If anyone here feels like their vocal (or other) recordings are lacking that certain something, yet can't afford the serious money needed to buy GOOD expensive outboard gear like a tube preamp with analog compression and eq, you could do a LOT worse than the Nomad Factory Studio Channel SC-226. :rawk:

http://nomadfactory.com/products/asp/index.html

(scroll down to the last plugin on the page)


I did the 15 day trial, and this plugin is adding a LOT of warmth and presence, not only to my vocals, but to my other tracks as well, so I broke down last night and forked out the money for for this plugin.

Direct from Nomad Factory, it's $149, but I found it from another vendor for only $109.

http://www.floridamusicco.com/proddetail~prod~sc226_studio_channel.htm

Okay, so with the sound I'm getting, and at that price, it was even MORE of a no-brainer for me. :rawk:


Why do I love this plugin? Well, the difference is VERY dramatic, but in a very good way.

I have had that less-than-overwhelming experiences with other "analog" strips or tube emulators. I often listen to these and say, "Is that really adding anything? I can't tell.", when all that I really want is that fat, warm sound you get from expensive analog gear.

Yeah, I know, crazy to want a killer $10K+ sound out of a cheap plugin. Who am I kidding, right?


But with the SC-226, I am TOTALLY getting "that" sound out of it, right out of the box.

I am in the middle of recording a CD of original jazz vocal material (think Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, and Tony Bennett), and this plugin INSTANTLY warmed up my vocal tracks with that vintage tube sound, and I didn't have to jump through a lot of hoops with the controls to get it. It was just "there".

You can see the straightforward vintage analog UI here:




I know a pretty UI doesn't necessarily mean that it sounds good, but in this case, the sound (vintage analog gear) seems to match the looks, making this one of the most intuitive and "musical" plugins I've ever used.

So, if you're reasonably experienced at recording and using DAW plugins, I do recommend giving this the free 15 day trial. It certainly has that "wow" factor that I've been looking for.


A funny side note, when I did the A/B comparison for my wife, of the vocal tracks with and without the plugin, she said, "Ooooh! You need to buy that!"

You KNOW it's making a difference when your spouse wants you to spend money.