I have tried many of the console and tape emulation plugins, and in order to get the full ‘analog sound’, it’s an onerous process of building out templates loaded with instances of plugins. Add a new channel and you have to load up and configure more plugs. And then when you’re all done, sometimes it’s not the right sound and you have to do lots of individual channel manipulation.
I find myself wishing that the next version of Cubase would come with tape and console emulation built right into the mixer and I could just flip through a single UI to choose from ‘pure digital’ to various models of consoles and tapes across the whole project–all channels while auditioning the mix. (Ideally without any pops, clicks, or discontinuities so I can more easily hear the change to the mix.)
I know many emus allow you to group plugins. But it’s still a chore.
Might as well just call it was it is. An “All in One” plug-in. “Console/Tape Emulation” is just a fancy word to make people drool.
Im all for more plug-ins though! While I like the control you get from using each plug-in individually, it’d be nice to just “slap” something on real quick to get an idea of where I want to go with it. Then use the individual plug-ins to recreate it much more refined.
Well, I’m not just asking for a new console or tape emu to put on the master channel. I’m looking for a single “plugin” (if you want to call it that) that operates independently on all channels at once that emulates a console connected to multitrack tape.
Think about it more like this: swap out your whole mixer (and every channel strip and buss and master fader) with a big $0.5 million dollar analog mixing console running against a big multitrack. Without having to put an instance of NLS or VCC on every channel. Model the summing engine of that console and all of the nonlinearities of the selected console and the selected tape.
Can I do this by putting plugins on every track? Almost. (You can’t model the summing of the channels and most don’t model console-wide power consumption, headroom, etc.) Is it a pain in the ass to do it with plugins? Yes.
That would be great but I don’t think it’s gonna happen soon, and if it happens it will not be as good as we want it to be. It needs to be a quality console emulation, it needs to sound like VCC, otherwise it will screw my mixes and be a new shiny/fancy feature that I’ll never use, just like Cubase’s built in synths I prefer NI or Spectrasonics stuff.
Yea, we know Steinberg has the capacity to outdo VCC and NLS… and because they own the mixer and the summing engine, they could do things that no VST plugin can do and make the workflow totally blissful. Doing this for both console and tape would get them LOTS of attention.
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The main problem I have is that (although I’m sure they could implement it), is that whichever ‘sty’e’ or character sound they end up going with, it will likely eventually become old and tired. No matter which quality they use…
I mean, how many people enjoy using the stock plugins on every track? Not many, mostly just the begginers or those who don’t own other specific sounding plugins.
Cubase is too broad a host to be limited to any specific sound IMO. ;0
So true… even too much steak is too much of a good thing. (although I have never experienced that myself) It would have to be able to be switched on and off for the individual tracks as well as the master buses. I must admit though, I can’t imagine myself getting tired of the new mixer in Reason 6.
I agree that there shouldn’t be ONE sound. Slate VTM and VCC, and Waves Kramer Master Tape and NLS provide different console and tape models. Some aggressive, some subtle. Some classic, some more modern.
