I’ve been kind fighting a bright (for me) mix and trying to get that thick presence old records have. Its hard.

The UAD API Channel Strip is kind of great. I love the expander on it. I thought that feature was great and looked it up and just saw a bunch of people complaining about it, but it did exactly what I wanted while still sounding like a box, which I like. The idea of SSL kind of makes me want to gag but I bet I would get some use out of that one too.

I don’t understand why they don’t offer Neve native? What the hell is that? I just want the eq.

I really liked the Helios strip at first, but I am finding it less useful in a busy mix. The stuff that made it fill in the middle of a Danelectro baritone makes it kind of dull when there’s a lot going on. I like running stuff through it, especially acoustic but it can get a bit reedy which doesn’t work on everything.

For the stereo bus the only ones I really like are the Manley Massive Passive (mastering) and the Fairchild 670. But I might love them? The Manley compressor is good too.

I hate the distortion of every channel strip I’ve tried though.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:06 am I’ve been kind fighting a bright (for me) mix and trying to get that thick presence old records have. Its hard.

Tape > Console on every track, then end your mix master with tape. Get that saturation build up like you would in the before for times.

I like the Sonimus console, using the summer on the mix master. I end the mix master with another tape. It's a pleasing analog foundation. There's different consoles for flavors. I've got N, which is a Neve-style. (Sonimus also makes that coveted Neve EQ, the Burnley.) I use Satin as my track tape and the UAD ATR-102 as my mix down tape.

Airwindows console has nice saturation, too. Tape is really nice.

Both the Sonimus and Airwindows consoles are really simple and offer bus and track instances. Sonimus utilizes a summer on the mix master and has great saturation control. It doesn't offer much for EQ, and nothing for dynamics, it's designed for saturation build up.

Mix your API console with tape, see how you like it.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:06 am The idea of SSL kind of makes me want to gag

why?

mdc wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:37 am

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:06 am The idea of SSL kind of makes me want to gag

why?

Come on man.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 11:47 am

mdc wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:37 am

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 12:06 am The idea of SSL kind of makes me want to gag

why?

Come on man.

This made me laugh. I understand where llllllllllllllllllll is coming from. SSL kinda represents a vibe of music production I don't care for. I also find the bus comp to be way less useful than it is touted. I straight up don't like it.

As far as getting that thick 70's sound. Modern mixes just have too much sub/low and highs and the mids are scooped out. Older mixes were kinda the opposite. I hear a little of lifted low mids 400-800hz and maybe a sone saturation in that range. Slightly rolled off High end and not much low under say 80hz. There just isn't a lot of sub content in that era. And pretty aggressive comp/limiter on all of it because it was engineered to go out over AM/FM radio... if the mix wasn't smashed, the radio station sure did it. If I were trying to get the sound I might do a chain like this EQ-COMP-Tape simulator-EQ playing with where to push frequencies into the tape sim or cutting/boosting them coming out to get the thing I'm looking for. And maybe a huge lo pass filter at a really slight slope (3dB/oct starting at like 5K) to tame highs. I'd use something like Fab Filter or Reaper EQ High shelf with the smallest Q so it just slopes very slightly. If you have any Plugin of the Neve 33609 Diode Comp, I think it is perfect for this kinda thing. Arturias is very good.

Kniferide wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 1:24 pm I'd use something like Fab Filter or Reaper EQ High shelf with the smallest Q so it just slopes very slightly. If you have any Plugin of the Neve 33609 Diode Comp, I think it is perfect for this kinda thing. Arturias is very good.

Circling back to resonance tools, this is certainly an area that they really shine.

I've used the SSL-G compressor and two other variants of it as plugins. I haven't really found the vibe of it personally. I try, maybe it's just me. My go-to is the API 2500. Not that I'm more familiar with the API, it was just more intuitive for me to hear and feel what I want out of it.

It's all personal preferences. From my naive understanding, what I often here is "I like SSL for the mid-range." For that, I have reached for SSL-style EQs for guitars when I'm unsure of where to start, and that often times produces pleasing results that I couldn't get from another EQ.

cakes wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 1:55 pm
It's all personal preferences. From my naive understanding, what I often here is "I like SSL for the mid-range." For that, I have reached for SSL-style EQs for guitars when I'm unsure of where to start, and that often times produces pleasing results that I couldn't get from another EQ.

I'm mostly agnostic about general use comps. I just want it to be able to be fast. I kinda only get particular about comps when I want them for adding crunch or dirt, like a 1176/fairchild etc. I suggested the Neve EQ cause it has a limiter and comp and reminds me of Broadcast equipment [SMASH]. The SSL EQ's always just seen kinda clean, and flavorless to me (most SSL stuff is designed to me extremely transparent and without much "flavor"), which honestly is what I want an eq to do most of the time, but Fab, Ozone, or just reaper EQ gets me there and Knob style interfaces for computer eq are annoying to me. I've tried so many SSL plugin products and they just never do it for me at all. I think the Brainworks 4000E sounds great, but man I really hate the stupid console strip interface when working on a mouse. Everything is so cramped and tiny and hard to see, especially on a laptop. The only reason the stuff is laid out like that is because it needed to fit on a channel strip that was like an inch and a half wide. It's a forced constraint for marketing aesthetics, and its dumb. I almost never use it even though it does everything you need. All of this is because my eyes are shit.

Kniferide wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 2:28 pm

cakes wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 1:55 pm
It's all personal preferences. From my naive understanding, what I often here is "I like SSL for the mid-range." For that, I have reached for SSL-style EQs for guitars when I'm unsure of where to start, and that often times produces pleasing results that I couldn't get from another EQ.

I'm mostly agnostic about general use comps. I just want it to be able to be fast. I kinda only get particular about comps when I want them for adding crunch or dirt, like a 1176/fairchild etc. I suggested the Neve EQ cause it has a limiter and comp and reminds me of Broadcast equipment [SMASH]. The SSL EQ's always just seen kinda clean, and flavorless to me (most SSL stuff is designed to me extremely transparent and without much "flavor"), which honestly is what I want an eq to do most of the time, but Fab, Ozone, or just reaper EQ gets me there and Knob style interfaces for computer eq are annoying to me. I've tried so many SSL plugin products and they just never do it for me at all. I think the Brainworks 4000E sounds great, but man I really hate the stupid console strip interface when working on a mouse. Everything is so cramped and tiny and hard to see, especially on a laptop. The only reason the stuff is laid out like that is because it needed to fit on a channel strip that was like an inch and a half wide. It's a forced constraint for marketing aesthetics, and its dumb. I almost never use it even though it does everything you need. All of this is because my eyes are shit.

I have come to dislike control strips/consoles because I always feel like i have to use a section, even if there's no need. One reason I like the Sonimus and airwindows consoles is that they are just for saturation build up. The Sonimus is nice for those HP/LP filters, though. Anyway, I have been using the SPQ from AnalogObsession, from what I understand is an SSL-style EQ. The bands are useful for guitar and it's easy to use. Can't say if it has a color or not, it's just an EQ that works for me.

cakes wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 2:51 pm I have come to dislike control strips/consoles because I always feel like i have to use a section, even if there's no need.

I've fallen for that too. I'm really trying to break some plugin habits. Only inserting something if i need to fix an issue, fixing it and moving on. fewer plugin on each channel. just trying to move to less all around. I like the Slate mix rack ecosystem because you insert a eq, then a com if you NEED it, then a saturator if you NEED it... etc. Best sounding 1176 to me too. Their pricing is a fucking heist though.

Kniferide wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 3:19 pm

cakes wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 2:51 pm I have come to dislike control strips/consoles because I always feel like i have to use a section, even if there's no need.

I've fallen for that too. I'm really trying to break some plugin habits. Only inserting something if i need to fix an issue, fixing it and moving on. fewer plugin on each channel. just trying to move to less all around. I like the Slate mix rack ecosystem because you insert a eq, then a com if you NEED it, then a saturator if you NEED it... etc. Best sounding 1176 to me too. Their pricing is a fucking heist though.

I want to say that I use less, but actually I'm using more, but each piece is a single use, as opposed to something that does a lot. There are a few things that break this, like I use this one EQ that also does saturation. This is why I like the Sonimus so much, it's really just for utilizing saturation build up. I've also been using more reverb and delay busses. My mix bus has at least 3 EQs, each with a different purpose. I also use more than one compressor, especially on vocals and of course drums. But vocals might have 3 or 4 compressors, depending on the stage and if there's a bus. I do like small amounts of compression as general purpose, as opposed to using one compressor a little heavier. Depends on what I'm doing, but I really have been liking using a fast compressor to a slow compressor to an even slower compressor for vocals, with the last one being on a bus.