Yes, it’s possible to replicate the Studer tape saturation using plugins such as Fab Filter “Saturn” or Sound Toys “Decapitator” which is also well regarded to achieve this. Now to get proper tips about the settings to use, you have to either be able to A/B the 2 and tweak it for some time to get there or getting feedback & tips from someone who tried it.
Now about normalizing the stems, to what I understood, that was done to have consistent levels for each track before reaching the API ( if I recall well ) channel strip in the next stage, but maybe @Kirk_Degiorgio could answer this better.
Yes, the normalising thing, the penny dropped for me a little while after posting.
Kirk, if you’re reading, this was such a helpful course for a newbie like myself. I have adopted your mixdown techniques and it’s been a great help, I really like the end results and it was also an excellent starting point for much more research. And I was just in time to snag the API collection from Waves in Black Friday sale, perfect!
Thanks for a very inspiring tutorial. This kind of workflow seems to make me get less stuck in details.
Speaking of details, any suggestions on alternatives to the UAD plugins? I used the Waves Abbey Road J37 (formula 815, speed 15) , instead of the UAD Studer. I don’t think it sounds as good as the UAD plug, but it is at least acceptable. I haven’t found any good alternative to the UAD API channel strip, so I have been using the Waves SSL E-channel. UAD Neve 33609 was substituted with T-Racks Precision Comp/Limiter.
Waves emulates the compressor section of the API channel strip with the API 2500 Bus Compressor, separately they also emulate the 500 series EQs. ( EQ Also emulated by IK Multimedia and Overloud BTW ), but in this case, you’re more after the compressor, the goal to use the UAD API channel strip was to glue and give compression & analog saturation to the mix. Another alternative could be to use something like OMEGA A from Kush Audio.
Next to UAD, the other very good one ( and complete ) API Channel Strip IMO would be Softube American Class A, it’s the first Console 1 channel strip emulation that does not requires users to own Softube Console 1, it will work as a native plugin.
Slate Digital and the Everything Bundle offers also some API modules to work with.
That said, you do not have to use specific API to achieve the goal explained in the tutorial, the importance here is to glue, compress & saturate the all mix, which can be done with any channel strip and fine adjustments, but of course you won’t have the exact same coloration & sound by the end, it’s a matter of taste I think.
IMO, there no “essential” plug-ins when it’s about How To Make or How To Sound Like tutorials here.
Of course, using the same DAW & tools as the tutors will make it easy to “replicate” and reference the track against your work, but using your own DAW and tools is also a very efficient way to progress and learn your own tools. The philosophy here is more about understanding what effect, goal was the tutor aiming at when using a specific plug-in and trying to recreate a similar effect/sound with what’s at your disposal is not the most easy way but surely a great one to learn and progress.
So in general, my tip about SA courses would be that you don’t have to think it’s not for you just because you don’t own the same material
I learned a lot from this. My only criticism is that when you spend so much of the class using specialized (often expensive or discontinued) plugins, I feel like it is less educational and more a demo of a bag of tricks. But it was still a good course and I had fun trying to come up with ways to ‘match’ what you were doing.
Not sure if you’ve seen that older post in this topic but I did upload the complete legacy NI Library where you can find the “ensemble” used in the course, the Dropbox link is still active, check post N° 19.
