Softtube changed the game for me!

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EpiGenetik
Posts: 410
Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Location: Glasgow, EU

19 Jan 2015

With the original introduction of TSAR-1, FET and Trident, Softube immediately addressed 3 of Reasons biggest problem areas.

In particular with TSAR-1 which I find extremely easy to work with compared to the RV-7000, if I'm just looking for a nice sounding reverb. The 7000 has a lot more features for doing more exotic stuff, but just getting a good tone is so much easier with TSAR-1.

Trident is the most finely balanced EQ I've ever come across - and again, very easy to use.


I love the FET too, but next up compressor-wise I wouldn't mind seeing a Softube take on the LA-2A - The Cakewalk effort just never really floated my boat if I'm honest.

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Theo.M
Posts: 1035
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

Bavanity wrote:best solution here is selig gain RE.. seriously i know it's not free but it's worth every cent and then some.. it's worth having even to finally have more standard pan laws in reason, and the instant real time peak display numerically :)

I use it for all my gain staging now after sat knob and before and after some other plugins.. works great
Last Alternative wrote: I have the Selig Gain and use it sometimes but my point was it's ridiculous to use an RE to correct the problem of an RE. All over a knob that should've been there in the first place.
And I do use the Gain to balance out the Saturation if I have to but usually the Scream is my go-to for saturation. Tape 499 is my favorite preset.
selig wrote:
Hey, while I'd love everyone to go out and get Selig Gain, I totally agree it's pretty ridiculous not to have input and output controls on saturation/distortion devices. Before Selig Gain I used a Line Mixer for this job.

Guitar players learned that YEARS ago when amps started adding a master volume (output level) in addition to the input level. ART didn't even have this feature initially (during beta), but thankfully it was added before release. As others have pointed out, it's not like there's no room to add another knob on this device!!!
:)
In an ideal world, every plugin no matter what type, would have input and output knobs on it (including level meters) for total control over the gain staging process.

It's just one of those things that's never going to happen, and I can also assure you that softube won't change their sat knob.

I will give you an example.. Softube's FET is one of the few plugins that doesn't report it's latency when using the look ahead to vst/au/aax DAW's. In fact the Reason version is more desirable in this case at it can be compensated to the sample using VMG.

When i contacted them about it years back, they said that DAW's didn't support varying latency in plugins. I emailed them around 3 years ago to them that every major DAW with  PDC that I currently knew of had variable latency support these days, and gave them many examples of plugins that have wildly varying latency (izotope ozone for example), and that Logic, Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools, DP, heck, even Tracktion, etc, compensated for them correctly and adjusted the PDC required as the plugin's latency changed.

They got back to me and said "yeah the situation seems to have changed these days so we will look at fixing this". That was 3 years back. LOL.

My point is, softube are wonderful but they kind of do their thing and that's it, from what I have experienced so far.

This is one of those situations where an incredibly inexpensive device that anyone can afford, has been made available that solves ALL of reason's gain staging "issues". Heck, i am using 4 or 5 Gain per track in some cases! I used a line mixer too Giles (remember how we spoke about the weird +6db pan law and you were helping me understand Reason's line mixer levels some time back), but now that gain is available with instant auto route, problem solved.

So i say, everyone be proactive, stop worrying about any plugins that don't have built in gain staging, and grab Selig gain and cure it instantly.

PS Since i know you will read this, i have an FR for future to show coars decimal point for next main update, like 1.1 or 0.6 for example in the peak reading. That would just round off the perfection!

Cheers!

The Tone Ranger
Posts: 139
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

What's the advantage of using the Selig gain over the line mixer? Is it just that the metering is better?
I'm not sure about having to pay for a gain RE.

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Theo.M
Posts: 1035
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

The Tone Ranger wrote:What's the advantage of using the Selig gain over the line mixer? Is it just that the metering is better? I'm not sure about having to pay for a gain RE.
the biggest gain is the resolution is much finer. That and the fact of being able to choose multiple pan laws that are more common than Reason's bizarre one on the line mixers.

Also, there is the instantaneous peak meter, and vca grouping (one master gain can control others)..

and a few other little niceties.

But if that's not important to you, then that's not important to you! You gotta use what you are happy with :)
Peace


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djfm1983
Posts: 87
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

Lowlifebware wrote:With the original introduction of TSAR-1, FET and Trident, Softube immediately addressed 3 of Reasons biggest problem areas.

In particular with TSAR-1 which I find extremely easy to work with compared to the RV-7000, if I'm just looking for a nice sounding reverb. The 7000 has a lot more features for doing more exotic stuff, but just getting a good tone is so much easier with TSAR-1.

Trident is the most finely balanced EQ I've ever come across - and again, very easy to use.


I love the FET too, but next up compressor-wise I wouldn't mind seeing a Softube take on the LA-2A - The Cakewalk effort just never really floated my boat if I'm honest.
Softube did make a LA-2A emulation but it's only available as a VST in Native Instruments Vintage Compressors. They also dud an emulation of a DBX160. I can't wait till I can pick that collection up.
soundcloud.com/djfm1983

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selig
RE Developer
Posts: 11685
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: The NorthWoods, CT, USA

19 Jan 2015

The Tone Ranger wrote:What's the advantage of using the Selig gain over the line mixer? Is it just that the metering is better? I'm not sure about having to pay for a gain RE.
Any of the free options should work equally as well (!), but Selig Gain does more than just gain FWIW. I'm not saying it's for everybody, just that I put a LOT of effort in taking it well beyond being just a gain device and don't want that to go unnoticed!
;) [EDIT: Totally serious, maybe as a public service I should consider a free version that just does gain (-∞ to +12 dB?) and maybe the peak hold display, with no level meters, mutes, polarity inversion, mono button, pans, pan laws, CV manipulation, auto fade, etc? Would anyone actually still find it useful even it if it was that dirt simple? What would I call it, as "selig gain" is already taken - micro gain? Mini-me Gain? Wish I could make it half-rack sized. Just thinking out loud here…]
Selig Audio, LLC

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selig
RE Developer
Posts: 11685
Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: The NorthWoods, CT, USA

19 Jan 2015

Bavanity wrote:
In an ideal world, every plugin no matter what type, would have input and output knobs on it (including level meters) for total control over the gain staging process.
Heck, you don't even need both in most cases, except for with non-linear processing where there no threshold controls such as with saturation and distortion devices (guitar amps included). Dynamics devices don't typically need both even though they are also non-linear, and everything else (linear) from EQ to reverbs only really need an output control IMO. But many don't even have that!

I also believe that you should be able to see the peak level coming out of each device that allows control of level. Any new device I (Selig Audio) make will support this ability, even when the device is folded (hopefully this will be possible in all devices). Keeping an eye on levels at every stage where they can be changed is so helpful and easy to implement IMO. Among other things, it can really help to keep you from being fooled by increases in level into thinking that you are actually improving the sound - with a peak hold display you'll always know if you're actually adding peak level or not and can quickly compensate when making A/B comparisons. :)
Selig Audio, LLC

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ionly
Posts: 305
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

I have the FET, Trident and Tsar. Wish I could use more instances of them, but I'm strangled by their DSP demands. When I can get minimal use out of them, boy do they inject a certain something into things (Trident on guitar, enough said). I'm a big fan of their Amps also - probably the feature to sway me to jump on board R8. Although, I need to invest in a beast of machine before that happens, so R7 it is for the time-being.

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tt_lab
Posts: 335
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

19 Jan 2015

selig wrote:Totally serious, maybe as a public service I should consider a free version that just does gain (-∞ to +12 dB?) and maybe the peak hold display, with no level meters, mutes, polarity inversion, mono button, pans, pan laws, CV manipulation, auto fade, etc? Would anyone actually still find it useful even it if it was that dirt simple? What would I call it, as "selig gain" is already taken - micro gain? Mini-me Gain? Wish I could make it half-rack sized. Just thinking out loud here…]
why not? It would be usefull also...you can call it Selig Fader or something.
I've got gain but Fader would be useful for the simple task

The Tone Ranger
Posts: 139
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

20 Jan 2015

The Tone Ranger wrote:What's the advantage of using the Selig gain over the line mixer? Is it just that the metering is better? I'm not sure about having to pay for a gain RE.
selig wrote:
Any of the free options should work equally as well (!), but Selig Gain does more than just gain FWIW. I'm not saying it's for everybody, just that I put a LOT of effort in taking it well beyond being just a gain device and don't want that to go unnoticed!
;) [EDIT: Totally serious, maybe as a public service I should consider a free version that just does gain (-∞ to +12 dB?) and maybe the peak hold display, with no level meters, mutes, polarity inversion, mono button, pans, pan laws, CV manipulation, auto fade, etc? Would anyone actually still find it useful even it if it was that dirt simple? What would I call it, as "selig gain" is already taken - micro gain? Mini-me Gain? Wish I could make it half-rack sized. Just thinking out loud here…]
It sounds a lot like the Free-G plugin that I use with Pro Tools. It's got lots features you would find on a hardware mixer but all I use it for is the volume fader and level meter.

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michal22
Posts: 212
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Poland

20 Jan 2015

Selig wrote:Totally serious, maybe as a public service I should consider a free version that just does gain (-∞ to +12 dB?) and maybe the peak hold display, with no level meters, mutes, polarity inversion, mono button, pans, pan laws, CV manipulation, auto fade, etc? Would anyone actually still find it useful even it if it was that dirt simple? What would I call it, as "selig gain" is already taken - micro gain? Mini-me Gain? Wish I could make it half-rack sized. Just thinking out loud here…
Very cool idea :)
Maybe "Selig G" will be an appropriate name for a younger brother? :)

Ableton Live Suite 10 / Reason 10 / Windows 10 / Fingers - also 10 ;)

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EpiGenetik
Posts: 410
Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Location: Glasgow, EU

20 Jan 2015

djfm1983 wrote:Softube did make a LA-2A emulation but it's only available as a VST in Native Instruments Vintage Compressors. They also dud an emulation of a DBX160. I can't wait till I can pick that collection up.
Indeed, although my understanding was that the VC-2A was a joint venture between Softube and NI. Obviously this presents a legal issue, but if Softube were agreeable it could also provide a "toe-dipping" to the RE market that NI would be interested in.

I've actually never heard the VC-2A before, but I have been told by those in the know that it is the best virtual LA-2A you will find, although UA's version is apparently very good too. An interesting point is that I've never heard a REAL LA-2A explicitly before - I've heard it on plenty of records doubtless but never been aware of it.

SudPata
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Jan 2015

25 Jan 2015

normen wrote:They do have their tube emulation game figured out, I gotta say that much!
There was lots of complaining about the Price of their newest RE. But, it's Golden. I hope to own it in a few months. ...but, patience.... NAMM's here.

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Bonkhead
Posts: 335
Joined: 18 Jan 2015

27 Jan 2015

offaxisdaddy wrote:https://www.propellerheads.se/forum/sho ... ation+knob

joshuajohn89 posted this excellent combinator that addresses many of these shortcomings.


get it while you can :)
 
Anybody got a backup ?

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Olivier
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Location: Amsterdam

27 Jan 2015

:reason: V9 | i7 5930 | Motu 828 MK3 | Win 10

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