Very interesting workflow. Thanks Alex. The sound with the hardware insert of Launcher seems more "cinematic" to my ears in the examples you have shown us
Actually I re-route audio tracks through my colouring preamps (M5, Pacifica) in post from time to time - works great, and my RME interface has enough controls and options to level match as required.
Great video, I'm glad I found your channel! Another great and simpler workflow would be some of the excellent transformer/saturation plugin out there. I highly rate the Kush Audio Omega series, Sound Toys Decapitator, Brain Worx Black Box, SPL Iron and there's a ton more good ones. Always important to consider that these effects can always be balanced wet/dry or used in parallel with the clean signal to great effect.
Thank you!! And good calls all around. I use the Omega stuff on guitars a lot, and Decapitator is probably my favorite saturation plugin of all of them. Excellent for music, but also for making slams/impacts/sound design elements more flavorful. 👍
Good one, thanks! 👍 Would be interesting to see if this is a good match with sibilant voices on my MKH-50. Have you tried it on vocals or is it too aggressive for that maybe?
It’s great for vocals (if you like how it sounds) but it’s only designed to work with dynamic and ribbon mics...no condensers without some workarounds.
@@axk Ah... of course... thanks :) Maybe nerd down with some music focused preamps with cinemag transformers? Like Warm Audio WA12. I don’t know. Just thinking...
How did you to set everything up? Did you use a [ DI Output -> reamp -> Rolls Mic Power II -> Soyuz ->Di Input] ? Trying to figure it out so i can try this out :)
Hi Alex. What do think about exponential audio's nimbus reverb for post production? I'm also curious about difference between nimbus and stratus. Haven't seen any review using nimbus for post.
Ummmm.... 1) I love your videos, full stop. 2) The Launcher sounds great as an additional transformer coloring tool, and slight dynamic range compression, as intended. 3) Sending a channel out of the box, through your interfaces D/A converter(s), into the Analog Realm, then back into A/D converters, as you mentioned are called “Hardware Inserts”. Let’s call this: [Hardware Inserts 101: Line-Level Loops] 4) [Hardware Inserts 102: Mic-Level Magic] Let’s call this intermediate level, taking the Line-Level Output from the interface, then using a “Line-Mic Pad”, and running that padded (now Mic-Level) signal into any Microphone Pre-Amplifier of your choice, could be the Pres built into your interface, or say your Neve 1073s or boutique Tube Pres. The Preamps will bring that signal back up to Line-Level again, and so back into the interfaces Line-Inputs and A/Ds, picking up the “color” of your preamp along the way. Using the Soyuz, essentially a Pre-Preamp, simply adds another stage and flavor of analog circuitry (and gain-staging complexity) to a traditional hardware insert chain. Not a cheap option, but possibly well worth it. 5) [Hardware Inserts-103: Instrument-Level Pedal Power] Similar to above, but instead of using a “Line-Mic Pad”, using a “Re-Amp Box” which typically drops that balanced Line-Level signal from the interface into an un-balanced Instrument-Level signal, which can then be run into any relatively inexpensive “Guitar Pedals” you may have laying around, out of the Pedal(s) and into a “D.I. Box” or “D.I. Input” on your interface. If using a standalone D.I. Box, the output will typically be Mic-Level, which means running into a Microphone Preamplifier either standalone or built in, same as above in [HI102]. Now, using a Re-Amp Box into a DI Input as an Instrument-Level Hardware Insert Loop is amazing, primarily because there are Millions of dirt cheap pedals out there that can be inserted for an unlimited combination of flavors. Think of it as the analog spice cabinet in your studio kitchen, yeah you have plugins galore, but twisting knobs and using your ears is more fun. Also have to note, that in Series you have to be careful how much you push it, BUT in Parallel you can smash the hell out of it until the harmonics and density are way too much on their own, but then that ‘intense extract concentrate’ can simply be blended in with the un-molested “dry” track, accenting the flavor of the original signal to taste. AND.....the original intended purpose of Re-Amp Boxes, are not for these loops. In a recording session, say a Guitar player came in with their rig, instrument/pedals/amp. In the studio you mic the amp, he plays, you record. But you can also stick a DI in between his Instrument and his pedals, still record the mic, but also capture the performance “clean” before any processing. And/Or you can stick another DI in between the pedals and the amp, record the performance from the mic, from before the pedals, and from after the pedals but before the amp. With those Three recordings of the same performance, if in the Mix session, the Mic’d amp fits the mix perfectly, use that...done. However, let’s say it doesn’t work or you want something different, or you or the mix studio have a Way better amps and mics and pres and room, than that kid in that band. Then you can send Clean D.I. signals B or C out of your interface, into a Re-Amp Box, and into a new Amp. You would Mic that amp, and record that mic as if the guitarist was still in the room. You would also choose if you replace the pedal board as well, or if you consider the guitar and pedals as all part of one instrument. The point is, options. (Similarly, a reverb chamber is just playing a signal out into a speaker, in a room, captured by a mic or pair, and that rooms reverb “returned” back into the mix to taste. USE YOUR ROOMS.) 6) [Hardware Inserts-104: Multitrack Hybrid Heaven] For the advanced students, if you can analog process 1-channel, why not a stereo pair? Why not 8, 16, 32, 96-channels!? Hybrid Mixing is simply the idea that you can simultaneously mix both Inside and Outside of the “Box”. Moving back and forth between Digital and Analog at will, taking advantage of the strengths and circumventing the weaknesses of each. Imagine that you have a DAW session, most would say PT but let’s go with Studio One. Now imagine you have not just a single Soyuz but a 15-foot wide, 96-Channel, Solid State Logic 9000j in your bedroom. (I said imagine). So what do you do? Well currently in March 2021, I like the Presonus Quantum 4848 which essentially a Dumb Interface, with two thunderbolt ports, 16-channels of ADAT I/O and 32-channels of A/D and D/A converters on 8-DB25 connectors. No mic Pres, no DIs, no DSP, no nothing. Just a single rack full of 120dB converters with 0.91ms latency round trip! For $1500! So daisy chain three of em and send 96-D/A Outs to 96 SSL Line-Ins, then take 96 SSL Direct-Outs into 96-A/D Inputs. Boom....SSL Channel Strip Plug-in, using actual SSL Channel Strips. Now, Studio One Professional (which comes Free with the 4848) also includes a built in plug-in called Pipeline, that is the simplest, cleanest, most complete way of setting up individual Hardware Inserts that I’m aware of. The Plug-in’s GUI deals with round trip latency, input and output levels, has an RTA, even hosts pictures you can take on your phone of your analog gear and settings for recall. On top of this, it includes a Parallel processing Wet/Dry Mix knob, allowing you unlimited control options, almost hiding the complexity of what you’re actually doing behind a simple interface and controls. Much like an Apple product. Effectively you’re turning your hardware into drag-&-drop plug-ins that can be placed on any or all of your tracks, but obviously only One instance for each of the I/O pairs on your interface(s). Again, you can, and I do, do all of this in any DAW, but Studio One (and Reaper) have made it so effortless that you will actually go through the effort, changing the cost/benefit analysis if you will. In conclusion, now that this comment is longer than the video it started out commenting upon. BE VERY CAREFUL! G.A.S. is Highly Addictive! Alex, with his baby face and smooth calming voice, is offering you a gateway drug. One day your trying out a little Soyuz just to see what all the talk is about, see if you like it. And before you know it, you find yourself ripping apart your garage, double studding the walls, haven’t shaved properly in who knows how long. You aren’t sleeping anymore, alternating between Reverb, eBay, Gear Sluts, and Sweetwater at all hours of the night. Gear Acquisition Syndrome has no known cure. Like the guy sitting in the casino in front of his fifteenth card dealer, as the sun comes up outside, telling himself ‘I can’t quit now’ and ‘this is the one, I can feel it!’, it is possible that you are just about to hit it big! But it’s at least equally likely that you simply run out of cash, lose it all, try to negotiate with “the man” get thrown out on the street and eventually find yourself under a blue tarp beneath an underpass, twitching uncontrollably and murmuring to anyone that crosses your path about 1176s and 33609s. So consider yourself warned: Hardware Inserts are a bit like buying a boat. It can simultaneously be the most fun and exhilarating, yet dumbest thing you ever could have done.
Got a roommate who records alot of rap, I had him purchase one of these and I let him use my sm7b. Now I gotta borrow his Launcher, really enjoyed it on those gunshots and broadband sounds. Have you tried running a lav track through the Launcher?? I have the Cranborne audio Camden preamps that have a really great variable saturation feature, line level inputs, and stepped gain which is amazing for stereo, they are also extremely low noise pre's and would be great for this technique.
I once tested a fet-head for it's noise floor - compared to a quality preamp the fet-head had a terrible noise floor and did significantly impact the signal (less 'open' sounding). Would be interesting to know were the launcher stands in regards to noise floor, yes!
![OhGeesy x Lefty Gunplay - What It Iz [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/L0yzW9t2ixk/mqdefault.jpg)
Wow you can really hear it on the bass drop, sounds amazing
Very interesting workflow. Thanks Alex. The sound with the hardware insert of Launcher seems more "cinematic" to my ears in the examples you have shown us
Great video, Alex. You clearly spend a lot of time making these, and the end product is gold.
Actually I re-route audio tracks through my colouring preamps (M5, Pacifica) in post from time to time - works great, and my RME interface has enough controls and options to level match as required.
Great video, I'm glad I found your channel! Another great and simpler workflow would be some of the excellent transformer/saturation plugin out there. I highly rate the Kush Audio Omega series, Sound Toys Decapitator, Brain Worx Black Box, SPL Iron and there's a ton more good ones. Always important to consider that these effects can always be balanced wet/dry or used in parallel with the clean signal to great effect.
Thank you!! And good calls all around. I use the Omega stuff on guitars a lot, and Decapitator is probably my favorite saturation plugin of all of them. Excellent for music, but also for making slams/impacts/sound design elements more flavorful. 👍
Good one, thanks! 👍
Would be interesting to see if this is a good match with sibilant voices on my MKH-50. Have you tried it on vocals or is it too aggressive for that maybe?
It’s great for vocals (if you like how it sounds) but it’s only designed to work with dynamic and ribbon mics...no condensers without some workarounds.
@@axk Ah... of course... thanks :) Maybe nerd down with some music focused preamps with cinemag transformers? Like Warm Audio WA12. I don’t know. Just thinking...
@@jojjen69 I have the Warm WA-412 and before that a pair of API 512C, that'll work.
How did you to set everything up?
Did you use a [ DI Output -> reamp -> Rolls Mic Power II -> Soyuz ->Di Input] ?
Trying to figure it out so i can try this out :)
Hey Alex, great review, buddy. Have you tried the Durham from Cathedral Pipes?
I have the Durham, and it is very clean and neutral sounding. A great value if you want a clean boost for a microphone with a low output.
Hi Alex. What do think about exponential audio's nimbus reverb for post production? I'm also curious about difference between nimbus and stratus. Haven't seen any review using nimbus for post.
Stay tuned 😈
@@axk counting on it. Excited!
What was your setup to output audio from your computer into the Launcher with phantom power and back in?
Ummmm....
1) I love your videos, full stop.
2) The Launcher sounds great as an additional transformer coloring tool, and slight dynamic range compression, as intended.
3) Sending a channel out of the box, through your interfaces D/A converter(s), into the Analog Realm, then back into A/D converters, as you mentioned are called “Hardware Inserts”. Let’s call this: [Hardware Inserts 101: Line-Level Loops]
4) [Hardware Inserts 102: Mic-Level Magic] Let’s call this intermediate level, taking the Line-Level Output from the interface, then using a “Line-Mic Pad”, and running that padded (now Mic-Level) signal into any Microphone Pre-Amplifier of your choice, could be the Pres built into your interface, or say your Neve 1073s or boutique Tube Pres. The Preamps will bring that signal back up to Line-Level again, and so back into the interfaces Line-Inputs and A/Ds, picking up the “color” of your preamp along the way. Using the Soyuz, essentially a Pre-Preamp, simply adds another stage and flavor of analog circuitry (and gain-staging complexity) to a traditional hardware insert chain. Not a cheap option, but possibly well worth it.
5) [Hardware Inserts-103: Instrument-Level Pedal Power] Similar to above, but instead of using a “Line-Mic Pad”, using a “Re-Amp Box” which typically drops that balanced Line-Level signal from the interface into an un-balanced Instrument-Level signal, which can then be run into any relatively inexpensive “Guitar Pedals” you may have laying around, out of the Pedal(s) and into a “D.I. Box” or “D.I. Input” on your interface. If using a standalone D.I. Box, the output will typically be Mic-Level, which means running into a Microphone Preamplifier either standalone or built in, same as above in [HI102].
Now, using a Re-Amp Box into a DI Input as an Instrument-Level Hardware Insert Loop is amazing, primarily because there are Millions of dirt cheap pedals out there that can be inserted for an unlimited combination of flavors. Think of it as the analog spice cabinet in your studio kitchen, yeah you have plugins galore, but twisting knobs and using your ears is more fun.
Also have to note, that in Series you have to be careful how much you push it, BUT in Parallel you can smash the hell out of it until the harmonics and density are way too much on their own, but then that ‘intense extract concentrate’ can simply be blended in with the un-molested “dry” track, accenting the flavor of the original signal to taste.
AND.....the original intended purpose of Re-Amp Boxes, are not for these loops. In a recording session, say a Guitar player came in with their rig, instrument/pedals/amp. In the studio you mic the amp, he plays, you record. But you can also stick a DI in between his Instrument and his pedals, still record the mic, but also capture the performance “clean” before any processing. And/Or you can stick another DI in between the pedals and the amp, record the performance from the mic, from before the pedals, and from after the pedals but before the amp. With those Three recordings of the same performance, if in the Mix session, the Mic’d amp fits the mix perfectly, use that...done. However, let’s say it doesn’t work or you want something different, or you or the mix studio have a Way better amps and mics and pres and room, than that kid in that band. Then you can send Clean D.I. signals B or C out of your interface, into a Re-Amp Box, and into a new Amp. You would Mic that amp, and record that mic as if the guitarist was still in the room. You would also choose if you replace the pedal board as well, or if you consider the guitar and pedals as all part of one instrument. The point is, options. (Similarly, a reverb chamber is just playing a signal out into a speaker, in a room, captured by a mic or pair, and that rooms reverb “returned” back into the mix to taste. USE YOUR ROOMS.)
6) [Hardware Inserts-104: Multitrack Hybrid Heaven] For the advanced students, if you can analog process 1-channel, why not a stereo pair? Why not 8, 16, 32, 96-channels!? Hybrid Mixing is simply the idea that you can simultaneously mix both Inside and Outside of the “Box”. Moving back and forth between Digital and Analog at will, taking advantage of the strengths and circumventing the weaknesses of each.
Imagine that you have a DAW session, most would say PT but let’s go with Studio One. Now imagine you have not just a single Soyuz but a 15-foot wide, 96-Channel, Solid State Logic 9000j in your bedroom. (I said imagine). So what do you do? Well currently in March 2021, I like the Presonus Quantum 4848 which essentially a Dumb Interface, with two thunderbolt ports, 16-channels of ADAT I/O and 32-channels of A/D and D/A converters on 8-DB25 connectors. No mic Pres, no DIs, no DSP, no nothing. Just a single rack full of 120dB converters with 0.91ms latency round trip! For $1500! So daisy chain three of em and send 96-D/A Outs to 96 SSL Line-Ins, then take 96 SSL Direct-Outs into 96-A/D Inputs. Boom....SSL Channel Strip Plug-in, using actual SSL Channel Strips. Now, Studio One Professional (which comes Free with the 4848) also includes a built in plug-in called Pipeline, that is the simplest, cleanest, most complete way of setting up individual Hardware Inserts that I’m aware of. The Plug-in’s GUI deals with round trip latency, input and output levels, has an RTA, even hosts pictures you can take on your phone of your analog gear and settings for recall. On top of this, it includes a Parallel processing Wet/Dry Mix knob, allowing you unlimited control options, almost hiding the complexity of what you’re actually doing behind a simple interface and controls. Much like an Apple product. Effectively you’re turning your hardware into drag-&-drop plug-ins that can be placed on any or all of your tracks, but obviously only One instance for each of the I/O pairs on your interface(s). Again, you can, and I do, do all of this in any DAW, but Studio One (and Reaper) have made it so effortless that you will actually go through the effort, changing the cost/benefit analysis if you will.
In conclusion, now that this comment is longer than the video it started out commenting upon.
BE VERY CAREFUL!
G.A.S. is Highly Addictive!
Alex, with his baby face and smooth calming voice, is offering you a gateway drug.
One day your trying out a little Soyuz just to see what all the talk is about, see if you like it.
And before you know it, you find yourself ripping apart your garage, double studding the walls, haven’t shaved properly in who knows how long.
You aren’t sleeping anymore, alternating between Reverb, eBay, Gear Sluts, and Sweetwater at all hours of the night.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome has no known cure.
Like the guy sitting in the casino in front of his fifteenth card dealer, as the sun comes up outside, telling himself ‘I can’t quit now’ and ‘this is the one, I can feel it!’, it is possible that you are just about to hit it big!
But it’s at least equally likely that you simply run out of cash, lose it all, try to negotiate with “the man” get thrown out on the street and eventually find yourself under a blue tarp beneath an underpass, twitching uncontrollably and murmuring to anyone that crosses your path about 1176s and 33609s.
So consider yourself warned: Hardware Inserts are a bit like buying a boat. It can simultaneously be the most fun and exhilarating, yet dumbest thing you ever could have done.
Got a roommate who records alot of rap, I had him purchase one of these and I let him use my sm7b. Now I gotta borrow his Launcher, really enjoyed it on those gunshots and broadband sounds. Have you tried running a lav track through the Launcher?? I have the Cranborne audio Camden preamps that have a really great variable saturation feature, line level inputs, and stepped gain which is amazing for stereo, they are also extremely low noise pre's and would be great for this technique.
Doesn't the launcher have a poor noise floor? If you ever get a chance, could you compare this with a fethead and the se dynamite?
I once tested a fet-head for it's noise floor - compared to a quality preamp the fet-head had a terrible noise floor and did significantly impact the signal (less 'open' sounding). Would be interesting to know were the launcher stands in regards to noise floor, yes!
Союз нерушимый республик свободных
Сплотила навеки Великая Русь.
Да здравствует созданный волей народов
Единый, могучий Советский Союз!
Cool piece of gear but reasonable humans really shouldn't buy stuff from the country where this is made lately.