I learned a lot today about consoles, and I am glad I did. They sound amazing! I had been using Decapitator to get "desk" distortion into my music to try and replicate some of that console sound, but now I have tried the Satson console by Sonimus and it sounds like I mixed and mastered my music at a real console! And a great one at that!
The Satson manual has a great manual, too, where they tell you how to meter properly and how to set up:
"Sonimus Satson is designed to emulate both the workflow and sonic character of analog
mixing consoles. For optimum results, please configure your DAW according to the
following specifications.
As A Gain Staging Tool:
To get a good mix, start by leveling your tracks’ volume output:
1. Create a new mixing project
2. Insert Satson Channel on all tracks of your project as a first insert
3. Insert Satson Buss on all busses and the master track
4. Before leveling your tracks with the DAW fader and before inserting other plugins, use
Satson Gain control to level individual tracks to 0VU (VU meter near zero)
5. When you have leveled all your tracks to 0VU, do not touch Satson’s Gain control again
6. Start mixing as you usually do: Insert new plugins; adjust the volume levels using your
DAW’s fader tracks, etc. (Please remember point number 5)
Buss Volume Levels: As with individual tracks, set the volume level of your busses to
average around 0VU as well. While viewing Satson Buss’ VU Meter, adjust tracks that are sent
to the buss with your DAW fader (not Satson’s Channel Gain control. Remember point number 5
above!).
Master Track Volume Level: Use the same process as above for “master track” volume.
Adjust the busses’ DAW faders to level at 0VU on your master track or 2buss.
For best results, keep Satson Channel and Satson Buss set to their default settings.
VU Meter:
VU metering works quite differently than peak metering (DAW meters are peak meters;
they are not useful for mixing. You need not pay much critical attention to your DAW’s
peak meters). VU meters, on the other hand, are more useful for mixing as they operate
similarly to the human ear…
As an exception to the above, you may want to use peak meters to level drums or
percussion… We're not going to explain how to use VU meters on drums. There must be
hundreds of great tutorials on the internet on this subject (Just type “VU meter drums”
into your favorite search engine).
0VU = -18dbfs: Employing these calibration values is the best way to establish good gain
staging in a mix. Satson’s saturation will work better, and the plugins inserted after Satson
will work better, too. Your mixes will have more clarity and better dynamic response due
to increased headroom."
Does this get any better?
The only drawback is that now I am going back and applying this console knowledge to some unreleased but already-finished tracks, so that will take some time. But what great fun this is!
The Satson manual has a great manual, too, where they tell you how to meter properly and how to set up:
"Sonimus Satson is designed to emulate both the workflow and sonic character of analog
mixing consoles. For optimum results, please configure your DAW according to the
following specifications.
As A Gain Staging Tool:
To get a good mix, start by leveling your tracks’ volume output:
1. Create a new mixing project
2. Insert Satson Channel on all tracks of your project as a first insert
3. Insert Satson Buss on all busses and the master track
4. Before leveling your tracks with the DAW fader and before inserting other plugins, use
Satson Gain control to level individual tracks to 0VU (VU meter near zero)
5. When you have leveled all your tracks to 0VU, do not touch Satson’s Gain control again
6. Start mixing as you usually do: Insert new plugins; adjust the volume levels using your
DAW’s fader tracks, etc. (Please remember point number 5)
Buss Volume Levels: As with individual tracks, set the volume level of your busses to
average around 0VU as well. While viewing Satson Buss’ VU Meter, adjust tracks that are sent
to the buss with your DAW fader (not Satson’s Channel Gain control. Remember point number 5
above!).
Master Track Volume Level: Use the same process as above for “master track” volume.
Adjust the busses’ DAW faders to level at 0VU on your master track or 2buss.
For best results, keep Satson Channel and Satson Buss set to their default settings.
VU Meter:
VU metering works quite differently than peak metering (DAW meters are peak meters;
they are not useful for mixing. You need not pay much critical attention to your DAW’s
peak meters). VU meters, on the other hand, are more useful for mixing as they operate
similarly to the human ear…
As an exception to the above, you may want to use peak meters to level drums or
percussion… We're not going to explain how to use VU meters on drums. There must be
hundreds of great tutorials on the internet on this subject (Just type “VU meter drums”
into your favorite search engine).
0VU = -18dbfs: Employing these calibration values is the best way to establish good gain
staging in a mix. Satson’s saturation will work better, and the plugins inserted after Satson
will work better, too. Your mixes will have more clarity and better dynamic response due
to increased headroom."
Does this get any better?
The only drawback is that now I am going back and applying this console knowledge to some unreleased but already-finished tracks, so that will take some time. But what great fun this is!