Review of Slate Digital VCC

[tempest63132]

I like the idea of this. When mixing, do you add these plug ins and THEN add eq, compression, etc? I am thinking of upgrading to a new iMac with these Steven Slate Console plug ins along with the stock logic plugins.

[FunnyVideoCollector]

Slate Virtual Tape machine comes out Q1 2012  hope its as good as VCC.

[rappinp]

I would go with either API or Trident. Where can I buy this plug-in?

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@rappinp try Audio Deluxe dot com - they do some great deals...

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@BeanyBeanyBeanster but it does require an iLok2 USB dongle, sold separately.

[neuropamail]

now i've got that dumb song stuck in my head.....aaagghhh

good video though

[dcecavac]

great review! how did you set up the oversampling rate?

[StalinStudio]

Good video :) watched in 360p, having no issues :)

[Googlegnome]

I listened to the 720p version...what kinda friggin' bitrate do they encode audio to in those? Either Youtube don't give a rats ass about the audio, or it must have been compressed before upload. It sounds like evil, utter shit and I have really no idea whether the plugs does good or bad...

[EmerazTV]

@Googlegnome Tell me about it!!!! That's why I uploaded the full 44.1kHz 24 bit audio files to Emeraz. The link is in the description. Download them and import them into your DAW and you'll hear the more subtle effects of these plug-ins ;)

[quanah]

trident sounds shweeet for that mix

[wasupthere]

API sounded best for this track

[sapisismo]

great way to explain this stuff

[joeyxl3456]

youre from ireland :) great video

[EmerazTV]

@joeyxl3456 :) Thanks Joey

[Audiopriest]

Good Demo and great Plugin. I just bought it yesterday. My problem ist that the VU meter is constant peaking. What calibration settings do you make?

Thanks for a response.

[EmerazTV]

@Audiopriest Sounds like you are running all your channels a little to hot. Back them off a little so that the mix bus has some head room. Saying that, if it sounds good already then I wouldn't fret to much

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@Audiopriest The default is -18dB mainly for people following 'analogue-style gain-staging' so if it sounds good I wouldn't worry too much. The idea is to keep your individual tracks peaking at -18db, group busses at -12db so your final Mix bus is peaking under -6db which leaves enough headroom for mastering without having compromised the audio quality at any stage. The Input & Drive knobs are then used to simulate running a hot signal (above -18dB) which you're doing anyway :)

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@Audiopriest - Ok just checked your page and seen you're doing dance music so I wouldn't worry too much. Analogue gain-staging is more for recorded material such as guitar and live drums etc. where you don't want to colour the material too much, but I also do some dance stuff and love what the Brit 4K does to synth bass and machine drums and the API does to synth leads when pushed. If it sounds good, it IS good.

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@BeanyBeanyBeanster Oops, I meant Brit N not 4K (although that's good too)

[FunnyVideoCollector]

@EmerazTV

Can't live with out it very stable can spot the diferences more now im used to it and slate just added another console to it the RCA tube :)

[Whyrendog]

Like the Trident, others didn't do much for me but I always tend to hone in on guitars and like the Trident sound.

[FunnyVideoCollector]

Uad is older and different.

[duccasto1]

uad is better and dont need any cpu power...,

theres no reason for me to buy this pluggz"

[EmerazTV]

@duccasto1 UAD is completely different. They model particular outboard compressors, Eq's, Reverbs and Delays. VCC is a model of a few different analogue consoles designed to make your mixes sound more like you've mixed through a console. Download a demo and try mixing a song, you'll find everything comes together quicker and easier ;)

[FunnyVideoCollector]

Nevermind used the calibration to get it down :)

[FunnyVideoCollector]

The meter on my VCC master stays at full most of the time is that normal.

[FunnyVideoCollector]

It adds that power magic to electric guitar. Just got it today very pleased.

[EmerazTV]

@FunnyVideoCollector How are you finding it now after a couple of weeks with it?

[SOMIT2003]

Love it !!!!

[drbulbus]

I can hear the difference on my macbook pro speakers at 720p. Now thats saying something!

[EmerazTV]

@drbulbus Good ears!!!

[djrbfm]

hi,

thank you 4 doing this.

j.

[EmerazTV]

@djrbfm Welcome :) Thanks for watching!

[MrRexxyboy]

Very Impressive review!

[EmerazTV]

@MrRexxyboy Cheers :)

[lewisleeming]

Really lovely! You're right, the mix really does come alive when you turn on the console. It's like the elements get an extra dimention to them. Thank you for the demonstration. Great song :)

[EmerazTV]

@lewisleeming Have to say, the more I've been using it the more I've figured out how to get the most from it. My ITB mixes have never sounded as good :) Thanks for the comment

[cyphersuit1]

Can i buy the song only on the emeraz page? i have no account and only want this special track.. is this buyable on itunes?

[EmerazTV]

@cyphersuit1 Yeah, it's on Emeraz for a Euro :) It takes 30 seconds to join and it's free so ;) Click on show more under the video above and you'll find the link to the finished version. Big thank you BTW!!!!!

[cyphersuit1]

@EmerazTV Done! It would be nice if bought songs would appear in my profile btw

[EmerazTV]

@cyphersuit1 Funny you mention that, we are working on it ;) Thanks a million for the purchase, enjoy :)

[cyphersuit1]

@EmerazTV now that we're at it ;) it would also be nice to download the song to my mobile phone. right now this is not possible, because the track comes in a zip-file.

[5kyhigh1]

Nice mix on the tune btw. Such an exciting plugin this one, will definately be putting it in my arsenal soon when the 64bit version comes out!

[ABC1MCE2]

You said you ran this session with a 46% cpu load for the video and 86% for normal mixing. You also said you ran this session at the highest oversampling rate (8x), with the amount of VCCs you used in this session I would assume you bounced down using off line rendering cause it would seem the you would have maxed out your cpu, I'm I correct?

[EmerazTV]

@ABC1MCE2 My system was running at 46% on ASIO when VCC was turned off. When turned on ASIO was at 89% if I remember correctly.

I mixed down at 8x oversampling but when monitoring and when making the video oversampling was off. Even turning it on to x2 caused my ASIO to go crazy.

Hope that helps

[djwondermike]

thanks, but 12 minutes the same sample is a bit boring, specially for people that make others than rock music.

[ladex142]

Register to download, that is cheesy!

[EmerazTV]

@ladex142 :D It is the worlds only secure collaboration website so it is a requirement. If you collaborate you would appreciate it ;) Anyway, takes 30 seconds max! :)

[wattage2007]

Hardly a review, more of a sales pitch ;-) Not too impressed with the VCC (YouTube quality obviously doesn't help) as it just appears to be another saturation plugin really. The graphics are lovely though. Would I be right in saying my ilok wouldn't work with this and I'd need an ilok2 for the license?

[EmerazTV]

@wattage2007 :D Maybe it does!! I was and still am pretty excited about what this plugin can do so sorry if I come off as a fayboy :D

BTW, there is a link in the description to where you can download the full 44.1kHz 24 bit files. Download them and judge for yourself.

[AussieGriller]

Great video review mate, thanks for this :)  Trident and Neve sound fantastic

[shadx2012]

Trident ftw!

[ReginatorNet]

Thank you for giving my untrained ear an idea of how to use my VCC!! Great explanation & demonstration- Cheers!

[EmerazTV]

@ReginatorNet I am glad you found it helpful



[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

The 32bit version was released on 10th March with a statement from Slate saying the 64bit version would be released around 30 days later (and 32bit users can also get the 64bit version).

Been using the Beta for 4 months now and I can't live without it! It's the last plug holding me back from going fully 64bit - but it's worth it! :D

[EmerazTV]

@BeanyBeanyBeanster No if only Waves and BFD2 would release 64 bit :P

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@EmerazTV Arrgh I know! I've avoided buying Waves and sought out alternatives over the last 2 years in a bid to go fully 64bit. BUT CLA & Vocal Rider keep tempting me! Wish they'd hurry up ;)

[EmerazTV]

@BeanyBeanyBeanster I hear they are on the way! CLA compressors are excellent but don't rule out H-Comp. It's one of my go to compressor! Setting the release to sync with the BPM is such a handy feature!

[BeanyBeanyBeanster]

@EmerazTV Thanks, I'll check it out. Great review by the way! Really demonstrates what the fuss is all about.

[EmerazTV]

@BeanyBeanyBeanster Much appreciated!

[matnrocknroll]

Hey man! Tnx for the review...made me buy this thing! Are you runing it on Win7 64bit or is it still only for 32bit? Tnx!

[EmerazTV]

@matnrocknroll :D Sorry about that ;) I'm on win7 64 running Cubase 6 32bit. Thanks for the comment

[matnrocknroll]

@EmerazTV tnx for helping man! Keep up the good work! :)

[matnrocknroll]

@matnrocknroll tnx mate! :)

[matnrocknroll]

@matnrocknroll One question again... How can your run this plugin if the SlateDigital page says this: PC :

CPU Processor min : Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz

OS min : Windows XP SP3

32 bit version only <---- ??? does it mean the OS or the DAW ?

[EmerazTV]

@matnrocknroll I think it means that the plug in it's self is 32bit but it will still install on a 64 bit machine. That is why I had to run it in Cubase 32bit ;)

[areuter727]

Oh yeah...what was your oversampling set to?

[EmerazTV]

@areuter727 For the video Oversampling was off. But when mixing down the highest setting was used. There is a link in the description to 44.1kHz 24 bit mixdowns all with oversampling set to highest ;)

[areuter727]

@EmerazTV Cool. I'd like to download the tracks but I don't know if I want to sign up. Did you mix into VCC (first plugin on FX channel, like the manual suggests) or did you put them on like a summing box (last FX in chain)?

Sorry for all the questions...waiting for my iLok 2 is getting me psyched, haha.

[EmerazTV]

@areuter727 Sign up... it's FREE ;) Take 30 seconds too. VCC was the first insert on every channel on the track and some groups. Man, you'll love it :) Hope it comes soon!

[areuter727]

@EmerazTV OK, I signed up but was disappointed that they were mp3s. At least they're 320 kbps. Still...much better than YouTube compression, hahaha. Thanks again for taking the time to put this up...still no iLok. I think by this Thursday it'll be 10 business days.

[EmerazTV]

@areuter727 I am very very sorry about this. This will be correct ASAP. As soon as it is I will reply and let you know.

I hope you get your iLok soon, it really is an amazing tool!

[areuter727]

@EmerazTV Cool man...so you meant to have .wav or .aiffs up not mp3s? Because the mp3s aren't too shabby really.

I'm counting down the days to the iLok is in my hands, LOL!

[EmerazTV]

@areuter727 .wav's are up. 

[betospsk]

Can you comment on your system configuration and CPU impact?

[EmerazTV]

@betospsk Sure. My machine is a core i7 320 running at 3.6GHz, 6 gig ram (1866MHz). Windows 7 running Cubase 6. That mix had around 30 plugin (mostly waves) and 33 instances of the virtual channel and 1 of the mixbus. I also had 2 instances of BFD2 running (one for the drums and one for FX drums). When running the project at 96kHz the CPU was at 46% without VCC, 89% with it on.

For doing the video I had to convert to 48kHz. Then with VCC bypassed CPU was 28%, VCC on was 48%

[betospsk]

@EmerazTV Thanks for all the data! But maybe you mean Core i7 920, not?

[EmerazTV]

@betospsk Yes, sorry about that :P

[feck50]

sound great but hard to be objective as it seems the vcc is adding a good dB or so, and louder always sounds better!

[EmerazTV]

@feck50 I did contemplate tweaking the calibration to match the output but as the level changes for each console it would have made the review boringly long.... In the description above there is a link where you can download 44.1kHz 24bit files. Match the gain yourself and listen again.

[feck50]

@EmerazTV Thanks!! Downloading now

[areuter727]

Thanks man, very well done review. Even with YouTube's compression I could hear a difference. Now I just wish my darn iLok 2 would get here...

[EmerazTV]

@areuter727 In the description above there is a link to downloading the full 44.1kHz 24 bit files. Download them and listen in full quality, trust me ;)

[raypepeeves]

Just waiting for my ilok2 to get here from Steven!

[devarni]

Thanks for the review Steve!

[EmerazTV]

@devarni More to come :)

[imdurc]

Finally, someone made a video that really shows what the plug can do. :) Bought VCC recently but have been away from home, so no testing. :(

But I'll be back home tomorrow to finally try it out for myself. I'm glad it's arrived ahead of a mixing session!

[EmerazTV]

@imdurc Thanks!

[AshSmith06]

The Neve kicks it for this track. Cheers for the review.

[EmerazTV]

@AshSmith06 The Neve is cool alright but in the end I used the API driven hard. Tough call though ;)

[virtualgeezer]

Great review and thanks for doing it at 720p! I've literally just got this and can't wait to get it on some mixes! :)

[EmerazTV]

@virtualgeezer Thank you :) It really is a 'now it's better' plugin. Post some mixes on Emeraz.com ;)