I realize that this video is three years old now, but I thought I’d post a comment with my own impressions, which are limited at the moment, as I just bought the Brainworx Console-N this morning (Christmas 2020) from Plug-in Alliance, when I was notified by email that it was on sale for $29... which is already a GREAT price to begin with, but I also had a discount code that I was able to apply, which brought my grand total down to a whopping $9.99 😬... I’ve only worked with the strip for about two hours so far, but I’m loving it, for all the features you mentioned here, and more- including setting up a SC with EQ and compression that resulted in some of the most effective but smoothest, natural sounding de-essing I’ve heard... I used it to tame a female “torch” vocalist I’m currently mixing - who, while a great singer, has some of the worst sibilance I’ve encountered in my 40 years of mixing. The de-essing circuit I set up in the Neve strip, was far better sounding than the three dedicated de-esser plugs I threw at her vocal over the last few days, in a futile effort to control her harsh S’s, (which also happen to span the widest frequency range (3k -11k) I’ve ever heard with sibilance problems as well. Hell, I’d be more than happy if all I ever did with this strip was only the de-essing if this vocal... but I know it’s got tremendous potential for much more than that, and I’m enthusiastic about using it across the board on each track of a 24 track project! Brainworx makes great stuff; I already owned their Focusrite Console strip, which I love, so it wasn’t any gamble for me to add the Neve strip to my collection, too, especially at the unbelievable sale price. Great video, as always; presented in an informative, intelligent and very helpful way. Thanks! 🙏😉
Thank you, Michael. I have the E and the N consoles, and thought I had it covered. I really liked what the G did on this track, so now I’m going to have to buy that as well. Our local discount food store also thanks you.
I’m a newbie to BX plugins since this year. I have bought them all, but the N oh my is special for my drums. The gating on this thing is the best in class. My favorite Console Plugin....
The SSL have an amazing workflow, but I think sound wise it is such a personal preference. After trying the SSL for two weeks, I was still missing some magic and balls. Once firing up the N, the EQ felt warm and fat, the compressor punchy and the overdrive it huge. I guess when progressing with music production/mixing it's really about creating personal style, trusting your ears and intuition. Love your videos Mike! Cheers.
Great video as always, I have to say I like the Bx_Console N the most on this track...I have the G, just picked up the N and I hope they do an api version :)
How do you keep it from muting a track when you have multiple instances of it? I have two different guitar tracks I want to use it on and only one track will play with the instance running but the second track won't even play even if I set the plugin in bypass.
I think for this type of music a Neve fits the bill well. Good mid staging for the guitars. Bass sits right. Overall staging and sound is really good. Your E mix really had some sub to it! The Plugin Alliance and PSP releases these past couple of years have been stellar. The PSP E27 (although not a console emulation), along with these particular bx console emulations have been so much fun to work with. Thanks for the video.
Listening on my crappy laptop speakers, The E has more midrange and edge, the G is rounder and full in the lows and the N is warm, but cleaner overall. What type of compressor is in the N console btw?
Yes, I have to bypass the console types that are not being auditioned. Since each one has EQ and compression settings I cannot leave them all on at once. Am I misunderstanding your question?
What was the purpose of having a key input on the gate on these consoles? Was it for keying the bass to the kick drum to get a tighter sound? I was told that was a trick they used to do back in the day.
Actually, I wish the key was for the compressor not the gate. This emulation is true to the original and keying gates was more common than keying compressors in the analog era. The Kick drum keying the Bass was a compression technique that is very misunderstood. Here is a link to a video I released about this subject. It will explain it better than a comment here.ua-cam.com/video/QlKONNffX-I/v-deo.html Cheers! Mike
Mostly for things like gated reverbs, but also for creating new sounds like putting a gate on a synth pad and triggering it with a shaker part. It would create a whole new part that could be mixed into the song. On the this console, you could also use the gate as a ducker which allows you to suppress parts that interfere with each other.
We had a Neve VR console and it was a feeling like coming home when I loaded the plugin and saw all the knobs an buttons. Then I switched through the TMT-channels and suddenly I laughed out loud because they made those toothpicks to keep the buttons pushed down. That must be kind of a Neve-thing. We used little cardboard pieces to fix that :-D. What people, who never worked with such consoles, don't know is that the surface gets really hot so you don't need a central heating in the studio :-D
Hey Michael! I'm a great fan of your content and have a question about lerning to produce/mix songs: Do you think reverse engineering songs which you like are improve your skills as a producer and mixer? I hope you can answer my question. Have a nice day!
Can you help? I do not use Pro Tools, and just purchased this, but cannot find the mono channel version. It only opens a stereo. Owners manual is no help. Thanks!
What DAW? They are all a bit different in the way they deal with Mono and stereo tracks. Mono version should be available on a mono track. Is the track stereo?
@@mixingwithmike Ableton Live only has stereo tracks; unlike other DAWS that have mono tracks. So the plugin is detecting this, and then automatically making it a stereo track? Am I understanding this correctly?
@@badmonkeymusicproductions3569 If Ableton only has Stereo tracks then that is all that will show up in your plugin list and there would be no need to have a mono plugin option. The installer for this plugin installs mono and stereo configurations for all plugin formats, but they are only available based on the restrictions of the DAW.
Anyone else saw that small piece of wood stuck behind the high shelf button on the bx_console N? It wasn't there earlier. Now that's what I call random :D
Nice review. I'm on the fence of these N, E, G. ($300 per. $900 total) & softube console 1 4000-E ($500) & XL9000K add on ($300) ($800 total) It's great to have the bx console for the vintage sound+ the channel random TMT. But still feel like the XL9000K is clarity of now. So question on my mind is, these vs XL9000K. Anyone have some thoughts on this? cheers
Or you could get the Waves NLS - on sale right now for 29.00. Couple that with the SSL channel strip and you have essentially the same thing - random-channel console emulation, gate, comp, eq, etc...
mmm don't buy with full price because they sell them for 50$ on sale (30$ with voucher) SSL + NLS is not same thing btw, because there's no TMT for individual components. NLS can work well with bx consoles btw. There's no reason to ever buy full price... because year subscription is cheaper, that 250$ voucher can be used on black friday sale to buy more than 1 plugin, and you can use lots of plugins for a year. $900 is 3 years + 3x 250$ vouchers basically.
Audio Examples start Here ua-cam.com/video/Cecxhf1AWMA/v-deo.htmlm32s
I realize that this video is three years old now, but I thought I’d post a comment with my own impressions, which are limited at the moment, as I just bought the Brainworx Console-N this morning (Christmas 2020) from Plug-in Alliance, when I was notified by email that it was on sale for $29... which is already a GREAT price to begin with, but I also had a discount code that I was able to apply, which brought my grand total down to a whopping $9.99 😬...
I’ve only worked with the strip for about two hours so far, but I’m loving it, for all the features you mentioned here, and more- including setting up a SC with EQ and compression that resulted in some of the most effective but smoothest, natural sounding de-essing I’ve heard... I used it to tame a female “torch” vocalist I’m currently mixing - who, while a great singer, has some of the worst sibilance I’ve encountered in my 40 years of mixing.
The de-essing circuit I set up in the Neve strip, was far better sounding than the three dedicated de-esser plugs I threw at her vocal over the last few days, in a futile effort to control her harsh S’s, (which also happen to span the widest frequency range (3k -11k) I’ve ever heard with sibilance problems as well.
Hell, I’d be more than happy if all I ever did with this strip was only the de-essing if this vocal... but I know it’s got tremendous potential for much more than that, and I’m enthusiastic about using it across the board on each track of a 24 track project!
Brainworx makes great stuff; I already owned their Focusrite Console strip, which I love, so it wasn’t any gamble for me to add the Neve strip to my collection, too, especially at the unbelievable sale price.
Great video, as always; presented in an informative, intelligent and very helpful way.
Thanks!
🙏😉
how did you set the de-esser on this?
also did you compare this console to Lindel Neve channel strip (which is also a part of Plugin Aliance)?
hell ya! that's my tune "short skirt, bare knees"
Thank you, Michael. I have the E and the N consoles, and thought I had it covered. I really liked what the G did on this track, so now I’m going to have to buy that as well. Our local discount food store also thanks you.
I’m a newbie to BX plugins since this year. I have bought them all, but the N oh my is special for my drums. The gating on this thing is the best in class. My favorite Console Plugin....
What song is this? Is it available to purchase anywhere?
Thanks Mike, I didn't notice the RAT as being the "ratio" until you pointed it out. Strange that they would default to limit instead of 1to 1.
console N sounds more open and dynamic. somehow, less compressed. liked it more than the other ones.
This is also true of the hardware
thanks much for your prompt comment. will then go with the Console N .@@mixingwithmike
The SSL have an amazing workflow, but I think sound wise it is such a personal preference. After trying the SSL for two weeks, I was still missing some magic and balls. Once firing up the N, the EQ felt warm and fat, the compressor punchy and the overdrive it huge. I guess when progressing with music production/mixing it's really about creating personal style, trusting your ears and intuition. Love your videos Mike! Cheers.
Excellent review! Had to watch this to understand the dynamics section. Very thorough and to the point.
Cheers!
Great video as always, I have to say I like the Bx_Console N the most on this track...I have the G, just picked up the N and I hope they do an api version :)
You where heard. Lindell50 :)
Try kush omega pre amps
Thanks Michael! I really like the bx_console n treatment on this track.
How do you keep it from muting a track when you have multiple instances of it? I have two different guitar tracks I want to use it on and only one track will play with the instance running but the second track won't even play even if I set the plugin in bypass.
I think for this type of music a Neve fits the bill well. Good mid staging for the guitars. Bass sits right. Overall staging and sound is really good. Your E mix really had some sub to it! The Plugin Alliance and PSP releases these past couple of years have been stellar. The PSP E27 (although not a console emulation), along with these particular bx console emulations have been so much fun to work with. Thanks for the video.
the only problem is the psp e27 chows cpu on my imac. but I also cant live without it
Has anyone noticed at 26:15 there is a toothpick into the High Shelf button? I think Michael just found an easter egg. 🤣
Lmao 🤣🤣. I jus seen it💯😂😂
What's the name of that song?
Listening on my crappy laptop speakers, The E has more midrange and edge, the G is rounder and full in the lows and the N is warm, but cleaner overall. What type of compressor is in the N console btw?
Hello Michael, when you show the difference betweent the three consoles, the E- and he G- consoles are bypassed.
Yes, I have to bypass the console types that are not being auditioned. Since each one has EQ and compression settings I cannot leave them all on at once. Am I misunderstanding your question?
What was the purpose of having a key input on the gate on these consoles? Was it for keying the bass to the kick drum to get a tighter sound? I was told that was a trick they used to do back in the day.
Actually, I wish the key was for the compressor not the gate. This emulation is true to the original and keying gates was more common than keying compressors in the analog era. The Kick drum keying the Bass was a compression technique that is very misunderstood. Here is a link to a video I released about this subject. It will explain it better than a comment here.ua-cam.com/video/QlKONNffX-I/v-deo.html
Cheers!
Mike
Michael White but how was gate key used back in the analog days?
Mostly for things like gated reverbs, but also for creating new sounds like putting a gate on a synth pad and triggering it with a shaker part. It would create a whole new part that could be mixed into the song. On the this console, you could also use the gate as a ducker which allows you to suppress parts that interfere with each other.
We had a Neve VR console and it was a feeling like coming home when I loaded the plugin and saw all the knobs an buttons. Then I switched through the TMT-channels and suddenly I laughed out loud because they made those toothpicks to keep the buttons pushed down. That must be kind of a Neve-thing. We used little cardboard pieces to fix that :-D. What people, who never worked with such consoles, don't know is that the surface gets really hot so you don't need a central heating in the studio :-D
Thank you for this very informative video. May I ask which screen capture software you use?
DowntimeSeb Looks like the built in screen capture feature of Quicktime Player included with every Mac.
Hey Michael! I'm a great fan of your content and have a question about lerning to produce/mix songs: Do you think reverse engineering songs which you like are improve your skills as a producer and mixer? I hope you can answer my question.
Have a nice day!
Can you help? I do not use Pro Tools, and just purchased this, but cannot find the mono channel version. It only opens a stereo. Owners manual is no help. Thanks!
What DAW? They are all a bit different in the way they deal with Mono and stereo tracks. Mono version should be available on a mono track. Is the track stereo?
@@mixingwithmike Ableton Live only has stereo tracks; unlike other DAWS that have mono tracks. So the plugin is detecting this, and then automatically making it a stereo track? Am I understanding this correctly?
@@badmonkeymusicproductions3569 If Ableton only has Stereo tracks then that is all that will show up in your plugin list and there would be no need to have a mono plugin option. The installer for this plugin installs mono and stereo configurations for all plugin formats, but they are only available based on the restrictions of the DAW.
@@mixingwithmike bummer. Got it.
just press the analog button.
I discovered I actually sometimes prefer two channels on mono samples.
Anyone else saw that small piece of wood stuck behind the high shelf button on the bx_console N? It wasn't there earlier. Now that's what I call random :D
Here too...
I think I need to practice hearing compression more....I had a hard time hearing some of the differences
Once again a great review. Thanks !
Cheers!
sound comparison @13:43
Ahh yes. I just bought this and was pissed with all the extra noise on a vocal track. Now I know I can take it away! 👍🏻
OMG the E is boxy and thin. Hmm. The Neve and the G sounds great.
Nice review. I'm on the fence of these N, E, G. ($300 per. $900 total) & softube console 1 4000-E ($500) & XL9000K add on ($300) ($800 total)
It's great to have the bx console for the vintage sound+ the channel random TMT. But still feel like the XL9000K is clarity of now.
So question on my mind is, these vs XL9000K. Anyone have some thoughts on this? cheers
Or you could get the Waves NLS - on sale right now for 29.00. Couple that with the SSL channel strip and you have essentially the same thing - random-channel console emulation, gate, comp, eq, etc...
mmm don't buy with full price because they sell them for 50$ on sale (30$ with voucher)
SSL + NLS is not same thing btw, because there's no TMT for individual components. NLS can work well with bx consoles btw.
There's no reason to ever buy full price... because year subscription is cheaper, that 250$ voucher can be used on black friday sale to buy more than 1 plugin, and you can use lots of plugins for a year. $900 is 3 years + 3x 250$ vouchers basically.
Crystal clear！
Cheers!
Sorry, but if I Switch between the different consoles, the picture shows the console I chosed. ( DAW = Studio One )
Preferred G on this one.