I might add like 10 aothers suggestions, but i don't have that time. But even if i had, why would i ? They are def losing a decent part of the VST market each years, wich i'm pretty happy about THB, because i think other less known compagnies really deserve to make their names a get a more fair amount of the giant cake that the VST market is. Pulsar, Wavesfactory, U-He, Analaog Obsession, Brainworx, Soundtoys, T-Racks, Audiothings, Ignite Amps, Softube, Fuse Audio, Kush, Elysia, (and many more), deserve MORE cake in my opinion. I a forgot or didn't mention some other awesome companies, i just mentionned some of them that came to my mind when it comes to emulating/getting inspired by some analog gears (with or without improvements/additionnal options). To me the PRE saturator in Omni without any gainreduction (automatic or not, def smells snake oil to me, wich i don't like at all coming from a multimilion compagny). They def need to either fire people or maybe just letting them enough time to finish their new products before releasing them. Well, ok, Omni have a good EQ, great comps and offers sweet coloring if used wisely and is quite cheap. That's not bad, but i exept more from a huge comany like Waves. They are decieving more and more people each new release for some reason or another. It's quite obv that they are not going anywhere that way. They actually selling some of their famous VST with 90% deals frequently, wich is not a good sign. I'm pretty sure the most brilliant engineers at Waves will be hired somewhere else in a heartbeat the day Waves will colapse. I would only miss Rbass nowadays i guess. But that's just me.If Waves colapse, it will be a good thing imo. Probably way too much selfish boomers/old thinking people in this company. I def won't cry that day, that's for sure
The market is increasingly going to be dominated by companies making somewhat limited plugins that sound great for cheap or free (Klanghelm, Analog Obsession, Valhalla, Kazrog) on one end, and super deep and detailed "pro" plugins like UA on the other. I don't really see a place for brands putting out $50-$150 stuff as the bulk of their range. But hey, I've been wrong before.
Damn. The multiband gate trick on the tom mics is why I love your videos so much. I have no interest in the Sheps Omni Channel whatsoever but I knew your plugin reviews always have these random extremely enlightening tricks sprinkled in. I've been dealing with exactly this cymbal bleed problem recently and this is such a clever, yet simple solution. And I don't even need any extra plugins for it. Thanks ever so much for your insanely educational videos. If I had money, I would become a member, but for now, my gratitude is all I have to offer lol.
Same. I'm done with Waves (i still use Rbass tho), but Mr Worrall's videos are out of this world. There is basically no competittion when it comes to plugin in depth plugin reviews. I like the MixBuss TV guy, Mr Snake Oil is funny and sometimes insightful as well, but Dan Worrall is def the final boss of that game. No matter how far you've been in audio enginering geekery, Mr Worrall videos are always insightful, clever and sometimes even very funny
I immediately tried this on a mix I'm working on today and I can report it works phenomenally well. Like well to the point that it's ridiculous that this isn't common knowledge. It solved all my problems and healed my clinical depression.
It's true. Even though Dan does reviews better than essentially everyone else out there (I'm almost tempted to cross Waves off my blacklist and give them my money again), the greater value of these videos is in the engineering tips and tricks. I've been in the audio game for nearly 30 years and I learn at least one amazing thing with every new video.
This is my favorite channel strip, by far... and Dan's criticism is valid. Something (I think) not mentioned -- in the "insert" you can add another instance of any Omni Channel section which is handy (although it does appear expanded in a floating window.) But this allows you to have two SOC compressors or SOC EQs, etc. And lastly, if you look at "HEAVY" saturation you'll see that it IS like odd, except it adds a sort of soft-clipper which can be useful. A bit of saturated soft-clipping + compression + touch of limiting on the output can tame the dynamic range in a way that allows subsequent compression (submix, mixbus, etc.) to operate more smoothly! Great review!
On the waves website where you can purchase the omnichannel there's a video that Andrew made. It's a semi deep dive and he goes over all the parameters in detail, why they're called certain things he explains why the gate section is called "Close" and a bunch of other helpful stuff. Keep in mind we're talking $29 as opposed to over $150 for any "Fab Filter" products unless purchased in the full bundle which is really the only way to go considering their whole offering has nearly reached perfection. You really do have the best product deep dives on RU-vid, in my humble opinion. So thank you for that contribution to the audio community, may you create many many more great videos that can help engineers of all levels of experience. 🙏 DW
Dan wanted to review the Scheps Omni, but ended up giving us all a fairly advanced “how-to” for channel processing. So much of the information here is used in almost every session. We appreciate all of the knowledge you drop here, sir! Also, I agree with a lot of the criticism of the strip itself, especially the lack of anti-aliasing & over-sampling. Is that why this always sounds so plastic to my ears mixing in 96k? Same with most Waves plugins, if I’m honest. But it has been fun to use on more lo-fi channels, like bass guitar, organ, deep pads.. Are plugins fun? Waves did make this kinda “fun” to use despite its flaws, but I have had more “fun” using CHANNEV by Analog Obsession. If WaveShell could handle over-sampling with the appropriate filtering, the Omni Channel could be one of the best tools on the market. With the other tweaks mentioned, this could become one of Waves’ best plugins ever.
I came to the same conclusion. Best channel strip overall. I have a license. Use it most for rock mixes. Thanks Dan, entertaining and informative as ever! 👍
I freaking LOVE the Omni Channel! For a dunce like me, I can completely understand all the buttons and knobs and compare moves quickly and not spend any extra time dipshitting around.
As much as I dislike Waves, this is one of the 2 markets they have covered. Less serious, less experienced DAW users who shouldn't need to _learn_ every plugin they own, and just follow the idiot-proof simply-named controls. The other, which is completely unrelated to anything here, is out-of-the box engineers and producers who know a real studio better than a DAW, and just want that "1176 sound" or that "Pultec colour" and just click on the plugin named after the thing it models. I've gone on a tangent again. Bugger.
The tip about using a multi band compressor to separately process the highs and lows of a close miked tom in order to attenuate cymbal wash is brilliant. It makes me wonder if a similar trick could be used on acoustic bass. One of the banes of my existence is recording live jazz gigs and getting cymbals into the acoustic bass mic. You can’t EQ them out because you want to hear the attack of the fingers on the strings of the bass. I’m going to try it!
SO much to say.. EXCELLENT review. As a semi-retired engineer and mixer with 15 of my full-time years spent in the fully analog studios of the 80’s and 90’s, I LOVE the best new channel strips. Mainly because they allow me a workflow that best matches how I am used to thinking. This is the most elaborate of all the channel strips that I have seen, and so it will bring the greatest amount of flexibility and choice to the user. A great many times the quality of a finished piece relies heavily on simplicity of thought as the process moves forward. I think THIS channel strip capitalizes on this approach better than any of the others do. … a lot of people are going to experience great success because of this piece of kit that Mr. Scheps and the Waves team have put together for us here. SCORE!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Omni Channel has become a favorite for many applications over many styles of music. There are odd things about it for sure but I've found several cool things I can do now. I love Dan's videos and am excited to see what methods he comes up with.
I've been so looking forward to this video, loved it! My favourite bang-for-the-buck plugin. Something worth mentioning: you CAN have more instances of that lovely EQ, just insert it in the extra slot, it doesn't just work for any Waves plugin but also any module from the Omni-Channel. You could also have two compressors, if you wanted to. In fact, someone from the Waves forum (can't share the link) found out that when you only engage the compressor (FET or OPTO), you get a very similar anaglogue response to the Waves NLS plugin. Would have hoped you had gone over that characteristic a little!
Amazing as usual! I'm really curious how Dan would like the Infinistrip by PSP Audio, that's a truly modular channel strip and I find it basically perfect for every mix I do.
When you described the "snare spill into tom mic" dilemma, your solution immediately occurred to me. It's crazy that that isn't something these strips aren't built to handle all by themselves.
This is basically free design and function consultancy for Waves. Whatever they paid, it wasn’t enough. BUT it’s fantartic to put this out there, because this can only serve to raise the bar for everyone.
Such an engrossing video! I've had the Omni Channel for a while now and I've only used on busses. It's great for tying all the elements together, warming them up and taking out any odd harshness. The DS2 works really well for this.
I always liked Omni Channel, while at the same time not really using it a lot. I tend to have super specific ideas of what I want to do, so I load very specific plugins that do things in just that one way, etc. The saturation in OC is fantastic though, really saved clean vocals in a busy metal mix for me before.
I used to not like or understand channel strips in studio/daw environment, but using primarily an ssl strip on most channels pushed my mix to another level, both in sound and efficiency. I'd say it's worth a try on 1 or 2 not so important mixes, or another way of working; unless you've been doing it for so long you don't need to
@@escalator9734 I like the idea of just getting all the stuff done fast so you can move on. And having everything in one place AND sounding good AND having it be modular like that is fantastic.
@@MFKitten exactly; now if I can find an ssl with saturation/console emu, more bands and more/different comps, that would be endgame. I guess that's a bit the slate rack
Good one, Dan. Your presentations are always so clear and information-rich. And I agree, this is a top-notch plug-in. Also it adds something very important: coloration. I really like what it does to a mix buss. PS you CAN add more EQ‘s & compressors, the insert point can use Sheps module too ;)
@Dan Worrall, have you tried the Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate? Your current set up is so OTT. It can detect Snares and Toms separately from one another using AI, meaning it isn't threshold dependent. It also has a shaped decay thing so you can let the low end ring out while clamping down on the high.
Dan i just gotta say the knowledge that i gain from your vids are top tier. you definitely know your stuff. on a side note while looking at the issue with compensation after the saturation, what you could do is just you the insert slot after the saturation to add something to compensate the volumefor the rest of the chain. i prefer the Ds as you have 2 bands of dynamic eq to add as well.
This is a brilliant channel strip. The compressor section is my go to for virtually all compression needs despite having a plethora of alternatives. As Scheps says, it takes a second or so to load the first instance by from there own they load pretty much immediately there after on that project.
I think guru Dan is cooking something with waves ^_^. I am very excited for this! I myself am using this Imperial Theme on reaper and Omni channel is my go-to plug in when processing guitars. I barely scratch the surface of this plug-in. thanks Dan!
I really enjoyed this video and it definitely wasn't too long at all. I have owned this plugin for about two years and it is one of my favorites. But I never use the gate because it has no look-ahead. I wish instead of the gate there was another one of those great DS-squared’s. I feel like two just isn't enough and I have at times loaded up the Omni Channel twice just because it's one of the easiest plug-ins to tame those nasty frequencies because it's just so easy to press that little solo button and adjust the threshold. So in less than a minute you've taken out the garbage! And his EQ is so easy to use! I feel like easiness and fun-ness must have been in the foreground of his consciousness when he designed this. His compressor isn't my favorite compressor, but again it's just so easy to use and you can set the release time with an actual number as a starting place. (15,000 or 30,000 divided by the BPM usually works nicely for me as a starting place for release time for certain applications) And I've used his compressor as a side chain-compressor too, but for voiceovers I use the ReaComp because it's easier and has a look-ahead. The other reason I love this plugin so much is because it just sounds great and having input and output at the touch of your hands easily and quickly is another fantastic feature. If you own this plug-in you have no excuse for screwing up your gain staging! So if he ever upgrades this I hope he gets rid of the gate, gives us two more of the DS squared modules, and Instead of the insert gives us an easy to use tape emulation or transformer emulation… or some other easy to use analog emulation. But nothing with bias controls or tape speeds or any such time-wasting controls! Another suggestion I would have would be for him to make the thing a little easier to automate. He could do that by having some kind of a little automation check box on the front of the unit because if you look at all those parameters, automation is an absolute nightmare. But I don't know if that's possible to be done. One of the reasons why I love the Puig Tech EQ by Waves is that it is so easy to automate. And, of course, it sounds great too. And aside from loving his Omni Channel I also love his Parallel Particles plug in. He is one smart dude!
I have this in my Reaper DAW. Never used it with my former DAW, cos it jammed everything and led to crashes. This video opens a lot better opportunities, so I"ll look into the omni channel later. Thx!!
To veer somewhat off-topic, I'm excited by the advent of GPU-accelerated plugins which I believe could usher in a new era of AI-driven processing. I mention this with regard to the task of tom gating, which has always been a pain (and which I almost always wind up foregoing in favor of manual waveform surgery). A little bit of machine learning would go a long way towards alleviating this frustration. Imagine a noise gate that simply knew (with 99.999% accuracy) what a tom is and what it is not.
Your comment about swapping out stuff for another EQ strip and Compressor strip. You can add these from the insert tab and have a duplicate EQ. Or Compressor or any waves plug-in you have.
How is it that Dan’s music gets criticised once and all subsequent videos have the most slapping music ever?! Nice in depth review! I enjoy the detailed, as-objective-as-possible and analytical view on those. :) Dan, in case you read this: Any chance you’ll take a look at MAAT’s EQ Plugins? Wytse did a Snake Oil on one once but didn’t get around their awful copy protection for the demo period. This now seems to be a lot easier. Also while his first looks are funny, they rarely go into detail. They claim to have a linear phase EQ that is free of any audible ringing artifacts, running on the old Algorithmix engine. These used to be abhorrently expensive (MAAT still kinda are) and I cannot find any contemporary in depth review. You probably have a lot on your to-do list already but if you think you’d find the time, that would be awesome!
The only real benefit with a channel strip plug-in is being able to switch in almost zero time between different complex settings. Otherwise, other than learning by watching a series of processes from a guy like Scheps, it is just superfluous. If one wants to switch fast between different complex settings, one can make parallel buses, and switch between them. Let’s say one moves the source audio up and down between different channels that are routed differently. No need for even mute/solo then.
Thanks for another great video! As mentioned in another comment, the THUMP option doesn't seem to have anything to do with the HP filter, it's just a low end boost that happens independently of the filters. Speaking of channel strips, I don't think we still have a "perfect" ITB channel strip that dares to reimagine the whole concept while still keeping the good stuff from the hardware world. The Omni Channel is certainly a step in the right direction, and I kind of like what Izotope Neutron is doing, but it lacks a single page where you can adjust all the basic settings, which is a huge showstopper. I still think Fabfilter would be the perfect company to develop _the_ channel strip for a modern age. Maybe they are already on it, who knows...
The strength and attraction of these plugins is the Waves expansion card for the X32/M32 digital mixers not sure of they do a card for other mixers but I own the x32 and bought the card. So there lies the limitation of 96hz as the mixers run this internally and 48hz external. On another note, I just love that Imperial skin for Reaper you are using so thanks I downloaded and installed it and best of all, its free !!
as far as i know, waves doesn't implement lookahead functionality to the plugins available on the LV1 live mixing system due to the latency introduced...
A Dan designed channel strip would be awesome! You truly have the knowledge, skill and, most importantly, perspective to do it!!! If done with Waves, I'd consider it. If done with some other manufacturer, I'd buy it immediately! The Tom Lord-Alge tom editing technique is built into two plugins I know of: Sonnox Drum Gate, which is fantastic! And Gatey-Watey.
But this is, specifically, a mixing strip. I'd rather load a filter plugin, when I need creative effects, and keep the channel strip optimised for mixing. You're allowed to disagree...
I like and use the Scheps since it came out. Now, I wonder what Mr. Scheps take away would be, if he ever listened to Dan's observations. THAT would be interesting.
Great video thanks. Yeah the volume thing is odd. I watched the whole video explanation that Scheps did and his grammies were for mixes that were in your face, loud. He did say in the video that this was taken from other popular colors and styles of pre amps, comps, eq's etc... but that he made it for his type of work flow and taylored it to his style. I wonder if that's what he intended with the volume increase.
28:43 what is that lift towards a lower ratio which occurs after the knee? There is some kind of allowance of reduced gain reduction and increased pass through of signal strength towards the right side of the graph. Is that effectively allowing the most strong signals to pass through at a level which is higher than the general gain reduction, such that it sounds more natural than if the loudest sounds had been fully compressed at the stated gain reduction level which had been applied to all the signals at a lower strength?
Thanks for this.. I've been using it since it came out and use it quite often.. great to see a deep dive into it though.. the over sampling problem thing has got me second guessing that saturation section.. that I often use.. Thanks, You Rock!
Late to the comment game here but after trying the SSL strip, I have grown to love the Scheps Omni strip. I use it on most of my tracks with some exceptions. I also like the Slate VMR too.
Very cool trick for snare spill on the toms! Will definitely try that. Not really interested in the channel strip plugs for the most part, does waves have a compander with dolby options like the U-he tape one?
what a great video! yeah the omni channel has some great features in it. I just rarely reach for it these days. great tip on the expansion trick though! i also only really use gates on toms and sometimes on snare/kick, but usually only if it isn't recorded that great. I often duck my overheads if the snare is too loud that way cymbals and toms are a bit more focused in them. but good move to use it with the tom sidechain!
Incredibly informative thank you very much for your attention to detail - I use your videos in my university class that I teach - please keep doing the damn thing- much gratitude ☕🤠👍
@@DanWorrall right. But you can find a balance by setting them in tandem. I guess I spoke to strongly when I said “solves the problem”. Workaround, rather
Any serious software developer/company should pay Dan Worrall and send him their plugins before release for crash test review without compromise, indeed they would have to go back to work and comeback but their products would be way more valuable.
Nice review of the Omni Channel, but please make a video where you mix exclusively using Fabfilter. I know you are a big fan, and I am as well, but I am always doubting myself. Can I make a 'warm and analog' sounding mix with only Fabilter? Please show me (us) how :-)
What I've always liked about the Schepps Omni Channel is the HPF & LPF filters, the ability to listen to the compression with Mix capability, and its seemingly very low CPU drain. Lastly, the 3 compression types is wonderfully useful. What I am starting to replace the Waves SOC is the Plugin Alliance Amek 9099. It's just a bit more real world. Particularly with transient accuracy. Both channel strips shine, and it comes down to personal preference. I've dropped my +20 Waves plugins for only the Omni channel. I'm not a fan of their renew business antics. Bye bye, Waves.
Fingers / pick / playing dynamics! Mini humbuckers :) Waves PRS amp sim Probably a Pulsar Echorec or Arturia spring reverb, or maybe both. Can't remember.
Did you switch mics for a bit at 33:33? I started zoning out, but was pulled back in by a subtle shift in sibilance of your voiceover. From "If I switch to duo mode"
I really like Omni. Good EQ, good saturation, good gate/expander. Not a fan of the compressor, though. The DeEsser/dynamic EQ can be useful. And it's a nice package of many things you commonly need. It's usually not enough on its own, but accounts for a large part of what you need, quite often. The EQ is really nice for controlling character/tone. It sounds really good, not sure why. I'm usually not concerned with how quickly I can work with a plugin, though, unless it's particularly slow to work with.
