Slate Digital VCC Available Now w/ Free iLOK2 This Week Only

[Steven Slate]

Hi guys. We have two DP systems on two different machines and we will make sure to iron out these bugs. Make sure you submit a very thorough support ticket at http://www.slatedigital.com/support" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I really want to ensure that DP users don't get left behind so don't worry.. I'll be on top of this.

[mhschmieder]

I just bought it on the Slate site, using Paypal. There is a bug in the payment process, which always worries me as it's hard to know whether the handshake between vendor, buyer, and PayPal worked at all ends.

After finishing the PayPal payment, it goes to a "Personal Details" page, where it stays in an endless loop on demanding a five-digit zip code, no matter how many times I "correct" the nine-digit zip code and/or erase it and type it in from scratch.

That page is in limbo right now, and I don't like leaving web pages open like that as it is a security risk.

This is on the latest Firefox update 3.6.15 (from yesterday) running Windows XP with all the latest service packs and security patches.

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UPDATE:

Here's the workaround for this bug at the website store:

Click the box for "different shipping address", but leave it the same as the billing address. If you then "correct" its nine-digit zip code to be only five digits and hit the Submit button, the sale completes.

Until that point, the sale is in limbo.

I am guessing the bug is that the web store keeps shipping and billing addresses separately in all instances, and merely starts with a copy of the billing address as the shipping address. Other web stores may switch on the "same address" to decide whether to look at shipping address or not.

So, until you click on the box to make them "different", editing the nine-digit zip in the billing address has no effect on the cached shipping address at the web store.

[thethethediamondz]

regarding the GUI issues, i get the same white screen but i am able to re-open the plug after i close this blank window. at this point, the groups seem functional.

i also have the problem with the plug stealing the keyboard tho. their FGX limiter does the same thing, but i haven't actually checked for updates recently.

i was using the demo version of before this and they've definitely improved the sound of the Neve model, i really like what this plug does. Airwindows has a similar line of plug-ins and i'm finding the two to work pretty well together in different combinations depending on source.

[waterstrum]

Just a general question....
How does the VCC differ from the Waves plugs.. SSL, Neve, etc.?
Is it a similar concept?
Thanks.

[intrepritra]

Hey guys, to explain a little:

When you mix through an analog desk, let's say a Neve 8048, you not only get tone from the processors that you are using such as outboard compressors and eqs.. but the desk itself adds tone due to the audio signal traveling through its circuitry. Some analog desks have been known to have a very pleasing tone that adds a certain sonic impact to the mix which to some people is very desireable.

Whats even more interesting is that most of the top mixers out there such as Chris Lord Alge, Jay Baumgardner, Ben Grosse, and Rich Costey.. are still mixing into analog desks because they prefer the vibe and tone of the desk over the DAW's digital mixer, which adds zero tone and is sonically neutral.

The Virtual Console Collection's two plugin package aims to recreate the subtle nonlinear characteristics of four famous desks, so as to give your DAW's mixer a real analog "vibe". Some say the VCC adds punch, depth, width, and "weight" to the mix, but you'll have to try it out for yourself to see what you think.

But I'm really interested to make sure that DP users don't get shafted on this and that we track DP specific bugs and get them fixed asap. So I hope no one minds if I hang out to check how things are going. I promise to only wear my "help" cap and not my "salesman" cap.

Best,
Steven

Hi Steven,
Couldn't one get this sound post to printing in digital?
If I have a lunchbox to get that sound, couldn't digital reproduce or capture that? What would the plug induce (post) that printing the analogue source from the gate not achieve?
Just curious about what this plug can do to a file that has bad tracking dependancies out the gate. Seems very dependent on the first order.

[Steven Slate]

Just a general question....
How does the VCC differ from the Waves plugs.. SSL, Neve, etc.?
Is it a similar concept?
Thanks.

Hi there.. the Waves plugins you mention attempt to model specific equalizer and compressors.. they do not model the signal path and nonlinear characteristics of a complete console signal path. So its quite a different purpose. You can certainly use them in conjunction with the VCC. Think of the VCC as instantly turning your DP mixer into a legendary classic desk, with all of the desks subtle nuances of tone and vibe. Think of the Waves and SSL eqs and comps as being processors that you can patch into your virtual analog console.

[Steven Slate]

Hi Steven,
Couldn't one get this sound post to printing in digital?
If I have a lunchbox to get that sound, couldn't digital reproduce or capture that? What would the plug induce (post) that printing the analogue source from the gate not achieve?
Just curious about what this plug can do to a file that has bad tracking dependancies out the gate. Seems very dependent on the first order.

One major part of the equation of the sound of an analog desk is its mixbuss summing section, and your scenario wouldn't be able to reproduce this. The mixbuss adds a lot of the nonlinear characteristics that gives the desks their tone. With the VCC, you can push faders into the mixbuss and have it saturate like a real analog desk.. you may also find that the mix elements have a better sence of placement and space.

Thanks to James for helping out my team with DP.. again I know that in the past we may have overlooked some DP specific bugs but I won't let that happen any longer.

PS: I have no idea why I used the unicorn emoticon, but it just felt right.

[kgdrum]

a question for Steven Slate.
I am a bit surprised you are talking about PPC support for VCC.
I have heard great things about VCC but the processing demands users have reported have led me to think a G5 etc.... would not be able to do the heavy lifting this plug demands,is this incorrect?
thanks
KG

[intrepritra]

Now I'm convinced more on the concept... thanks for the info.
There's seems to be an inherent anomaly with hitting the buss hard in a DAW and this theory makes sense but as an insert, does it do something with the math going on within MAS or what is it that gives the buss matrix a more open soundstage to breath in?
Interesting topic.

[James Steele]

I'm a sucker for anything designed by Fabrice Gabriel...

Add my name to that list! FG-X rocks!!

[Steven Slate]

Now I'm convinced more on the concept... thanks for the info.
There's seems to be an inherent anomaly with hitting the buss hard in a DAW and this theory makes sense but as an insert, does it do something with the math going on within MAS or what is it that gives the buss matrix a more open soundstage to breath in?
Interesting topic.

When you mix into the DAW's buss, the channels pass through the insert points.. if you have no plugin in the inserts, the audio will simply overload the digital mixbuss and eventually go into digital distortion.

But when you have the VCC Mixbuss in the insert, the plugin's modeled summing amplifiers will saturate and you will hear an analog distortion reminiscent of overloading a real analog desk.

We have an update coming out this Tuesday which already fixes a lot of reported bugs.

[jloeb]

When you mix into the DAW's buss, the channels pass through the insert points.. if you have no plugin in the inserts, the audio will simply overload the digital mixbuss and eventually go into digital distortion.

But when you have the VCC Mixbuss in the insert, the plugin's modeled summing amplifiers will saturate and you will hear an analog distortion reminiscent of overloading a real analog desk.

This isn't quite right, at least not the way it's phrased.

Internal summing in DP7 is at 32-bit floating point resolution and therefore has more than 1500 dB of headroom. Therefore, in any real mixing situation, it's impossible to saturate the mixbus of DP to cause digital clipping. So, just to be clear, no one is in danger of getting ugly clipping as a result of not owning VCC, all other things being equal.

What VCC and products like it (such as Nebula3 which, IMO, does the job a little better, albeit at the cost of higher CPU/memory resources and lower convenience) do is to change the signal in a way that DAWs normally do not, by adding a complex brew of frequency-dependent nonlinear dynamics, harmonic resonance and saturation to emulate the way that analog desks behave, thereby changing the listener's perceptions of "space," "air," "openness," "beefiness," etc. of the mix. It also tends to condition individual tracks in a way that sometimes seems to make mixing itself an easier process, by rendering the dynamics and frequency content of the tracks a touch more compatible with one another.

So Steven is right in that you can simulate this saturation by overloading the modeled input on the product's summing bus. I'm just making clear that this is adding a nice effect to the audio, not "saving" it from a defect that would otherwise occur in the naked DAW. If you like digital transparency, you've got an endless supply of it in DP7 as-is.

[Steven Slate]

you're right, there is well over 1000db of headroom in a floating point mixbuss but in order to make a final mix you'll not want to go past 0db FS. Digital distortion will happen in a fixed integer mixbuss..

My point was that putting the VCC Mixbuss plugin on the first insert will add nonlinearities of an analog desk's summing section, rather then simply shoot over 0db FS digitally... which will have no affect on the sound, but you'll need to knock it down somewhere before the final digital medium.

Thanks for the clarification.

[cbergm7210]

you're right, there is well over 1000db of headroom in a floating point mixbuss but in order to make a final mix you'll not want to go past 0db FS. Digital distortion will happen in a fixed integer mixbuss..

My point was that putting the VCC Mixbuss plugin on the first insert will add nonlinearities of an analog desk's summing section, rather then simply shoot over 0db FS digitally... which will have no affect on the sound, but you'll need to knock it down somewhere before the final digital medium.

Thanks for the clarification.

This is what I had assumed you had meant SS...the final mix buss in relation to clipping at 0.

[jloeb]

This is what I had assumed you had meant SS...the final mix buss in relation to clipping at 0.

Neither VCC nor any other plugin can change the relation of the mixbus to clipping at 0.
Plugins like VCC and Nebula3 cannot and do not add headroom (they don't need to; there's already an excessive supply of it). They add coloration, one form of which is saturation. Saturation is one way to deal with amplitude spikes to yield a louder and/or more harmonically rich track. Other plugs (including Slate FGX and URS Saturation, among others) have used saturation of various types to increase apparent loudness.

Pulling down the master fader is a full-precision way to reduce the gain to accommodate a 24 bit fixed point mixdown. That has nothing to do with the presence or absence of pleasant analog saturation, which is what these plugins provide, among other things.

SS or Fabrice can correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know there's no way to literally change the summing math in DP. DP's summing math is what it is, and can't be circumvented. What plugs like VCC and Nebula3 do is the next best thing, which is to condition the individual tracks at their source with a first plugin and then the DP-summed mix at the mixbus with a second plugin, so that the personality of the console can be approximated if not precisely modeled.

These plugs sound great and definitely improve ITB mixing. But they don't change the laws of physics or DP's summing math. Digital zero is what it is, which is fine since it's no more of a limitation than it ever was.