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Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars
Thanks Jim1960, excellent descriptions. I especially like your story about Vinny liking the sound better coming out of the Demeter verses the UA Apollo. While I know modern emulations-electronics are excellent, I always have in the back of my mind that no matter what, there will always be something extra to be had when using old fashion hardware. Some will dispute that in the final mix those extras are hard to be heard. And of course, depending on the song and the mix that can certainly be true. But for some of us, it is only the extras that can totally satisfy what we are looking for. Isn't that what searching for that special guitar is all about? That little something extra?
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Indeed, that little something extra can make a big difference sometimes.
I think it comes down to priorities. For me, the top tier are monitors, convertors, and microphones. Second tier is preamps and compressors. After that, I'm fairly content to stay in the box.
I think the emulations are useful to a lot of people. They're certainly great for pointing us in a direction. My interface is a UAD Apollo X8p. I have emulations for SSL, API, Neve, Helios, etc., all available to me. Those can give a user a good idea of what he likes or doesn't like. Same with mic emulation software. It's all good for giving the user an idea of what might work well for them. Do they stand up to the real thing? In most cases, I don't think so. And for a lot of people that's fine. If you haven't heard great high end gear, you can be very happy with those emulations. It's like if you've never tasted lobster, you don't miss lobster.
Unfortunately for me, I've exposed myself to better gear and I don't mind treating myself to a new toy every now and then. But as for the mic emulations, the aforementioned Vinny did a shootout that's up on YouTube. It includes some mic mod softwre, the Slate VMS, some affordable offerings from Advanced Audio, and he borrowed my Flea 47. To my ears, the differences are pretty stark.