Slate FG-X update

[kgdrum]

I just caved,all of the praise about FG-X and the sale made it impossible to hold off anymore. lol
With the Slate $125 promotion and AudioDeluxe Mastering week promotion I got FG-X for $99.
This seemed like too good of a deal to pass up.

[Dan Worley]

I just caved,all of the praise about FG-X and the sale made it impossible to hold off anymore. lol
With the Slate $125 promotion and AudioDeluxe Mastering week promotion I got FG-X for $99.
This seemed like too good of a deal to pass up.

I got the same deal. I had been waiting for the right deal on FG-X and it finally came along. I'm very happy, but it was tough holding out for that long. Budgets! Blah!

One thing I've noticed on my system is that FG-X will cause false clip readings on the mixer's meters and the meter bridge if the ceiling is set to -0.3 dB or above -- unless you have another third-party plug following it. Kind of weird. If you have the ceiling set to -0.4 dB or below, no problem.

Also, I can't believe they let this go for so long, but some of the knobs' pop-up numbers don't match the number markings. It can be way off in some cases. Now that's no big deal, but it makes me wonder why things are that sloppy.

So far, though, I'm really enjoying working with FG-X. It truly is different. I think my in-house masters will be the better for it.

[mhschmieder]

I finally got around to using FG-X on some final production masters this past weekend, after playing with it on some preliminary masters last year.

I am now convinced that this is the most transparent mastering plug-in for heavier music; PSP Xenon for classical and some jazz; iZotope ozone 5 for everything else.

I simply was unable to coax dynamics-preserving peak limiting out of Ozone without obvious artefacts and/or timbral changes that spoke of excessive processing; even at tamer settings than in FG-X.

I had noticed something similar last year when doing a trial run with FG-X on a metal piece, but I have focused mostly on jazz and classical projects since then, so hadn't really had the opportunity to do a full-blown shootout between FG-X, Xenon, and Ozone on such material.

My client was thrilled by the results. I was afraid it might be slightly boomy as I typically go for bass-light results, but he liked how it had low frequency energy without it muddying up the sound or distracting from the core melodic elements in the mids.

[James Steele]

I am now convinced that this is the most transparent mastering plug-in for heavier music;

Yep. That's been my opinion for a while now too. Love FG-X for hard rock / metal.

[James Steele]

By the way, I don't know if you have Nomad Factory's MAGNETIC or MAGNETIC II, but both versions of that plug have a preset called "Analog Tape Warmer - 30is" in the "Miscellaneous" category of the factory presets. If you have it, try an instance of that prior to Slate FG-X set to "Pop Master" or "Metal"... that's sort of my quick and dirty "make it sound good" thing for quick one-off's after a session.

[mhschmieder]

Yep, I always use the 30" tape warmer right before any mastering package (sometime the 15", depending on material). It's a great combination, and it really "preps" the pre-master for the final touches.

[AnthonyS]

I love this plugin.Just picked it up last month from Audio Deluxe. I run Waves' Kramer Tape in much the same fashion that you all use Magnetic (which i have too), so I'm going to try that.

Saw on Steven's episode of Pensado's Place that he's working on a tape emulation plugin. Can't wait to see that

Good times indeed. Now if DP8 would just................