Best plug-in or way to emulate an analog mixing board?

Antos3345

I’m wondering if there’s a “magic plug-in” that can help simulate an analog mixer? I’m just saying I have tried the saturator plugins in Drambo and they do sound quite good, but I’m still trying to make my mixes sound less digital clean and have mixes sound more analog / warmer? I tried Jim Audio’s Pure Acid and it sounds quite good and dirtier. Can anyone recommend some tips if they exist? I have tried Ableton’s new Roar plug-in and it does this quite well.

jwmmakerofmusic

So you're simply looking to warm up your sound? If you have any saturation plugins, they could warm up the mix. There's also Taip. I know you aren't looking for a tape emulation, but that could add the analogue warmth and grit you're looking for. 🤷‍♂️ 😊

Antos3345

I am also trying these Chow DSP plug- ins and they sound gritty. I’ll check out that tape plug-in. Thanks

jwmmakerofmusic

@Antos3345 said:
I am also trying these Chow DSP plug- ins and they sound gritty. I’ll check out that tape plug-in. Thanks

Of course mate. Chow DSP plugins are amazing, especially ChowTape and BYOD. Those would also be great to check out before dropping money on Taip.

Antos3345

I am messing with the Chow and think these tools have already answered my question:)

jwmmakerofmusic

@Antos3345 said:
I am messing with the Chow and think these tools have already answered my question:)

Excellent! Alrighty mate, have fun.

Antos3345

@jwmmakerofmusic said:

@Antos3345 said:
I am messing with the Chow and think these tools have already answered my question:)

Excellent! Alrighty mate, have fun.

Cheers

kirmesteggno

"The Strip" from DDMF could be something for you, it's a console channel strip with its own sound, it colors the sound even if you turn the EQ and compressor off.

Fingolfinzz

I’ll do a shameless plug here, if you use the GuitarML in BYOD, you can use snapshots of hardware. It’s not algorithm, it’s an actual snapshot of the hardware acquired through machine learning, so it’s the actual nonlinear behavior. I have sampled tubes and tape machines and have some freebies you can check out. algorithms for saturation are dead to me because the GuitarML stuff hits so much better.
https://chamber93grit.gumroad.com/

Antos3345

Thanks for the tips. I will check them out. Some great recommendations. It’s all about saturation and some compression that colors the sound.

Apex

You could set up a channel strip in AUM. Personally I like FabFilter Saturn 2 and some of the vintage emulations by Christian Siedschlag like the MagicDeathEye stuff. But there’s a bunch of other ones. Slap a buss compressor on the master. Save it as a template in AUM.

Antos3345

Thanks for your suggestions. I have a few “dirt” plugins already like Roughrider and Lofi dirt, but I’ll have to check out those you have recommended. I used to use Waves Audiotrack with my desktop DAW and it made tracks sound much better, but then Waves mysteriously cut my purchase and I will never use them anymore.

pedro

BYOD is great for that, but since you own drambo, try some parallel setups, like you know the resonators, right? BBD, modal

Antos3345

@pedro said:
BYOD is great for that, but since you own drambo, try some parallel setups, like you know the resonators, right? BBD, modal

I don’t know the resonator yet in Drambo, but today I will. Drambo shape generator is pretty amazing. I am sure I can make some nice combinations. What is BBD modal?

rs2000

Another neat trick to add character is to use wavetable distortion.
By adjusting modulation depth, filtering input and output and adding it to the original signal in sensible doses, some real magic can be done.
Recently I've stumbled over a wavetable that gives me an aural exciter (added artificial harmonics) that sounds better than any plugin I've heard because I have more parameters to make the added harmonics fit the input signal better.

This is the basic principle.
Yes, the WT LFO can be phase modulated at audio rate 😊
Note that you might need to add all pass filters here and there to keep the phase in its best position.

stormbeats

@Antos3345 BYOD / GuitarML is the way forward alongside @Fingolfinzz excellent A.I profiles. Since using this combination my algorithm plugins are becoming redundant. Also the news is Neural Amp Modeller which loads A.I profiles, is soon coming to iOS

stormbeats

@Fingolfinzz said:
I’ll do a shameless plug here, if you use the GuitarML in BYOD, you can use snapshots of hardware. It’s not algorithm, it’s an actual snapshot of the hardware acquired through machine learning, so it’s the actual nonlinear behavior. I have sampled tubes and tape machines and have some freebies you can check out. algorithms for saturation are dead to me because the GuitarML stuff hits so much better.
https://chamber93grit.gumroad.com/

+1 I can confirm @Fingolfinzz

Stuntman_mike

Definitely TB Reelbus 👍
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tb-reelbus/id1482450479

waka_x

I'm a big fan on this
https://www.nembriniaudio.com/products/lofi-vintage-clipper
on iOS...

Antos3345

This thread is very helpful and perhaps for many others too.

Antos3345

@rs2000 said:
Another neat trick to add character is to use wavetable distortion.
By adjusting modulation depth, filtering input and output and adding it to the original signal in sensible doses, some real magic can be done.
Recently I've stumbled over a wavetable that gives me an aural exciter (added artificial harmonics) that sounds better than any plugin I've heard because I have more parameters to make the added harmonics fit the input signal better.

This is the basic principle.
Yes, the WT LFO can be phase modulated at audio rate 😊
Note that you might need to add all pass filters here and there to keep the phase in its best position.

Would this be added to the master mix bus?

klownshed

IK Mixbox has SSL/Neve EQs and compressors which you can load on each channel or just mix busses and mix and match your own console strip.

Logic has vintage EQs that do the same job. Hit the drive harder to get less subtle results. Put a vintage eq one each channel and the saturation will accumulate.

It’s easy to overdo. SSL spent decades making analogue as transparent and clean as possible. Only for us to put it all back in spades LoL.

To be honest I think the only reason to use a vintage style plugin is if you like that particular workflow. I find I personally get better results using the stock (clean) EQs and compressors. I use Logic’s compressor almost exclusively and it has models that can get nice and gnarly and you can use soft distortion on even the clean one for colour when appropriate. (I overdo the colour — I’m not against the idea of fake analogue. I also have some cheap and nasty old analogue equipment for real analogue lo-fi should I feel the need for noise).

I like to sample drums through my old mixer, overdriving the cheap pre-amps for that nostalgic sound. It’s just for fun. It makes no real difference to adding a plugin afterwards.

Simulating an analogue mixing desk isn’t for me though. Most of the channel strips i have (and have demoed) just slow me down and do nothing sound wise I couldn’t get with different means. The stock logic EQ gets me what I need far faster and that’s more important to me than pretending I have an SSL.

If I want a track to sound a bit more ‘analogue’ and less clean, my favourite method is to use IK multimedia tape plugin on either a sub mix (say just drums) or less aggressively on the master output.

All of this is just for my own sense of satisfaction — it really does make zero difference to the dozen or so people that will ever play any of my music :-)

So just do what you fancy and don’t worry about the minutiae. Unless the minutiae is where you get your fun.

rs2000

@Antos3345 said:

@rs2000 said:
Another neat trick to add character is to use wavetable distortion.
By adjusting modulation depth, filtering input and output and adding it to the original signal in sensible doses, some real magic can be done.
Recently I've stumbled over a wavetable that gives me an aural exciter (added artificial harmonics) that sounds better than any plugin I've heard because I have more parameters to make the added harmonics fit the input signal better.

This is the basic principle.
Yes, the WT LFO can be phase modulated at audio rate 😊
Note that you might need to add all pass filters here and there to keep the phase in its best position.

Would this be added to the master mix bus?

It really depends on what you need. Emulating the sound of a console is not a radical change in sound so yes, it could be applied to the master bus.
Stronger effects like creating bass or treble enhancements I would suggest to apply to individual tracks if you want the best results.

Antos3345

I am thinking about all this and maybe another solution would be to mate> @stormbeats said:

@Fingolfinzz said:
I’ll do a shameless plug here, if you use the GuitarML in BYOD, you can use snapshots of hardware. It’s not algorithm, it’s an actual snapshot of the hardware acquired through machine learning, so it’s the actual nonlinear behavior. I have sampled tubes and tape machines and have some freebies you can check out. algorithms for saturation are dead to me because the GuitarML stuff hits so much better.
https://chamber93grit.gumroad.com/

+1 I can confirm @Fingolfinzz

I was looking in my CHOW (BYOD) and I can’t seem to find this Guitar ML ? Pedals?

stormbeats

@Antos3345 said:
I am thinking about all this and maybe another solution would be to mate> @stormbeats said:

@Fingolfinzz said:
I’ll do a shameless plug here, if you use the GuitarML in BYOD, you can use snapshots of hardware. It’s not algorithm, it’s an actual snapshot of the hardware acquired through machine learning, so it’s the actual nonlinear behavior. I have sampled tubes and tape machines and have some freebies you can check out. algorithms for saturation are dead to me because the GuitarML stuff hits so much better.
https://chamber93grit.gumroad.com/

+1 I can confirm @Fingolfinzz

I was looking in my CHOW (BYOD) and I can’t seem to find this Guitar ML ? Pedals?

BYOD / Drive preset/GuitarML

Edward_Alexander

@Antos3345 said:
This thread is very helpful and perhaps for many others too.

This!^^^

Slush

Pasttofuturereverbs sells a couple of analog mixing console IRs, they seem pretty interesting:

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/VzFPF?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/LZSRW?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/qsojd?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/egryfy?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/chvcs?layout=profile

Antos3345

thx again:)

Antos3345

@Slush said:
Pasttofuturereverbs sells a couple of analog mixing console IRs, they seem pretty interesting:

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/VzFPF?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/LZSRW?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/qsojd?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/egryfy?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/chvcs?layout=profile

How ipad Batman!
But are these Auv3 or VST > for iOS or Desktop? I don't see any info on the system.

Antos3345

@stormbeats said:

@Antos3345 said:
I am thinking about all this and maybe another solution would be to mate> @stormbeats said:

@Fingolfinzz said:
I’ll do a shameless plug here, if you use the GuitarML in BYOD, you can use snapshots of hardware. It’s not algorithm, it’s an actual snapshot of the hardware acquired through machine learning, so it’s the actual nonlinear behavior. I have sampled tubes and tape machines and have some freebies you can check out. algorithms for saturation are dead to me because the GuitarML stuff hits so much better.
https://chamber93grit.gumroad.com/

+1 I can confirm @Fingolfinzz

I was looking in my CHOW (BYOD) and I can’t seem to find this Guitar ML ? Pedals?

BYOD / Drive preset/GuitarML

cheers:)

Slush

@Antos3345 said:

@Slush said:
Pasttofuturereverbs sells a couple of analog mixing console IRs, they seem pretty interesting:

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/VzFPF?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/LZSRW?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/qsojd?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/egryfy?layout=profile

https://pasttofuturereverbs.gumroad.com/l/chvcs?layout=profile

How ipad Batman!
But are these Auv3 or VST > for iOS or Desktop? I don't see any info on the system.

No. These are WAV/AIF Impulse responses, you can load these into an IR player, like the free one in BYOD (choose Amp IRs and hit the ‘Fender’, you will get a dropdown that says ‘Load from File’ and then just choose your own WAV impulse response. Use these 100% wet!), or Khafknar or any desktop IR (the free Convology tx). That’s it.