Slate Digital announces that this year, it is introducing software products that address all aspects of recording, mixing and mastering. Its newest plug-in for Mac/PC is the Virtual Console Collection, developed by Steven Slate of Steven Slate Drums and Slate Pro Audio and Slate Digital co-founder and CTO Fabrice Gabriel. The Virtual Console Collection promises to bring the sound of six of the world’s most legendary analog consoles into DAW workstations.
The Virtual Console Collection comprises two plug-ins: Virtual Channel (applied to mixing channels) and Virtual Mixbuss (applied to the master fader). Each plug-in allows the user to choose from one of six meticulously modeled consoles, so that the user’s DAW assumes the “personality” of a real analog mixing desk, including all of its subtleties and nuances. Slate Digital says that it designed the plug-ins with the intent of improving imaging and depth, allowing instruments to “sit better in the frequency spectrum,” and to make mixing “easier and more musical. You can even push the DAW faders up to find each mixer’s sweet spot.”
The Virtual Console Collection is available as a 14-day unlimited demo from www.slatedigital.com and purchased at audio dealers worldwide.
Slate Digital also introduces Trigger drum replacement software for Mac and PC, VST, RTAS, and Audio Units. Features include six stereo sample layers per instance of the plug-in, allowing the user to “trigger” a close mic, stereo overhead, and stereo room mic set from one instance of the plug-in. Each sample layer has its own volume, pan, tune, attack, sustain, dynamic percentage and velocity controls. There is also MIDI In/Out, a specialized “live mode” promising no latency, presets for specific mixing styles, and the inclusion of Slate’s sample packs, including room mic samples from NRG Recording.
For Slate Digital’s new FG-X plug-in, Slate and Gabriel sought to improve the method in which mixes could be made louder during mastering, developing a new technology they call Intelligent Transient Preservation (ITP). They say that the ITP process can raise the level of a mix by great lengths while maintaining the punch, balance and overall character of the original mix. The FG-X plug-in also offers the user precise control over transient levels and dynamic perception, and includes an innovative compressor algorithm that reportedly can reduce dynamic range with ultimate transparency.
Finally, Steven Slate Drums’ Platinum Edition is now available $299.99. This suite contains more than 40 drum kits, including 13 kits that are authentic models of classic artists and albums, as well as 10 new hybrid kits that use multiple layers of various kicks and snares to create new sounds. The Platinum suite is available in RTAS, VST and AU formats, and as a stand-alone MIDI plug-in.
For more information on these products, visit www.slatedigital.com.
