (Jan 2, 2022)

AudioLoco said:


> For example the compressor/limiter on the Waves TG12345 is recognized by many as one hell of a special sounding compressors. It is truly stellar for some applications


My #1 reason to stick with Waves. I'd still describe the unique sonic character of that thing as 'trippy' 🤪 (for lack of a better term). Before the AR Mastering chain came out I've used the 12345 on some masters as well ... Took some time to get to grips with the unique compression but I just love that thing.


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## el-bo (Jan 2, 2022)

Got lucky buying an unregistered copy of the Focusrite channel, for $5 (Shut up! Nah, really). Not got to do any mixing with it yet, but the (G)UI is fantastic. Everything seems so clearly laid out and demarcated, with a good amount of space between the elements (Very unlike the normal cramped-ness I associate with BX_consoles). I remember joking, when it was first released, that it looked like Fischer Price 'My First Channel-Strip'. It still does. And while I'd really appreciate being able to choose between a range of less-garish colour schemes, I'll gladly suffer it in light of the rest of it's advantages.

Only one real quirk, here (Also strange for BX), to do with the layout of the EQ - Grouping the LF and HF does make sense, but it a little non-conventional and jarring. And the only thing that isn't so intuitive is the filter to gate/comp section. Other than that, all's good.


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## Bee_Abney (Jan 2, 2022)

el-bo said:


> Got lucky buying an unregistered copy of the Focusrite channel, for $5 (Shut up! Nah, really). Not got to do any mixing with it yet, but the (G)UI is fantastic. Everything seems so clearly laid out and demarcated, with a good amount of space between the elements (Very unlike the normal cramped-ness I associate with BX_consoles). I remember joking, when it was first released, that it looked like Fischer Price 'My First Channel-Strip'. It still does. And while I'd really appreciate being able to choose between a range of less-garish colour schemes, I'll gladly suffer it in light of the rest of it's advantages.
> 
> Only one real quirk, here (Also strange for BX), to do with the layout of the EQ - Grouping the LF and HF does make sense, but it a little non-conventional and jarring. And the only thing that isn't so intuitive is the filter to gate/comp section. Other than that, all's good.


I think there was a $10 bundle including the Focusrite earlyish last year, which could explain the low price of the transfer.


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## el-bo (Jan 2, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> I think there was a $10 bundle including the Focusrite earlyish last year, which could explain the low price of the transfer.


The guy i bought it off had two copied for sale. One was the FSC, for $10. The other was a bundle of FSC, Oberhausen and MasterDesk, for $15. i went for the bundle, so $5 is just my crude split between the 3 products. Though, to be honest, it probably works out more like $7.50 (Wasn't Oberly impressed with the synth  )


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## Per Boysen (Jan 2, 2022)

Since I got my UAD Apollo Twin USB I have gravitated to using either their Neve 1084 (for the "diffusing shimmer" coloring) or their SSL Channel strip (for a more focused sound). When tracking through a mic I put one of these in the Unison slot of the apollo to get a good starting-point sound recorded. For in-the-box generated sounds, I apply them in the DAW when bouncing midi to audio, just to make the track sound more groovy and musical. Regarding cutting low mids and bass I wait until the final mix and use the DAWs built-in eq. The SSL 4k G Bus Compressor is a fav of mine, to make stuff bigger when bouncing to audio. A little touch of it also goes added in parallel to the main mix output, to give glue, depth, and stereo definition. I export the mix like that and then master it in SoundForge with a strip holding a 4-band multi compressor, UAD Fairchild compressor, and FabFilter Pro-L2.

I recently stumbled over a lovely electric guitar sound, tracking through the Neve 1084 in the unison slot and compressing through the SSL 4k Bus Comp. Not "funky", rather Abbey Road-ish Beatles, Floyd/Gilmour, overdriven style sound. Not appliable for orchestral material I guess  but interesting and useful to know.

Maybe there are simpler ways of using channel strip plugins, but this is what I have found so far that gives me the best sound out of my DAWs.


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## Crowe (Apr 5, 2022)

I'm curious as to the state of oversampling on Plugin-Alliance Channel strips. There's some reference to oversampling within _some _of the manuals and there's a post somewhere that states all bx_ plugins feature oversampling where applicable but this isn't really corroborated anywhere.

@Trevor Meier I now consider you to be the go-to guy when it comes to aliasing on channel strips, do you happen to know the state of PA plugins?


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## Crowe (Apr 5, 2022)

Ok, so my own research has shown (and I'm going to update this post for prosperity if I find more) the following:

*Plugin Alliance Channel Strips

Oversampling*
Lindell 50
Lindell 80
?? Bx_console SSL 9000 J (2 posts I've found mentioned it has this under the hood)

*No Oversampling*
bx_console Amek 9099


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## Trevor Meier (Apr 5, 2022)

Crowe said:


> Ok, so my own research has shown (and I'm going to update this post for prosperity if I find more) the following:
> 
> *Plugin Alliance Channel Strips
> 
> ...


From my tests, the BX plugins alias. Whether they have oversampling or not, I’m not sure - but if they do it’s not implemented in a way that protects from aliasing. 

The Lindell plugins are much better. They have selectable oversampling and don’t alias at the higher settings. I stick to the Lindell channel strips (also because I like the sound).


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## Crowe (Apr 5, 2022)

Trevor Meier said:


> From my tests, the BX plugins alias. Whether they have oversampling or not, I’m not sure - but if they do it’s not implemented in a way that protects from aliasing.
> 
> The Lindell plugins are much better. They have selectable oversampling and don’t alias at the higher settings. I stick to the Lindell channel strips (also because I like the sound).


That's sounds like what my 'research' is showing. Thanks for the reply!


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## PaulieDC (Apr 5, 2022)

Crowe said:


> That's sounds like what my 'research' is showing. Thanks for the reply!


I was on that hunt, and every channel strip seemed to harden the sound for lack of a better term. I tried FabFilter's EQ and Compressor and the game was over, they are SO musical. Pretty sure they are done at 8x oversampling. They did a video explaining why we want that. I wanted an all-in-one solution, believe me, but once I tried them, I was hooked.


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## CATDAD (Apr 5, 2022)

PaulieDC said:


> I was on that hunt, and every channel strip seemed to harden the sound for lack of a better term. I tried FabFilter's EQ and Compressor and the game was over, they are SO musical. Pretty sure they are done at 8x oversampling. They did a video explaining why we want that. I wanted an all-in-one solution, believe me, but once I tried them, I was hooked.



I really like what channel strips are trying to do in theory, but at the end of the day I just can't seem to divorce myself from using a little chain of Fabfilter plugins instead. I suppose I've grown so fond of them that they have become my "simple, fast, go-to" solution!


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## AceAudioHQ (Apr 5, 2022)

SSL Native Channel Strip 2, sounds great, looks awesome


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## cedricm (Apr 6, 2022)

One that I totally missed but seems really interesting and offering an alternative workflow is CLA Mixhub.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Apr 8, 2022)

Now that UAD plugins are going native, I’m looking forward to using their excellent channel strips on more channels. They have API converted so far - hopefully Neve and SSL soon.


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## John Longley (Apr 8, 2022)

Slate VMR and Softube Weiss for Console One.


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## RicardoSilva (Nov 16, 2022)

premjj said:


> It is on sale at $49.99 currently.
> 
> The $25 monthly voucher (same code issued to everyone this month I believe) should bring it down to $24.99.
> 
> ...


Im selling it for £10, sorry to intrude, kind regards.


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