The Best Channel Strip Plugins: Get That Console Experience in Your DAW
A range of plugins to give you a console-style workflow when mixing.
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: Get That Console Experience in Your DAW · Source: Softube
We look at some of the best channel strip plugins that combine EQ, dynamics, and more for shaping each and every element in your mixes.
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In their earliest form, channel strips originated from the recording consoles of the 1950s, providing a range of processing and routing functions for each channel on the mixer. As consoles evolved, we moved through different eras, from famous EMI REDD tube consoles at Abbey Road Studios to the transistor-based Neve consoles that emerged in the mid-1960s.
Besides the difference in sound between tube and transformer saturation, the move from tube circuitry to transistor and op amp-based designs allowed far more real estate. This is why, when SSL consoles were first produced in the 1970s, they offered a wider range of processing power per channel than a tube console like the coveted UA 610.
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: Shattered Glass Audio Code Red
Code Red is a plugin recreation of a channel strip from the legendary EMI REDD console, known for its role in albums like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as the first two Pink Floyd albums. The plugin is available in a standard version with an extensive EQ section and a free version, which is slightly scaled down.
Shattered Glass has carefully modelled each part of the console, from the preamp circuitry to the EQ curves, to get that punchy sonic character. Meanwhile, there are also a few features for modern applications, including 4x oversampling, IR cabinet emulation, a choice of Classic and Pop EQ modes, and four modes: mono, stereo, linked stereo, and mid-side.
In addition, there is a wet/dry mix control for parallel processing. Aside from the extended EQ, the paid version of Code Red also gives you a choice of different preamp circuitry models, so you can select the original old Telefunken preamps or the EMI ones used in the latest version of the REDD consoles. Get it at Plugin Boutique.*
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: iZotope Neutron 5
While Neutron is not exclusively a recreation of a classic console channel strip, it certainly offers a comprehensive set of tools for processing any instrument in your mix, which makes it an essential tool for any modern producer or mix engineer. Neutron provides a flexible platform for building custom processing chains.
The range of modules includes compression, EQ, transient shaping, saturation, expansion, and clipping, as well as corrective processing modules for resonance suppression, phase correction, and unmasking. In addition, for a streamlined workflow, the Mix Assistant function lets you use AI-powered technology to analyze the input signal and quickly suggest an appropriate processing chain.
Neutron is available in a more basic Elements version and the standard edition that lets you really take control of each area of the processing chain. Overall, Neutron provides a great platform for signal shaping, and you can upgrade from the basic version to the standard version to expand its functionality at any stage. Get it at Thomann.*
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: Plugin Alliance Vertigo Sound VSS-2
Vertigo Sound is a high-end manufacturer that combines vintage and modern elements to deliver uncompromising audio designs for mixing and mastering. With the VSS-2, you get a range of carefully selected modules from some of the most sought-after Vertigo Sound equipment in a single cohesive plugin.
It offers recreations of the quad VCA compressor from the VSC-3, the inductor EQ section from the VSE-4, the filter section from the VSS-2, and a flexible tube saturation section inspired by the VSM-4. With all this circuit modelling power, you have access to the signal processing workflow and sonics of some unique processors.
This allows the VSS-2 to compete with any console-style channel strip plugin, as it offers the same degree of versatility. You can use it for vocals, guitars, pianos, strings, drums, or almost any instrument you’d like to enhance with creamy tube harmonics and natural dynamics shaping. Get it at Thomann.*
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: SSL 4K
It’s almost impossible to mention channel strips without mentioning the famous SL 4000 consoles, which had such an impact on the way music was made. Although there are many versions of different SSL console channel strips available, it’s hard to beat the range of plugins created by the iconic console manufacturer itself.
Within the 4K plugin range, you can find meticulous recreations of the E, B, and G series console channel strips, where every element has been re-imagined in plugin format, from the sound of the preamp to the EQ curves and the punchy dynamics section that shaped so many of our favourite records of the 1980s and ’90s.
Overall, the 4K channel strips provide a great platform for learning how to mix music professionally, using tried and tested tools of the trade. As a beginner, you can teach yourself how to use your ears for EQ rather than a visualizer, while more experienced users will benefit from the flexible signal path. Get it at Thomann.*
The Best Channel Strip Plugins: Softube Console 1
The Console 1 system transforms a static DAW plugin interface into a more tactile medium with Softube’s specially designed controllers. For starters, Softube offers some of the best analogue-modelling plugins on the market, giving you access to processing chains from elite hardware manufacturers like Summit Audio, Tube-Tech, API, Neve, and many others.
The beauty of the Console 1 platform is how cohesively integrated the plugin interface design is when combined with the Channel controllers. Each part of the processing chain is clearly labeled and laid out so you can develop a feel for the workflow, exactly like you would when using a professional mixing console.
This allows you to immerse yourself in the mixing process and make use of a wide range of Softube’s channel strip plugins that are all optimized for Console 1. Use Neve on vocals, API on guitars, and SSL on drums, just like your favourite producers and engineers. Check out the complete range of Softube plugins at Plugin Boutique.*
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