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Passive-Active Pack
This Collection Includes Three Highly Useable Equalizer Models that are Unique to Softube
The Passive-Active Pack is a collection of three very different equalizers, each with its own character and quirks. The Passive and Active equalizers emulate real workhorse units, used on thousands of recordings from past to present. The Focusing Equalizer combines these with analog sounding saturation and a novel workflow.
Passive Equalizer
Passive Equalizer is modeled from a famous German passive three-band equalizer, and features a wide bandwidth and an unsurpassed clear and open sound. The low boost gives you a warm low end, perfect to fatten up a bass drum or bass guitar track. Cutting the highs gives you a very gentle 6 dB cut which allows you to remove highs in a very musical way. The high boost is open and crisp and breathes life into any track.
Key Features:
- Three bands with an extremely wide and open sound
- Excellent treble control without any "digital harshness"
- Warm low end and a sparkling top
Active Equalizer
Active Equalizer is modeled from an active equalizer design made somewhere in the Swiss alps in the seventies. Whereas the Passive Equalizer is wide, clear and unintrusive, the Active Equalizer is more of a surgeon with a tight and focused sound. It's a highly useful problem solver when you need to get into details.
Key Features:
- Tight and focused sounding filters
- Low and High cut
- Three parametric bands with selectable gain in 2dB steps (-/+ 16 dB), selectable frequency with overlapping, but non-interfering, bands (50-500 Hz, 380Hz-3.8kHz, 1.8-18kHz) and a choice between a narrow or wide peak (Q) for each band
Focusing Equalizer
Focusing Equalizer is an inspiring and untraditional take on the EQ concept, which is all made up by Softube. The Focusing Equalizer works in a very musical way and does a lot of thinking for you.
At first glance it may seem like you're sacrificing versatility by using an equalizer with a limited set of options - why use a three-band equalizer when you can use your digital equalizer with umpteen bands, continous gain, selectable Q and different curves all built in? Well, equalization is all about sound design. Having an equalizer where the designer has already made some of the choices four you is like having an experienced sound engineer helping out and giving you directions.
Key Features:
- Inspiring, untraditional and very useful workflow
- Choose between Passive or Active EQ character
- Three-band EQ that automatically and musically changes with Low and High Cut
- Built-in one-knob saturation with metering and selectable saturation type
Learn more about Passive-Active Pack.
Harmonics
Analog Saturation Processor
Did you ever try to give a track attitude by adding distortion, but then wind up with a washed out, lifeless sound instead? Harmonics, with its never-before-heard approach to dynamics in distortion, is the answer.
Guitars, vocals, drums, bass, even synths often need some extra grunt to push them over the edge, but distortion can destroy dynamics and cause more problems than it solves. Too little and your sound doesn’t cut through and fill its space. Too much and you lose the light and shade, the attack and decay. Transients blend into tails, and detail and definition go out the window.
But with Harmonics, you get much more than just five awesome-sounding analog distortion models. You also get a revolutionary new approach to handling dynamics during the process of distorting the sound. The input signal is listened to and analysed by the plug-in, allowing the dynamics and detail to be preserved and enhanced even after heavy distortion is applied.
Add to that the fact that Harmonics has five totally different-sounding component-modelled distortion styles, high and low cut filters, a mix knob and more, and you end up with a very powerful secret weapon indeed.
Features
- Five genuinely different component-modelled distortion sounds
- Revolutionary ‘Dynamic Transient Control’ technology
- ‘Amount’ knob to control the amount of saturation
- ‘Character’ knob controls tone or color of the distortion
- High and low cut filters can be placed before or after distortion
- Wet/dry blend knob for parallel processing
- THD meter allows fine control of subtle saturation
- All of the grunt, none of the drawbacks
- Includes presets by Joe Chiccarelli and Howard Willing
Learn more about Harmonics.
Clipper
Analytical & vibey peak limiting
- Dual clip sections for shaping the tonality of the clipping
- Added sonic options that go beyond analytical clipping
- Compatible with all generations of Console 1 Mixing System
Clipper is a music producer’s ace in the hole for giving finished tracks the final push needed to match loudness expectations in the mixing as well as the mastering process. Softube designed Clipper with this in mind, but true to form, they also added some extra features to this dual-stage clipper to empower you to go beyond that and make creative decisions about the sound and vibe of the clipping. With the dual clipping stages RMS and Peak, an analog color option, and an optimized soft knee function, Clipper is at once analytical and vibey.
Clip
The function of a clipper is to immediately limit peaks without the effects that come from a limiter or a compressor, like pumping or decreasing level over time. It's useful when you have transients that would otherwise make your limiter act to decrease the overall loudness of your track. Clipper lets you manage those peaks while giving you the option to raise the level of your song. You may also find the sound of Clipper helpful to excite single tracks, such as synths.
Create
Clipping the peaks of a signal produces an audible sound. If it's overdone, it can sound unpleasant. That's because peak clipping is an analytical function rather than a musical one. To combat that, Softube matched the peak limiting stage in Clipper with an RMS stage you can use to gently shape the material before it goes into the peak clipping stage. Great for increasing the apparent loudness when mastering, the RMS stage is transparent in lesser amounts and, when pushed hard, breaks into a thick distortion. It gives you the power to go beyond the mathematical and make creative choices about the tonality of your clipping. Clipper accomplishes this by using anti-aliasing techniques to minimize artifacts, such as multiple stages of 4x oversampling. The Peak stage shaves the transients off the remaining audio. You can think of it like a limiter with infinitely fast attack and release. When used gently in the mastering process, the Peak stage gives a more cohesive sound.
Color
Want to change the tonality of an 808 or a drum bus? You're gonna wanna grab the Analog Color controls for that (plus, tweak the Headroom and set the Low and High Frequencies to home in on a specific frequency area you want to distort). That's because the Analog Color controls let you increase the amount of even-order harmonics (the sweet ones that sound good) generated by the RMS stage.
A note on naming: Softube had many discussions regarding the name of this control because "analog color" sounds a bit, well ... cheesy. At first, it was called "asymmetry," but that didn't imply anything about its sound, and it felt too technical a term. They tried a lot of different names but came back to "analog color" because that's how you experience the sound. No, it's not based on analog circuits or anything like that. But it does share the same spice: a pinch of even-order harmonics.
The Art of Rock & Roll Science
When it comes to creating equipment that enhances workflow and offers supreme sound quality, Softube's reputation is rock solid and illustriously long. Their partnerships with premium brands like Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, Weiss Engineering, and Trident have spanned decades.
Clipper was built on this legacy of creativity, passion, and obsession with the details. Because to create tools that innovate and elevate, you have to have heart, soul, and Rock & Roll Science.
Features
- Easy to use peak clipping
- Analytical and vibey approach to clipping
- Dual stages that let you shape the tonality of your clipping
- Carefully designed to avoid the introduction of unwanted artifacts
- Console 1-ready
Learn more about Clipper.
Widener
Five ways to widen
- Make mono tracks stereo & stereo tracks wider or narrower
- Five different algorithms for widening that suits your needs
- Compatible with all generations of Console 1 Mixing System
Widener lets you create a stereo signal from a mono track or widen an existing stereo track with five unique widening algorithms. But why use a spatial widener anyway?
Opinions may vary on the risks of using spatial wideners, but the dirty little secret is this: many producers, and even mastering engineers, use them as an easy, effective way to make their track stand out. Caution must be used, of course, to avoid ruining your sound with unwanted artifacts. If you do, you have an amazingly effective tool to produce an immersive listening experience. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Wade into the wider world with Widener.
It's wide, it's narrow, it's stereo
Widener is effective on both mono and stereo sources. Turn mono into stereo to make your sound cut through the mix. Or use it to expand your mix as an alternative to other effects that might clutter the sound, like reverb or delay. Do this with the certainty that your sound will stay mono-compatible when using the Frequency Spread or Classic algorithm. In stereo, you can carefully widen the sound to enhance the three-dimensional space of your mix and create a sense of depth or you can make it narrower to bring focus to the mix. Widener does not only widen a mix, its crossfeed algorithms can also be used to create a more natural and cohesive sound image during the mastering phase.
Five wide options & two visual aids
Each mix is distinctive and comes with diverse challenges and necessities. Using stereo width to enhance your mix might produce artifacts you'll want to consider. That's why Softube included no less than five different algorithms: Classic, Frequency Spread, Rotation, Ambience, and Reflections. Each algorithm has a unique strength, which allows you to find the sweet spot for your stereo image and minimize those unwanted artifacts.
In short, the different algorithms use phase shifting, Mid/Side processing, or reverberation techniques to accomplish their sound. The goniometer and correlation meter provide real- time information about the stereo width and allow you to avoid pitfalls by confirming what you hear. Which empowers you to make the right choices for your mix.
Tip! Want to learn to identify the artifacts from, for example, the Classic algorithm? Listen to solely the left or right channel and slowly move the Size parameter. By listening to only one channel, your ears aren't so easily fooled by the stereo-izing trickery. Moving the Size parameter shifts the comb filters around, letting your ears home in on them.
The Art of Rock & Roll Science
When it comes to creating equipment that enhances workflow and offers supreme sound quality, Softube's reputation is rock solid and illustriously long. Their partnerships with premium brands like Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, Weiss Engineering, and Trident have spanned decades.
Widener was built on this legacy of creativity, passion, and obsession with the details. That’s because, to create tools that innovate and elevate, you have to have heart, soul, and Rock & Roll Science.
Features
- Easy to use widening
- Use on mono or stereo sources
- Five different algorithms with different strengths
- Goniometer and correlation meter as visual aids
- Console 1-ready
Learn more about Widener.
FET Compressor Mk II
A Ground-Up Remake Of An Eternal Favorite
Launched as the "fastest compressor in the world" with a 20-microsecond attack time, the classic hardware Softube modeled FET Compressor Mk II on is exceedingly popular and heard on countless hit recordings. With a FET gain reduction stage, Class A solid-state amplifiers, input and output transformers, beloved aggression, and tasty distortion, it's easy to see why. The FET Compressor Mk II keeps that original sound and character while supporting a DAW-based workflow. There may be more than 1176 emulations of this compressor on the market, but only their meticulously remodeled FET Compressor Mk II features Softube sound quality, extra features, and added control.
Designed by Experts, Built on Legacy
Softube have been emulating professional audio gear for two decades. With partnerships with premium brands like Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, and Marshall Amplification, they have a strong record of accurately recreating analog standards in software form. FET Compressor Mk II builds on this legacy, delivering nothing less than the same classic character as the original hardware, superior sound quality, and added modern features.
The Glow Up
FET Compressor Mk II gives you the lightning-quick, in-your-face character of the hardware, plus more modern features for a DAW-based workflow. You can use the two different drives, FET and transformer, together or separately. Dry/Wet, and a Sidechain section deliver more control and increased usability for mixing and mastering. With Stereo Link, you can toggle from Stereo Linked mode, with linked Left and Right gain reduction, to Unlinked Dual Mono for independent gain reduction for Left and Right channels. The High Frequency Make-up feature allows you to offset the minor loss of higher frequencies when compressing sound sources as varied as vocals, snares, kick drums, guitars, and more.
In Short
- A complete and expertly executed remodel of one of the most popular analog compressors in the world
- Perfect for vocals, drums, and other sources that require considerable compression
- Added modern features, such as Drive, Stereo Link, a Sidechain section, a High Frequency Make-up feature, and Dry/Wet
- Authentically modeled All-buttons-in mode, or British mode
Learn more about FET Compressor Mk II.
System Requirements
- macOS Big Sur 11, Monterey 12, Ventura 13
- Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
- Softube account
- iLok account
- Computer with AU, VST, VST3, and/or AAX-compatible DAW host software
- Internet access (for downloading installers and managing licenses)
Supported CPU Families
- Apple macOS computers with Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or Apple silicon (M1 or newer) CPU. Apple silicon is supported natively.
- Windows computers with quad-core Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or AMD quad-core processors with SSE 4.2 support.
- Other Intel processors (Celeron, Pentium, and Xeon) are compatible if they support SSE 4.2 instructions.
Supported Host Software (DAW)
Any 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, or AAX (Pro Tools 11.0.2 or higher) compatible host application should work. However, due to plug-in host differences between DAWs—and our rigorous standards—Softube only officially test their plug-ins and instruments in the most recent versions of Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One, and Reaper. Softube plug-ins are not tested regularly in non-listed systems. They will likely work if the system requirements are met. However, the manufacturer cannot guarantee a solution for issues in unsupported systems.
Softube strongly recommend using VST3, as some of their plug-ins have features that are not present in the older VST format. Supported sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in both mono and stereo. The most recent maintenance release of your DAW application is recommended. AAX DSP is not currently in active development. TDM/VENUE/RTAS are no longer supported. See Legacy Installers.
Important Note: Make sure that you always use the latest iLok License Manager. It is not included in the Softube installer but can be downloaded from www.ilok.com
Any references to any brands on this site/page, including reference to brands and instruments, are provided for description purposes only. For example references to instrument brands are provided to describe the sound of the instrument and/or the instrument used in the sample. Plugin Boutique do not have (nor do they claim) any association with or endorsement by these brands. Any goodwill attached to those brands rest with the brand owner. Plugin Boutique or its Suppliers do not accept any liability in relation to the content of the product or the accuracy of the description. "RHODES" is a registered trademark of Joseph A Brandstetter.