Nice video and I agree with your sentiments. Both hardware and software have their place and the middle ground is the best approach, so it does not have to be binary. I have a plugin version of the 1073 and it does not sound or react like my 1073 hardware. From my experiences, when I come in the box from good analogue gear, I spend less time in box trying to sound design/fix with multiple plugins and more time mixing. Most of the time no plugins or no more than 1 or 2 are needed vs the never ending maze of plugin stacks. A good analogue signal coming in mostly mixes itself along with a good musical performance, thereby is more efficient and time saving. Many people overuse the term "work flow" which is often code for "lazy." Yes, that was a hot take LOLOLOL. For me, I rather take the extra steps that hardware requires and spend less time ITB trying to fix/design what I could and should have done in the beginning, which means more time spent/wasted. Lastly, I would say from my observations, if you primarily work with VSTs as many of us do, then a few pieces of outboard (does not have to be expensive) is a must, to give it more weight, body and more authenticity. Otherwise they sound flat and boring regardless of how many plugins and effects you bury it in.
Great video and a very relatable anecdote. I also experienced the same thing as you. I love this little piece of gear. I would consider it but I ended up going with a Rooster 2. Do you still have your Phoenix compressor or was that replaced by the Iron?
The Phoenix is just one of those pieces that you hare or love. I simply cannot live without it. Such a great tone and character. And so different from what I thought it would be :D
Thanks Casper! Skulpter and karacter are very different beasts. The karacter oozes, as the name suggests, a lot of character :-D that outreaches "simple" saturation. You can overdrive the hell outta this machine. And the M/S capabilities are also magnificent.
I have the old dynamaxx Compressor by Reuben. It's one of my favourite pieces. Absolutely clean, accurate, high quality and unique. I 'm not sure I would ever let it go. It gives my other more expensive SSL style comps serious competition.
I think people tend to forget most signature sounds weren’t born from a musician thinking “this gear is exactly what I want” but rather “this is available to me” and it shaped their process so copying the gear won’t get you into their process if you just “get to the sound”
What you are saying is really important and I struggle with this topic a lot. I don’t see myself as a professional UA-camr. If money would be a concern, I would consider very different topics and devices. I only review instruments and devices, which I personally use or am interested in. But in todays climate, it’s a very heated debate when in comes to „influencers“.
It is expensive.. but none the less I´m still going to build a simple but effective master buss analog rig to add to my SSL SIX I´m taking my time though and if possible will try before I buy as I really think what works for some peoples ears doesn't for others. Would you say something like the SSL FUSION is a flexible piece of gear? seems so.. But i´m also thinking about the WES Audio NG Buss comp have you tried them? Cheers for the channel good stuff..
From what I read online, apart from the already mentioned headroom issue, those so called 'Elite' snobs, are usually mastering engineers, who are trying to help beginners or uninformed people who are asking questions, make wiser financial decisions. The thing is, that many people chase a very specific sound, such a sound that you really do need a very specific design in order to get there. There is only 1 Manley Vari Mu, and nothing sounds like it. If you want to get close to that, maybe a plugin can save you 2000 EUR that you will spend on a cheaper MU, so that later you could buy what you REALLY want. My experience with relatively cheaper analog hardware is that in many cases it's doing the job, but it doesn't really have that 10% wow effect difference from plugins. Elysia for example, make great high quality gear, but their plugins sound so close to the original that one musk ask themselves if getting the hardware is really the best way to spend their money... Just my humble opinion anyway...
Mastering engineers ar farthest away from aforementioned snobs. They are most of the time very informed and want to help out when you send them premasters. In fact, many mastering engineers are using "entry level" elysia gear like the xpressor and xfilter, despite the "headroom issue". The problem is not headroom but proper gain staging throughout the signal path. Goal of my video was to give a starting point for people, who want to start building up an analog studio. There is a lot of great gear. Some flexible some very specific. My point was, that you don't have to invest loads of money in order to start out with great analog gear. You need to start out and explore devices. From my story, I wanted a lot of stuff. Got it and sold it half a year later because I thought it would make me an artist. The more you work with analog, the more you understand the caveats. The skulpter is an amazing starting point because you can do so much with it. But just because you can use it on the master bus doesn't mean that it is a mastering device. Master bus processing and mastering are not the same. So, these are just my two cents. Have a great day and thank you so much for your opinion!
@Phable I agree with you on everything 100% ;) Just wanted to add a bit of info from another perspective:) I'm a mastering engineer too, yet I'm also using some entry level gear, by HRK for example..
Hey Dan, really appreciate you insights! As someone who works in the industry as well, I just like to add my perspective as well. Getting away from these misconceptions about audio gear just made my life a whole lot easier :)
What that Studer cost, let alone the tape, if you can find it. Owned a B 77 back in the day, 7 bucks for an 1800 ft, 1 mil thick, reel of Grandmaster 456, which apparently didn't last. Wouldn't spend the money on the tape alone today
@@phable Tape saturation distortion at low distortion levels, is euphonic, I liked the sound off my B 77 VS the sound of my B-790 TT and directly listening to the album, more.
@@phable yea I'll never be able to afford a bunch of analog gear .. so I figure if I can get a extra dB or 2 from one unit and be able to spread it along a whole mix and get that neve tone.. I feel it would be a justified purchase.. I just wish I could get my hands on one for a week just to see if it's something that's worth the price tag
Never think that way! What you see in my studio is a long 12 year journey of saving up and sometimes bitter consequences (no vacation, no new clothes etc.). At the end it was all worth it (for me at least). But you can always accomplish your goals!
One of the issues with the Elysia stuff is regarding headroom. This unit has 19Dbu max input and you bring up flexibility. Elysia has “mastering” version of their EQ with headroom but there goes the affordability. This often becomes a discussion amongst the elite gear snobs, and maybe education on headroom, when it’s needed or not, ways to get around it etc. this way new comers can make informed decisions
I get where you are coming from. However, most microphone preamps have a maximum input level of 18-19 dBu. In real life scenarios, there are no downsides to this. Noise levels, total harmonic distortion etc. are so low, that we can work with any levels as long as we maintain consistent gain staging.
@@phable sure, if you have it on the mix bus and you’re running too hot, just gain stage before and after? If that is true, then why is it an issue for so many of these gear snobs? Why did Elysia need to release a mastering version of the same thing, with higher headroom, as a response from engineers? (Aside from smaller adjustments) These kinds of things make me get cold feet and just focus on ITB and maybe some basic workarounds might help a lot of people from buying expensive gear because they are worried that the cheaper alternatives will become a part of the used market
@@dougleydorite Exactly! Gain staging is king! Professional tape machines had a maximum operating level of +4 dBu RMS with a peak of +18 dBu (German broadcast standard). And they were used for mastering. The mastering version of the xfilter was mainly developed, because they were many requests for finer gain adjustments. Not because the original one could only take +21 dBu. It is true that most mastering gear has a lot of headroom but this has a lot of reasons. Not sound quality. Otherwise most vintage gear would be useless nowadays.
"190bu" does not make sense if you meant to type dB or VU instead, then your talking about a SPL range spanning from a mosquito fart to a volcano or heavy artillery detonating
It's about the endpoint and where you want to go..Of course if you have a $750k budget, you can mess with Pultec,Manley,etc, and swear it makes a difference. The question is though, who knows the difference and who cares?How many people leave the club because you used Alesis/ Elysia gear as opposed to Tube Tech/Manley?NONE>>To me,what is the point of something no one cares about that's costing me more money and I barely use?Think about me buying a Rolex and then wearing it daily in the NYC subway,like someone cares. Yeah, they will care so much they will pull out a gun,rob me, probably beat me to death,and then it does not matter.
You make more money selling "pro" gear to hobbyist level users. I wouldn't buy external until you're very well and comfortable getting the most out of all of your plug-ins. XYZ will always be the McGuffen that will take you to the next level. The only thing that will take you there is experience. There are several use cases for hardware. When I started, that's all that there was. But keep your money in your pockets as long and as much as possible. There is so much great and inexpensive and even free stuff out there that you can spend years and years refining your ears and skillset before committing a lot of money.
What do you think? Is professional audio equipment always expensive?
Part is great components and part is having a musical 'caste system'...
Hey 👋, thanks for the love! Keep up the great work. Much appreciated. 🚀❤
Thank you for your great equipment!
Nice video and I agree with your sentiments. Both hardware and software have their place and the middle ground is the best approach, so it does not have to be binary. I have a plugin version of the 1073 and it does not sound or react like my 1073 hardware. From my experiences, when I come in the box from good analogue gear, I spend less time in box trying to sound design/fix with multiple plugins and more time mixing. Most of the time no plugins or no more than 1 or 2 are needed vs the never ending maze of plugin stacks. A good analogue signal coming in mostly mixes itself along with a good musical performance, thereby is more efficient and time saving. Many people overuse the term "work flow" which is often code for "lazy." Yes, that was a hot take LOLOLOL. For me, I rather take the extra steps that hardware requires and spend less time ITB trying to fix/design what I could and should have done in the beginning, which means more time spent/wasted. Lastly, I would say from my observations, if you primarily work with VSTs as many of us do, then a few pieces of outboard (does not have to be expensive) is a must, to give it more weight, body and more authenticity. Otherwise they sound flat and boring regardless of how many plugins and effects you bury it in.
Great video and a very relatable anecdote. I also experienced the same thing as you. I love this little piece of gear. I would consider it but I ended up going with a Rooster 2. Do you still have your Phoenix compressor or was that replaced by the Iron?
My Phoenix will never leave me. It’s in the siderack. Some Iron videos are coming soon ;)
@@phable Awesome! I have my sights set on the Phoenix. Hopefully one will find it's way to me in the next year. :) Thanks again for the great content.
The Phoenix is just one of those pieces that you hare or love. I simply cannot live without it. Such a great tone and character. And so different from what I thought it would be :D
Great video! I got the 500 series version a year ago, they are awesome on Bass! They also work wonderful with tube mics.
Hell yeah, bass gets a lot of definition and weight through the DI!
Great video! Apart from the preamp section, could the Elysia Karacter do the same and more as Sculpter? I am mainly working in mix/master
Thanks Casper! Skulpter and karacter are very different beasts. The karacter oozes, as the name suggests, a lot of character :-D that outreaches "simple" saturation. You can overdrive the hell outta this machine. And the M/S capabilities are also magnificent.
@@phable Alright, because I like the sound of the skulpter more. :)
The xpressor 500 also had a cool warming button :)
Which is very cool!
I have the old dynamaxx Compressor by Reuben. It's one of my favourite pieces. Absolutely clean, accurate, high quality and unique. I 'm not sure I would ever let it go. It gives my other more expensive SSL style comps serious competition.
Oh wow, never tried out the dynamaxx! Give the new xpressor neo a shot - very impressive!
Sounds killer man. Definitely really transparent and versatile, cool that can you use as a insert and recording.
Glad you like it! It’s a really good starting point into the analog world.
Thanx for the detailed cool video ! 🎉
I think people tend to forget most signature sounds weren’t born from a musician thinking “this gear is exactly what I want” but rather “this is available to me” and it shaped their process so copying the gear won’t get you into their process if you just “get to the sound”
Very important point you are making here!
Why only a few simple post-processing twiddles in a nearly half-hour long video for a _pre-amplifier??_
My favourite part of this monologue about GAS awareness was that it was given while silently sitting in front of an Alpha.
Haha, don’t say it too loud! Psssssst! 😗
Thank you, it gets each day more and more difficult to catch out brand influencers from unbiased guides
What you are saying is really important and I struggle with this topic a lot. I don’t see myself as a professional UA-camr. If money would be a concern, I would consider very different topics and devices. I only review instruments and devices, which I personally use or am interested in. But in todays climate, it’s a very heated debate when in comes to „influencers“.
😂
Any videos of using your R2R tape machine ?🎉
Coming soon ;)
Anything in particular you would like to see?
@@phable how do you use it for production, or it’s just for a good look ?)
@@KosmoDeuz haha, that would be a very expensive look! No no, use it all the time!
It is expensive.. but none the less I´m still going to build a simple but effective master buss analog rig to add to my SSL SIX I´m taking my time though and if possible will try before I buy as I really think what works for some peoples ears doesn't for others.
Would you say something like the SSL FUSION is a flexible piece of gear? seems so.. But i´m also thinking about the WES Audio NG Buss comp have you tried them?
Cheers for the channel good stuff..
Just give it a try and let your ears decide ;)
@@phable Yep does seem the best way. Luckily we can buy and return these days.
From what I read online, apart from the already mentioned headroom issue, those so called 'Elite' snobs, are usually mastering engineers, who are trying to help beginners or uninformed people who are asking questions, make wiser financial decisions.
The thing is, that many people chase a very specific sound, such a sound that you really do need a very specific design in order to get there. There is only 1 Manley Vari Mu, and nothing sounds like it. If you want to get close to that, maybe a plugin can save you 2000 EUR that you will spend on a cheaper MU, so that later you could buy what you REALLY want.
My experience with relatively cheaper analog hardware is that in many cases it's doing the job, but it doesn't really have that 10% wow effect difference from plugins. Elysia for example, make great high quality gear, but their plugins sound so close to the original that one musk ask themselves if getting the hardware is really the best way to spend their money...
Just my humble opinion anyway...
Mastering engineers ar farthest away from aforementioned snobs. They are most of the time very informed and want to help out when you send them premasters. In fact, many mastering engineers are using "entry level" elysia gear like the xpressor and xfilter, despite the "headroom issue". The problem is not headroom but proper gain staging throughout the signal path.
Goal of my video was to give a starting point for people, who want to start building up an analog studio. There is a lot of great gear. Some flexible some very specific. My point was, that you don't have to invest loads of money in order to start out with great analog gear. You need to start out and explore devices. From my story, I wanted a lot of stuff. Got it and sold it half a year later because I thought it would make me an artist. The more you work with analog, the more you understand the caveats.
The skulpter is an amazing starting point because you can do so much with it. But just because you can use it on the master bus doesn't mean that it is a mastering device. Master bus processing and mastering are not the same. So, these are just my two cents.
Have a great day and thank you so much for your opinion!
@Phable I agree with you on everything 100% ;) Just wanted to add a bit of info from another perspective:) I'm a mastering engineer too, yet I'm also using some entry level gear, by HRK for example..
Hey Dan, really appreciate you insights! As someone who works in the industry as well, I just like to add my perspective as well. Getting away from these misconceptions about audio gear just made my life a whole lot easier :)
How does it sound on vocals?
Transparent and clear. But I should give some audio examples.
What that Studer cost, let alone the tape, if you can find it. Owned a B 77 back in the day, 7 bucks for an 1800 ft, 1 mil thick, reel of Grandmaster 456, which apparently didn't last. Wouldn't spend the money on the tape alone today
Tape is a special kind of addiction 😁
@@phable Tape saturation distortion at low distortion levels, is euphonic, I liked the sound off my B 77 VS the sound of my B-790 TT and directly listening to the album, more.
Do some more videos on skulpture
Sure! What would you like to see?
Superb brother
Thank you :)
This is why I want a neve summing box yes it is gonna put me back 1,500 but I will be running EVERYTHING though it..
Which Neve summing box do you mean?
@@phable 5057
Oh yeah, that seems to be a very interesting product! Maybe I have the chance to test it out at some point. :)
@@phable yea I'll never be able to afford a bunch of analog gear .. so I figure if I can get a extra dB or 2 from one unit and be able to spread it along a whole mix and get that neve tone.. I feel it would be a justified purchase.. I just wish I could get my hands on one for a week just to see if it's something that's worth the price tag
Never think that way! What you see in my studio is a long 12 year journey of saving up and sometimes bitter consequences (no vacation, no new clothes etc.). At the end it was all worth it (for me at least). But you can always accomplish your goals!
One of the issues with the Elysia stuff is regarding headroom. This unit has 19Dbu max input and you bring up flexibility. Elysia has “mastering” version of their EQ with headroom but there goes the affordability.
This often becomes a discussion amongst the elite gear snobs, and maybe education on headroom, when it’s needed or not, ways to get around it etc. this way new comers can make informed decisions
I get where you are coming from. However, most microphone preamps have a maximum input level of 18-19 dBu. In real life scenarios, there are no downsides to this. Noise levels, total harmonic distortion etc. are so low, that we can work with any levels as long as we maintain consistent gain staging.
@@phable sure, if you have it on the mix bus and you’re running too hot, just gain stage before and after? If that is true, then why is it an issue for so many of these gear snobs? Why did Elysia need to release a mastering version of the same thing, with higher headroom, as a response from engineers? (Aside from smaller adjustments)
These kinds of things make me get cold feet and just focus on ITB and maybe some basic workarounds might help a lot of people from buying expensive gear because they are worried that the cheaper alternatives will become a part of the used market
@@dougleydorite Exactly! Gain staging is king! Professional tape machines had a maximum operating level of +4 dBu RMS with a peak of +18 dBu (German broadcast standard). And they were used for mastering.
The mastering version of the xfilter was mainly developed, because they were many requests for finer gain adjustments. Not because the original one could only take +21 dBu.
It is true that most mastering gear has a lot of headroom but this has a lot of reasons. Not sound quality. Otherwise most vintage gear would be useless nowadays.
"190bu" does not make sense
if you meant to type dB or VU instead, then your talking about a SPL range spanning from a mosquito fart to a volcano or heavy artillery detonating
It's about the endpoint and where you want to go..Of course if you have a $750k budget, you can mess with Pultec,Manley,etc, and swear it makes a difference. The question is though, who knows the difference and who cares?How many people leave the club because you used Alesis/ Elysia gear as opposed to Tube Tech/Manley?NONE>>To me,what is the point of something no one cares about that's costing me more money and I barely use?Think about me buying a Rolex and then wearing it daily in the NYC subway,like someone cares. Yeah, they will care so much they will pull out a gun,rob me, probably beat me to death,and then it does not matter.
You make more money selling "pro" gear to hobbyist level users. I wouldn't buy external until you're very well and comfortable getting the most out of all of your plug-ins. XYZ will always be the McGuffen that will take you to the next level. The only thing that will take you there is experience. There are several use cases for hardware. When I started, that's all that there was. But keep your money in your pockets as long and as much as possible. There is so much great and inexpensive and even free stuff out there that you can spend years and years refining your ears and skillset before committing a lot of money.