Slate Digital FG-X Mastering Processor

[Josh Burgess]

Does anybody have any new info on this? While lurking on Gearslutz (I don't post there, but lurk around in the New Product Alerts area sometimes) I saw a post from Slate saying it'd be coming out around May 28th... Just wondering if that's going to happen, or atleast if it'll be coming soon.

I'm really curious about it and can't wait to try a demo of it to compare it to Ozone 4 Intelligent II mode and Voxengo Elephant clipping mode.

 

[Harry Hughes]

Pisses me off they went on about it for ages, only for us to find out it wouldn't come out for months after they made the thread.
If I have the money, hell I'll probably buy it though

 

[Josh Burgess]

I'll buy it if it's as good as they say. I've been getting surprisingly good results out of Ozone though, so it's going to have to be a noticeable improvement. Using ozone or elephant and using gclip on drums, I can get commercial levels without too much squash.

If it's really as good as I've been hearing, it will be an awesome tool. I think mastering is something a lot of smaller project studio guys (like myself and a number of other dudes on here) kinda overlook... many of us try to get as good of results as we can ITB with things like Ozone or Elephant, but we kind of have to build the mix around the limiter we're using to try to counteract it eating away at the transients. It would be great to have a tool to help us get commercial levels without squashing dynamics and killing transients... just nice, smooth professional sounding masters as loud as we need to go to compete with commercial levels. That seems to be what they're promising, and if it delivers I'll definitely buy it.

 

[Emdprodukt]

It would be great to have a tool to help us get commercial levels without squashing dynamics and killing transients... just nice, smooth professional sounding masters as loud as we need to go to compete with commercial levels. That seems to be what they're promising, and if it delivers I'll definitely buy it.

I don't think that any mastering plugin can do that. The plugin would need to mix the project to make that happen

 

[xFkx]

I don't think that any mastering plugin can do that. The plugin would need to mix the project to make that happen

Of course, but If it follows slate's philosophy on mastering, i'm guessing the loudness section will be a GClip on (lots of) steroids. And if anything can get you a shitload of volume, clipping can.

Anywho, I can't wait to demo it.

 

[Emdprodukt]

I can't wait for it, too. I just don't think it will do miracles.

 

[AboutBlank]

I just don't think it comes around at 28th

 

[Josh Burgess]

Of course, but If it follows slate's philosophy on mastering, i'm guessing the loudness section will be a GClip on (lots of) steroids. And if anything can get you a shitload of volume, clipping can.

Anywho, I can't wait to demo it.

I don't even like putting gclip on the master bus... it sounds bad distorting guitars, vocals, etc. It's okay on drums... especially snare, to help tame the peaks, but not on the master bus.

From what I understand, it uses algorithms to create dynamic/intelligent transient saturation... So, it's using saturation, but it's not static. It acts differently depending on what kind of transients it's "seeing"...

 

[gabriel g.]

I´m with you Josh, and I know what you mean with mixing around to get the industry volume...I only say L2 with more then 3dB....

I think and hope that stevens new software can help to get the mix to an standart level without destroying to much of its vibe and energy.

But on the other hand, if your mix has no dynamics and is at a level of -18RMS...no plugin or hardware unit will make your mix sound good at -10RMS.
At the point were the snare and kick transients are hitting the 0dBfs mark, you mix will sound like shit when you overpower your mastering.

If you mix with less compression your mix could also fall apart, when the mastering evens out the volume and dynamic range.

Mixing is a bitch

 

[Emdprodukt]

I´m with you Josh, and I know what you mean with mixing around to get the industry volume...I only say L2 with more then 3dB....

I think and hope that stevens new software can help to get the mix to an standart level without destroying to much of its vibe and energy.

But on the other hand, if your mix has no dynamics and is at a level of -18RMS...no plugin or hardware unit will make your mix sound good at -10RMS.
At the point were the snare and kick transients are hitting the 0dBfs mark, you mix will sound like shit when you overpower your mastering.

If you mix with less compression your mix could also fall apart, when the mastering evens out the volume and dynamic range.

Mixing is a bitch

at what level do you usually mix?

 

[Melodeath]

I've never noticed Elephant 3 changing my mix tbh. Never even heard the snare disappear.

 

[aortizjr]

I am personally really excited about this one.

At NAMM I got the full on demo treatment. Even in that crazy loud horrible environment, I could still tell a major difference. We A/B'd with an "industry standard ITB limiter" and the difference was astounding. Also I had literally just handed off the master discs for duplication of a project I faux-"mastered." And it solved the constant fight I have with my tools (DBX Quantum II hardware, T-Racks, Ozone, Elephant, Waves L2, Gclip, Liquid Mix, Wavelab 6 Plugs). Basically more open, dimensionality, loudness, transient preserveation magicness, etc. all with just a few knobs. We were also listening to one Slate's slamming mixes too.

So it doesn't replace everything. The mix still needs to be balanced, so you need a good EQ (which is coming from Slate) and a multi-band for some cases. Maybe a saturator and stereo widener and coloring tools for really bad mixes. Noise reducer and crackel, additonal metering, etc. Also some way to do the Red-Book layout with Cue sheets, ISRC, CD-TEXT, etc. But in that final strap a limiter on stage... yeah that's where its at.

And for many of us here where we do our own faux-mastering by throwing stuff on the master bus of our mixes, it will likely be magic.

So yeah I am excited!

 

[gabriel g.]

at what level do you usually mix?

not easy to answer. There is this unwritten rule, that you should have -18dBfs on your master fader, while mixing.

I dont see it to serious, so I try to have enough headroom that my projects NEVER clip.
So my hardest snare hits are at -8dBfs on the peak-meter, subdrops too....

most preamps have around 90-100dB headroom.
with 24bit you have 144dB SNR (144dB headroom before your signal get lost in noise)

-18dBfs are 0dBU, so mixing on the volume of a real mixing desk is ok for me

 

[Josh Burgess]

This was posted on gearslutz:

Slate FG-X Release Date: June 3rd

Slate Virtual Console Collection Release Date: July 1st

Slate Upcoming Mystery Plugin #1: August 1st

Slate Upcoming Mystery Plugin #2: August 15th

Slate FG-Q Mastering Equaliser and Controller: Late Fall 2010

 

[Melodeath]

When was that posted?

 

[Josh Burgess]

When was that posted?

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-product-alert/496092-slate-fg-q-mastering-eq-controller.html

 

[Josh Burgess]

It's June 3rd now. I wonder if we'll see anything tomorrow.

EDIT: From gearslutz:

Slate Press -- "UPDATE on FG-X release: We will start to ship out TRIGGER to our retailers starting tomorrow. Because we have agreements with our retailers, we have to wait till they are stocked before we can sell on our online store. I would expect to be able to purchase by middle of next week."

Slate Press -- "i'm sorry, long day. I meant FG-X.. Yes I think a demo will be available within a few days, its being set up now."

 

[ParsonsMatt]

Sweet, can't wait

 

[gabriel g.]

hopefully the demo will blow me away!!!!and hopefully there will be some special UM or gearslutz deal for SSD or trigger owner

By the way:
Imo a good mix doesnt need a hell of plugins to get a good master.
A good mastering compressor, a (soft) clipper and a limiter is enough to make a master sound good around -12 ->-10 rms

I use the waves-ssl masterbus comp, the waves api 2500 (in analog and old mode as a soft clipper) and then the L2 with no threshold, just for the -0.4dBfs headroom...
I think all that stereo-widing shit, saturator stuff changes the mix to extreme.

My wish is, that I can ditch the L2 and use the mastering fx-g instead. To have the mix more transparent and with a little more level before everything collapse.

 

[Kazrog]

Looking forward to this as well as the virtual console plugins. Can't wait to try the demos. Slate rules!