American Class A Demo - Softube 

Totally agree, it's so closely laid out so why not have that view toggled in the Console 1. I know we mix with our ears but still. Visually pleasing plug-ins are always a nice addition.

Koca Metallec Thanks mate 👍 Hope you get a chance to try it out, and that you enjoy it! /George

Koca Metallec I like the GUI of the plugin far better than the console one version. It would be sick if all the console one emulations got that sort of facelift. Seems to sound great.

Richie Famus Hey Richie, Yeah tbh I prefer looking at the plug-in GUI too, if i had to choose just one. The main reason the Console 1 version is a little less eye-candy is simply that the Console 1 workflow advantage is all about ears over eyes, and knobs over mouse. We think minimal distraction is a real creative advantage in that environment. But hey, it’s the sound of the things that matters most, eh? ;) Best, /George

Yes - some nicer visuals would make the Console 1 even better

SoftubeStudios Yeah, I'm an owner of console 1 and it's wonderful. I understand the knobs vs mouse simplicity, but for me it'd sure be nice to have that GUI too lol. You'd still have the exact same work flow as the eye catching graphics have nothing to do with tweaking your sound. But I still love the product . 👍🏾

zotifex Cold..... (but also kind of a compliment - I’ll take it 😉) /George

It was meant rather as a compliment :) I really like what you are diong... Greetings and thanks to all for the work. Maybe you are thinking about bringing the 2500 as a full plugin ;)

zotifex Haha 😉 You’re alright mate👍 Greetings to you too, and glad to hear you’re excited about the plug-in. /George

@@SoftubeStudios Gosling is too skinny, which is actually not hot at all. Your build any day over that twiggy hollytard. LOL.

+1, also listening to eq, compression and saturation on an already eq-d, compressed and saturated loop was a bit painful

IFO appreciate introductory videos that aren't half an hour long. To hear on whatever source, just download the demo. I will NOT be downloading the demo for the time being because i'll surely end up buying it, so i'm holding off as much as possible... maybe an hour or two.

Diego Oliveira Hey Diego, Great to hear from you man. Always happy to talk about the cameras etc. :) The main face-on shot is from a Sony a7s ii (using an s-log picture profile) and the over-the-shoulder is a Canon EOS 600D with a cheap 50mm lens. There’s a lot of light in the studio and I add two softboxes as well, so that helps a lot 👍 /George

SoftubeStudios is looking amazing, really! Aaaaaand I'm already demoing the American A, on a client mix, so I'll be buying for sure, haha. Thanks for the response and keep the videos coming :)

he is very good

God Of Rainbows 🌈

API 5500 stereo eQ + API 525 Compressor

I have British class A and SSL 9000K, do not give any gift to loyal customers, we find the same price they offer us on several sites!

Sad but true - anybody is able to get it even cheaper - at audiodeluxe for $210.99 for example (final price) - i get softube bonus for $199 but it doesn't contain the taxes ... my personal "better price" is 240.79 USD - that's not funny at all ....

Electronic music starts off really clean sounding. Do you want to enhance that clean sound or fuzz it up a bit? FutureBass/Pop: High fidelity 3D sound = 9000K. Techno/Dubstep: Dark and grimy Berlin club at 5am = Class A. Funky/Tropical House: Warm, vintage vibe = Summit or Tube-Tech I own all of them except for the XL9000K and the American Class A (which I will eventually buy) and I have also used all of the consoles and outboard gear that these plug-ins emulate (except for the XL9000K) so here's my opinion: XL9000K will probably give you the cleanest high-quality sound, won't add too much character or warmth and will sound expansive and expensive in the top and bottom end. The stock SSL4000E will still sound very clean but will start to add a little character to your sound and make everything combine together well in the mix. It was the most popular mixing console in the late 80's to late 90's. The American(API) and British(Neve) Class A's emulate 70's console's and will add warmth and pleasing distortion characteristics (similar to what vinyl, tube amps or tube mics do to sound). The Summit Grand Channel and Tube-Tech (which you can import into Console 1 to create a channel strip) emulate vintage 80's/90's outboard EQ and Compressors instead of a console and sound big and warm with more low-mids and less pronounced distortion characteristics. All will slightly change your sound (usually for the better) and each has a different color or tone. Rated from passive to aggressive: 9000, 4000, Summit, Tube-Tech, American, British (although it sounds like maybe with all the knobs turned to the right the American one might sound the most distorted/aggressive). Short answer: if you own any of them you are golden. If you can afford to buy more of them they are way less expensive than the real things and sound very close.

Hi, first of all thank you very much for the very elaborated answer. I really appreciate it. I already own the SSL4000E.I have to say it has significantly improved my sound, although I still think I'm missing something. I am looking for a more modern, clean, smoother sound and I was thinking of getting the XL9000K. Do you think there is a significant difference? Thanks!

I would get a session ready that you can really already hear a difference between when the SSL4000E is active and when it's bypassed. Maybe you already have a session like that. Then download the 20 day trial for the 9000 www.softube.com/index.php?id=xl9000k. Export a mix for each of the 4000, 9000 and bypassed and see if the difference is worth the $$$. Now is the time to do it because the 9000 is on sale. You should also watch all of the Console review videos on these 2 channels: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8AJqdTkFs2k.html ru-vid.com/show-UCLqwDYqJe9Hets3p89Th6dw Both do an excellent and thorough review of most of the plug-in options.

@@fvtch Thank you for you detailed explanation... As a producer of house music I was also pondering over the differences. As your initial comment is now 3 years old, have you had a chance to try the 9000k yet? As you say, electronica by default is clean and it almost makes sense to use the 9000 over the 4000, although I would love to try them all :)

@@vdub4216 Haha. I didn't end up getting the 8000 or the American. I just use both the 4K and the Neve (British). For House music, the 4K has amazing Punch and Sustain controls and Neve has amazing Drive and Character controls. I don't think you could go wrong with any of these. The Neve EQ has fewer options than the 4K but it sounds amazing. I would just start with the 4K that comes with it and get used to it and then try the other trials one at a time and see if one jumps out at you. It's like a choice between Amazing, Awesome or Unreal. Also, check out a plugin called GullFoss. You might want to check out the Isla S2400 if you make old school house too.

Because it gives you more character! Next time you perform a mix down and someone says, why's that guitar too bright/or too dark? You respond, that's not a bright or dark guitar, it's a guitar with character!

UNEK Hi 👋 /George

Hey Billy, I hear you, and by all means download the free 20-day demo and try it out on whatever material you want to hear it on :) That said, I just saw the band this drum track came from (The Shadowboxers) opening for Justin Timberlake last week, and thay're freaking awesome. I won't hear a word against them! It's 'real music' for sure ;) All best, /George

Hey Jim, I've tried to explain and address these exact questions in the video - there are a lot of situations where well-thought-through limitations can be a huge advantage in terms of both sound and workflow - but you might do even better to ask the many pros users who for decades have enjoyed the original hardware on which this channelstrip is based. They're out there on the forums and I'm sure they'd be far better advocates than I am for this sort of design, having used it and loved it for so long. Of course it's not going to be for everyone, and stock/free plug-ins exist with none of these limitations, so it's entirely up to you whether you buy the thing. But do bear in mind it's popular for a reason. Best, /George

I’m not in accordance with the philosophy of artificial limitation where it compromises basic and expected functionality (most consoles aren’t like this, new and old). If more character is the goal, then why not limit the EQ to 0 dB and 12 dB like a switch? The reality is, it would cost you almost zero in terms of time and money to add more granularity to the EQ. For those who want to tie their hands behind their backs (for character's sake), so to speak, they can disable this feature. I own the UA API console and never use it for this one reason. When I saw your plugin I was hoping you wouldn’t do it the UA way. To give you an example of how great consoles plugin can be that remove hardware limitations, the bx consoles from PA allows you to set the saturation in dB so you don’t have to waste time using multiple faders (I believe your plugin does the same). This is brilliant. The Slate plugins (and UA), on the other hand, require the use of a separate fader. Why make things harder when it's so easy not to? I own the following Softube plugins: Tube-Tech Complete Collection, Summit Audio Grand Channel, Drawmer 1973 Multi-Band Compressor, FET Compressor. The American Class A won’t be part of my Softube plugin collection with this limitation.

I completely understand Jim, and to be honest this has been a question I've asked frequently since I started working here at Softube. Personally, I'd like to have to option of unrestricted/granular use of these kinds of things a lot of the time too in the digital realm. As I understand it there are sometimes good technical reasons why it's not a viable option to de-restrict these kinds of things (the particular way the filters are designed (and re-designed in code - I'm nothing like an expert on this, but as far as I understand, it's not always practically as simple as I'd like it to be). But probably the more relevant reason that we (and other companies like UA) do this sort of stuff is that a lot of our audience really enjoy and appreciate the authenticity and quirkiness of 'real' hardware emulation. It wouldn't be fun in the same way if we ironed out all the creases, you know? So like I say, I totally get it if this isn't for you. No hard feelings! And I really hope you enjoy your other Softube plug-ins! :) /George

Hi :) I'm always up for learning, and although we have a very limited resource budget to spend time on these videos, we like to do them as well as we possibly can. What is it you'd like me to be doing? Is it a visual concern you have (that it just doesn't look very tidy)? Or is it an audio concern? What would you prefer to see? I'm aware of the mounting options (broadcast loop etc.). Is that it? Of course there are a hundred ways I could do a better job with these videos, but I'd be happy to hear more about this one. Best, /George

@@SoftubeStudios The videos look awesome and you do a great job at producing the content.. This fix is simple: just have your talent run the lav up the shirt, then clip the lav close to the center of the body. Its just a cleaner look that will add more production value to already great content. I work as a audio engineer for CBS and a miking job like that just screams rookie or you just didnt give a damn.. i meant that in the most loving way possible, lol! George, thank you for all you do and i hope this helps and not discourage you in any way.

@@mikeymadeit9990 Hey, I always like being called the 'talent' ;) Thanks! Honestly, I totally agree - what I did in this video looks sloppy and probably doesn't quite represent the very best for the audio quality either, so I'll note it in future :) Thanks. It's really just a time thing - our product developers here at Softube work their butts off making great things, and it's a fantastic challenge to keep up with them; as a team of one making these videos I'm always trying to make sure I hit the key points in a way that works in the time available. It'd be awesome to have more time to mark and tidy up these kinds of details. Luckily Softube's doing well though, and we just hired a new colleague who will be joining in with these things, so hopefully these videos will only get better! Thanks for watching! /George

Watching it again, and should've had a shave as well... Haha :'D /George

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