Brainworx bx_console N is on a deal today and tomorrow. It's been a revelation for me.

[muzines]

I'm liking the SSL E series plugin quite a bit, and prefer it over the G (but then I always feel that way about SSL channel strips, I think the E has more mojo and the G is cleaner).

I have the UAD SSL channel strip which is my favourite up to now, but I can only use about three instances of that...

I'll play with it some more and see whether I think it's worth it...

[progger]

Since the beginning of this thrice-cursed year I've gone rather Brainworx-crazy. Ultimately I'm glad I did, because I ended up getting so much stuff that it rendered the temptation of the UAD ecosystem powerless! I'd been juggling between getting an Apollo Twin and a Babyface Pro, and went with the Babyface very happily since the Plugin-Alliance plugs take care of all the analog modeling I need.

They all seem to me to be very lean on CPU, by the way. Efficient enough to use an instance on many tracks with little impact, in my experience.

Like the OP indicated, the Neve is very good indeed. It was Dirk's first emulation, I think, and it's still stellar. The Focusrite is very good too, but the SSL E and G are my favorites. They're both excellent.

More than all these, lately I've been using the NEOLD V76U73, which is also on sale. Pretty different from the Brainworx strips but it just sounds so, SO good, and without much tweaking. For endless dial-twirling fun, the Brainworx consoles will be the ticket.

Regardless, I think all of them help instrument tracks sound more "like a record" in short order. And yes, I've gone nuts and bought ALL these: Neve, SSL E, SSL G, Focusrite, and V76U73, over the course of various sales. (Never more than $30 US for any of them, thankfully.) Also their Ampeg and Friedman amp emulators are outstanding.

[Zukan]

I've stopped buying plugins.

First my wife left me and now the dog's gone too. As he was walking out whilst giving me the bird he barked 'that Focusrite strip was the last straw Ed, get a grip you tart.'

Now the cat's giving me the eye.

[Drew Stephenson]

You can always trust the dog to be straight with you.

[AlasdairEaston]

[Martin Walker]

According to a post on VIC forums they have reset the $20 off code which they seem to do quite often.
So even if you used it a few days ago you can do so again:
MEGA-SALE-20OFF

I've bought so many Plugin Alliance products over the years (every one at bargain sale prices) that I found it difficult to find anything that appealed, but in end I used my first $20 code to buy:

Lindell PEX-500 EQ
Lindell 7X-500 Compressor

...each at $9.99 in the sale, so overall they cost me nothing at all.

Then when the voucher got reset again the next day I scoured the product list yet again and after a long search have finally just purchased:

BlueChorus
BX_Boom

...once again each at $9.99 in the sale, so overall they cost me nothing

So that's $160 of plug-ins (at 'normal' prices) for free.

Cheapskate? Me?

Martin

[Zukan]

That Lindell PEX-500 EQ is very nice. I use it all the time.

[Agharta]

I've bought so many Plugin Alliance products over the years (every one at bargain sale prices) that I found it difficult to find anything that appealed, but in end I used my first $20 code to buy:

Lindell PEX-500 EQ
Lindell 7X-500 Compressor

...each at $9.99 in the sale, so overall they cost me nothing at all.

Then when the voucher got reset again the next day I scoured the product list yet again and after a long search have finally just purchased:

BlueChorus
BX_Boom

...once again each at $9.99 in the sale, so overall they cost me nothing

So that's $160 of plug-ins (at 'normal' prices) for free.

Cheapskate? Me? Martin

The coupon has been reset again so fill yer boots a 3rd time.

[muzines]

The coupon has been reset again so fill yer boots a 3rd time.

I definitely did not take advantage of this a second time. No sir. Not me.

I totally did!

[AlasdairEaston]

Ooft! I'll have to draw the line somewhere, but it'll be somewhere after this latest voucher! I've been trialling the Lindell 80, the Lindell Channel X and the Neold V76U73 last night and this morning. I had previously skipped right past these thinking I had my channel strips, etc. But then, earlier in this thread, progger mentioned how good the NEOLD sounded, the voucher code got renewed and I found myself back on the PA website

To be honest the NEOLD demos didn't have me too excited, but hey I've got a voucher - I need to find something to use it on! So I downloaded it, the Lindell 80 and the Channel X, and set them up on a few mixes, a drum bus and a few vocal tracks.

My immediate instinct was that the NEOLD did great things to my drum mix. It was a relaxed funk groove with NI Abbey Road 70s drums (the open kit). I had been aiming for a slight retro flavour and the NEOLD just seemed to understand what I wanted and made it so. I had some on the bus and some on the snare itself (which really helped it sit well in context). Especially when the "linear" setting was off, meaning it has a roll off above 15K. On the bus and the snare, the preamp section was quite driven and the compressor was taking off a few dB.

In contrast, for this specific use, I couldn't work up the same love for the Lindell 80 and, even more so the Channel X. I'm sure they're great but I think I'd just fallen in love with the sound coming out of the NEOLD and couldn't look past it. Like each drum strike just sat in it's own space really nicely.

The NEOLD also sounded lovely on the bass guitar track. Same kinda settings, driven preamp and few dB compression. In fairness I tried the Lindell 80 on that too, and it also sounded good, in fact very similar.

I also tried them all across a vocal track, and again the NEOLD was my favourite. I could get quite a bit of compression and even limiting going on without degrading things. The result seemed really present and defined. Beautiful actually.

One thing I did like about the Lindell 80 was that you could really crank the input and get some serious saturation going on! I wouldn't use that all the time but I could see it being great for getting some raucous rock tones and special effects. You can't crank the preamp of the NEOLD anything like as far, athough I guess you could boost the signal in your chain before it reaches the NEOLD input stage.

So, that's my thoughts, although there are many people here with much more experience than I have. I reckon I'll be buying the NEOLD this afternoon.

[Martin Walker]

That Lindell PEX-500 EQ is very nice. I use it all the time.

I already had three Pultec EQs, but have been impressed with what I could get out of the Lindell 6X-500 Preamp plug-in for several years now, so downloaded their PX-500 EQ demo and compared.

Even though I could get the others (PSP NobleQ, NI/Softube Enhanced EQ, and the freeware Ignite Labs PTEq-X) to match its various responses, the PEX-500 was easier to set up and generally sounded nicer more quickly, so at the bargain price of £0.00 I 'bought' it

To those you really do think I'm a cheapskate, I should point out that over the years I have amassed 33 plug-ins in my Plugin Alliance folder, and I will never download a freebie 'for the sake of it'.

Yesterday I was debating whether or not to get their SPL Attacker Plus, and ended up comparing all my transient modifier plug-ins (Elysia Nvelope, Flux BitterSweet, NI Transient Master, and Voxengo TransGainer) with its demo, only to discover that the ones I already had did the job better for me, particularly Elysia's Nvelope - this PA sale has been a useful process of discovery and personal preset creation.

Whether or not I can find another $20 worth of 'free' PA plug-ins for the 3rd time is debatable

Martin

[Zukan]

I think we get drawn in by these silly sales. We end up buying plugins only because they are on offer at silly prices. I looked at the Console N today and with my discount coupon I can pick it up for $11 but then I came to the conclusion that I have enough Neve emulators and a gazillion strips, compressors eqs etc. It will only bloat my already overloaded plugin folders.

Re transient tools. I use Boz Digital's Transgressor 2 which is sublime, Eventide's Physion which is a weapon and Sonible's Entropy Q+ because it does something very different to the others. I also have the original SPL TD which does what it says on the can.

Nowadays, I look for plugins that either simplify my workflow or offer something extra that others don't.

[CS70]

Let's face, sometimes buying gear for guys is like buying shoes for ladies - a way to channel away bad emotions! And it's alright... at least plugins are cheap.

I have been suspiciously looking at a good U47 clone for the last couple days and often surprise myself finding very convincing reasons for which I need one...

[Dave B]

I have used one of the '20 quid off' vouchers over the festive period and bought the SPL Vitalizer for 12quid. Bargain. Happy bunny.

Other than that, the only plugin I've bought in months is the Baby Audio I (heart) NY parallel compression plugin which I got after the SOS review of the year. Oh and the SSL compressor as it was cheap.

But I only use a handful of plugins at the best of times, so I've learned to say no and push the plate away. If I only I can learn the same resolve when it comes to sugary desserts ...

[Eddy Deegan]

It will only bloat my already overloaded plugin folders.

Remember that time we configured the plugin directory path in Reaper on your PC Eddie?

Ye gods, I've never seen a DAW take so long to scan the newly visible plugins!

[muzines]

I ended up buying a few (they kept resetting the vouchers... that's my excuse!)

Anyway, I grabbed the SSL E Channel, which looks to become my default channel strip when I want to go in that direction, for about £30. (I'll get the SSL J when it comes down in price too, too pricey for now.)

I also got the Townhouse buss comp for, like £9, which is like a fatter, vibey-er SSL bus comp, and then also the Purple Audio MC77 for about £18, which is really nice, has a slightly different character than the usual 1176s and some really good features on top, and looks fabulous in it's lovely purple clothes...

There's one more voucher reset coming, but I'm good for now.

[CS70]

The MC77 id great! I have the hardware and the plugin sounds identical.

[muzines]

The MC77 id great! I have the hardware and the plugin sounds identical.

I'm really liking it. It was one of the few remaining PA plugins I was drawn to, and as they reset the voucher again so it was cheap, and I couldn't sleep, I spent a while in bed reading around the net on it, and watched a bunch of YT videos and so on, and then decided to pick it up.

I've been playing with it today - it's sounds "complex" in a satisfying way, is a bit brighter than the usual 1176's and I really like the UI and the extra features Brainworx add to their plugins, it makes them really nice to use. I think this is likely to become a goto tool for me.

Plus, there's something vaguely satisfying about:

[CS70]

Mine doesn't say "Brainworkx"

[muzines]

Mine doesn't say "Brainworkx"

Neither does mine...

[Zukan]

It will only bloat my already overloaded plugin folders.

Remember that time we configured the plugin directory path in Reaper on your PC Eddie?

Ye gods, I've never seen a DAW take so long to scan the newly visible plugins!

A tart I be.

[muzines]

But patent-pending from Brainworx?

Looks like patent-approved now.

Thanks to Brainworx’s patented Tolerance Modeling Technology* (TMT), you can now access the most convincing model of these classic consoles ever, including the slight channel-to-channel variances in the values of their analog components.

* Brainworx Audio's Tolerance Modeling Technology (TMT) is protected under the following patent: US Patent No. 10,725,727

72 different TMT (US Patent No. 10,725,727) channel emulations in one plugin, just like a real console

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... eries.html

(They've updated the patent blurb sitewide on all TMT plugins.)

[ManFromGlass]

I am intrigued by these consoles. Of all on offer which one would bring the most colour to the table? The Neve? I have enough plugins for clean.

[muzines]

I am intrigued by these consoles. Of all on offer which one would bring the most colour to the table? The Neve? I have enough plugins for clean.

It depends what you mean by "colour". They're all kind of subtle unless you run everything through them and use their features heavily (harmonic distortion, compressor, EQ etc).

If you want a warm vintage vibe, try the Lindell 80, or Neold, the Focusrite or the new Lindell 50. If you like a modern, tight rocky vibe, the SSL E series is good.

But always wait for a sale with PA products, the full prices are... basically an incentive for sale plugin purchases. Eg the SSL E full (current) price is $349. I bought it for $36 last month (and that last $6 was VAT which is no longer applied as we're not in the EU).

[CS70]

I am intrigued by these consoles. Of all on offer which one would bring the most colour to the table? The Neve? I have enough plugins for clean.

A console normally doesn't - shouldn't - bring noticeable color by itself. It's only when you sum up the little contributions of many channels that you get an effect. That effect often is described as a kind of separation, of space, around the channels more than color (unless you are overdriving it on purpose, that is, but anything bring distortion when overdriven, it's the definition).

A little depends on how you lay down the mix.

I always start with console emulation on any track or bus (mostly buses, given the way I structure my mixes) that are "source" and "final" product.. so for example I will have typically five or six channels of vox - for example two tracks for doubled vocals, routed to a "vox dry" bus, which in turn has sends to delay, reverb, parallel compression, chorus effects, you name it. several tracks and buses for drums of course and so on.

And I will activate the console emulation (in Cakewalk it comes with the DAW) in the two origin track and final, summed up buses, and see what it does. Then I will try with the intermediate buses to see if it helps bringing that bus a little more out (as opposite to a small fader move). For stuff you want more upfront you increase distortion a bit, for example by driving the console.

It's all very subtle but it helps to the 3D effect in a mix. Not alone, however, not by a mile. All elements must be rightly balanced, high frequencies in the right amount and allocation etc.. the console is just one of the many tiny elements which contribute to the final effect.