Lately I have been using the DSP56300 emulator along with the Softube Weiss plugins, both of which are an exact copy of the hardware they were ported from. Which got me thinking, what are some other plugins that are an exact 1:1 copy?

I suppose you could argue that any impulse response is an exact copy as well, though that could be up for debate considering all the restrictions that come with not having the actual hardware/amplifier.

 

Tc Electronics MD3, MD4, NONLIN, VSS3, VSS4 taken from TC Electronics SYSTEM 6000
Tc Electronics DYN3000, PEQ3000 taken from MIDAS Heritage 3000 console

 

The question I ask myself is: " Does a 1:1 copy sound like the original?
I once read somewhere that a PC or audio interface has a limitation and therefore can never sound like the original. Hardware has yes 220 volts, is it because of that? I miss with all replica plugins the deep bass like the original.

 

I think the UAD plugins do a great job of emulating the hardware sound character. The Tube Tech CL 1B plugin version of UAD almost sound the same as the hardware version.

Hardware cost: ‎$ 299.00
Plugin cost: ‎$ 3’920.00

 

Plugins will never be an exact copy of physical hardware for obvious reasons. This also applies to Digital hardware vs. Digital plugins.
The hardware has a unique reaction that cannot be reproduced by plugins running through for example:

• different DAWs
• different computer setups
• different onboard or external sound devices with varying quality.
• hardware running lower than 96kHz/24bit
• any internal or external converters along with implementation & quality

With input/output buffering and/or transformers, you now have another stage that software just cannot accurately reproduce.

Remember that "close" only counts in horse shoes.

 

There's a Neve channel strip that's a 1:1 on the UAD architecture - DFC I think. Really want to try the Weiss I hear good things about it

I think software will get there eventually it may not be a replica but it could be even better as there are less restrictions - the transformer emulations I've heard from UAD are great but they bring the card to its knees when active. Just need more powerful computers and programming and we could emulate multiple transformer stages and with AI and Neural networking make things random enough to fool us. It should even allow us to abuse these circuits in ways analog can't offer and keep the noise floor low and the cost too

 

Last edited: Jul 26, 2022

i can safely say that EL' Distressor and it's UAD counterpart work the same (i did an experiment with them for my university and the audio result, doing null test, was within margins since it was purely noise and at really low level and it appeared sometimes)

 

Last edited: Jul 26, 2022

1:1 exact copy of hardware?
There is no such thing: Gear is gear, computer is computer. Once we realize that we have already taken a good step forward.

Those who still do not understand it are the same ones who go to the Chinese restaurant and order pizza thinking that it is basically the same ...

 

As long as you wind up with a sound that works, who gives a shit. This happens with analog synths. No one is doing an a/b comparison to find out your Minimoog lead should have had a 2dB peak at 2k to sound utterly authentic. We should all provide plugin lists with our mixes so people can decide if the results seem authentic.

 

softube overstayer, uad 1176.
I heard from a friend who had the hardware for a long time that they were very similar.
but i don't know

 

In the context of a mix, the differences between hardware and plugins are negligible. Not that I have used mixing hardware a lot, but I've recorded a fair share of mic'ed guitars and contrasted them to reamped and VST versions. The difference doesn't bring anything significant to a mix. I own only one compressor and an exciter besides my preamps. I use my SPL Vitalizer on tracking to add a flavor that is less convincing with EQ, and my Drawmer compressor has given me a depth that was impossible to emulate with UAD or any top notch plugin. I used it as a bus compressor, just for flavor, until I used STL Tones ControlHub. It gives me that hard-to-describe sense of richness that I couldn't get otherwise. I bought the thing the instant I heard that.

 

It can be an exact replica if the hardware is a digital DSP inside. The "natives" Helix and stuff.

 

how bout try to understand the question first and the example OP given above. What he exactly means is the hardware that been using DSP processing that has a plugin version remake, in other words, hardware that process audio digitally not the analog way. Hardware such as those 80s, 90s DSP reverb units Lexicon, AMS, Bricasti, Eventide FX units, that has a converter built it inside them that convert the analog signal to digital, process them through the DSP and then convert back to analog all inside their boxes. Digital synthesizers that generate their sound digitally and then convert them to analog wave at the end of their processing. Guitar FX processor like the Line 6s, Axe FX, Boss, Neural DSP Quad Cortex, Strymon, also using DSP processing. He also asked for those that are known for having the same exact 1:1 DSP coding used for the DSP for both hardware and plugin version.

this is a good example. Anyway Xupito, the presets are shareable and produce the same sound, the only limitation is amount of FX units allowed based on processing power of the pedal models, the native version is unlimited of course. It has to be 1:1.

 

Last edited: Jul 26, 2022

Are you sure?

 

lmao, I wouldn't want this guy to be my accountant

 

Come visit me ( us ), I'll ( we'll ) make you listen to the - obvious - differences.

Voilà. It ends here.
This invalidates all the rest.

Which preamps ? Which mics ?

Try a Brauner mic into an Avalon Design V5 as I unfortunalety did one day, you'll hear. ( As already mentionned on this site last week. ) Just one example.

To this day, that top notch gear is unbeatable. For hardware including processors / based on " processing " ( TC 2290, Lexicon 80, 90, 300, etc. ) now that's different.

✵ The question was about 1:1, not adding fake harmonics with the SPL Vitalizer.

✵ Are you writing about the Drawmer 1970 ? 1978 ?

I owned a 1970 for some years, never being able to get with it " that SOUND ". It did it's job, just ok, not more. Let's say 90%. So - sigh -, I finally I visited all the studios around and read abot those " far way ", asked friends, noted, classified, put crosses in the boxes, and : rented a Summit Audio DCL-200 and at the same time a Tube-Tech LCA2B. And with the Tube-Tech my " jaws dropped " as they say.

I kept it ( and ruined myself of course, again ) and still have it. " Everything " goes in there, from vocals to snare to my guitar amps. NO software sounds that this, that BEAUTIFUL " blue sound ", yes, as its metal rack is .

________________________________________________________________________________

TC 2290 - TC plug-ins in general, made by TC itself - are really good. If not 1:1 - to start with the converters - , then 1:0,999999.

This week release of the Savant Audio Labs Quantum 2772 seems also very close of the original.

The Relab LX480 : same.

As for those SSL 4000 plugins, I'd like to hear a REAL comparison of a 48 channel mix sent into the hardware, and into a 48 channels version of " some devs " software, + the busses, + the compressor on the master.

 

Last edited: Jul 26, 2022

no vsti will capture a hardware synth or fx ever........................hardware circuts are old tubes and resistors and capaciters, vsti synths get close but not close enough

 

How glad I am that I am in the fortunate position for not needing all this hassling anymore just by not caring.
And this is really all I can say about this thread. I don't need those emulations and I do not even care about them.
And it really just works.

 

Each one his passion.

It's good if your clients are happy with your mixes - and / or masters - .

 

I thought it would go without saying that I was talking about strictly digital hardware, I did mention the bit about impulse responses but that was just an afterthought.