Blackbird Studio and Nashville-based developer of audio tools KIT Plugins have teamed up to release the BB N105 plug-in, the first-ever channel strip emulation of the rare Neve analog console in Blackbird’s legendary Studio A.
The BB N105 is the second release from Blackbird Studio and KIT Plugins—following the Blackbird High Gain Profile Pack for Kemper—and is part of a long-term partnership exclusively announced via Billboard. Produce Like A Pro revealed the first full demonstration of the BB N105.
The Neve console in Blackbird Studio A has been used to record countless albums by some of the most well-known, renowned music artists in the world. Originally built in the 1970s, the console underwent massive restoration and received a series of modifications from some of the best minds in the audio industry, making it not only unique but one of the best examples of its namesake ever to exist.
The engineers at KIT carefully sampled Channel 21, taking into account all of the factors that change the sound, running the signal through the unique Amp of master bus B, and capturing the samples using Blackbird co-owner and engineer John McBride’s favorite A/D converters.
“The sound of that Neve is special,” said McBride in an interview with Billboard. “I’ve seen this happen numerous times, where someone would bring their tracks in, the engineer set it up, the producer walked in and said, ‘What’d you do [to get that sound]?’ ‘Well, I just ran him through the console.’ They have their own color.”
BB N105 Features:
- Input switchable between Mic and Line just like the original analog equipment.
- Preamp saturation bypass for Preamp tone without unwanted distortion. (Great for Mic modeling systems.)
- Four-band EQ with High and Low Pass Filters.
- Adjustable Output Gain and Phase flip.
- Analog On/Off to enable the analog noise generator modeled after the actual equipment and the ability to set the level of analog noise introduced into each track.
The BB N105 Plugin runs on Mac and PC and is compatible with all DAWs that support the following formats: VST3 (Steinberg Virtual Studio Technology 3), AU (macOS Audio Unit), and AAX (Avid Audio Extension).
The BB N105 Plugin is available now for $99.99 with a voucher for a free subscription set to launch at a later date at KIT Plugins. The BB N105 is also available online at Sweetwater.
Download a free trial version or learn more, by visiting www.kitplugins.com.
