I posted about this on the GAB Facebook but I thought I'd share here too.
I just bought Slate Digital's Virtual Console Collection and Virtual Tape Machines plugins. Well, technically I haven't officially gotten them yet (I bought a used iLok containing the licenses, along with the account details), but have downloaded the demo licenses onto the iLok I already own (which are fully functional for two weeks).
For those who don't know, VCC models five famous analog consoles, and VTM models two analog tape machines. They're some of the most positively regarded plugins I've ever encountered, and after hearing some clips and playing with the demos, I decided to take the plunge.
I haven't gotten a whole lot of time to mess with them, but I dig them so far! I especially like the tape machines. If you hit them hard, the saturation is kind of like a compressor...a compressor that just automatically sounds AWESOME. It really makes things punchy and also seems to kind of bring out the upper mids and make things sound more lively. The upper highs get a little more relaxed (in a good way) too.
Here's a little drum test using them. I took a mix I was already working on, added the VCC and VTM in places I felt would make sense, and then redid a little bit of the mix. These have plenty of other processing on them, so it's impossible to really decipher exactly what the VTM and VCC are doing here, but they're making a pretty big difference. In fact, I probably have them hitting the tape machine too hard, but it's addictive. In this mix, VTM (2" tape mode) is the first insert on each track (simulating the tracks already having been recorded to tape) and VCC is the second on each track (simulating the tracks being mixed on a console). All other processing inserts are after those, as if they were outboard hardware patched post-input into the console. I've also got the VCC Mixbuss as the first insert on the Master (which I believe simulates the signal summing of a console) and then another VTM after that (1/2" tape mode) simulating the final mix being printed to tape.
However, I set those levels mainly on headphones, so even though I'm raving about how much I like it, the levels might be all over the place. I briefly checked on monitors the other night, but it could be wacky.
Drum mix test with VTM and VCC: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/719 ... estmp3.mp3
For the sake of comparison, here's the same mix with all instances of VCC and VTM turned off:
Drum mix test without VTM and VCC: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/719 ... atemp3.mp3
(I forgot to fade out the end of that one, whoops. You guyz heard da secret drumz!)
The track levels should be matched exactly, but the saturation from VCC and VTM makes the perceived volume louder (even though I confirmed the dB levels were the same), so I boosted the overall volume of this mix a little bit (to a level where I feel the perceived loudness is almost equal). The biggest apparent difference I can hear is in the upper mids and in the sustain of the drums. I feel that the vanilla version sounds a bit boxy and lifeless, whereas the VCC/VTM version is punchier, and gives the drums more sustain and more upper mid presence. However, I think I may have gone overboard on the saturation for the overheads, room, hat, and ride. A little bit is good, but I feel perhaps they're too crunchy sounding after comparing it to the vanilla version. However, I love what they're doing to the shells, so I'll probably keep slamming those hard.
One thing I can say about these is that they really do seem to make it easier to mix. I originally had a ton of extra aux channels to try to use some tricks to make things more punchy and lively (like parallel compression set up in a bunch of different ways), but once I started reworking the mix a bit with VCC and VTM, I found myself not needing them and I simplified the mix greatly.
In short, I think they rock so far.
