Always thought it was a gimmick, but the recent influx of releases on the sister site made me think about giving it a try, and it was truly amazing. Now, don't get me wrong, the software fucking sucks and is clunky as hell, but the sound is there. Just some console emulation + mix bus compression keeps the usage pretty alright on the CPU and is more than enough to give the sound a pretty awesome polish on top of other algorithmic plugins. The SSL 4K/9K high shelf also sounds great, it has just a tiny bit of sparkle that makes the difference in some tracks. Truly outstanding technology!

That said, what are your favorite libraries? I'm looking for more mastering/mix bus compressors to try. Right now I have tried AlexB's Modern Flagship Dynamics (great!), 4K G Bus Comp (I prefer The Glue), N09 Metal Knob (good) and American 25 Comp (good). Haven't tried any TimP libraries yet. I'm trying to find some that have a good balance in sound and CPU usage, and most importantly sound so much better than other plugins. After that, I plan to buy them and not look back.

Right now my setup is:
- Console: Modern Flagship Console (AlexB)
- Compressor: Modern Flagship Dynamics (AlexB)
- EQ: SSL 4K (AlexB)

Let me know your favorites!

 

Cupwise Ax102 is unparalleled for master tape imo. I love TimP's Opto 1b

 

Thanks for putting another developer in my radar, just tried their 9K compressor and it's great. The added modes for easing up the CPU helps a lot, and the sound is killer as expected. Going to try it on a mix later, but there's a good chance I've found my compressor.

I'm also adding AlexB's Ely-X eQ to my list, it's going straight to the mix bus. It's the SSL high shelf for individual tracks, and this for the mix bus. So far, very impressed.

 

Definitely give Cupwise C254E a go. TimP's L-Bus V2 is great if you dig SSL G Bus compressors.

I'm also impressed with AlexB Chandly Germanium and AlexB Analog Tape Emulator, especially 102.

AlexB S432, been digging Ely-X too, glad you dig it also.

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2026 at 3:05 PM

People really seem to love the Tim Petherick libraries. To me, the clunky software and cumbersome installation process never justified downloading any AA crap.

 

A swiss knife library is AlexB Preamp Collection. Lots of gear available.

I would recommend as well MMeQ(Massive Passive) also from AlexB because it is the best sounding virtual MMP out there. You can test against any one out there, even UAD, and will sound superior on anything, from color to transient response and nonlinear boosts and cuts ;)

I woulnd't mind testing Henry Olonga stuff, because it's donationware and you can find great freebies from him out there.

 

Dont forget to support azzimov, check his patreon for a TON of skins many of which add functionality and some tutorials on smoothing out some...but not all (thanks acustica) of nebulas quirks.

Im an idiot and own like.... a lot of libraries. Gotta catch em all type. Recently been using timps api and neve 1073 a lot for eqs. Agree about alexs ssl too, great. Comps I been using a lot are cupwise ear 660, timps cl1b, Alexbs ssl g bus. Cupwise has some FUN libraries as well like his distortion (cuptones 3 I believe off the top), maybe not necessary for mixing but fun to play with.

Welcome to the club, there are literally dozens of us!

 

I bounce as I go (with undo option), cos Nebula is quite brutal on my CPU

 

To you.. remember that. Furthest thing from crap.

 

Welcome to the club. My Master bus: Alex B 4K Console, 4K G BUS, Tim P J37 Tape, together with a couple of algo plugins. In mixing, sky is the limit. Bounce as you go, as Zenarcist states. Alex B GM9 is underrated

 

Cupwise AX102, it's about the only nebula library i kept using after ditching everything else. That was before the recent wave of stuff though.

 

Yes. Nebula sounds awesome. I have all the music I listen to go through a Revox tape sim.
I love it. Nothing I tried ever came close to the real thing like Nebula.
What it does to the low ends is exactly what happens with real tape.

 

Be aware that if not used properly like make these libs as VST not thru n4 setups
It will bring weird clonky noise that appears from nowhere and totally useless

many of this means that if you don't have legit n4 it will never be able to produce the vst

 

Wot

 

Same here... If you could rephrase that a little, that would be great.
Your statement is not about the SRC bug, is it? Or is it about the issues on apple silicon? Or do you mean there are no high quality cracks of version 4 out?
(What about 4.5?)
I read your post several times and I'm still not able to decypher it.

 

You got me interested, but i have never bothered with it cause it seemed too complicated to justify the effort of setting it up, if you got any quick guide that would be nice and appreciated.

 

maybe it is oversampling more than anything.

 

Alex B SSL Black and Brown - Must have eqs.

Alex B's SSL Channel dynamics - must have, simply for the listen mic compressor in parallel. wow

Cupwise latest compressor updates are excellent.

I love Tim P's Dyanmics - 1176, la2/3a, opto 1b, n60A (amazing clipper too), N18, complex comp/limiter, etc etc etc

Tim P's Tapes are excellent, the T Tape Saturation / Clipper type module is just amazing.

Cupwise Cassettes, especially volume 3 with the cassette dynamics. just really unique compression. total vibe, nothing transparent whatsoever.

Cupwise M-EQ - an excellent version of the Michelangelo EQ. Now, its preset curves, which are great, but the part that i use the most is the "mixing" presets, with smile/frown curves, mid push or dip, shelves, etc. Amazing EQ

Tim's Reverbs are really nice. His X90 is a bit of a one trick pony, but if you are familiar with that reverb its excellent. His Real spaces is awesome as well.

Cupwise filters, both the "mixing" ones and the FX ones. Great stuff.

Cupwise delays and fx - must have. Sooper time tube is just freaking amazing for coloration and even mixing. Tube Delay Station is insanely deep, with so many color options, Nolard Tape Delay also great. HIs reverbs as well.

 

is there any nebula saturation library that is better then sound toyd decapitator?

 

This is completely incorrect. What you refer to as "Weird Clonky Noise", is the response of driving these libraries with too hot of an input. For many Nebula programs, especially older ones, you have to be very careful with gain-staging, hitting at around -18. if you don't it will obliterate your ears and speakers with these so-called clonky noises. Wether or not you make setups, or just use the build in file browser to load programs, it doesnt matter, you still have to properly gain stage.

Regarding the cracked version being unable to create setups, as far as i know that is incorrect. I use a legit version, but just helped somebody create setups a week or two ago, and they were using the crack.

I think i translated in my answer above lol.

Their statement is incorrect, at least my understanding of it is that its incorrect, and that they were hitting Nebula too hot. see above for my reply

Personally, I love Tim P's T-Tape, as well as his clippers found on a few of the libraries... Pultec, La2a, etc. Cupwise has some excellent saturation in his tube radios series and cuptone vol 3. Decapitator is great, and is a classic. I still use it almost daily. I also replace it often enough with some of the above, as well as other algorithmic plugins. Tim P's distortion / clipping just sounds amazing. It sounds real, like pushed hardware. Even just a touch of it at say 1-3db of clipping can add so much character and realness to your sessions. Cupwise's distortion stuff has a huge range of sonics available. All sorts of flavors of saturation / distortion.