Glad Mike-E won’t just be a secret weapon anymore. I had one in my room for about a year when they were new, one of my favorite preamps, and my favorite solid state DI by a country mile. I felt like the comp had a nicer sounding high end than the Distressor and the fixed time constants were never a problem. They’re great choices and overall the design allows for quicker, easier notes and recall. It’s missing the Distressor’s “opto” mode, which is frankly a range where Dave’s designs are nice but not world class. So to me, streamlined, easier to set, slightly nicer tonally with the same trademark grab and punch as the full blown Distressor. And this plug seems to nail it. It doesn’t just make the same LEDs light up at right times, even on iPhone speakers it’s unmistakably that distinct grip.
They both sound amazing. Mike-E is really making me consider getting it, but I am a sucker for compressors more than eqs. They could maybe make the LilFreQ interface not as cluttered, numbers over other numbers and crossed with blue lines etc... i get that with hardware you don't have much choice, but maybe make it a bit cleaner in the plugin version... but I'm just being nitpicky I know.
WOW...OMG this is huge, totally, 2 of my FAV companies too, this is a great collaboration, and thanks to David for the detailed video again. I am going to demo it today.
Softube and ELI are my favorites too, and you're my favorite engineer! Awesome to see you guys working together, you guys should do more together, livestream too!
Very excited to pick up this release! By Softube of all of them! The holy grail! And, this is the first Distressor emulation that features an external side chain input! (which should be standard in all new compressors, and even updates to old ones.. come on, it's 2021)
Well done David 👍 Still feel like the hardware distressor is "better" at smacking lol, but this is definitely getting dangerously close..👌Love that preamp saturation with equivalent peaks even if it sounds louder. Knowing how this will get very handy in a mixing situation, makes it worth buying it in my opinion. Congrats to Softube and of course EL.
I mean if no one told you what was used on a sound in a test you would never be able to tell.. man you guys need to stop with that hardware vs software bs
Love these videos David! Really impressed by the preamp section, increased clarity, punch and loudness without volume increase... this plugin is definitely going on on my wish list.
The best with the best! I don't even bother watching any other review, you're the only one who knows what he's talking about, a great engineer and teacher. Now tell us, you and Bella?... are you guys? ;)
Just grabbed these as Softube had a 50% off coupon code. Holy smokes! These are insane. I’ve only been toying with them for a few hours on a mix and have found myself smiling more than I have lately with other plugs. Incredible sound, especially the Mike-E. Love your channel! Thank you for the no-nonsense approach to what you do.
Can you make a video about Acustica Audio? Cause it really change my work since I jump into their products. There is a long skill gap to start to really master them but the rewards is crazy
Software programming on basic levels is quite challenging so just imagine the amount of brain work and headaches you would have to go through to make plugins that properly or very closely emulate real gear like this. Probably about the same amount of coding that would go into making a playstation 5 video game. At least I would imagine so!
well...not if you approach it in a modern way. you gather impulse responses from various settings of the hardware unit, interpolate the gaps between et voila: perfect matching sound and nothing but code for routing and some gui work.
@@Clarity-808 the Acustica comps are essentially modeled this way. People online rave about them but I’ve not seen any professionals personally using them. Guessing it’s because they are high CPU or the software is unwieldy. But modeling analog hardware in software IS difficult. There are thousands of nonlinearities in how a lot of that stuff works. With as much money gets spent on plugins, if it were easy we’d be swimming in hardware quality plugins. Not quite there yet (but getting real close ;)
These might be the best emulations on the market without gimmicks. Very impressive considering this is just a vst plugin. Am gonna try to get my hands on at least one of these! Why do i feel like i would have kept this a secret 🙈
I have a question at the risk of sounding cheap (unemployed musician recovering from recent fusion spine surgery) so my funds are super stringent; i recently decided to try to get back in the game and got a soundcraft MTK22 USB mixer along with the AKAI MPK61 ADVANCED MIDI CONTROLLER, plus the AKAI MPC-LIVE and the new ASM HYDRASYNTH and have been eyeing these mixer control surface units and and cannot seem to come to a decision most of the other ones have some issue or another the the QCON ICON PRO G2 was on my list until i saw all the bad reviews of ppl complaining about NO USA CSR support- so that thing is in my rear view mirror along with the Berinhger, the AVID one the FADERPORT the SSL UF8 - i have settled on spending my LAST FEW $$$ saved in my account on getting the SOFTUBE CONSOLE 1 along with the CONSOLE FADER 1 unit to use with LOGIC PRO - my question is; if i get this SOFTUBE CONSOLE GEAR am i “LOCKED IN” to ONLY USING SOFTTUBE PLUGINS AND UAD PLUGINS AND NOTHING ELSE??? I don’t think i can afford more than 1/2 the price of one of these units for PLUGINS each time i want to buy one?? Can i use other plugins too??
@@klownaround5464 Hey, sorry to hear about your surgery but that sounds like a great way to spend your recovery. A lot packed in there: I'm really impressed with that Signature 22MTK. I had one of my nephews get one and a Macbook Pro as his beginning system, and its far more than it's given credit for. One of my 4 Analog Consoles is a CAL modded Soundcraft Ghost, which I absolutely love. The MPC Live is rock solid according to my peeps that bought em, I'm still trying to push the X up my priority purchase list. As for your question: The official answer is unfortunately No, but..... Softube has a deal with Universal Audio and only those plugins work within the Console 1 and Apollo Central system. That said, A) if you do use UA and specifically UA Console, and if you have or plan to have a collection of plugins from those two companies, the hands on integration really is incredible. B) depending upon which DAW you use, and I'm not sure about Logic but easy to search, some DAW manufacturers (Studio One, Reaper, others, not ProTools) open up their Mixers for Console 1 to control directly the Faders, Pans, Mutes, Solos, Track Names and Numbers and more. With the 20 channel select button across the top and banking, you can fly through a 100-track mix in 5 clicks! C) if you Track using UAD Unison Preamps, inside of UA Console, the Softube Console 1 hardware feels like it was built by Universal Audio. Say you load UA 1073s across 10 Unison slots, UA Console becomes like a virtual BCM10. Then if you Mix on the included 4000E or my favorite the 9000K, you've achieved the old holy grail of Tracking on a Neve and Mixing on an SSL. But then you have dozens of other Preamps and Channel Strips to choose from. D) I buy all of these on sale, but these two companies still average out to about $100 a plugin. If you get Softube's Volume 4 on sale, you get both the API and the Summit consoles included along with a bunch of other useful stuff. Now.... E) whilst C1 is a closed proprietary system, the hardware itself is just a Midi Controller. For the system to work, Softube includes the On Screen Display OSD software, and when its running it takes control of the hardware. However, if you simply Quit OSD, the hardware becomes available to the computer as a generic Midi Controller. What that means, is that you can map anything you want to the buttons and knobs if you're willing to take the time. For instance, I use tons of Channel Strips from Softube, but also UA, Brainworks, SSL themselves, etc. In Studio One, it's incredibly easy to Map all of the controls to functions in a specific plugin, then load it up on every channel just like in C1, and just select channels in the DAW. Even though I've had Console 1 since it came out, This functionality is new to me (and everyone else). I've tested it briefly and it works great, but I haven't mapped everything yet. But I will! What you can do is switch OSD on and Off while running a session without missing a beat, almost like a third mode for Console 1. Currently I'm building my new home studio, looking at a room-in-a-room 2x4s as we speak. I can't wait to get back up and running to dial it all in.
I have the hardware unit and love it. Perfect for recording and so easy to dial in when mixing. I'll get the plug-in for mainly saturation and pre-amp emulation purposes, it sounds fantastic.
NOt bad, i tried the Console 1 Strip, the eq and drive section adds some great Clean distortion to the sound. Try it on Bass and snare, you will love it!
I am testing in and out the demo those plugs sounds astonishingly. good OMG The eq is so low noise i barely believe my ears this is really a shock. for me i would never imagine that level of expertise from empirical labs + joining the softube team .... MAn i m done lol!!!!
I am a happy teddy bear today. I just got Softtube Empirical Labs Complete Collection and Softtube Tube-Tech complete Collection as a birthday treat for myself today. So gonna test these beasts shortly 😁🙏
I believe UA has the Exclusive on the Distressor. Dave Derr told me at a NAMM show, that’s why ELI themselves made the “Arouser” as not an identical Distressor, but what he wished he could have made the original Distressor at the time. Softube and UA do have a tight relationship though, so it is somewhat possible. But Softube usually develops a standard plug-in and Also makes a UAD version, often forcing you to choose between UA or one that works everywhere else, or you have to buy the same plug-in twice. That said, don’t think Softube had anything to do with UA’s Distressor, and I can’t imagine they’d create a competing product given their existing relationship, even if UA didn’t already have an exclusive contract with ELI. Now interestingly, with Many but not all UAD plugins, you can load them directly into your Softube Console 1 channel strips as replacements for the various modules in whatever strip you have loaded. I’ll have to check if UA Distressor is one of them. But if it is, you then theoretically could load the new ELI Trak Pak as your Console 1 Channel Strip, then swap the Mike-E compressor out for the UAD Distressor, and directly compare the two. **Just checked the New version of the Softube Manual and the UAD Distressor is not on the list. Which is probably why I never bought it and got the Arrouser instead. That said, all of the Console 1 literature claims 70+ Softube and UAD plugins are available, but the Manual only lists about 40 in the “comprehensive list”.
ive been watching david way before he even went on vid and the best before and after or on and off comparison vids out there, as i always thought his tone and energy and passion for mixing and gear are a1 quality, well done david truly dude you deserve it, im still chasing a drawmer unit lol years down the line, but may stay in the box, i have enough softube and plugin alliance to get me there, it really is the mixer not the gear, it takes time to know it takes time, stick at it and dont give up on anything in life, happy mixbus
Softube is my no1 company to go for plugs (and it always was from start). They are just simply very good in all they do! Glad they collab with EL! I was looking for this one for a long time 😍🙏Thanks for review 👍
Just did a shootout *on acoustic drums only*. They are similar in terms of compression, but their tonal balance is a bit different. If you have the UAD compressor like me, turn up the Input to get a similar effect to MIKE-E's Preamp Gain section. The main difference I hear is that MIKE-E is 10% warmer with a silky top, more pillowy on drums if you want, and will help tame harshness; the UAD also has a nice tone, can be 10% more punchy/in-your-face/aggressive sounding, and it's slightly easier to dial in your compression - flipping through the ratios is roughly level-matched, and you have continuous Attack/Release knobs (although dragging the knobs is a bit wonky - try using your mouse wheel instead). Unless you're pushing past 12 on the Preamp Gain on the MIKE-E, the two devices can be adjusted to sound fairly similar (UAD Input knob makes a massive difference in matching tonality), but even when they sound different, they're both amazing and useful. Again this is all on acoustic drums only, and just my 2c
I don't have UAD but I inheredit sessions from time to time (they bring the little interface along) with their distro in and I find this one closer to the hw and better at the top and at high GR settings but also, I don't have real experience with their stuff. Not including the preamp section
crazy good! I just bought the curve bender from softube and that lives on EVERYTHING so I have to wait (or maybe resell plugins I don't use at all haha)
I have to agree with the adage that the distressor is one of the best comps ever, it's just a wonder how so little clones or alternatives there are. That being said I'm not the biggest fan of it's 'sound', even on drums. I find it sound a little too dirty as compared to slick or warm, or possibly even modern or nu-metal/mid 2000s-esque. the latter comment is going a bit far but I thought i'd share since I was for so long not able to afford even the plugin version, but now i have one I rarely ever use it. If i want a liberal drum comp i'll usually pick a dbx 160, 1176, Omnipressor or the dpr 402 from waves. In fact the latter is my favourite sounding drum compressor, it's so slick and almost puffy sounding, yet not overly colouring. I'm utterly indebted to Waves for emulating it. anyway rant over, great video!
Softube really tries to write the code in a cpu friendly way. Most of their eq, comp, saturators aren't that cpu hungry. They still have exceptions tho!
Softube is really CPU friendly. Just finished a song with 120 tracks, I put console 1 SSL4000E on every channel, bus, aux, still can add other plugins as usual.
Just to point out, as it seems to have been lost on some people.. I was being dramatic, tongue in cheek, sarcastic.. however you want to put it. Even if it is CPU hungry, there are strategies to deal with it.
You should have Bella's legs in the camera frame all the time on every video, just a suggestion :D I see the unit behind you!! Softube really makes the best analog emulation tho', compared with others they always win
how are you my brother so awesome can't wait to try it I will use your link wen I buy them next month ? wen I sow you put your destresor for sale I knew something was up with probably related to plugins or something is coming or he knows somthing lol . because we all know who much you love Emperical labs
Great vid, really enjoyed. They still do not compare to their hardware in the high end imo. Its doing something really masky to the 9k. I notice as you bring the release up the masking reduces which is a bit odd to me. Maybe it is weighting low vs high? I only say that as the LilfrEq does this on the HF limiter algo (which is wonderful). It does sound great though for a plugin don't get me wrong. Ahh ok as im writing this you move onto the LilfrEqs... you can hear the difference immediately when you pull the 200 out. That just isnt the LilfrEQ sound.... Have you demod the lilfrEQs in analogue? They will change your mind on using analogue to make reductions. They are incredible pieces of gear. If you demo two you can de ess into the HF limiter. you cant use both at the same time on these strips sadly. thanks for posting another great video!
Could you do a VS between the Distressor and the Mike E? They are different units and I'd love to know the difference in depth. Unfortunately there is no comparisson of them anywhere on the web. At least I couldn't find any... Would be great. Thanks :)
I have a question at the risk of sounding cheap (unemployed musician recovering from recent fusion spine surgery) so my funds are super stringent; i recently decided to try to get back in the game and got a soundcraft MTK22 USB mixer along with the AKAI MPK61 ADVANCED MIDI CONTROLLER, plus the AKAI MPC-LIVE and the new ASM HYDRASYNTH and have been eyeing these mixer control surface units and and cannot seem to come to a decision most of the other ones have some issue or another the the QCON ICON PRO G2 was on my list until i saw all the bad reviews of ppl complaining about NO USA CSR support- so that thing is in my rear view mirror along with the Berinhger, the AVID one the FADERPORT the SSL UF8 - i have settled on spending my LAST FEW $$$ saved in my account on getting the SOFTUBE CONSOLE 1 along with the CONSOLE FADER 1 unit to use with LOGIC PRO - my question is; if i get this SOFTUBE CONSOLE GEAR am i “LOCKED IN” to ONLY USING SOFTTUBE PLUGINS AND UAD PLUGINS AND NOTHING ELSE??? I don’t think i can afford more than 1/2 the price of one of these units for PLUGINS each time i want to buy one?? Can i use other plugins too?????
Loudness is measured with LUFS, and your ears, because of that, if something has the same peak value and sounds louder, that means you have both higher RMS and LUFS. Basic.
So, I'm a Console 1 owner, and this worries me. Is it like the Weiss where I'm going to get limited functionality on Console 1? Or is the native and Console vs 1:1?
I must point out that the new standalone Softube Lil-frEQ is $249 list, $199 on “introductory sale”. But ELI’s own Big-frEQ lists for $149! So unless the Softube’s emulation is significantly better than Empirical Labs’ own emulation, sonically, which is doubtful given how amazing the Arrousor sounds. Then why would someone pay $100, or even $50 more, to get less functionality?
Me : Damn.. this plugin's so amazing. Your vid's so nice.... My credit card : Stop watching David's videos right now... Me: No f..g way.. ahaha Your are the best Dave ! I Realy improve my skills watching your stuff ! Hell yeah!
@@mixbustv Thanks so much. Maybe one day could you do a compressor shoot out please? I’d like to see the same source material, level matched just to see the differences between different plugins. I thought of drums straight away when I saw this video 🙏
Glad Mike-E won’t just be a secret weapon anymore. I had one in my room for about a year when they were new, one of my favorite preamps, and my favorite solid state DI by a country mile. I felt like the comp had a nicer sounding high end than the Distressor and the fixed time constants were never a problem. They’re great choices and overall the design allows for quicker, easier notes and recall. It’s missing the Distressor’s “opto” mode, which is frankly a range where Dave’s designs are nice but not world class. So to me, streamlined, easier to set, slightly nicer tonally with the same trademark grab and punch as the full blown Distressor. And this plug seems to nail it. It doesn’t just make the same LEDs light up at right times, even on iPhone speakers it’s unmistakably that distinct grip.
The slate distressor didn’t Impress me but, this did! Wow very great! Softube is great! Their curve bender is great too! Thanks for the review
Judging by your enthusiasm, this must be a damn good compressor
I think you ment “ damn good seller”
@@cary3428 No, this man is for real.
I don't know how your channel isn't ten times this size. Love this!
🙏🤘
They both sound amazing. Mike-E is really making me consider getting it, but I am a sucker for compressors more than eqs. They could maybe make the LilFreQ interface not as cluttered, numbers over other numbers and crossed with blue lines etc... i get that with hardware you don't have much choice, but maybe make it a bit cleaner in the plugin version... but I'm just being nitpicky I know.
Whats better The Arousor or the Mike-E?
The Mike -E in my opinion. It thickens sounds up nicely and gives you a closer distressor sound.
Mike e sounds better but arousor is more flexible. So i prefer the arousor
Never end up using the arouser, it just always has artifacts that I don’t like. This sounds legit to me, I’m going to scoop it I think.
WOW...OMG this is huge, totally, 2 of my FAV companies too, this is a great collaboration, and thanks to David for the detailed video again. I am going to demo it today.
Softube and ELI are my favorites too, and you're my favorite engineer! Awesome to see you guys working together, you guys should do more together, livestream too!
I was sold after the first A/B.
Definitely going to get these. Now, on with the video :)
Very excited to pick up this release! By Softube of all of them! The holy grail! And, this is the first Distressor emulation that features an external side chain input! (which should be standard in all new compressors, and even updates to old ones.. come on, it's 2021)
Well done David 👍 Still feel like the hardware distressor is "better" at smacking lol, but this is definitely getting dangerously close..👌Love that preamp saturation with equivalent peaks even if it sounds louder. Knowing how this will get very handy in a mixing situation, makes it worth buying it in my opinion. Congrats to Softube and of course EL.
I mean if no one told you what was used on a sound in a test you would never be able to tell.. man you guys need to stop with that hardware vs software bs
@@Gang-25j working with the true hardware for so many years, I can tell the difference, no bs here
Oh Thank you David as always you are enlightening our day !!!! i must admit this one profoundly shocked me what a discovery .... WOW
God dammit David, I bought DrMS because of you and now it looks like I’ll be making another purchase.
No regrets 🙄
Love these videos David! Really impressed by the preamp section, increased clarity, punch and loudness without volume increase... this plugin is definitely going on on my wish list.
The best with the best! I don't even bother watching any other review, you're the only one who knows what he's talking about, a great engineer and teacher. Now tell us, you and Bella?... are you guys? ;)
That's the real question :D we want to know David! (btw you two look perfect together)
Just grabbed these as Softube had a 50% off coupon code. Holy smokes! These are insane. I’ve only been toying with them for a few hours on a mix and have found myself smiling more than I have lately with other plugs. Incredible sound, especially the Mike-E. Love your channel! Thank you for the no-nonsense approach to what you do.
Which one is your favorite between Mike E and Arousor if I may ask? :)
Wow, amazing plugins and amazing walkthrough, of course ELI and Softube would pick you for these man! You're the GOAT
Can you make a video about Acustica Audio? Cause it really change my work since I jump into their products. There is a long skill gap to start to really master them but the rewards is crazy
Daaamn! The mike-e slaps! But dude, I feel it's all in your hands and ears, you make everything sound 💣
You are pretty stoked so we have to take your word for it. Sounds good anyway
Software programming on basic levels is quite challenging so just imagine the amount of brain work and headaches you would have to go through to make plugins that properly or very closely emulate real gear like this. Probably about the same amount of coding that would go into making a playstation 5 video game. At least I would imagine so!
well...not if you approach it in a modern way. you gather impulse responses from various settings of the hardware unit, interpolate the gaps between et voila: perfect matching sound and nothing but code for routing and some gui work.
@@troeteimarsch good luck taking an impulse of a compressor 😏
@@Clarity-808 it works you'll get a knee
@@Clarity-808 the Acustica comps are essentially modeled this way. People online rave about them but I’ve not seen any professionals personally using them. Guessing it’s because they are high CPU or the software is unwieldy. But modeling analog hardware in software IS difficult. There are thousands of nonlinearities in how a lot of that stuff works. With as much money gets spent on plugins, if it were easy we’d be swimming in hardware quality plugins. Not quite there yet (but getting real close ;)
@@troeteimarsch Dude, you have no idea what you're talking about. It's way more complicated than impulse responses.
These might be the best emulations on the market without gimmicks. Very impressive considering this is just a vst plugin. Am gonna try to get my hands on at least one of these! Why do i feel like i would have kept this a secret 🙈
About damn time we see a Console 1 on that desk David!
Mr. Hybrid. Mr. I don’t need an analog console, I’ll just mix like a mastering engineer.
I have a question at the risk of sounding cheap (unemployed musician recovering from recent fusion spine surgery) so my funds are super stringent; i recently decided to try to get back in the game and got a soundcraft MTK22 USB mixer along with the AKAI MPK61 ADVANCED MIDI CONTROLLER, plus the AKAI MPC-LIVE and the new ASM HYDRASYNTH and have been eyeing these mixer control surface units and and cannot seem to come to a decision most of the other ones have some issue or another the the QCON ICON PRO G2 was on my list until i saw all the bad reviews of ppl complaining about NO USA CSR support- so that thing is in my rear view mirror along with the Berinhger, the AVID one the FADERPORT the SSL UF8 - i have settled on spending my LAST FEW $$$ saved in my account on getting the SOFTUBE CONSOLE 1 along with the CONSOLE FADER 1 unit to use with LOGIC PRO - my question is; if i get this SOFTUBE CONSOLE GEAR am i “LOCKED IN” to ONLY USING SOFTTUBE PLUGINS AND UAD PLUGINS AND NOTHING ELSE??? I don’t think i can afford more than 1/2 the price of one of these units for PLUGINS each time i want to buy one?? Can i use other plugins too??
@@klownaround5464 Hey, sorry to hear about your surgery but that sounds like a great way to spend your recovery. A lot packed in there: I'm really impressed with that Signature 22MTK. I had one of my nephews get one and a Macbook Pro as his beginning system, and its far more than it's given credit for. One of my 4 Analog Consoles is a CAL modded Soundcraft Ghost, which I absolutely love. The MPC Live is rock solid according to my peeps that bought em, I'm still trying to push the X up my priority purchase list.
As for your question: The official answer is unfortunately No, but.....
Softube has a deal with Universal Audio and only those plugins work within the Console 1 and Apollo Central system.
That said,
A) if you do use UA and specifically UA Console, and if you have or plan to have a collection of plugins from those two companies, the hands on integration really is incredible.
B) depending upon which DAW you use, and I'm not sure about Logic but easy to search, some DAW manufacturers (Studio One, Reaper, others, not ProTools) open up their Mixers for Console 1 to control directly the Faders, Pans, Mutes, Solos, Track Names and Numbers and more. With the 20 channel select button across the top and banking, you can fly through a 100-track mix in 5 clicks!
C) if you Track using UAD Unison Preamps, inside of UA Console, the Softube Console 1 hardware feels like it was built by Universal Audio. Say you load UA 1073s across 10 Unison slots, UA Console becomes like a virtual BCM10. Then if you Mix on the included 4000E or my favorite the 9000K, you've achieved the old holy grail of Tracking on a Neve and Mixing on an SSL. But then you have dozens of other Preamps and Channel Strips to choose from.
D) I buy all of these on sale, but these two companies still average out to about $100 a plugin. If you get Softube's Volume 4 on sale, you get both the API and the Summit consoles included along with a bunch of other useful stuff.
Now....
E) whilst C1 is a closed proprietary system, the hardware itself is just a Midi Controller. For the system to work, Softube includes the On Screen Display OSD software, and when its running it takes control of the hardware. However, if you simply Quit OSD, the hardware becomes available to the computer as a generic Midi Controller. What that means, is that you can map anything you want to the buttons and knobs if you're willing to take the time. For instance, I use tons of Channel Strips from Softube, but also UA, Brainworks, SSL themselves, etc. In Studio One, it's incredibly easy to Map all of the controls to functions in a specific plugin, then load it up on every channel just like in C1, and just select channels in the DAW.
Even though I've had Console 1 since it came out, This functionality is new to me (and everyone else). I've tested it briefly and it works great, but I haven't mapped everything yet. But I will! What you can do is switch OSD on and Off while running a session without missing a beat, almost like a third mode for Console 1. Currently I'm building my new home studio, looking at a room-in-a-room 2x4s as we speak. I can't wait to get back up and running to dial it all in.
Make a comparison video against the Arousor please!
I have the hardware unit and love it. Perfect for recording and so easy to dial in when mixing. I'll get the plug-in for mainly saturation and pre-amp emulation purposes, it sounds fantastic.
NOt bad, i tried the Console 1 Strip, the eq and drive section adds some great Clean distortion to the sound.
Try it on Bass and snare, you will love it!
Hi David, what do you no is the advantage over the Arousor and BigFrEQ? Thank you. Cheers
I haven't tried ELI lilfreq so I can't comment, but I feel mike-e is a bit more organic sounding and closer to the distro (hw)
I am testing in and out the demo those plugs sounds astonishingly. good OMG The eq is so low noise i barely believe my ears this is really a shock. for me i would never imagine that level of expertise from empirical labs + joining the softube team .... MAn i m done lol!!!!
Wow, these are simple great... software modelling over the years has slowly upgraded bit by bit and this seems like another upgrade
I am a happy teddy bear today. I just got Softtube Empirical Labs Complete Collection and Softtube Tube-Tech complete Collection as a birthday treat for myself today.
So gonna test these beasts shortly 😁🙏
I believe UA has the Exclusive on the Distressor.
Dave Derr told me at a NAMM show, that’s why ELI themselves made the “Arouser” as not an identical Distressor, but what he wished he could have made the original Distressor at the time.
Softube and UA do have a tight relationship though, so it is somewhat possible. But Softube usually develops a standard plug-in and Also makes a UAD version, often forcing you to choose between UA or one that works everywhere else, or you have to buy the same plug-in twice. That said, don’t think Softube had anything to do with UA’s Distressor, and I can’t imagine they’d create a competing product given their existing relationship, even if UA didn’t already have an exclusive contract with ELI.
Now interestingly, with Many but not all UAD plugins, you can load them directly into your Softube Console 1 channel strips as replacements for the various modules in whatever strip you have loaded. I’ll have to check if UA Distressor is one of them. But if it is, you then theoretically could load the new ELI Trak Pak as your Console 1 Channel Strip, then swap the Mike-E compressor out for the UAD Distressor, and directly compare the two.
**Just checked the New version of the Softube Manual and the UAD Distressor is not on the list. Which is probably why I never bought it and got the Arrouser instead. That said, all of the Console 1 literature claims 70+ Softube and UAD plugins are available, but the Manual only lists about 40 in the “comprehensive list”.
Exclusivity is only on the name, a "competing product" is only competition between the two companies, not the licenser
man this sounds so nice and I want it soo bad but it's sooo expensive :( - great review as always David
That is the downside to Softube. Great quality plugins but you pay big bucks for it.
ive been watching david way before he even went on vid and the best before and after or on and off comparison vids out there, as i always thought his tone and energy and passion for mixing and gear are a1 quality, well done david truly dude you deserve it, im still chasing a drawmer unit lol years down the line, but may stay in the box, i have enough softube and plugin alliance to get me there, it really is the mixer not the gear, it takes time to know it takes time, stick at it and dont give up on anything in life, happy mixbus
I love “let’s make it toasty”! You sound very Dave Derr-like 😃 Thanks for the great video!
Softube is my no1 company to go for plugs (and it always was from start). They are just simply very good in all they do! Glad they collab with EL! I was looking for this one for a long time 😍🙏Thanks for review 👍
Great review ! Great combo !
Congrats Dav’, you deserve it, really. Keep up !
Im in love with this plugin
Notification GANG lets go!
When would you use the MIKE-E vs the UAD Distressor?
Just did a shootout *on acoustic drums only*. They are similar in terms of compression, but their tonal balance is a bit different. If you have the UAD compressor like me, turn up the Input to get a similar effect to MIKE-E's Preamp Gain section.
The main difference I hear is that MIKE-E is 10% warmer with a silky top, more pillowy on drums if you want, and will help tame harshness; the UAD also has a nice tone, can be 10% more punchy/in-your-face/aggressive sounding, and it's slightly easier to dial in your compression - flipping through the ratios is roughly level-matched, and you have continuous Attack/Release knobs (although dragging the knobs is a bit wonky - try using your mouse wheel instead).
Unless you're pushing past 12 on the Preamp Gain on the MIKE-E, the two devices can be adjusted to sound fairly similar (UAD Input knob makes a massive difference in matching tonality), but even when they sound different, they're both amazing and useful. Again this is all on acoustic drums only, and just my 2c
I don't have UAD but I inheredit sessions from time to time (they bring the little interface along) with their distro in and I find this one closer to the hw and better at the top and at high GR settings but also, I don't have real experience with their stuff. Not including the preamp section
crazy good! I just bought the curve bender from softube and that lives on EVERYTHING so I have to wait (or maybe resell plugins I don't use at all haha)
Another great review! I’m sold 🤷🏽♂️
Love d track....Real dark stuff ....That chic singing reminds me of chuckie in a kool way..instant Classikkkkkk!!
Finally grabbed the collection tonight with the unlockable offers.
This is a great video/plugin!! 🙂
Damn it! I don’t typically buy many plugins, but Softube keeps taking my money 😆
I want both of these -- think I'm gonna get the Mike-E first. I loved how it sounded on the drum bus and didn't add actual volume.
I have to agree with the adage that the distressor is one of the best comps ever, it's just a wonder how so little clones or alternatives there are. That being said I'm not the biggest fan of it's 'sound', even on drums. I find it sound a little too dirty as compared to slick or warm, or possibly even modern or nu-metal/mid 2000s-esque. the latter comment is going a bit far but I thought i'd share since I was for so long not able to afford even the plugin version, but now i have one I rarely ever use it. If i want a liberal drum comp i'll usually pick a dbx 160, 1176, Omnipressor or the dpr 402 from waves. In fact the latter is my favourite sounding drum compressor, it's so slick and almost puffy sounding, yet not overly colouring. I'm utterly indebted to Waves for emulating it. anyway rant over, great video!
Your channel is very, very good! Thank you!
Very natural sounding for a plugin
Damn! $200 apiece. Gotta tell my land lady my rent is gonna be short this month😏
Me looking at the FG-Stress I hardly use at the same price
Woow....softube leading .....great plugins
will you do hardware comparison?
Got the Mike-E Comp.. Not sure bout the Lil frEQ tho.. hmmm I have a lot of eq's already, but not any hardware analog emulations. Worth investing?
Nice!
Edit: although, just looking at these you can tell they're going to eat your CPU for breakfast 🔥
Not mine 😄
@@mixbustv 😆 alright, alright.. show off!
Softube really tries to write the code in a cpu friendly way. Most of their eq, comp, saturators aren't that cpu hungry. They still have exceptions tho!
Softube is really CPU friendly. Just finished a song with 120 tracks, I put console 1 SSL4000E on every channel, bus, aux, still can add other plugins as usual.
Just to point out, as it seems to have been lost on some people.. I was being dramatic, tongue in cheek, sarcastic.. however you want to put it. Even if it is CPU hungry, there are strategies to deal with it.
Spank, and toasty, have officially entered my mix vernacular
i'll do a test vs the arousor vst empirical lab original. is this better for you?
yo David, i'd love to see a video about Distressors ,how they function and where to use it best (like your video on compressors)
Get any of my courses or become a member, there's more examples of distressor (and fatso) use in real mixes than anywhere in the world
For me the console 1 is a bliss...cant wait to get this
OH YEAH!!! Mix Buss!!!
I’ve noticed you don’t use any Steven slate plug-ins anymore? Do you not like the sound of them or is it because of the subscription model?
Thanks Brother!!! 😎😎
Does this have oversampling? seems interesting!!Don't forget to check London Acoustics Verona
You should have Bella's legs in the camera frame all the time on every video, just a suggestion :D I see the unit behind you!!
Softube really makes the best analog emulation tho', compared with others they always win
Awesome video! Awesome plugins!
Wait u can resize the plugin and the grafix don't get blurry? Um... waves... get ir shit together.
You convinced me to get the chandler series and now this. lol
I never managed to make the softube desktop app work...
I dig this!!! Thank you.
how are you my brother so awesome can't wait to try it I will use your link wen I buy them next month ? wen I sow you put your destresor for sale I knew something was up with probably related to plugins or something is coming or he knows somthing lol . because we all know who much you love Emperical labs
Wow! Need... I saw they also made a channel strip for console one.
Have you used the slate virtual mix plugin? If so, how would you compare the mike e to the distressor on VMR.
Great vid, really enjoyed. They still do not compare to their hardware in the high end imo. Its doing something really masky to the 9k. I notice as you bring the release up the masking reduces which is a bit odd to me. Maybe it is weighting low vs high? I only say that as the LilfrEq does this on the HF limiter algo (which is wonderful). It does sound great though for a plugin don't get me wrong. Ahh ok as im writing this you move onto the LilfrEqs... you can hear the difference immediately when you pull the 200 out. That just isnt the LilfrEQ sound.... Have you demod the lilfrEQs in analogue? They will change your mind on using analogue to make reductions. They are incredible pieces of gear. If you demo two you can de ess into the HF limiter. you cant use both at the same time on these strips sadly. thanks for posting another great video!
I'm gald that I can have this as channel strip for the console 1. Softube is amazing on analog emulation
Does anybody know if Mike-E will work on Mac M1 and BigSur! It does really looks great but on the selling site, it's not confirmed yet... Thanks
Could you do a VS between the Distressor and the Mike E? They are different units and I'd love to know the difference in depth. Unfortunately there is no comparisson of them anywhere on the web. At least I couldn't find any...
Would be great. Thanks :)
If purchasing the console one version of the labs do you get both individual E and Eq plugins to use individually?
no
Haha. This demo video blew my earbuds😂😂😂😂Good punch
thanks David!
I have a question at the risk of sounding cheap (unemployed musician recovering from recent fusion spine surgery) so my funds are super stringent; i recently decided to try to get back in the game and got a soundcraft MTK22 USB mixer along with the AKAI MPK61 ADVANCED MIDI CONTROLLER, plus the AKAI MPC-LIVE and the new ASM HYDRASYNTH and have been eyeing these mixer control surface units and and cannot seem to come to a decision most of the other ones have some issue or another the the QCON ICON PRO G2 was on my list until i saw all the bad reviews of ppl complaining about NO USA CSR support- so that thing is in my rear view mirror along with the Berinhger, the AVID one the FADERPORT the SSL UF8 - i have settled on spending my LAST FEW $$$ saved in my account on getting the SOFTUBE CONSOLE 1 along with the CONSOLE FADER 1 unit to use with LOGIC PRO - my question is; if i get this SOFTUBE CONSOLE GEAR am i “LOCKED IN” to ONLY USING SOFTTUBE PLUGINS AND UAD PLUGINS AND NOTHING ELSE??? I don’t think i can afford more than 1/2 the price of one of these units for PLUGINS each time i want to buy one?? Can i use other plugins too?????
No you're not locked in ,you can use anything you won't, but you can only control the supported plug-ins with the hardware controller
what's the advantage of the individual ones if you get the Trak Pak for console 1? it reads like they are the same.
There are very minor difference in use but if you have Console1, you can just get that. The plugins are for those who don't have Console1
Sorry not watching if Bella is not here 😂 kiddin' your videos are the best out there man
Where is Bella? Thumb down if she's not in the vid! Joking, you rule man
isn't loudness measured by rms? like, peak is only one aspect of the signal.
Loudness is measured with LUFS, and your ears, because of that, if something has the same peak value and sounds louder, that means you have both higher RMS and LUFS. Basic.
@@mixbustv
So, excuse me, but the signal is therefore louder - and thusly sounds "better". Why not gain match the rms? Thanks
Very interesting plugins
Could you do a review on your monitor speakers?
th-cam.com/video/3XPrBXD-A_c/w-d-xo.html
Nice! Thank you
would you use this in a mastering chain?
Not really a mastering plug-in
Thanks
Hi master, greetings from Miami, The only way to use this empirical lab, is buying the Softube Console?
Thank you.
Franz
No, you can get the regular plugin
So, I'm a Console 1 owner, and this worries me. Is it like the Weiss where I'm going to get limited functionality on Console 1? Or is the native and Console vs 1:1?
No you get everything that you have in single plug-ins and then some more on C1
UAD's version is the real deal. Their Empirical Labs stuff is incredible.
Have you compared it to this one from Softube?
@@maximboe i’ve compared them,they are different,both are superb
I must point out that the new standalone Softube Lil-frEQ is $249 list, $199 on “introductory sale”.
But ELI’s own Big-frEQ lists for $149!
So unless the Softube’s emulation is significantly better than Empirical Labs’ own emulation, sonically, which is doubtful given how amazing the Arrousor sounds.
Then why would someone pay $100, or even $50 more, to get less functionality?
I guess everyone should try for themselves and see
Are those plug ins compatible with LOGIC Pro?
Yes
Nice! 🤘🏻
Me : Damn.. this plugin's so amazing. Your vid's so nice....
My credit card : Stop watching David's videos right now...
Me: No f..g way.. ahaha
Your are the best Dave ! I Realy improve my skills watching your stuff !
Hell yeah!
🙏🙏🤘
This vs Arouser ?pls review
That is a beast plug-in! How much are they please?
links are in the pinned comment
@@mixbustv Thanks so much. Maybe one day could you do a compressor shoot out please? I’d like to see the same source material, level matched just to see the differences between different plugins. I thought of drums straight away when I saw this video 🙏
do you need console 1 with this plugin??
No
Mikeee digitized! :)