Just ordered the iLok 2 for the Slate "Everything" Bundle. This is one of the plug ins I'm most excited about, especially after having spent the last few weekends restoring an old Teac A3300s-2T, which is a 1/4" 2 track mastering deck. It's been a fun, sometimes frustrating, process but since it was a restore project I got a chance to learn more about how tape machines operate than I would have if the deck was fully functional. All that to say, can't wait to tweak some virtual tape settings on this one!
I like the idea of mixing through the plugin from the beginning, as opposed to slapping it on at the end. It's subtle, but you'll end up making mix decisions based on what the tape is doing and it improves the realism of the results, imo. I think I originally got that idea from Charles Dye, but I've seen it work much better that way
Added some widening and girth to the drums for sure. I worked with tape for years and this adds some of that warmth back into the mix. Just started using the plug in as Pro Tools buried it in my harmonics folder and I'd wondered where it went. lol Love the rest of the Slate products and can't wait to see more reviews on their upcoming plug ins. To the folks bashing the younger inexperienced folks, get a life. We all had to start somewhere and it's great that we have videos like this to show the difference. I agree with a few other folks here that some decent monitors and treated room will help. Great video Graham!
This has recently become a major part of my mixes in all stages. I started recording with old reel-to-reel machines, and this is the closest I've ever come to having that classic tape sound in a digital form. I love it.
People are so negative, everyone thinks that they have a golden ear. Remember, these are just tools, everyone has dreams. I have this program and learned something from this video. Be humble people and learn. If you didn't like the video put your own up and share your knowledge.
Just installed the Demo version. IMO, this plug in has more "Goodness"..subtle widening, tape glue, etc than the Waves Kramer, which is very fine also. My opinion, of course. I will purchase the Slate version when the demo expires. Thanks for your video review.
+Robert Jason I think that the latest Slate Digital plugins are of better quality than their counterparts from Waves. But you should also definitely give a shot at u-he Satin, which is also of top quality and slightly cheaper. And moreover it doesn't come with that iLok nonsense which is a big no-no for me.
themotownboy1 Comparatively,it may sound bad because he started with Slate VTM and then switched it off, the mix lost a lot of depth and harmonic content. So the mix may have been great, but after going back and listening to the mix without VTM (after refreshing my ears), the mix is kind of harsh and not cohesive with really grating vocals. Perhaps Graham was not finished with the mix or really wanted to show how much of an affect Slate VTM has.
You just sold it to me Graham - sorry I missed the Black Friday sale! My first multitrack tape machine was an Ampex 16 track on 2" tape ( from Trident studios - Space Oddity then it went to Newcastle - Lindisfarne). Your post just brought it all back. Thanks Best Wishes Dave
"Limitations equaling more creativity" - Very well put! Give me a guitar and I'll write a symphony, give me ProTools with Vienna Strings and I'll do nothing.
Take into account that it is considered good practice mixing the tracks while monitoring through whatever you are going to use on the buss, be it a compressor or a tape plug.
I just picked this up and it's makes the mix fuller and warmer. Very noticeable difference if you train your ears for what your looking for. I put it on the drums buss mix and I heard the difference. Now I'll use this on all the tracks along with the VCC...This was not a waste of time spent on my afternoon.
Finally after one year i am able to hear what it does. so one year back i thought it does nothing, few months after i said its placebo effect but now i can admit it fills a bit of life in the sound. just ears getting trained.
wasn't sure about getting this as a plug in, however, after watching your video I can hear a massive difference. it warms the bottom end and tickles the top end, it also gives more depth. thanks for the video, very informative 👍
I love this kind of videos, because I need a perspective from other persons involved in same business. The question is to buy or not a plugin. Untill now Recordingrevolution is offering this review and all that this guy says is good to compare and take decisions. Please continue with this great site and we´ll be waiting for more reviews. From Costa Rica.
Sorry but I have to say, the sound change is brilliant! It is indeed fatter. To the global sound it changes the drum sound a lot, especially the snare, and the voice also really pops a lot! It is just like sunshine pops up after a cloud passing by...
All in kindness: I've worked quite a bit with tape, Studer 16 and 24 track, and this plug is a spot-on emulation. The effect of real tape isn't all that pronounced below the red. The Kramer plug is quite exaggerated. I've used it and I like it as a sparing effect. Tape isn't an effect as much as an overall sound. Secondly, when you push this plug ridiculously hard, e.g. pinning a snare into the red, you will hear it chop off that attack in a very pleasing way, like you are talking about.
Yes you do. A tape plugin (or a machine!) is indispensable. I'm kind of a noob at mixing but I've realized how much of a difference something like this makes and I'll probably be using it on every song I mix. Actually I don't have any Slate plugins, but I just shelled out $60 for the Massey Tapehead. It's the first time I've paid for a plugin but I just had to have it. One thing these Slates have that are missing from the Massey is that they automatically keep the volume at the same level.
Wow!.. this is really great, the drums & Bass definately warm up and fatten out when using this plugin. Having also recorded to tape in the 80s, 90s, it reminded me of my old reel-reel Akai masters..happy days, and a worthy addition to my plugin collection, if a little pricey. I would like to hear it over driven and with electric guitar, bet that sounds cool too :o) Great demo..thanks.
i definitely hear a difference. The sound is widened so much and there is an added warmth to the mix. when the VTM is bypassed the song sounds so cold, almost naked.
To some of the folks below - I agree. Though subtle is what it's all about. I personally don't like plugs that are extreme. The more you do to your signal with plugs the more your audio gets degraded. All processing has artifacts to some degree and I spend allot of time(as everyone should) tuning the drums, maintaining the guitars and amps, trying different mics and mic setups, considering arrangement etc, and I don't want plugin's taking away my hard work. I just want icing on the cake in the mix. If I have to eq allot, then I probably tracked it wrong. Then you end up 2 hours into mixing in a tangled mess of too much tweaking. Fixing in the mix is like driving with your knees. You can do it, but it's not intuitive or as easy. Also - in the tape days, lots of engineers wanted those tape machines setup so well that they were almost transparent. Listen to Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees(on CD, not downloaded files unless WAV) and you'll hear this exemplified. It's not in your face saturation all over the place like people seem to think older music was. This plugin is expensive(I got it on a big sale so it was worth every penny to me) so I can understand that angle. Though, just because its a subtle plugin, doesn't mean it didn't take allot of work to make. YMMV.
Dude, i havent comment at any other video before, but i think what you offer is amazing, keep on giving those advanced techniques and thats your power point, cuz in youtube there is a hundereds of amatuer tutos..... thanks :)
I picked this up a few weeks ago and to me the VTM and VCC are excellent tools, I use them on pretty much everything now. Without sounding corny they do add that missing analog warmth and glue that just isn't there in the digital domain. Are they expensive? No, not really if you think about how long it takes to develop something like this and what it is giving you in return. It knocks spots off of the Waves Kramer tape to my ears but I do like the slap back available there. Paul / Stick
can you do a video on the basic tools needed for mixing, and how to combine them? Maybe show us the bare essentials you need for a good mix, and how to use them.
The more trained your ears are, the more likely you are to hear details that might not be as apparent to someone who isn't used to doing critical listening - Details are more noticeable to those that do detailed listening for a living. Of course, what you are listening THROUGH matters a great deal as well. Differences don't always have to be dramatic to effect things in a major way. Take a listen to this through a nice pair of studio monitors in a treated room, and you will absolutely hear a difference.
if you are young and new to mixing....you are missing all that hiss we used to get with tape...having to record at super high levels to keep the noise floor...on the floor...using all that dolby/dbx stuff still didnt get rid of it or it altered your sound dramatically....it was a nightmare...but old tape gave you a fat bottom punch and sizzling tops in the recordings...tape emulation is to recreate what the old timers were used to listening to....but if your music sounds good already....then dressing it up with tints of tube and tape compression makes it more ear friendly....to a fruit bat
i don' think there is anything subtle about it at all. maybe to the average person, but to someone who works every day with music, this is surprisingly noticeable.
This plugin does colouring and saturation and all that magical mojo stuff. Mastering with Ozone is more about preparing the final product to be released. So put this first, Ozone last. You don't want to master into an effect like this. Imagine it like you've recorded a song to tape, and then you're transferring that to digital and mastering it. Of course, you could do the opposite, since breaking rules and conventions is one of the ways to get new sounds ;)
One vintage british hand made console, thermionic culture.. used to had Studer A80, resent session was with few tube-techs (multiband and cla-1b), vertigo comp, millenia with forssell mode, anamod tape (doesn't work as good as studer btw.. but still solid), 2254,1073 of course.. gyraf eq+vari-mu.. well.. list goes on and on.. used to work on ssl aws and tl adio 64 channel consoles.. preferred tlaudio.. but very happy with what I have now. All on forssell mada b version of course. cheek gearslutz
I guess the "extra-something" you are talking about is that fat, quite analog punch from behind ... tested it on recording acoustic instruments plus vocals and it really gave that vintage touch to the mixdown indeed ...
This is very slight. I just hear the drums getting slightly stronger, more hifi, and the vocals being slightly more upfront. This is not going to be obvious to many people, by any means.
I have a modded reel to reel and a tascam tape deck and vtm is the closet you're going to get to a real tape sound with a plugin.i don't care what any of the commenters on this video or the sound examples used in this vid suggest. I've been working as an engineer for nearly 2 decades if that means anything.
When you flipped the on off on the master buss, I noticed between a 1db and .5 of a db difference on my (trusty!) mixer led.. I'm just saying, because as you well know any bump in volume is perceived as 'better'...
Its good that someone is sharing their knowledge. Someone my need the insight, which could help them. They maybe stuck and a video like this could have answers they need.
+Blaze Luminous Absolutely correct. I hate to discourage novices. 12 years ago I didn't know what compression was. A friend gave me one and I thought it was broken. lol
hey guys...one thing i've learned when it come to mastering a track is that the change r slight as opposed to drastic...the small change is heard and the difference is noticed without taking away from the original mix
why do you put the vtm first on individual tracks? I thought the signal goes through a mixing console before it hits the tape, so basically you'd put the vcc first, then the vtm, then the vcc again to emulate hardware summing (although that wouldn't actually bypass the DAW summing algorithm).
When I first heard this review, I was on the little focusrite 2i2. I've recently upgraded to the 18i20 which the converters are definitely better. Since I've upgraded I can now tell the difference. basically your average consumer won't notice anything, though your job is to make sure everyone can enjoy the song or album including audiophiles. If it makes the track sound better then those people will also enjoy it more then if you didn't have it. At least that's the way I look at it.
Imagine using it on a mix that was recorded on analog tape... Also, it's thrilling me to hear this, because my BR-20 absolutely kills this as far as what the plugin's trying to "do". Awesome. Good try, Slate, though, still love ya \m/ \m/
graham, thx for the review...i've got the rc tube, and like it, but it really puts a huge strain on my cpu...especially when putting the channel insert on all my tracks (drums, etc., etc.)...thus i have gone away from using it since i spend more time fighting that than mixing...sounds like this might be an alternative until i upgrade computers and am able to run the rc console efficiently ... thx, scott
@dmoates420...naaa..Its just nice to know that you can possible wreak some benefit w/the plug only on the mix buss as opposed to every channel AND the mix buss...
Ok I've listened carefully. Definitely not placebo. Damn it sounds nice, but it's so slight. I wonder how many consumers would really hear the difference and buy a processed mix versus an unprocessed one. Is it really worth the money? I don't really think so. Maybe it's just a engineer candy.
Absolutely they would! A good mixing engineer understands that plugins that change the sound VERY subtly, but towards a positive direction, are the bread and butter of your mix. If Graham took the stereo spread on on of the tracks, and bypassed that, there's a huge chance you wouldn't even hear the difference. He could go down the line slowly bypassing EQs, stereo enhancing, compression, subtle reverbs and step by step you would hear very little, if no difference at all to many of the plugins and EQs he is bypassing. If he then went and turned all those plugins back on all at once, it would blow your mind at how huge the difference is! To me, that's why mixing is so exciting. Your ear becomes better trained, you learn what subtle differences you make to each track will bring it towards a certain direction and over time you become better and better. To be completely honest, I've been mixing music for a while and I experiment with a lot of saturation plugins, tape emulation, etc,etc. This doesn't sound subtle AT ALL to my ears! The change was immediate and very positive. Of course it was on the stereo bus, so that's sort of to be expected, but even still, this is hands down the best virtual tape emulation I have ever heard!
It can be useful if pushed into the red on things like snare but again, the desired affect can be achieved through other tools. I'm not trying to hate on this shit, just trying to save people from setting fire to their hard earned money.
Good review, Graham. One suggestion for future videos. As with most of your stuff, the title draws in the viewer. When I saw this title, I mainly wanted to hear a sample of what it did before watching through the whole video. If you just include a time stamp in the description that links to a before/after sample, it would help a lot. Thanks, man.
Are you listening on monitors or on computer speakers? A lot of these comparisons are just too subtle to hear on computer speakers, so it may not be your ears that are lacking. ;)
IMO, Nomad Factory's MAGNETIC II is does much the same thing, sounds a bit better, and has a handful more options than this Slate Tape Sim. Not to mention it's a bit cheaper. I love it. Slate makes some great plugs, but other tape sims are worth a look.
Yeah this is pretty cool, but the UAD version is up there is it not? I like the sound of this though graham. The way I would describe it is that, the instruments seem to speak to one another more clearly and they gel better! Thanks a lot man. ;)
hey man! great vid, helps a lot. been thinking about buying this plugin- it does seem a bit pricy. in Slate web site they want me to buy a monthly \ yearly subscription, and get access to many different plugins I don't know anything about... would u recommend it ? tnx!
This is a video explaining what one plug-in can do. So why are you saying "DO NOT record or mix with this guy, you will get ripped off!"? Did you pay him and get ripped offed? You must be one a hell of an engineer who's "not lazy" if you can create a better mix in 10 minutes, without using "the bare minimum to get bye>". If you're gonna make such a bold statement, hating on him, you should post some better videos... with better mixes.
I was using cheap headphones, but I did hear it when I paid attention to when he switched it. I just couldn't make it out when I didn't watch him bypass it.
Have u tried freezing your tracks?Thats when your daw internally makes an audio file from the track so your computer doesnt have to process the plugins in real time.sounds the exact same and saves cpu.Works for me and i use loads of string sample libraries and tons of plugins on a fairly average computer :)
Why does this plugin have a delay? If i have it on the master and then try to play piano with the plug in real time. Its delay from my fingers to the sound out the speakers. This is the only plugin that it doing this. I know i can record without it , and then turn it on when mixing, but it is no fun when recording.
Just ordered the iLok 2 for the Slate "Everything" Bundle. This is one of the plug ins I'm most excited about, especially after having spent the last few weekends restoring an old Teac A3300s-2T, which is a 1/4" 2 track mastering deck. It's been a fun, sometimes frustrating, process but since it was a restore project I got a chance to learn more about how tape machines operate than I would have if the deck was fully functional. All that to say, can't wait to tweak some virtual tape settings on this one!
I like the idea of mixing through the plugin from the beginning, as opposed to slapping it on at the end. It's subtle, but you'll end up making mix decisions based on what the tape is doing and it improves the realism of the results, imo. I think I originally got that idea from Charles Dye, but I've seen it work much better that way
JBarber3d OO
Added some widening and girth to the drums for sure. I worked with tape for years and this adds some of that warmth back into the mix. Just started using the plug in as Pro Tools buried it in my harmonics folder and I'd wondered where it went. lol Love the rest of the Slate products and can't wait to see more reviews on their upcoming plug ins. To the folks bashing the younger inexperienced folks, get a life. We all had to start somewhere and it's great that we have videos like this to show the difference. I agree with a few other folks here that some decent monitors and treated room will help. Great video Graham!
This has recently become a major part of my mixes in all stages. I started recording with old reel-to-reel machines, and this is the closest I've ever come to having that classic tape sound in a digital form. I love it.
Uad is the best, slate is ajoka
People are so negative, everyone thinks that they have a golden ear. Remember, these are just tools, everyone has dreams. I have this program and learned something from this video. Be humble people and learn. If you didn't like the video put your own up and share your knowledge.
Just installed the Demo version. IMO, this plug in has more "Goodness"..subtle widening, tape glue, etc than the Waves Kramer, which is very fine also. My opinion, of course. I will purchase the Slate version when the demo expires.
Thanks for your video review.
+Robert Jason I think that the latest Slate Digital plugins are of better quality than their counterparts from Waves. But you should also definitely give a shot at u-he Satin, which is also of top quality and slightly cheaper. And moreover it doesn't come with that iLok nonsense which is a big no-no for me.
Brings the Vocals out and makes them ring. Man the snare sounded amazing. Well done Slate.
There is a difference for sure, but the original file/mix used doesn't sound too great to begin with.
themotownboy1 Comparatively,it may sound bad because he started with Slate VTM and then switched it off, the mix lost a lot of depth and harmonic content. So the mix may have been great, but after going back and listening to the mix without VTM (after refreshing my ears), the mix is kind of harsh and not cohesive with really grating vocals. Perhaps Graham was not finished with the mix or really wanted to show how much of an affect Slate VTM has.
+themotownboy1 Actually, I just thing this is a random comment
You just sold it to me Graham - sorry I missed the Black Friday sale!
My first multitrack tape machine was an Ampex 16 track on 2" tape ( from Trident studios - Space Oddity then it went to Newcastle - Lindisfarne). Your post just brought it all back.
Thanks
Best Wishes
Dave
David Wilcox trident in seattle?
"Limitations equaling more creativity" - Very well put!
Give me a guitar and I'll write a symphony, give me ProTools with Vienna Strings and I'll do nothing.
Take into account that it is considered good practice mixing the tracks while monitoring through whatever you are going to use on the buss, be it a compressor or a tape plug.
I just picked this up and it's makes the mix fuller and warmer. Very noticeable difference if you train your ears for what your looking for. I put it on the drums buss mix and I heard the difference. Now I'll use this on all the tracks along with the VCC...This was not a waste of time spent on my afternoon.
Finally after one year i am able to hear what it does. so one year back i thought it does nothing, few months after i said its placebo effect but now i can admit it fills a bit of life in the sound. just ears getting trained.
wasn't sure about getting this as a plug in, however, after watching your video I can hear a massive difference. it warms the bottom end and tickles the top end, it also gives more depth. thanks for the video, very informative 👍
at 11:00 his accent when he said "Je ne sais quoi" was funny lol... This plugin looks and sounds awesome thanks for reviewing it Graham.
This is the first tape emulation in which I actually heard a difference.
A trick: watch series at flixzone. Been using them for watching a lot of movies during the lockdown.
@Nash Kairo Yea, been watching on flixzone} for years myself :D
@Nash Kairo Yup, have been watching on Flixzone} for months myself :D
I love this kind of videos, because I need a perspective from other persons involved in same business. The question is to buy or not a plugin. Untill now Recordingrevolution is offering this review and all that this guy says is good to compare and take decisions.
Please continue with this great site and we´ll be waiting for more reviews. From Costa Rica.
"Slap it on, make a couple of choices, move on." Classic :-) Nice production by the way, Graham!
Sorry but I have to say, the sound change is brilliant! It is indeed fatter. To the global sound it changes the drum sound a lot, especially the snare, and the voice also really pops a lot! It is just like sunshine pops up after a cloud passing by...
you have some of the best uploads man. appreciate all the reviews on the gear.
All in kindness: I've worked quite a bit with tape, Studer 16 and 24 track, and this plug is a spot-on emulation. The effect of real tape isn't all that pronounced below the red. The Kramer plug is quite exaggerated. I've used it and I like it as a sparing effect. Tape isn't an effect as much as an overall sound. Secondly, when you push this plug ridiculously hard, e.g. pinning a snare into the red, you will hear it chop off that attack in a very pleasing way, like you are talking about.
If you're mixing with it on of course it's not going to sound as good when you turn it off. You tailored your mix to having it on. Right?
had exactly the same impression .
Yes you do. A tape plugin (or a machine!) is indispensable. I'm kind of a noob at mixing but I've realized how much of a difference something like this makes and I'll probably be using it on every song I mix. Actually I don't have any Slate plugins, but I just shelled out $60 for the Massey Tapehead. It's the first time I've paid for a plugin but I just had to have it. One thing these Slates have that are missing from the Massey is that they automatically keep the volume at the same level.
Wow!.. this is really great, the drums & Bass definately warm up and fatten out when using this plugin. Having also recorded to tape in the 80s, 90s, it reminded me of my old reel-reel Akai masters..happy days, and a worthy addition to my plugin collection, if a little pricey. I would like to hear it over driven and with electric guitar, bet that sounds cool too :o) Great demo..thanks.
Thanks for your review. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy using this plug in that I was blessed with at Take back your studio. Thanks again Graham.
Stick 2 of these one after the other on your master buss, and then see what this baby can do.
It widens and warms every thing.
Great plugin
i definitely hear a difference. The sound is widened so much and there is an added warmth to the mix. when the VTM is bypassed the song sounds so cold, almost naked.
sound great, but I like ATR102 more
To some of the folks below -
I agree. Though subtle is what it's all about. I personally don't like plugs that are extreme. The more you do to your signal with plugs the more your audio gets degraded. All processing has artifacts to some degree and I spend allot of time(as everyone should) tuning the drums, maintaining the guitars and amps, trying different mics and mic setups, considering arrangement etc, and I don't want plugin's taking away my hard work. I just want icing on the cake in the mix. If I have to eq allot, then I probably tracked it wrong. Then you end up 2 hours into mixing in a tangled mess of too much tweaking. Fixing in the mix is like driving with your knees. You can do it, but it's not intuitive or as easy.
Also - in the tape days, lots of engineers wanted those tape machines setup so well that they were almost transparent. Listen to Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees(on CD, not downloaded files unless WAV) and you'll hear this exemplified. It's not in your face saturation all over the place like people seem to think older music was.
This plugin is expensive(I got it on a big sale so it was worth every penny to me) so I can understand that angle. Though, just because its a subtle plugin, doesn't mean it didn't take allot of work to make. YMMV.
Dude, i havent comment at any other video before, but i think what you offer is amazing, keep on giving those advanced techniques and thats your power point, cuz in youtube there is a hundereds of amatuer tutos..... thanks :)
I picked this up a few weeks ago and to me the VTM and VCC are excellent tools, I use them on pretty much everything now. Without sounding corny they do add that missing analog warmth and glue that just isn't there in the digital domain. Are they expensive? No, not really if you think about how long it takes to develop something like this and what it is giving you in return. It knocks spots off of the Waves Kramer tape to my ears but I do like the slap back available there.
Paul / Stick
Excellent review/explanation, Graham. Only just got this plugin recently!
can you do a video on the basic tools needed for mixing, and how to combine them? Maybe show us the bare essentials you need for a good mix, and how to use them.
The more trained your ears are, the more likely you are to hear details that might not be as apparent to someone who isn't used to doing critical listening - Details are more noticeable to those that do detailed listening for a living. Of course, what you are listening THROUGH matters a great deal as well. Differences don't always have to be dramatic to effect things in a major way. Take a listen to this through a nice pair of studio monitors in a treated room, and you will absolutely hear a difference.
Awesome! It's very "subtle" but it gels/ kinda compresses the mix in a very "musical" way.
Gotta check out some Slate Digital.
It adds a lot of life into the sound , amazing plug in , sound amazing !!
if you are young and new to mixing....you are missing all that hiss we used to get with tape...having to record at super high levels to keep the noise floor...on the floor...using all that dolby/dbx stuff still didnt get rid of it or it altered your sound dramatically....it was a nightmare...but old tape gave you a fat bottom punch and sizzling tops in the recordings...tape emulation is to recreate what the old timers were used to listening to....but if your music sounds good already....then dressing it up with tints of tube and tape compression makes it more ear friendly....to a fruit bat
Great review Graham, very easy to understand for pros and newbies...
I literally put this on my master chain and wow. However sometimes depending on the mix it can muddy sound but it is very cool
i don' think there is anything subtle about it at all. maybe to the average person, but to someone who works every day with music, this is surprisingly noticeable.
I couldn't agree more. The average person doesn't know what to look for, and doesn't realize that a great mix is a lot of little, subtle things.
@@redirishmanxlt this seems more obviously artistic and i think that might have been the goal
This plugin does colouring and saturation and all that magical mojo stuff. Mastering with Ozone is more about preparing the final product to be released. So put this first, Ozone last. You don't want to master into an effect like this. Imagine it like you've recorded a song to tape, and then you're transferring that to digital and mastering it.
Of course, you could do the opposite, since breaking rules and conventions is one of the ways to get new sounds ;)
Without it the mix seems hard and staccato, with it, there is that dreamy something, another dimension thats so often missing.
Good vid. I'm thankful for the explanation unlike the rest of these trolls. Thanks
One vintage british hand made console, thermionic culture.. used to had Studer A80, resent session was with few tube-techs (multiband and cla-1b), vertigo comp, millenia with forssell mode, anamod tape (doesn't work as good as studer btw.. but still solid), 2254,1073 of course.. gyraf eq+vari-mu.. well.. list goes on and on.. used to work on ssl aws and tl adio 64 channel consoles.. preferred tlaudio.. but very happy with what I have now. All on forssell mada b version of course. cheek gearslutz
It's a difference that is at once subtle and huge.
I guess the "extra-something" you are talking about is that fat, quite analog punch from behind ... tested it on recording acoustic instruments plus vocals and it really gave that vintage touch to the mixdown indeed ...
In that last run through it got rid off that hi hat pretty much.,,but in most of this video it made the source thicker..more alive sound
This is very slight. I just hear the drums getting slightly stronger, more hifi, and the vocals being slightly more upfront. This is not going to be obvious to many people, by any means.
timaeus22222 I think the idea of these is to use a bunch of instances to build up that difference across the busses
Im listening on my krk rokit 5's and I can clearly hear the difference. Good job!
I have a modded reel to reel and a tascam tape deck and vtm is the closet you're going to get to a real tape sound with a plugin.i don't care what any of the commenters on this video or the sound examples used in this vid suggest. I've been working as an engineer for nearly 2 decades if that means anything.
When you flipped the on off on the master buss, I noticed between a 1db and .5 of a db difference on my (trusty!) mixer led.. I'm just saying, because as you well know any bump in volume is perceived as 'better'...
Its good that someone is sharing their knowledge. Someone my need the insight, which could help them. They maybe stuck and a video like this could have answers they need.
it sounds like the effect is fading in for one second or so before it works 100%
Like your videos a ton, but please start putting the artist name in the description!
+thevisi0nary noooooooooooo
Just fucking do an A/B comparison with it bypassed and then engaged. Jesus Christ!
Awesome, thank you for taking the time to do this video!
Ah, I'd forgotten to up the video quality, much more apparent now.
so its better to us it while mixing or after your final
mix????
Im hearing good tones so I might consider getting this plugin.
Finally found one for vocals 👍
Watching from 2020
To the people commenting that you cannot hear the difference between bypass and active. You should quit.
Harsh, but fair.
yess !!! im agree
+Jourdan Gomez At one point YOU and I couldn't hear it as well. It takes time to develop your ears.
+Blaze Luminous Absolutely correct. I hate to discourage novices. 12 years ago I didn't know what compression was. A friend gave me one and I thought it was broken. lol
hey guys...one thing i've learned when it come to mastering a track is that the change r slight as opposed to drastic...the small change is heard and the difference is noticed without taking away from the original mix
why do you put the vtm first on individual tracks? I thought the signal goes through a mixing console before it hits the tape, so basically you'd put the vcc first, then the vtm, then the vcc again to emulate hardware summing (although that wouldn't actually bypass the DAW summing algorithm).
When I first heard this review, I was on the little focusrite 2i2. I've recently upgraded to the 18i20 which the converters are definitely better. Since I've upgraded I can now tell the difference.
basically your average consumer won't notice anything, though your job is to make sure everyone can enjoy the song or album including audiophiles. If it makes the track sound better then those people will also enjoy it more then if you didn't have it. At least that's the way I look at it.
With the tape turned off it sounded....colder
Imagine using it on a mix that was recorded on analog tape...
Also, it's thrilling me to hear this, because my BR-20 absolutely kills this as far as what the plugin's trying to "do". Awesome. Good try, Slate, though, still love ya \m/ \m/
graham, thx for the review...i've got the rc tube, and like it, but it really puts a huge strain on my cpu...especially when putting the channel insert on all my tracks (drums, etc., etc.)...thus i have gone away from using it since i spend more time fighting that than mixing...sounds like this might be an alternative until i upgrade computers and am able to run the rc console efficiently ... thx, scott
Steven VTM first and VCC second on every individual track, an VCC first and VTM on master buss
5:40 flip it off
@dmoates420...naaa..Its just nice to know that you can possible wreak some benefit w/the plug only on the mix buss as opposed to every channel AND the mix buss...
Thanks for the demo you can tell the difference hey great plugin
this is the right attitude.
Ok I've listened carefully. Definitely not placebo. Damn it sounds nice, but it's so slight.
I wonder how many consumers would really hear the difference and buy a processed mix versus an unprocessed one. Is it really worth the money? I don't really think so. Maybe it's just a engineer candy.
Absolutely they would! A good mixing engineer understands that plugins that change the sound VERY subtly, but towards a positive direction, are the bread and butter of your mix. If Graham took the stereo spread on on of the tracks, and bypassed that, there's a huge chance you wouldn't even hear the difference. He could go down the line slowly bypassing EQs, stereo enhancing, compression, subtle reverbs and step by step you would hear very little, if no difference at all to many of the plugins and EQs he is bypassing. If he then went and turned all those plugins back on all at once, it would blow your mind at how huge the difference is! To me, that's why mixing is so exciting. Your ear becomes better trained, you learn what subtle differences you make to each track will bring it towards a certain direction and over time you become better and better. To be completely honest, I've been mixing music for a while and I experiment with a lot of saturation plugins, tape emulation, etc,etc. This doesn't sound subtle AT ALL to my ears! The change was immediate and very positive. Of course it was on the stereo bus, so that's sort of to be expected, but even still, this is hands down the best virtual tape emulation I have ever heard!
It can be useful if pushed into the red on things like snare but again, the desired affect can be achieved through other tools. I'm not trying to hate on this shit, just trying to save people from setting fire to their hard earned money.
great vid!! if you had to choose: the virtual tape machines or the FG-X Virtual Mastering Processor? or both? let me know thanks!
Good review, Graham. One suggestion for future videos. As with most of your stuff, the title draws in the viewer. When I saw this title, I mainly wanted to hear a sample of what it did before watching through the whole video. If you just include a time stamp in the description that links to a before/after sample, it would help a lot. Thanks, man.
Wow, this costs a lot...but I really think it will be worth getting some day.
Are you listening on monitors or on computer speakers? A lot of these comparisons are just too subtle to hear on computer speakers, so it may not be your ears that are lacking. ;)
IMO, Nomad Factory's MAGNETIC II is does much the same thing, sounds a bit better, and has a handful more options than this Slate Tape Sim. Not to mention it's a bit cheaper. I love it.
Slate makes some great plugs, but other tape sims are worth a look.
yeah...anytime i use i have to freeze...it just makes the process much harder when trying to edit/arrange if tracks are frozen...
Yeah this is pretty cool, but the UAD version is up there is it not? I like the sound of this though graham. The way I would describe it is that, the instruments seem to speak to one another more clearly and they gel better! Thanks a lot man. ;)
Bypassed sounds much more steady and grounded. When it's running everything sounds more like it's in flux
if you want your recording and the mix to sound better, why not just record it and mix it better so it sounds the way you want it?
Love your VDO man
Really great review man.
mixing is a creative thing. Maybe thats not what he's going for in this mix, did you ever consider that?
hey man! great vid, helps a lot. been thinking about buying this plugin- it does seem a bit pricy. in Slate web site they want me to buy a monthly \ yearly subscription, and get access to many different plugins I don't know anything about... would u recommend it ? tnx!
This is a video explaining what one plug-in can do. So why are you saying "DO NOT record or mix with this guy, you will get ripped off!"? Did you pay him and get ripped offed?
You must be one a hell of an engineer who's "not lazy" if you can create a better mix in 10 minutes, without using "the bare minimum to get bye>".
If you're gonna make such a bold statement, hating on him, you should post some better videos... with better mixes.
So the input knob increases the saturation effect right???
I was using cheap headphones, but I did hear it when I paid attention to when he switched it. I just couldn't make it out when I didn't watch him bypass it.
Have u tried freezing your tracks?Thats when your daw internally makes an audio file from the track so your computer doesnt have to process the plugins in real time.sounds the exact same and saves cpu.Works for me and i use loads of string sample libraries and tons of plugins on a fairly average computer :)
Why does this plugin have a delay? If i have it on the master and then try to play piano with the plug in real time. Its delay from my fingers to the sound out the speakers. This is the only plugin that it doing this. I know i can record without it , and then turn it on when mixing, but it is no fun when recording.
Thank you for this great explanation!
Does this saturation plugin also emulates the detuning of magnetic tape?
Watching this on my iPhone isn’t helping me hear this too good
Great plugs for sure! I love them!
too bad when I do rewind in Cubase he does not show rewind too bad
Tape Machine Rules🛒💥
yes, coming to life is indeed the right word :)
Tape is very good but price for it makes people looking for different solution.Price is from space.And some of Slate team must be from space as well.