#Slate virtual mix rack review free#

It sounds like the real deal, and if you’ve used a Distressor, you know just how great they sound and versatile they are. This has got to be one of the best plugin emulations of an analog compressor made. After what seemed like an eternity to some, they finally dropped the FG-Stress module. When Slate announced the FG-Stress, fans of the company went crazy. Try its parallel processing on drum room mics or a vocal and you’ll be stunned. While discussing 1176’s, let’slook at the “Monster.” It is essentially an “all-buttons-in” 1176 module. I really like that Slate has provided this many options here. For example, a singer I work with rarely sounds good with the vintage blue-stripe model, yet always sounds great with the modern blue 1176. Again, the reason for all the options here is that different 1176’s are going to work better or worse depending on the source. It certainly brings more vibe to a track than the black or blue 1176. If I’m going for a more mid-forward 1176 tone, I throw the vintage blue stripe on a track and let it go to work. It’s open, it doesn’t really get harsh, and it sounds great on drums and vocals. When it comes to the 1176’s provided, I find myself often reaching for the blue “modern” 1176 due to how forgiving it is when pushed hard. There has been the addition of 2 more 1176-style compressors, the “Monster”, and FG-Stress (Distressor). Slate has been rather generous as of late with its additional compressors in the Everything Bundle VMR. They aren’t interchangeable entirely, however, because they do impart their own unique sound. They can fix a lot of the same problems, just in different ways. I think of these modules as a more detailed and musical version of the CS Lift modules. The Earth EQ is great on bass guitar and kick drum if the source is a little thin. I love using Air to bring out the clarity needed for a bright pop vocal. You can get really detailed here using the variable slope and high-pass/low-pass filters on each module. I look at them as a good tool for fixing source material that may be lacking air or low-end thickness. The Air and Earth EQ’s are rather unique in that they aren’t a traditional EQ. Clear, concise, and punchy all describe this plugin, and that’s what I want when I reach for API flavor. The plugin sounded great when boosting lows on drums as well as mids and high mids.

#Slate virtual mix rack review free#

That said, we’re comparing a $40k console with 2, $1100 EQ modules to a plugin that came free to users of the Everything Bundle Subscription, and the plugin comes VERY close.

When the plugin was at a 4 dB boost, it didn’t have the “air” or clarity that was brought with the actual 1608. What took 4 dB on the 1608 took 6 dB with the plugin to sound similar. The best way to put it is that the plugin wasn’t as potent or aggressive. I’ll admit that I did prefer the console. I did a 2 dB cut at 400, and a 4 dB boost at 20k. I did a comparison running a stereo mix through the Slate API and the 1608’s EQ (550a). Having regularly tracked on a 1608, I can say the Slate delivers. The FG-A is based on an API EQ, as the GUI implies. I would suggest to follow aboriginalbluemountains for more information. I find this works great on guitars and bass that need that little extra something at the end of the chain. This module allows for broad-strokes EQ’ing which is great when working quickly or when a source just needs a little touch-up. The CS Lift EQ is very similar to the CS EQ, except it only features two knobs and has a “punch” and “big” button for adjusting the low end, meanwhile “silky” and “present” are both options for the top-end on the CS Lift EQ.

I love its smooth top end for vocals and cymbals when I want to bring out detail without getting harsh. It’s excellent for 2 bus processing when your mix just needs more open highs. I find that you can really get away with a lot when using this EQ. This means that it’s easy to dig in and get aggressive with this plugin. It has incredibly smooth curves and adds nice harmonic content to the signal. They’ve added the CS (Custom Series) EQ, FG-A EQ, and Air and Earth EQ. I want to take a look at the modules that I found to be most beneficial to my workflow when mixing. Over the last few years, Slate has added a large number of modules to the VMR platform, as well as the way the module itself operates. When we first took a look at it 4 years ago, there were only a few modules – the FG-116, FG-S, FG-N, FG-401, and Revival.