Sknote is an Italian brand founded by Quinto Sardo, active on the market for several years, which offers "affordable" plugins belonging (in large part) to the "analog in the box" category, without totally neglecting purely digital tools.
I had the opportunity to test some products that particularly caught my attention and I decided to share my impressions with you, after having done the appropriate tests. The question we have been asking ourselves lately is: is it necessary to spend a large amount to get an “ok” sound?
Let's go and discover these plugins ...
Roundtone v.4: "all-rounder" tape recorder emulator
Let's talk about one of the most talked about plugins of the brand, arrived at version 4, which aims to emulate the classic behavior of belt machines, giving the user the ability to sculpt the sound precisely, thanks to various controls on the interface.
We can bring the tape to a very low speed (even "zero") with all the consequences that occur on high frequencies, plus the possibility of being able to choose between various tape formula (Tape A-B-C-D) in addition to the classic control BIAS, which we can typically find in various tape emulations on the market.
I can link the controls of various instances, associating a certain number of tracks to Machine 1 o 2, going to the right and opening the appropriate drop-down menu (this function is not currently enabled).
For further information on the classic parameters of tape recorders, I refer you to this article of mine: "Overloud Tapedesk- The old school workflow in the box"
Below is the control B-EXP, which is nothing more than a specific noise reduction system, enclosed in a single knob. For further information on these devices, I refer you to this article: "Overloud dopamine continues the gem seriess"
There is the classic control WOW (and flutter), assisted by control FLANGE, which can be used in MIX, or as a control SPREAD, with which it is possible, for example, to give a sort of (minimal) stereo sound to a mono track (experimenting in Reaper I discovered this thing) by taking advantage of the modulation of the tape speed, in this particular situation.
Roundtone also offers a section DELAY, very simple to set, which can work in "send mode"(By turning on the third key, at the bottom) recommended for use in parallel (separate track) or in series (in this case the control FEEDBACK also works as a mix knob).
The more "nostalgic" might like the section NOISE, which also works in dynamic mode: practically, the envelope of the signal drives the background noise, precisely, dynamically (attenuating it).
Curiosity: accompanying the reels with the mouse (at the top), the writing "Don't Touch" will appear at the top, and it is possible to slow them down (BRAKING) with consequences, even drastic, on the pitch of the track, without however altering the speed of reproduction, which is very nice as regards the sound design.
Latency and CPU consumption
We certainly cannot complain about these two parameters: we are talking about almost zero latency (a few samples at 48KHz in Reaper) and a reasonable CPU consumption (just medium-low).
Roundtone can be useful when you want to give the track (single and / or mixbus) that “analog” touch, and / or when you want to give “warmth”, or maybe, when we feel the need to soften the high frequencies. It can also be used as soft clippers, to control the most hostile transients, gaining headroom accordingly. You don't see this plugin exclusively as the classic saturator/distortion, also because, it is not possible to obtain exaggerated levels of distortion. Working with the delay, perhaps in conjunction with the parameters wow e flanges, we can obtain sounds "old schoolOr in any case particular, even more so if we also use the braking control, in a creative way.
Price: $ 39,99
VERBTONE (V2): the plate reverb "Made in Italy"
This plugin is inspired by the plate reverbs built by Quinto, who provides us with an instrument capable of guaranteeing a certain sonic versatility, bound however to this specific type of reverb. The plate does not remember a "real" space / environment (room, hall, chamber) but is something "artificial", that is, a reverb of the type electromechanical (you will soon understand why). The sound that we can typically perceive (depends on various factors) is: metallic, dense, resonant, dirty, modulated, characterized by a discrete (particular) attack.
The principle of operation in the real world
Let's imagine we have a real plate (stereo) reverb and want to apply it to a mono source, via an insert on a parallel track, inside our favorite DAW, using (obviously) some AD converters/DA. The plate reverberation is basically a metal plate, suspended with a spring system inside a metal structure, whose surface is stressed by the vibrations generated by an electro-acoustic transducer (imagine the back of a speaker) which in turn is driven by a power amplifier, which receives the audio signal coming from the digital world, as well as from our DAW, converted to analog (DA).
The vibrations of the plate are "collected" by two piezoelectric transducers (remember that we are talking about a stereo plate) placed perhaps on two ends, which "transform" them into electrical signals. The resultant of our reverb is a stereo signal, which is then converted to digital (AD) before returning to our DAW.
To adjust the decline, as well as to dampen or not vibrations, a mechanical system is used. The final sound depends not only on the type of metal and the geometric dimensions, but also on all the other elements mentioned above. For those wishing to learn more, I am attaching these links:
In addition to the classic controls that can typically be found in reverbs (PreDelay, HiPass, Low pass) there is a section dedicated to modulation, in which it is possible to modulate: Amplitude, Frequency, Phase, Bread. In this way we can give the reverb a less "static" sound by creating particular movements, which can be light or more marked.
There is the possibility to choose between two types of amplifiers: Buffer Tube, characterized by a “warm” sound with a good amount of harmonics, or Solid state, cleaner and more crystalline than the previous one.
There is no shortage of precision and versatility: it is possible to adjust the decay in steps, using the UP and DOWN buttons, or in a "fine" way by operating the mouse in correspondence with the red pointer.
This reverb can work in different modes which, assisted by the control Width, allow us to find the right stereo based on the needs that arise.
- Stereo> mono> stereo - Split stereo
- True stereo
- Stereo cross split
- Panned (width) mono
- Follow the source
Each of these has quite intrigued me, as it gives the sound a different spatialization, so: there is no better or worse mode, that is to say “experimenting costs nothing!”.
At the top left we can choose various types of slabs.
- Standard steel: classic full sounding plate, in fact, standardized.
- Thick steel: sound more muffled than the previous one (with the same decay) characterized by a more pronounced attack.
- Thin iron: sound less muffled than the previous one, characterized by a decidedly dark timbre.
- Thin Brass: sound a little more muted than the previous one, and more open.
- Elastic: particular sound, vaguely similar to that of a spring reverb, due to the fact that it is elastic.
By clicking on the image of the structure with the mouse, we can hear the sound of this “natural” reverb without necessarily using an audio source to apply it to.
From what we have been able to analyze, we can deduce that there is certainly no lack of timbre solutions.
Latency and CPU consumption
I found a latency of 2048 samples (in Reaper at 48KHz) and an average CPU consumption, nothing very worrying, as far as I'm concerned.
Such a reverb is often used on drums (snare drums in particular) on vocals and guitars, but obviously, nothing prevents you from experimenting on any source: the important thing is that you get to the sound you have in mind, without getting too fossilized on the "Audiophile rules".
Always remember that this is an instrument that does not remember the normal reverberation of a room / hall, but it is something that may not be suitable, if you are looking for a sound that remembers a real space, maybe, because for example, yes you have a track with a sound that is too “dry” and you want to “wet” it with the most natural reverb possible.
Price: $ 39,99
Not just “analog in the box”: that's SoundBrigade
In this case we are dealing with a purely digital instrument, which works at a spectral level, using a high resolution.
Imagine it as a dynamics processor that works in multiband, but with an indefinite number of bands / filters.
With controls CITY CENTER e RANGE it is possible to focus on a portion of the spectrum, within which the processor must work.
ACTION see it as a sort of range / ratio control, which typically can be found in various plugins (dynamic equalizers, multiband compressors and the like).
About THR (threshold) e MAKEUP there is not much to say, we are talking about very standard controls, which do not require particular explanation.
I can adjust the attack, in steps, choosing between two available values: control (fast attack) e snap (slow attack); The release is instead automatic.
We can entrust this processor with one MISSION, based on five available.
- Tame: keeps under control the portion of the spectrum we have chosen, compressing the affected bands in a transparent way.
- Control: in this case, with the ACTION control I decide how much portion of the spectrum concerned must be emphasized, while with THR I decide how much audio material must be involved in the compression, again based on the portion of the spectrum concerned. The result is a sound that could be aggressive, due to the fact that I go to "crash" (as the ACTION increases) the portion of the spectrum chosen towards the threshold (the remaining part of the spectrum is not processed). By choosing this algorithm I can give the track a certain vitality / aggressiveness, perhaps working in parallel, and at the same time I have the peaks under control (however it depends on how the attack is set).
- wake up: in this case the processor acts as a spectral expander, which is very useful when you want to (re) give dynamics to a track with a too flat / compressed sound.
- Rotate: in this case we do not work on the spectral dynamics (THR and ACTION will not work) but on the phase of the signal, always at the spectral level, by making rotations. The result is a very particular sound, which goes well with sound design applications, which is somewhat reminiscent of a laser beam, or if you like, an elastic sound (classic “twack”).
- Master's degree: algorithm similar to tame but less aggressive in action, with the same setting, with filter parameters strongly dependent on frequency. Recommended, precisely, in mastering situations.
TILT it must be seen as a control that adjusts the slope of a hypothetical spectral threshold, seen as a straight line (if TILT = 0 dB / octave) in a nutshell: the more I increase the slope (3 or 6 dB / octave) the more this spectral processor it will tend to preserve the left part of the spectrum, or if you like, the low-mid-low range, at the expense of the right part of the spectrum, or if you like, the high-mid-high range, which will potentially tend to be compressed / expanded more.
Latency and CPU consumption
We don't have to worry at all from this point of view: zero latency and low CPU consumption.
With SoundBrigate we can dynamically attenuate one or more resonances, or a certain range of frequencies; keep bass notes under control, soften the high frequencies (perhaps without neglecting the TILT control) using it as a de-being, expand a certain range of the spectrum, engage in sound design operations, compress / expand in full range mode, and if desired, confer character / aggression (using the CONTROL algorithm). Everything can be seen both in terms of mixing and mastering.
Price: $ 29,99
One of the latest news: MainEQ
Also in this case we are talking about a digital instrument, in this specific case, a dynamic equalizer consisting of 10 band, which can work both in compression and expansion (obviously also in a static way) plus the presence of a high pass filter and a low pass. In addition there is a tilt filter (static, with variable slope) thanks to which it is possible to do the classic equalization "tilt”(In a previous article I explained this type of technique in more detail).
The attack and release of each filter are automatic, without the possibility of any intervention by the user, which certainly guarantees a higher setting speed, but could limit its versatility.
By double clicking on the triangle (bottom) associated with the single filter, this becomes dynamic, and you find yourself having to set the Threshold and Ceiling (see it as the control inherent in the limiter that each filter has). With the circle (near the bell) I boost or attenuate (statically).
Target see it as in range - ratio control, which can assume both positive (expand) and negative (compress) values.
- DW stands for “wet” and “dry”, that is, parallel processing.
- MS stands for "mid" and "side".
The detection of the single filter can be standalone, and it can depend on its filter (self), on the whole spectrum (full-range), from everything outside the chosen filter (rest), or from one of the other internal filters available (for example, the tip of the snare drum keeps under control, or expands, the lower part where the fundamental is found ).
The detection can also depend on one of the 10 (internal) channels that this plugin makes available to us, not to be confused with the classic (external) sidechain inputs typically present in this type of processors. For example, I can compress a specific frequency range of the electric bass, associated with channel 2, using channel 1, associated with the drum case (I have to charge another instance). In this way I can perform the classic sidechain compression, working in the frequency domain.
Other features / utilities
- INTEGRATED SPECTRUM ANALYZER.
- UTILITIES: various useful templates, undo, redo, clear EQ and more ...
- COPY - PASTE settings (useful when using multiple instances and / or internal SLOTs for presets).
- INVERT (refers to the gain of all filters).
- AUTO GAIN (the volume is kept as constant as possible during adjustments).
- I can group and link (POLYS) the earnings of tot filters (CTRL + click).
Through the analyzer I can activate the function FLAT - Bar support, that is, after analyzing the audio material and pressing the appropriate button, the equalizer will try to give me an equalization curve as flat as possible, as well as balanced, which I can subsequently correct by acting on the filters involved.
It is possible to "match" the spectra of two traces, again using the analyzer. For example, I want the spectrum (out) of channel 1 to be as similar as possible to that of channel 2, on which I have inserted another instance of MainEQ. -
Clicking on MATCH, the equalizer will try to give me an equalization curve similar to that of channel 2, which I can correct manually.
Clicking on CARVE, the same concept is applied, with the difference that the equalizer is set to obtain a complementary spectrum.
In all 3 cases the function will be enabled POLYS, which can be totally disabled by going to UTILITIES and choosing “free all polys”.
With MainEQ it is possible to equalize in the classical sense and / or dynamically, combining compression and expansion, and thanks to the flexibility of the filter detection, it is possible to make settings with more criticality.
Compared to SoundBrigate, works in a less surgical and more standard way, maintaining a non-spectral resolution, bearing in mind that the former is absolutely not an equalizer, and has different controls than MainEQ, as well as a fairly different routing and basic concept.
Latency and CPU consumption
Working at full load (all bands dynamically) I found a medium-low CPU consumption, and zero latency, certainly positive things, for a dynamics processor like this.
Price: $ 39,99
For those wishing to learn more, I am attaching the article where I explain in more detail, the issue relating to CPU consumption based on the category of belonging, plus other details.
Link: Audiothing fog convolver
The very latest news: A25
Quinto has recently launched an "affordable" version of the classic bus compressor, 2500 API, taking advantage of some advantages that digital offers.
Officially there are only 2 competitors offering the emulation of this compressor, which Quinto most likely knew. In fact, it is not the first time that he has dedicated himself to creating software that does not have much competition, always trying to offer users low-cost tools, and with the addition of extra controls.
This plugin is still in the testing phase, so I can't yet express any opinion about it, maybe we'll talk about it in a future article ...
Price: $ 29,99
Final houghts
As usual, let's move on to the final considerations, always trying to be exhaustive and lucid, on the basis of what we have examined so far.
Roundtone
The tape emulation market is quite saturated, but it must also be said that this plugin has been on the market for several years, therefore, it is certainly not the latest addition, indeed, we can almost define it as an "evergreen" for this category of plugin, especially if you need to spend little. Overall I was satisfied, but, I would like to see other features, in the future, for example, other tape formulas, crosstalk (to give a further sense of sound three-dimensionality) and have the possibility of being able to easily saturate in an aggressive way, if I hear it. the need.
verbtone
It is currently one of the cheapest plate reverbs on the market (perhaps the cheapest) with an interesting quality / price ratio, convincing sound, versatile and easy to use. I hope to see some new plate models in the appropriate menu soon.
SoundBrigate
An instrument of this type does not have many competitors, if we then consider that it has a low price, is not complicated to set up and has an interesting sound, I would say that it is worth taking a look. I would also like to have the possibility to work in MS and dual mono, to better set the attack (maybe even the release) and to have a clearer and more precise analyzer, from the graphic point of view, in order to identify more quickly the problematic frequencies.
MainEQ
Il concept behind this plugin is certainly interesting, as well as the sound and the price. I must say that I did not like the spectrum analyzer very much, from the point of view of the resolution, just as I did not like the graphics part, at times a bit confusing. It could be even more versatile if it gave the possibility to adjust the attack and release manually, and I would like to be able to “solo” individual bands.
Returning to the question I asked myself at the beginning of the article: is it necessary to spend an important amount to get an “ok” sound?
The answer is: of course, but you have to know how to buy and give the right value to things, considering the fact that there are many companies on the market, which bombard us every day with "offers" and products of all kinds, and it could happen that you find yourself in the face of products, as far as I'm concerned, overestimated, which do not reflect their real value, from a qualitative and sound point of view. So, think with your head (and your ears) before attempting to make purchases of this type.
Sknotes it is definitely a brand that offers valid products, able to bring the sound to “ok” levels, which I recommend to all those (professionals and not) who want to add interesting tools to their plugin collection, without spending exorbitant amounts.
I inform you that you can download the DEMO version only for some products, in the specific case: verbtone e MainEQ. In all other cases, you can rely on Quinto's youtube channel, which periodically uploads demonstration videos, or (in the worst case) request a refund by contacting the person concerned via email.
As for me, I prefer to try the products firsthand rather than following demonstration videos, because I generally do a lot of plugin tests, which are often not done in most demonstration videos and / or tutorials. Anyway, I still recommend this brand, hoping that all these small aspects will be improved.
That's all for today, see you next time ...
Manufacturer's site: www.sknoteaudio.com
Regarding DEMO products:
Youtube channel: Quintosardo / videos
