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Softube Console 1 User Manual

1. 47 Hardware Specifications 48 END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT xlix Vocals 16 Input Dynamic Shape 20 wis PR 0 Equalizer 2777 Compressor aR T GATE RELEASE OH TYPE 08 MI LL Ld E u LOWMDQ Q m 05 iE 1 y 5 6 BEI 9 8 8 5451 FREQ gt LOW FREQUENCY LON MID FREQ FRE HGH FREQUENCY 9048 200Hz 0418 46088 M PUNCH WGHGNN 12 3 dB 15 8 98 14 8 1468 008 Introduction and overview Softube Console 1 is a new type of audio mixer It is used together with your favorite digital audio workstation DAW and just like a traditional mixing console you can route any or all DAW tracks to Console 1 and mix them from within that system This gives you access to Console 1 s world class sounding effects sections and lets you con trol everything from the hardware unit using physical knobs and buttons So what Console 1 gives you is the great sound that has made Softube world famous in addition to a tactile and intuitive workflow that speeds up your mix work substan tially compared to mouse mixing on the computer The SSL SL 4000 E Channel Included in your purchase is Softube s model of a Solid State Logic SL 4000 E one of the most famous and coveted mixing consoles in the world SL 4000 E consoles have been installed in hundreds of the world s leading studios and it is said that
2. 5 pm CET Contents Introduction and overview 5 The SSL 51 4000 5 Console 1 Compared Traditional Mixers 6 Getting started 9 Setting Up Your First ConsoleTSession 9 Input ue e eR Rs 14 Shape Section 15 56 00 16 Compressor 56 0 18 Output 19 Working with Console 1 21 Track Selection ee ee 22 On Screen Display 22 ThelnputSection 24 26 EQUALIZER cre eR E 28 iui etu e re RS oes 30 The Output section 32 Understanding 50105488 33 Useful Functions 35 SelectAllTacks 35 Create a Group 35 Duplicate Track Settings 36 Load and Save Presets 38 dete e HE e S 39 MIDI Controller 39 Using Console 1 Without the Hardware 40 AUTOMATION 40 Customizing the Channel Strip 41 Loading Other Channel Strips and Effects 41 Changing the Order of the Sections 42 Using External Sidechain Signals 42 ViewOptions 2 lees 43 Specifications Requirements and Troubleshooting 45 System Requirements 4 45 Block Diagrami 46
3. and not the solo function of your DAW In order for Console 1 s Solo to function as expected all tracks of the DAW mix must be routed to the Console 1 System Tracks that are not routed to the Console 1 system will not be silenced when the Console 1 Solo mode is engaged Mute The Mute function silences the selected track When Shift is pressed and held the Mute button works as a Cancel button and cancels your choice in a currently open menu Just as noted above re garding the Solo function the Mute function does not control your DAW s mute function it mutes the track internally within Console 1 Volume Select The Volume Select setting determines the output volume of the selected track The output volume is shown in the output section meter It is good practice to set this so peaks are below 6 dB and avoid peaks above 0 dB Although the only channel where this really is important is the master bus you should never exceed 0 dB on the master bus Understanding Solo Safe Setting aux channels and buses in 5010 SAFE mode means that when you select a single track and press Solo the buses will still be open and let sound through If you had inserted the Console 1 plug in on for example the master bus to which all tracks are summed in your DAW and then soloed one of the single tracks this would silence all other Console 1 tracks including the master bus Since all tracks pass through the master bus and this gets s
4. meaning adjustments to the Input Gain setting will be reflected in what level the meter displays In most cases it is a good idea to adjust the level so the signal s peaks reach between 12 and 6 dBFS High and Low Cut The sweepable High Cut and Low Cut filters can be used to narrow down the frequency span of the signal The filters cutoff frequencies will be reflected numerically in the input section of the On Screen Display and will affect the graphical equalizer curve Many mix engineers have taken the habit of using Low Cut on most sound sources except for bass instruments and kick drums to remove unwanted low frequency rumble from the signal High Cut is useful for re moving un wanted hiss from signals that do not have very much high frequency content anyways Filters t 1 fers to It is of course Gain entirely pos Phase Inv 3 sible to use High Cut e Low Cut 9 the High and Low Input section on the Console 1 hardware Cut filters in a more creative manner to not just clean up unwanted rumble and hiss but to actually affect the sound source to better fit in the mix The slope and character of the High Cut and Low Cut filters are determined by what channel strip has been loaded into the track So in the case of the included SSL SL4000E the High and Low Cut filters are modeled off that console We have however extended their working range quite radically With
5. the cutoff frequency will be cut or boosted equally A high shelving filter A BELL curve means the EQ boosts or cuts the set center frequency and a range of frequencies above and below that diminishing in strength the further from the center frequency it gets A broad high boost bell curve means that the High and Low filters can dou ble as high and low cut filters just as the ones in the Input section So these will be taking away anything below in the case of Low filter and above in the case of the High filter the cutoff frequency The high band set to cut This is useful if you have chosen to use the High and Low Cut filters of Console 1 s input section for the compressor s side chain but still want high and low cutting on the signal itself Please note that the graphical curve displays the actual equalizer response calculated off the modeled analog circuitry This curve may differ from the markings on the equalizer parameter functions which is quite common for real world analog equalizers The markings may not tell you the truth about what you really do when you twist the knobs but Console 15 equalizer curve does Compressor A compressor is essentially a device that acts like an automatic volume control When the level of the incoming signal rises above a certain level the compressor s threshold level the compressor will start decreasing the output level So the difference between
6. Attack Sets the compressor s attack time Parallel Dry Wet Sets the relative level of the compressed and uncompressed signal Release Sets the compressor s release time Threshold Sets the compressor s thresh old Compressor activation e e COMPRESSOR Parallel Gain Reduction meter Release Threshold CONSOLE 1 USER S GUIDE 19 Output Section Output level meter Displays the output level of the signal that will be routed Drive Sets the level of the Drive back to the DAW channel distortion function Turn fully counterclockwise to bypass Drive Character Sets the Drive distortion character Output level meter Pan Balance Sets the left right placement of mono to stereo tracks or the balance between left and right channels for stereo tracks Pan is disabled for mono tracks Solo OK Sets the selected tracks in Solo mode all other channels are silenced with the exception of tracks that have been set to Solo Safe in the Console 1 plug in In menus and dialog windows the Solo button works as an OK button and confirms your choice in a cur rently opened menu Mute Cancel Silences the selected track In Drive menus and dialog windows Character the Mute button works as a Cancel button and cancels your choice in a currently opened menu Mute Cancel Volume Select Sets the output volume of the selected track When Shift is Volume pressed and held use this knob select
7. Phase Inv Preset Save Preset Fine Adjust Shift Shape Section Shape activation Activates or bypasses the Shape section Shape section meter Displays the level changes caused by the Shape section Gate Sets the threshold level of the gate Gate Release Sets the release time of the gate Hard Gate Toggles between HARD GATE and SOFT GATE settings Sustain Turned clockwise from its center position lengthens the sustain of the signal Turned counterclockwise from its center position shortens the sustain of the signal Punch Turned clockwise from its center position makes tran sients stronger Turned coun terclockwise makes transients softer CONSOLE 1 USER S GUIDE 15 Shape activation Shape section meter SHAPE Gate Release Sustain 16 GETTING STARTED Equalizer Section EQ activation Activates or bypasses the equalizer section Low Band Cut Bell Shelf Sets the operating mode of the equalizer s low band Frequency Sets the operating frequency of the equalizer s low band Low Gain Turned clockwise from its center position boosts the gain of the equalizer s low band Turned counterclockwise from its center position cuts the gain of the equalizer s low band Low Mid Band Q Sets the width of the equal izer s low mid band Frequency Sets the operating frequency of the equalizer s low mid band Low Mid Gain Turned clockwise from its cen
8. Solid State Logic s 4000 series have been used on more plati num selling records than all other console models combined This is for good reason The SL 4000 E has a signature sound that is transparent enough to work for all music styles but still adds its touch of luxury Things simply sound like a record when they ve been run through the SL 4000 E With Console 1 you get the famous black knob E242 equalizer the classic channel compressor the very musical gate expander and the sweet high low cut filters from the SL 4000 E channel We also modeled the unique harmonics distortion and non linearities you get from running the SL 4000 E into overdrive Controlled by Console 1 s Drive knob you can use it subtly on all channels to glue the mix together like a slightly overdriven SL 4000 E does or not so subtly to add edge and presence to selected sounds In addition you get Softube s unique Transient Shaper which is not modeled off the Solid State Logic SL 4000 E or any other unit for that matter Read more about Transient Shaper in Shape in Chapter 4 Softube s model of the Solid State Logic SL 4000 E channel is only available as part of the Console 1 system and not as a single plug in Softube will continuously release more channel strip models Solid State Logic SL 4000 E was introduced in 1980 and is to this day used in a large number of high end studios all over the world Softube s model includes the most sought after
9. current setting so in a way working like this resembles working on a dassic analog console You can also choose to work with different types of views on the On Screen Display which you toggle through by pressing Shift On on the hardware Vocals 16 Solid State Logic SL 4000 E Dynamic Shape Equalizer Compressor Output 20 0dB 6 3 4 6 20 dB 10k 20k 1 6 o HIGH CUT GATE RELEASE LOW TYPE LOW MID Q HIGH MID Q HIGH TYPE 5 t E OFF 0 6 5 BELL 19 1 8 CUT 0 02 ms COMPRESSOR RATIO LOW CUT PRIVE 135 Hz 4 0 7 3 SUSTAIN LOW FREQ LOW MID FREQ HIGH MID FREQ HIGH FREQUENCY RELEASE 9 0 dB 200 Hz 0 41 kHz 3 6 kHz 16 0 kHz 558 ms CHARACTER PARALLEL 5 0 12 96 PUNCH LOW GAIN LOW MID GAIN HIGH MID GAIN_ HIGH GAIN THRESHOLD _ 12 3 dB 15 8 dB 14 dB 14 6 dB 0 0 28 dB INPUT GAIN VOLUME 14 0 dB 10 8 dB 2 E 4 5 6 7 11 12 5 18 19 20 DrumsOH Clave Claps1 Claps2 Claps 3 2 Piano Piano Solo Reverb Ambiance Master The On Screen Display shows all settings for the current track as well as output meters for the tracks on the current page 24 WORKING WITH CONSOLE 1 The Input Section In the Input Section of Console 1 you ll find the Input Gain knob This adjusts the gain volume level of the incoming sound Its setting is displayed numerically in the On Screen Display The input gain meter displays the signal level post the Input Gain knob
10. equalizer version the black knob E242 to be used with Console 1 that can be purchased separately Console 1 Compared to Traditional Mixers To understand what Console 1 is it may be helpful to compare it to existing mixer types There are quite a few differences between Console 1 and most traditional mixers both digital and analog ones First of all Console 1 is strictly made for mixing it s not a recording mixer with microphone preamplifi ers With Console 1 you have access to one channel at the time the one you have selected with the cor responding channel selector button on the hardware unit his gives the hardware unit a small footprint but still offers direct access to more functions and effects per channel compared to most physical mix ing consoles as mentioned in the previous section equalizer compressor distortion gate high and low cut filters and our Transient Shaper All Console 1 settings are saved with your DAW session for total recall and each parameter can be automated using the hardware knobs You can open a DAW session mixed using Console 1 without having the Con sole 1 hardware connected and you can even adjust settings using the mouse if you happen to be away from your Console 1 hardware Furthermore the Con sole 1 hardware has no on board DSP power all the audio processing takes place within your computer This has several advantages compared to a physical mixer such as portabili
11. if a sound exceeds the level by 4 dB the compressor will turn it down to 1 dB above the threshold level If the sound exceeds the threshold by 8 dB the compres sor will turn it down to 2 dB above the threshold level 1 means that sound that exceeds the threshold level will ever get any louder than that level This is often referred to as limiting Gain Reduction Meter The gain reduction meter on the hardware and in the On Screen Display displays the amount of gain reduction taking place Attack The Attack setting determines how quickly the compressor will respond to a sound s level exceeding the threshold A fast attack means the compressor will respond rapidly and quickly turn down the sound when it has exceeded the threshold level A slow attack means that the compressor will respond slowly Such a setting leaves a part of the sound that exceeded the threshold at its original level before the compressor reacts and turns down the output Compressor 20 10 6 e OdB Release The Release setting de termines how quickly the compressor will return to its normal gain after having reduced it A fast release may give a more obviously compressed RATIO 2 4 0 sound while a slow RELEASE release may sound more natural and not be as clearly perceived as being compressed Parallel Dry Wet Parallel Dry Wet lets you blend the compressed and uncompressed signal with a single knob When this is turned fully cou
12. misapplication to damage caused by service including upgrades and expansions performed by anyone who is not a Softube Authorized Service Provider to a product or part that has been modified without written permis sion of Softube or if any Softube serial number has been removed or defaced 8 the extent permitted by law this warranty and the remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties remedies and condi tions whether oral or written statutory express or implied As permitted by applicable law Softube specifically disclaims any and all statutory or implied warranties including without limitation warranties of merchantability and fit ness for a particular purpose and warranties against hidden or latent defects If Softube cannot lawfully disclaim statutory or implied warranties then to the extent permitted by law all such warranties shall be limited in duration to the duration of the express warranty and to the repair or replacement service as determined by Softube in its sole discretion No Softube distributor agent or employee is authorized to make any modification extension or addition to this warranty If any term is held to be illegal or unenforceable the legality or enforceability of the remaining terms shall not be affected or impaired Except as provided in this warranty and to the maximum extent permitted by law Softube is not responsible for direct special incidental or consequential d
13. section on the Console 1 hardware distort With Drive at 10 50 levels above 24 will start SA to distort 0 Drive If you set Drive at 5 you will get a behavior that corre The Drive function enables the harmonics from sponds to the real console VOLUME the original consoles in the default case the famous 10 8 dB non linear characteristics of the SSL SL4000E console In many cases the harmonics are what Ec ms glues a mix together and creates that big analog Drive Character Output section on the On console sound Screen Display The Drive Character set ting alters the character of the distortion When set to its center position the character is neutral and perfectly mimics the overdrive response of the analog unit that was mod eled the included Solid State Logic SL4000E or If applied subtly you ll get the harmonics warmth and character of the original console Turn it up more and you ll get a more aggressive sound with mid rangy harmonics and shaved off transients Turn it up fully and you ll get lots of fuzz The Drive section is entirely bypassed when the another Console 1 channel strip you have purchased Drive knob is turned fully counterclockwise so this separately When turned clockwise the harmon corresponds to running your channel with a lot of ics in the high midrange are emphasized which headroom and no meters reaching the red can often be useful to bring a sound forward in the mix When turned c
14. you of what channels you are To exit just grouping Release the buttons and perform the adjustments you would like Press Group again or select another track to dissolve the group Please note that selecting all or creating a group works similarly to a VCA group on a traditional mixer This means that a Console 1 track group is not a bus to which all the tracks are routed and summed together into a single stereo channel It is merely a function to simultaneously adjust parameters of several individual tracks at once When selecting All or creating a Group changes made to Input Gain Output Volume Drive Drive Character High Cut Low Cut and Pan Balance will be performed relative to each channel s setting So if you for example select all and turn down the Output Volume the relative level balance between the tracks will be intact they will all just be turned down in volume Conversely when making changes to any other pa rameter this will result in all the tracks getting the same setting as the currently selected one Dupl 1 All Group S gt EG 20 10 6 3 04 Duplicate tracks by pressing both All and Group at the same time Duplicate Track Settings You can duplicate track settings and copy them from one track to another or several others This can be either the entire channel strip setting or just the Shape EQ or Compressor settings 1 2 Select the track you would like to
15. 43 63 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to select a new equalizer to load into the selected track if you have more than one Console 1 compatible equalizer Load Compressor Selector button for track 4 or 24 44 64 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to select a new compressor to load into the se lected track if you have more than one Console 1 compatible compressor History Selector button for track 5 or 25 45 65 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to activate the History function and undo your actions Settings Selector button for track 20 or 40 60 80 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to enter the Settings menu All Press and hold to select all tracks at once Any adjustments made while you hold this will affect all tracks Press and hold together with Group button to duplicate settings from one track to another or several others Group Press and hold while you select two or more tracks to form a group Hold together with All button to duplicate settings from one track to another or several others Order Changes the order of the three main effects sections Default state is Shape into equalizer into compressor s EQ gt Press repeatedly to toggle between this state or shape compressor and equalizer s c EQ or equalizer shape and compressor Eo s c
16. But you can also use all the other Softube plug in equalizers compressors and gates as part of a Console 1 channel Note that plug in effects you load into the Console 1 system may not perfectly cor respond to the screen printed parameters on the Console 1 hardware Some Console 1 knobs may change or lose their function and there may be plug ins that have more functions than can be controlled from within Console 1 This will however all be re flected in the On Screen Display If you find you would like to use a function that can not be reached through the Console 1 system we recommend that you simply launch the ordinary plug in version in your DAW and control its settings with your mouse just as you would have done before you got the Console 1 Load Plug Ins Loading Con sole 1 compatible channel strips and effects is done by holding Shift and pushing one of the first four channel selector buttons with the orange labels Load different strips and plug ins by pressing Shift and select either Strip Shape EQ or Comp Strip Shape EO and Comp Holding Shift and selecting Strip track selector button 1 lets you load any Console 1 channel strip into the selected track replacing the Solid State Logic SL4000E Doing so opens a menu where you see all Console 1 compatible channel strips that you have available on your system Scroll down the list using Volume Se lect and press either Solo OK to confirm or Mute Cancel t
17. Console 1 User Manual w Softube Vocals 16 Input Dynamic Shape Equalizer afo s o majo wo so wo kth o ANIAN MEL o a2 ji s maar CATE RELEASE Low TPE 212 amr OFF 0 6 5 BELL 19 18 CUT 0 02 ms cme _ 22 p 35 dB 40 185 Hz pci em D c m 22 9 0 dB 200 Hz 0 41 kHz 3 6 kHz 16 0 kHz 358 ms 7223 panau COMPRESSOR 12 _ LONGAM 000 iOWMDGAN HGHMDGAM HGHGAN p 12 3 dB 158dB l4dB 14698 0098 28 dB 2722 so INPUT GAIN NE TE ES _ E VOLUME a tn i ND LLL n uc ed ESE Oe LE amp cep em Geto ce efe 20122007 hae 5 due c EO EDGE RE CONSOLE 1 Softube User Manual Supporting VST VST3 AU AAX Native Rev Feb 11 2014 Softube User Manual 2007 2014 Amp Room Console 1 is trademarks of Softube AB Sweden Softube is a registered trademark of Softube AB Sweden All visual and aural references to the Valley People Dyna mite Trident A Range Tonelux and Tilt are trademarks being made with written permission from PMI Audio The Tonelux and Tilt logo the Valley People Dyna mite and associated logos and the Trident A Range and Triangle logo are trademarks of PMI Audio Group used under license Tube Tech is a registered trademark of Lydkraft ApS Denmark EMI and Abbey Road are trademarks of EMI IP Limited REDD RS127 and RS135 are trademarks of EMI IP
18. External Sidechain Determines whether an incoming external sidechain signal should have no effect orr be routed to the compressor sidechain To comp or to the sidechain of the gate part in the Shape section To GATE 14 GETTING STARTED Input Section Input Gain Adjusts the gain of the incom ing signal of the selected track Input Gain meter Displays the signal level after the Input Gain High Cut Sets the cutoff frequency of the High Cut filter Turn fully clockwise to bypass entirely leave the signal intact When Filters to Compressor is activated the filter is applied to the compressor s sidechain signal Low Cut Sets the cutoff frequency of the Low Cut filter Turn fully counterclockwise to bypass en tirely leave the signal intact When Filters to Compressor is activated the filter is applied to the compressor s sidechain signal Fine Adjust Shift Hold while you adjust a knob to make the parameter change in smaller increments or to ac cess the extra functions labeled in orange Filters to Compressor Shifts the High and Low Cut filters from their default state affecting the audio signal to affecting the side chain signal of the compressor Phase Invert Inverts the phase polarity of the selected channel Preset Save preset Calls up the Presets menu Press this while holding Shift to save the current settings as a preset Input Gain Meter High Cut Low Cut Filters to Compressor
19. Gain setting When the buttons are turned clockwise from their center position these will boost the gain of the respective frequency bands Turned counterclockwise they will do the opposite and cut the gain of the respective frequency bands The four bands also each have a Frequency setting These determine the center or cutoff frequencies of the respective frequency bands uazr Cut Cut Bell 9 Shelf ley ey Jk Shelf Frequency e C C i i Low Low Mid High Mid High Gain Gain Gain Gain Frequency Frequency Frequency Equalizer section on the Console 1 hardware Equalizer LOW TYPE LOWMIDQ HIGH MID Q BELL 1 9 1 8 HIGH TYPE CUT LOW FREQ 200 Hz LOW MID FREQ 0 41 kHz HIGH MID FREQ 3 6 kHz HIGH FREQUENCY 16 0 kHz LOW GAIN 15 8 dB LOW MID GAIN 14 dB HIGH MID GAIN 14 6 dB HIGH GAIN 0 0 dB Equalizer section on the On Screen Display Low Mid and High Mid Bands The Low Mid and High Mid bands have a set ting each These set the Q value of the equalizer curve determining how wide or narrow range of frequencies the equalizer band will affect Low and High Bands The Low and High bands instead have a button that lets the user toggle between a SHELF BELL or shape of those filters A shelf means that all frequencies below in the case of Low filter and above in the case of the High filter
20. HE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE INTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED FURTHERMORE LICENSOR DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATIONS IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS ACCURACY RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE NOR ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY LICENSOR OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF LICENSOR SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE YOU AND NOT LICENSOR OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LICENSOR ASSUME THE JURISDICTIONS SOME STATES DO NOT AL LOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTY SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU 13 NEITHER LICENSOR NOR ITS LICENSORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAM AGES SUFFERED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF USE OR INABIL ITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE IN NO EVENT WILL LICENSOR NOR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUE PROFIT OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS DATA OR FOR DIRECT INDIRECT SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL INCIDENTAL OR PUNI TIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE SOFTWARE EVEN IF THAT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES IN ANY CASE LICENSORS ENTIRE LIABILITY UNDER ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT ACTUALLY PAID B
21. Limited SSL Solid State Logic SL 4000 E are all trademarks of Solid State Logic UK used with written permission All specifications subject to change without notice All Rights Reserved Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies Men tion of third party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation Softube assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products Softube products are protected by patents SE526523 and SE525332 and related patents patent ap plications including WO06054943 US11 667360 US20040258250 1492081 EP1815459 and JP2004183976 Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement End User Li cense Agreement Disclaimer Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate However there are a chance that we have made mistakes and we hope that you understand that we are only humans Please let us know about the mistake and we ll fix it in the mix or in the next version of this manual Support On the Softube website www softube com you will find answers to common questions FAQ and other topics that might interest you Support questions can be posted at http www softube com where we will help you as fast as we can Web www softube com E mail info softube com Phone 46 13 21 1623 9 am
22. Y YOU TO LICENSOR FOR THE SOFTWARE LICENCE KEY 14 This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Sweden SOFTUBE LIMITED HARDWARE WARRANTY 1 Softube warrants to the end user Customer this hardware product against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one 1 year after the date of the original purchase from Softube or from a channel authorized by Softube provided the hardware product is unused at the time of purchase 2 If a defect exists at its option Softube will a repair the product at no charge using new or refurbished replacement parts b exchange the prod uct with a product that is new or which has been manufactured from new or serviceable used parts and is at least functionally equivalent to the original product or c refund the purchase price of the product 3 A replacement product assumes the remaining warranty of the original product or 90 days whichever provides longer coverage for the Customer When a product or part is exchanged any replacement item becomes the Customer s property and the replaced item Propellerhead s When a refund is given Customer s product becomes Softube s property 4 The Limited Warranty does not apply to any non Softube hardware product or any software even if packaged or sold with the Softube hardware Manufacturers suppliers or publishers other than Softube may provide their own warranties to the end user purchaser but Softube
23. a Display On Toggles Console 1 s On Screen Display on and off Hold Shift and push Display On to enter the View settings menu Display Auto Sets the On Screen Display behavior to automatic mode In this case the display pops up every time you change a setting and automatically goes away a few seconds after your latest adjustment Page Up Page Down Select which bank of tracks the 20 channel selector buttons control You can have a virtually unlimited number of banks and tracks The Page Up LED will light up if there are tracks on a page above the current and vice versa with the Page Down LED Track selector buttons Select the channel you want to adjust of 1 20 or 21 40 41 60 etc depending on what page you selected with the Page Up and Page Down buttons The selector but tons for tracks 1 5 and 20 have alternate functions accessible by holding Shift Load Strip Selector button for track 1 or 21 41 61 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to select a new channel strip to load into the selected track if you have more than one Console 1 compatible channel strip Load Shape Selector button for track 2 or 22 42 62 etc depending on what page you are on Hold the Shift Fine Adjust button to select a new Shape plug in to load into the se lected track if you have more than one Console 1 compatible plug in that is suitable for the Shape section Load EQ Selector button for track 3 or 23
24. am ages resulting from any breach of warranty or condition or under any other legal theory including but not limited to loss of use loss of revenue loss of actual or anticipated profits including loss of profits on contracts loss of the use of money loss of anticipated savings loss of business loss of opportunity loss of goodwill loss of reputation loss of damage to or corruption of data or any indirect or consequential loss or damage howsoever caused including the replacement of equipment and property any costs of recovering program ming or reproducing any program or data stored in or used with the Softube product and any failure to maintain the confidentiality of data stored on the product The foregoing limitation shall not apply to death or personal injury claims or any statutory liability for intentional and gross negligent acts and or omissions Softube disclaims any representation that it will be able to repair any product under this warranty or make a product exchange without risk to or loss of programs or data Obtaining warranty service Please visit the web site www softube com to access FAQ and documentation Here you will find online help and guidance on how to operate and trouble shoot your product If the product is still not functioning properly after mak ing use of these resources access the Support section at www softube com for instructions on how to obtain warranty service You must follow Softube warranty p
25. are set out in the instructions of Licen sor according to the Agreement or otherwise 9 The Software is installed on computer s server s according to what is set forth in the agreement with the Licensor 10 Except as provided for the Evaluation License the license will continue until it is terminated Licensor may terminate the license if you fail to comply with the terms of this Agreement You may terminate the license at any time and for any reason Upon termination by either party you must delete the Software from your computer and any copies thereof 11 Licensor warrants the media on which the Software is recorded to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety 90 days from the date of purchase as evidenced by a copy of the receipt Licensor s entire liability and your exclusive remedy will be replace ment of the media not meeting the Licensor s limited warranty and which is returned to Licensor or an authorized representative of Licensor with a copy of the receipt Licensor will have no responsibility to replace any media dam aged by accident abuse or misapplication 12 The Software is provided strictly AS IS without warranty of any kind ALL EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON INFRINGEMENT ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED LICENSOR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN T
26. ault state is s EQ c shape equalizer compressor change the order of the effects sections press the Order button The other options are EQ s c equalizer shape compressor and s c gt EQ shape compressor equalizer Using External Sidechain Signals It is a common trick to feed an external signal into the sidechain of a compressor or a gate Doing so means that the compressor or gate will no longer act in response to the sound signal it affects but to the external signal which is being fed into the sidechain A Keying Example An example of using the external sidechain for a gate let s assume the gate is inserted on a track with a synth pad The synth pad plays continuously with no interruption But instead we would like it to follow the pattern of the kick drum and have the pad appear at every kick drum hit and disappear in between To do this you would insert the gate on the pad track You would then route the kick drum sound into the sidechain of that gate Now every time the kick drum hits the gate will open and let the pad sound through But in between kick drum hits the gate will close and silence the pad track A Ducking Example Used with the same signals but on the compressor The compressor is inserted across the synth pad sig nal and the kick drum is routed to the compressor sidechain Now every time the kick drum hits the compressor will react and turn down the output sig nal of the pa
27. copy from us ing the corresponding Track Selector button Press and hold both All and Group buttons A dialog window in the On Screen Display will inform you that you are about to copy the channel strip settings of the selected track and prompts you to select the track to which you would like to copy these settings Track 1 s EQ and Compressor will be copied to track 2 5 and 4 confirm De select tracks to abort A message window in the On Screen Display displays the current action Select the track or tracks you want to copy to by pressing the corresponding track selector button or buttons and release the All and Group buttons If you change your mind during this process simply deselect the tracks you were copying to by pressing the track selector buttons again When you now release the All and Group buttons nothing will be copied Duplicate Different Sections In order to not copy the entire channel strip setting but just the settings of single effects sections 1 Press and hold both the All and Group buttons 2 When the dialog window opens press the on off button next to the name of the section or sections you would like to copy for example the Equalizer Activate button The dialog window now informs you that you are about to duplicate the equalizer settings of the selected track You can select and duplicate any combination of Shape Equalizer and Compressor to other tracks Only by dupl
28. ct between you either individual or single entity and Softube AB Licensor a Swedish corporation regarding use of the accompanying software Software Please read through this Agreement carefully before installation and use of the Software BY ACCEPTANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT OR by installation and or use of the Software THE EARLIEST OF SUCH ACTS CONSTITUTING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AGREEMENT you agree to be bound by the terms and condi tions of this Agreement Should you not accept the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement do not install the Software and delete the Software from your computer and any copies thereof 1 The Software may not be used without a software license key You may pur chase a software license key from Licensor at the terms and conditions from time to time applied by the Licensor which entitles you to use the Software on a perpetual basis Perpetual License You may also receive a temporary software license key which is intended to give you an opportunity to test and evaluate the Software Evaluation License Such Evaluation License is provided at the terms and conditions from time to time applied by Licensor Please note that you are responsible for the software license key received and Licensor will not replace any lost software license keys 2 Licensor and or its licensors own all copyrights in and to the Software The Software is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treatie
29. d So the pad will be its normal volume in between kick drum hits but lower every time the kick drum hits This is often called ducking the pad ducks every time the kick drum hits Doing it with Console 1 To get this set up in Console 1 you go to the DAW channel where you have the sound source you would like to be affected by the sidechain in the examples above that would be the DAW channel where the pad synth is Open the Console 1 plug in window and set it up to have its sidechain fed with the signal you would like to affect it in our example that would be the kick drum Refer to your DAW manual for the details of setting up an external sidechain EQ gt S gt C SEC EQ To Shape To Comp SPEQPC Off External Order Select whether an external sidechain if applicable should be sent to the compressor or shape section Once this is in place you can go back to the Console 1 system With the External Sidechain button you can select if you would like the external sidechain signal to be routed to your gate or to your compressor or not have any effect at all When set to the sidechain signal does not affect neither the gate nor the compressor When set to To SHAPE the external signal gets routed to the Console 1 gate s sidechain When set to To comp the external signal gets routed to the Console 1 compressor s sidechain View Options If you would like you also have a few
30. d Gate setting is activated the LED next to the Hard Gate button lights up as well as the Hard Gate indicator in the On Screen Display Sustain The Sustain and Punch settings control the Tran sient Shaper part of the Shape section When the Sustain knob is turned clockwise from its center position the sound s sustain is increased for ex ample making single drums sound larger and more extended Turned counterclockwise the opposite happens the sustain decreases making sounds shorter and smaller Punch Punch strengthens or softens the sound s transient the onset of a sound When the Punch button is turned clockwise from the center position the tran sient will get stronger resulting in a more spiky and attention grabbing sound Turned counterclockwise the transient will get softer making the sound s onset more rounded and unobtrusive 28 WORKING WITH CONSOLE 1 Equalizer An equalizer alters the frequency content of the sound giving you detailed control of the sound s tone Ihe Console 1 equalizer has four parametric bands Toggle on or off the entire section with the button in the top left corner of the section The LED next to the button will light up when the section is active and the entire section will light up in the On Screen Display All the equalizer settings mentioned below are displayed numerically in the On Screen Display as well as in the equalizer s graphical curve All four bands have a
31. e registration process on Softube s web site you are ready to set up your basic Console 1 session You may want to save this as a template ses sion in your DAW so you will not have to do this for every new piece of music you start working on Please refer to your DAW s manual on how to save a template session as well as any other steps mentioned below that refer to actions in your DAW 1 Connect the Console 1 hardware to an unoccupied USB port on your computer The Softube logo in your computer s control panel will turn from grey to black 2 Launch your preferred digital audio workstation DAW application Console 1 runs with any host that supports VST2 VST3 AAX and Audio Units plug in formats 3 Launch an empty session in your DAW 4 Insert the Console 1 plug in on as many tracks as you like We recommend inserting it on all single tracks aux channels and buses The audio on any track where you have inserted the Console 1 plug in will now be routed into the Console 1 system and back to the same DAW channel See next section for setting the correct track name and number Track Name and Number Some DAWS support automatically transferring track name and number from the DAW tracks to the corresponding Console 1 tracks You can verify this by opening the Console 1 plug in window on any channel in your DAW In the lower right part of this window you will see either Auto or Manual Auto indicates that the track name and
32. ection has three parameters The Gate setting determines the threshold level The gate will open and let through any portion of the sound that exceeds this level and close not letting sounds through when the signal is below it GATE RELEASE 0 6 5 SUSTAIN 9 0 dB Pay attention when you Shape section on the On Screen Display set this level If it s set too high the gate will not open every time you wish it would meaning you will accidentally remove sounds you intended to keep If it s set too low the gate may instead open to sounds you intended to remove Gate Release Ihe Gate Release setting determines the time it takes for the gate to close after it has opened For percussive material where you want just the hits and not much in between you may want a shorter re lease time But for a live recorded vocal a too short release time may result in the gate abruptly shut ting off the vocal sound and remove low level vocal sounds you may would have liked to keep Hard Gate Ihe Hard Gate button toggles between two differ ent gate behaviors With Hard Gate engaged the gate strictly shuts off any sound below the threshold level With it disengaged the gate will act as an expander This is essentially a gate that does not completely turn off the sound below the threshold but instead turns it down somewhat in level This may yield a more natural sound in some cases com pared to a hard gate When the Har
33. en Display you will see the track numbers and names When music is played back the respective track levels will be displayed here The selected track will be highlighted in the meter bridge and the settings of that track are reflected graphically and numerically in the On Screen Dis play s effect sections If you have more than 20 tracks Page in your mix use the Page Up and Page Down buttons to access higher numbered tracks in banks of 20 tracks each The total number of available tracks is only limited by Page Up and Page Down your computer s CPU resources buttons Tf there are tracks on another page than the one you are currently on the LEDs above the Page Up and Page Down buttons will show if these tracks are below and or above the current page If the currently selected track is on another page the LED guiding to that page will be bright About CPU handling Since Console 1 runs entirely on your computer s CPU a few things should be noted on the CPU usage Most importantly Console 15 software part is unusually CPU efficient and you should be able to run most sessions on today s computers It should also be noted that when you initiate the Console 1 plug in on a DAW track the default state of the Console 1 channel strip is to have all effects sections bypassed In this state the CPU usage is barely measurable But of course you still have access to functions like Solo Mute V
34. eset by using the Output Volume Select knob 4 Confirm your selection by pressing Solo OK or cancel the preset selection by pressing Mute Cancel Hold Shift and press Preset Save Preset If you want to save the entire channel strip as a preset just press Solo OK If you want to save just one or several sections select those with the on off buttons Press Solo OK when done It s easy to create a say EQ Compressor preset just select the EQ and Compressor after pressing Save Preset Loading such preset will only overwrite the current EQ and Compressor nothing else You will be prompted to name your new preset and save it It will now appear in the list of available USER PRESETS if you call one up as outlined above When saving a preset Console 1 will open a separate file browser window and close the On Screen Display Click on Display On to see the On Screen Display again History Settings Most of today s DAWs have an unlimited undo cm To access the function so whatever mistakes you may have made 8 can be undone But this does most often not apply to plug in settings If you have gotten lost while adjusting a plug in setting you can usually not go selector for track back to a previous setting unless you revert to a 20 with the previously saved version of your project Access settings by pressing Shift orange text and track selector 20 Settings Settings 1 Hold Shift and press the track selector for t
35. gnal from the soloed track and no reverb Solo Safe can of course also be used for single tracks that you want to be heard at all times for example a metronome track Useful Functions We have now gone through the essential functions of Console 1 But there are even more useful functions to make your every day music mixing life even easier Select All Tracks N By holding you select all tracks at once Any adjustment you perform while holding this affects all tracks simultaneously When holding a dia 20 307 6 gt 0 dB log window will appear in the On Screen Display Press All to select all tracks at once informing you that all adjustments you perform or Group to create temporary currently affect all tracks groups When using All or Group only the parameters you change will affect the grouped tracks The rest will remain unchanged Create a Group You can also create temporary groups of tracks that you want to adjust simultaneously for example all background vocal tracks In order to do this first select one track that you would like to be part of the group Select which tracks to group with track 1 with the corresponding Track Selector button Hold Group on the hardware and then press the Track Selector buttons of the other tracks that you would like to group with the first one A message A message window in the On Screen Display window in the On Screen Display will displays the current action inform
36. icating the entire channel strip can you dupli cate the High Low Cut settings and the Drive settings Load and Save Presets You can call up factory presets as well as save your own ones A preset can contain the entire chan nel strip or one or several sections so that you for instance can create an equalizer compressor preset Filters to Compressor Phase Inv Preset Fine Adjust Access presets with the Preset button or save your current settings by pressing Shift Preset Factory Channel Strip Factory Shape Factory Equalizer Factory Compressor User Presets Presets are easily loaded from the Console 1 hard ware and shown on the On Screen Display Save Preset To save your current setting asa preset Load Preset 1 Press the Preset Save Preset button to call up 2 list of entire channel strip presets A dialog window will open in the On Screen Display to show you a list of available presets for the channel strip you have loaded into the selected channel 2 Select the category by using the Output Vol ume Select knob FACTORY CHANNEL STRIP the entire strip FACTORY SHAPE just the Shape section FACTORY EQUALIZER just the EQ section FACTORY COMPRESSOR just the compressor 4 USER PRESETS presets saved by the user For example loading an Equalizer preset will only over write the current equalizer s setting and will not affect the rest of the channel 3 Select the pr
37. ilenced when you set a channel to soro there would be no sound at all But setting the master bus in SOLO SAFE mode means it will be excluded from the tracks that are being silenced If you do this and solo a single track the master bus will keep open and you will hear the soloed track play Play it safe by setting all your buses auxes groups and the master track in Solo Safe The same logic applies to all buses subgroups So if you for example have routed all the drum tracks to a single stereo drum bus and you have a Console 1 plug in on that bus make sure to set this in soLo SAFE mode too If you then for example solo the snare drum channel it will play through the drum bus and then through the master bus and both of these will be left open if set to 5010 sare If either of those are not set to SOLO SAFE they would be silenced when you soloed the snare track and you would get no sound at all It may also be a good idea to SOLO SAFE a Con sole 1 instance on an effects send channel where you for example have a reverb or delay active This way setting a single track to soto will not silence the reverb If the track you have soloed has an active asend to the reverb set up in your DAW and you have set the reverb s effects send channel to soro SAFE you will hear both the dry signal and the reverb s response to that signal If you have not set the reverb s effects send channel 0 5010 SAFE you will only hear the dry si
38. in so far as permitted by law provides their products as is Software distributed by Softube with or without the Softube brand name including but not limited to system software is not covered under this Limited Hardware Warranty Refer to the Softube End User License Agreement for details of rights with respect to Softube software use Softube does not warrant that the operation of the product will be uninter rupted or error free Softube is not responsible for damage arising from failure to follow instructions relating to the product s use 5 t is the responsibility of the Customer to keep a separate backup copy of the system software application software and data and disable any security passwords Customer is responsible for reinstalling all such software data and passwords Data recovery is not included in the warranty service and Softube is not responsible for data that may be lost or damaged during transit or during a repair 6 This Softube Limited Hardware Warranty applies only to hardware products manufactured by or for Softube that can be identified by the Softube trade mark trade name or logo affixed to them Softube Limited Hardware War ranty does not apply to any non Softube hardware products or any software even if packaged or sold with Softube hardware Non Softube manufacturers suppliers or publishers may provide their own warranties 7 This warranty does not apply to damage caused by accident abuse misuse
39. ly do it If not try a reboot Mac 05 10 8 Firewall The Console 1 application uses internal network ports to communicate between plug ins and the Console 1 application which will trigger a firewall alert the first time the application is started You need to click aLLow otherwise nothing will work Do you want the application Console 1 On Screen Display app to accept incoming network connections A 9 Clicking Deny may limit the application s behavior This setting can be changed in the Firewall pane of Security amp Privacy preferences Deny Allow You need to allow Console 1 to accept incoming network connec tions for it to communicate with the Console 1 plug ins Please note that Console 1 is not using any external network traffic like calling home or accessing Internet All traffic occurs within your computer Disconnect Console 1 Before Computer Sleep Please disconnect your Console 1 before putting your computer to sleep For some unknown reason Console 1 and the operating system doesnt play nice in sleep mode and in worst case the computer might hang Hardware Specifications Connectors USB connector Type B Power Supply USB bus powered Power 500 mA or less Dimensions 428 x 42 x 189 mm W x H x D Weight 1 95 kg Included items USB cable Quick Start Guide with license code END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT This End User License Agreement Agreement is a contra
40. n Screen Display above any channel that has been set to SOLO SAFE Track Number This is automatically set to correspond to the DAW track in DAWSs that support this function If your DAW does not support automatic transfer of the track number click the number set this manually Track Name This is automatically set to correspond to the DAW track in DAWSs that support this function If your DAW does not support automatic transfer of the track name click the name to set this manually Track Number 1 Show Knobs Click to open an interface that resembles the Console 1 hardware Here you can adjust the settings using a computer mouse Solo Safe Clicking this excludes the track channel from Solo When another track is set to solo Solo Safe channels will not be silenced This option is recommended for all aux channels subgroups and the master bus Auto or Manual Indicates if your DAW sup ports automatic transfer of track number and name or if you need to set this manually Show Knobs Track Name Solo Safe Auto or Manual Track Name Number Indicator 12 GETTING STARTED Load Compressor Load EQ Load Shape Load Strip History Settings Display Auto Page Up 1 1 1 Group External Sidechain Display On Page Down Track Selector Buttons All TI nh 11 12 33 x UO es Shelf If lelease u ers to ro ate Compressor ase Inv Fine Adjust High Mid igh Shift G
41. n terclockwise which is the default state you only hear the compressed signal By turning it clockwise you gradually mix in the uncompressed sound The percentage expressed in the On Screen Display indicates the portion of uncompressed sound One common use of the Parallel Dry Wet function is to compress the sound heavily with a fast attack and then blend in some of the original uncompressed signal When set carefully this may yield a nice balance between a sound that has a nice presence in the mix but still sounds alive and dynamic ATTACK 0 02 ms 358 ms PARALLEL 12 96 THRESHOLD 28 dB Compressor section on the On Screen Display Filtering the Compressor Sidechain As mentioned in on page 23 you can route the High and Low Cut filters to the compressor s sidechain instead of applying them directly on the signal by turning on Filters to Compressor This is useful in a number of cases It is for example a common trick to cut low end frequencies out of the compressor s sidechain signal Low frequencies of ten have a lot of energy and can cause the compres sor to react stronger than one might find pleasing Bass Drum Compressor Filtering For example a bass drum can cause a compressor across the drum bus to make the cymbals duck with every bass drum hit Applying Low Cut to the compressor sidechain would make the compressor deaf to the lower frequen cies of the kick drum and it would co
42. nd click the text Click here to set track name 2 This will reveal a text field in which you can en ter the desired track name using your computer keyboard 3 When you are done click OK and move on to the next Console 1 plug in you would like to name Solo Safe on Aux Channels and Buses As mentioned above we recommend that you insert the Console 1 plug in on all your DAW channels including single tracks aux channels and buses But in order for Console 1 s Solo function to work as expected you should set aux channels effects send channels subgroup buses and the master bus es sentially any channels in your DAW mixer that are not single audio or software instrument tracks to Solo Safe If you are using an aux channel for the incoming sound of a Rewire sound source such as Propellerheads Reason this can however be viewed as an instrument track We consequently recom mend you do not set this to Solo Safe See page 33 if you re interested in why this setting is needed for Console 1 s Solo function to behave as expected Otherwise simply follow these steps Open the Console 1 plug in on all aux channels except Rewire aux channels that handle incom ing sound signals effects channels subgroup buses and the master bus in your DAW Activate Solo Safe setting by clicking this but ton in the plug in window Any time you press Solo on the Console 1 hard ware the text SOLO SAFE will appear in the O
43. ng and releasing the Fine Adjust button Holding Fine Adjust Shift also gives you access to all functions screen printed in orange on the hardware 26 WORKING WITH CONSOLE 1 Shape The Shape section is a unique combination of two different types of effect an expander gate and Softube s own Transient Shaper Toggle on and off the section with the button in the top left corner of the section Turning the section on will light up the LED next to the Shape button and light up the Shape section in the On Screen Display The sections meter both on the hardware and in the On Screen Display will show the gain increase or reduction caused by the section s processing of the sound and you will also see a graphical curve in the On Screen Display that represents the effect taking place An expander gate is most commonly used to automatically remove unwanted portions of the recording A common example is to use it on single drum tracks where the gate opens and lets the sound through every time the drum is hit but closes and makes the channel go silent between the drum hits removing leakage from the rest of the drum kit But a gate can also be used to for example Gate Release Hard Gate Shape section on the Console 1 hardware shorten room reverbera tion in a recording making the room appear smaller and improv ing separation between instruments Dynamic Shape 6 20 dB Gate The gate part of the Shape s
44. nse 12 96 SIDECHAIN FILTERS THRESHOLD 28 dB HIGH CUT quently not respond as strongly to them OFF LOW CUT 135 Hz De essing Example You can also use both High and Low Cut filters across the com pressor sidechain to create a tight frequen cy window which will be all the compressor responds to Most de essers work this way by narrowing down the frequency of the compres sor s sidechain so it only detects and responds to the s sounds This could also work to reduce hi hat bleed in a snare drum microphone When this setting is active the LED next to the Filters to Compressor button will light up and it will also be indicated in the On Screen Display FILTERS TO COMPRESSOR Activating Filters to Compressor lights up the Sidechain Filters indicator in the Compressor section top and the Filters to Compressor indicator in the Input section bottom 32 WORKING WITH CONSOLE 1 The Output section sibility to control how the ene ae console emulation is dis torting or in other words Output to control the headroom of the console With Drive is set a OFF you will get no harmonics at all and this part of the console emu lation has been entirely bypassed If you start to turn it up and keep your levels below 0 dB with Output Volume at 0 dB you will get increased P harmonics up until 5 i COMPRESSOR Pan 12 oclock where levels DRIVE gum above 0 dB will start to s Js Output
45. number is automatically transferred from your DAW to Console 1 In this case you will now be able to open Console 1 s On Screen Display by pushing the Display On button in the top left corner of the hardware and see all the tracks laid out just as they are in your DAW session In the Manual case you will need to manually select to which Console 1 track the Console 1 plug in routs the DAW channel s audio and also manually enter the track name for it to display in the Console 1 system Follow these steps to set the track number 1 Open the Console 1 plug in window and click the track number 2 On the Console 1 hardware press the track selector button that corresponds to the track you would like to route the DAW signal to The track number in the plug in window now also corresponds to the track you selected Here s a tip if you are using a DAW that doesn t support automatic transferring of track name and number Any time you instantiate a Console 1 plug in it will by default select the lowest numbered available Console 1 track So if you start by instantiating the Console 1 plug in on your DAW track 1 that track will be assigned to the Console 155 track 1 since this is the lowest numbered available track If you then instantiate the Console 1 plug in on the DAW track 2 this track will be assigned to Console 15 track 2 next will be track 3 and so on To set the track names 1 Open each Console 1 plug in in your DAW a
46. o cancel The channel strip name and logo in the On Screen Display will change to reflect your choice In a similar manner you can choose to load single effects into the Shape Equalizer and Compres sor sections separately Again hold Shift and press track selector button 2 to load a Shape effect track selector button 3 to load an equalizer or track selec tor button 4 to load a compressor Again a menu will appear listing the compatible and suitable effects Use Volume Select to scroll down to the effect you would like to use and press either Solo OK to confirm or Mute Cancel to cancel If you load a Shape Equalizer and or Compres sor effect the High Cut and Low Cut filters and the Drive section will not change from what was included in the channel strip you are customizing These sections only change with the channel strips Changing the Order of the Sections The default order of the Console 1 effects is as they are laid out on the hardware and in the On Screen Display first shape then equalizer and finally compressor Sometimes a different order ofthe effects may be desir able For example if you add a lot of low frequencies with the equalizer it may be better to do this after the compressor EQ gt S gt C S gt CPrEQ 5 e Order Change the order of Console 15 sec tions using the Order button The current order is displayed above the Order button and in the On Screen Display The def
47. olume Phase Invert etc Therefore it is a good idea to create a DAW template with Console 1 active on all tracks and buses even if you don t plan to use any of the system s effects You get control over all tracks at virtually no expense On Screen Display You can toggle on and off Console 1 s On Screen Display with the Display On button on the Con sole 1 hardware Turning the On Screen Display off will reveal whatever is behind it on your compu ter screen in most cases this will be your DAW windows There is also an automatic mode that you activate by pressing the Auto button next to Display On With this active the On Screen Display appears automatically every time you adjust a setting on the Console 1 hardware and then disappears auto matically after a few seconds revealing whatever is behind the On Screen Display If you have an extra computer screen you can drag the On Screen Display window there just as any window Ihe On Screen Display window can also be resized to your liking by grabbing a corner of the window and dragging it as you wish Many people find that modern DAWs and plug ins provide them with too much graphical information Indeed trusting your eyes over your ears is a well known pitfall when mixing Therefore Console 1 works just as well with the On Screen Display turned off You still select a channel and adjust the settings the same way On the hardware the LED rings around each knob show the
48. options when it comes to the appearance of the On Screen Dis play Hold Shift and press Display On View This will toggle through the different views available Specifications Requirements and Troubleshooting System Requirements Console 1 is not yet available for Windows Here are the system requirements for Mac OS X Mac OS X 10 7 or newer Screen resolution 1280x800 or larger Any VST VST3 AU or AAX Pro Tools 10 3 7 11 0 2 or higher compat ible host application 1 powered USB 2 0 compatible port iLok License Manager iLok USB key is NOT required Broadband internet access for downloading software Console 1 is not available for AAX DSP The Console 1 plug in supports the following sample rates 44 1 48 88 2 96 176 4 and 192 kHz Block Diagram The following schematic outlines the operation of Console 1 For the sake of simplicity the different order of the sections EQ before Shape before Compressor etc are not included Neither are stereo mono opera tion on dynamic s sidechains Shape INPUT METER m H1 H1 SUSTAIN SIC GAIN CHANGE METER ox External Sidechain to Gate xi EXT S C 9 BE Equalizer x E aes TRANSIENT SHAPER off High Cut INPUT i Low Cut e on Filters To Input Gain Phase Invert Compressor 95280 Compressor GAIN REDUCTION External Filters To METER Compressor x m es t fee
49. ounterclockwise the midrange Gain Staging with the Drive Control instead cleans up leaving you with a sound that is The idea behind the Drive is to give you the pos saturated thickened and softened but not obvi ously distorted This is often useful to add a bit of sonic glue to complex sources such as a bus with a whole instrument section or across the master bus Pan Balance Ihe Pan Balance setting determines the relative level of the sound source in the left and right chan nels Please note that the Pan Balance setting does not affect your DAW s pan setting In order for the Console 1 Pan Balance setting to work as expected even mono tracks must be made stereo in your DAW or Mono to Stereo where applicable This is because panning in Console 1 only works within the framework of the DAW channel If you do not make mono tracks into stereo in your DAW the DAW s own pan knob must be used for panning Solo The easiest way to unsolo several tracks is to use the feature Just press All Solo to toggle Solo on all tracks The Solo function sets the selected track in Solo mode This means that all other tracks are silenced with the exception of channels that have been set to Solo Safe in the Console 1 plug in For more information on this please refer to Solo Safe on Aux Channels and Buses on page 10 on page 33 Please note that the Solo button only affects the Console 1 system
50. rack MIDI Controller Mode 5 with the orange text History Ihe normal way to use Console 1 is with the Con 2 Use the Volume Select knob to scroll back Conc 1 plag ins but it is possible to use it as a generic MIDI controller To enter the MIDI mode you need to quit the Console 1 application and reconnect the hardware Settings menu hold Shift and press the track But Console 1 has an unlimited undo function for its settings that we call History counterclockwise and forward clockwise in time and you will see the different param eters become highlighted and their parameters change back to their state before the adjustment was made 3 When you have reached the point from which you would like to start over stop scrolling and press Solo OK or Mute Cancel if you prefer that All actions and adjustments you made later than this point the ones you just scrolled through will be undone and if you want to undo the recently undone just enter History again and go back just one step Access history by pressing Shift and track selector 5 History Using Console 1 Without the Hardware Many of today s musicians and mix engineers work with portable lap top computers and use them in many different locations While the Console 1 hardware is not too big or heavy to bring with you you may not have it available at all times For this reason we made it possible to adjust Console 1 s settings using the compu
51. rocesses to obtain full warranty service For consumers who are covered by consumer protection laws or regulations in their country of purchase or if different their country of residence the benefits conferred by this warranty are in addition to all rights and remedies conveyed by such consumer protection laws and regulations Some countries states and provinces do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages or allow limitations on how long an implied warranty or condition may last so the limitations or exclusions described herein may not apply to you ROCK N ROLL in MONO 9 STEREO a WITH de 25 7 Softube
52. s as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties Any and all intellectual and other property rights to and in the Software vest in and shall remain vested in Licensor or its licensors The Software is licensed not sold 3 Title and copyrights in and to the Software including any images pho tographs animations video audio music and text incorporated into the Software accompanying printed materials and any copies End Users are permitted to make herein are owned by Licensor or its licensors 4 No right title or interest in or to any trademark service mark logo or trade name of Licensor or its licensors is granted to End Users 5 The End User is granted a non exclusive and non transferable right to use the Software 6 The End User may not copy or reproduce the Software The End User may not transfer sell distribute lend rent lease or in other way directly or indi rectly dispose of the Software or any derivative work of the Software 7 The End User may not alter or modify the Software and may not analyze reverse engineer decompile or disassemble the Software or any part of the Software incorporate the Software into any other application software or print out the Software except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation 8 The End User may use the Software for only as many simultaneous users servers or other limiting parameters as
53. s EXT S C 0 Compressor i S 0 pF COMPRESSOR S C High Cut Y pies oW Cut COMPRESSOR VCA GATE VCA Gate Gate Release EQUALIZER Release Ratio Threshold Attack Solo Safe Gate Hard OUTPUT METER i OUTPUT DRIVE SOLO MUTE Parallel Drive Output Pan Balance Dry Wet Drive Character Volume Solo Mute Troubleshooting Hardware Does Not Turn On If you re using a passive non powered USB hub the Console 1 may fail to power on because it is not getting enough power Please connect the Con sole 1 to a powerered USB hub or directly to your computer Since Console 1 may require the full 500 mA it may interfere with other USB appliances on the same hub Software Errors Even if software errors should be few you may sometimes experience an Unknown Error This is not a problem and usually just means that while your computer did this it didn t do that fast enough for me Anyway if you do get an Unknown Error please make sure that you have the latest version of our software installed If you do please try the following steps 1 Unplug the Console 1 hardware 2 Plugit back in again If that didn t help do this 3 Exit Console 1 On Screen Display unplug the Console 1 hardware and quit your DAW 4 Start Console 1 On Screen Display 5 Plugin the Console 1 hardware 6 Start your DAW again That should definite
54. ter mouse In your DAW open the Console 1 plug in on the track you would like to adjust Click Show Knobs and an interface that resembles the Console 1 hardware will appear This is fully clickable with the mouse and you can adjust Console 1 s settings from here Automation All Console 1 s parameters can be automated into your DAW Automation can either be programmed just like any plug in in your DAW or by using the Console 1 hardware to write the automation in real time Please refer to your DAW s manual for further information on how this is done Automation in Pro Tools Since the Console 1 controls aren t touch sensitive automation is preferably made in Latch or Write instead of Touch mode 41 Customizing the Channel 5trip Even though the basic functions of Console 1 as well as the included model of a Solid State Logic SL4000E should be more than adequate for any mixing tasks there are ways of customizing the channel further We go through these here Loading Other Channel Strips and Effects The included Solid State Logic SL4000E is an excellent channel strip but sometimes one might like to have the option of other sound characters Either just another com pressor or equalizer or a whole other channel strip sound Softube will continuously release new models of analog hardware in the form of channel strips that will perfectly integrate with the Console 1 system These will be separately available for purchase
55. ter position boosts the gain of the equalizer s low mid band Turned counterclockwise from its center position cuts EQ activation e EQUALIZER Cut e Bell Shelf e Frequency Frequency Low Low Mid Band CONSOLE 1 USER SGUIDE 17 the gain of the equalizer s low mid band High Mid Band Q Sets the width of the equal izer s high mid band Frequency Sets the operating frequency of the equalizer s high mid Width i Cut 2 Bell Cut Bell Shelf High Mid Gain Turned clockwise from its Shelf center position boosts the gain of the equalizer s high mid band Turned counterclockwise from its center position cuts lt Frequency the gain of the equalizer s high mid band High Band Frequency Frequency Cut Bell Shelf Sets the operating mode of the equalizer s high band Frequency Sets the operating frequency of the equalizer s high band High Mid High Gai 5 7 2A High Gain Turned clockwise from its center position boosts the gain of the equalizer s high band Turned counterclockwise from High Mid Band High Band its center position cuts the gain of the equalizer s high band 18 GETTING STARTED Compressor Section Compressor activation Activates or bypasses the com pressor section Gain Reduction meter Displays the gain reduction caused by the compressor Ratio Sets the compressor s ratio
56. the Low Cut knob turned fully counterclock wise the filter is entirely by passed In a similar manner the same applies to the High Cut filter when its knob is turned fully clockwise v Softube Input HIGH CUT OFF LOW CUT 155 Hz Filters to Compressor By pressing the Filters to Compressor button the High and Low Cut filters will no longer affect the sound source directly but instead the sidechain signal of the compressor Read more about this in Filtering the Compressor Sidechain on page 31 INPUT GAIN 14 0 dB Input section on the On Screen Display Phase Invert Phase Invert inverts the phase polarity of the signal so that all negative parts of the signal s wave form become positive and vice versa This is useful to correct issues where for example a microphone cable has been miswired and the polarity inverted It may or may not also improve the result when combining two microphones that are picking up the same sound source such as top and bottom micro phones on a drum or several microphones on the same guitar cabinet When Phase Invert is active the LED next to the button lights up and it is also indicated in the On Screen Display Fine Adjust Shift Holding the Fine Adjust Shift button will make any settings you can adjust with a knob move in smaller increments You can see the difference by following the numeric setting of a parameter in the On Screen Display while holdi
57. the loudest and the softest parts of the sound will be made smaller the sound will be compressed Toggle on or off Console 1 s compres sor section with the button in the top left corner of the section The LED next to the button will light up when the section is active and the entire section will light up in the On Screen Display The compressor s current behavior is displayed in the graphical curve Threshold The Threshold setting determines the threshold level above which the compressor will react and start decreasing the output level A low threshold means the compressor affects most portions of the sound the sound does not have to be very loud to 20 10 6 3 OdB COMPRESSOR Release Parallel Dry Wet Threshold Compressor section on the Console 1 hardware exceed the threshold a high threshold means the compressor only affects the loudest parts of the signal Console 15 Compressor section incorporates an auto matic make up gain which compensates for the gain reduction the compressor causes by turning up the sound level This applies to any compressor you load into the Compressor section even though that function may not be part of the original standalone plug in Ratio The Ratio setting determines by how much the output volume will be decreased when a sound is louder than the threshold level For example a 4 1 ratio means the sound will be reduced to a fourth of the level that exceeded the threshold So
58. to scroll in menus Working with Console 1 Console 1 has been designed to not only give you world class sound but also extreme ease of use Once you have everything set up the basic workflow of Console 1 is as fol lows Display Page Page 30 34 32 33 34 35 36 Eig 38 39 40 On Auto Down Up 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 49 20 5 20 Select a track by pressing the corresponding Track Selector button Use the knobs to adjust the settings Select another track Adjust the settings Repeat until your mix is great With that said there are of course a few more details to look into We will start by looking into track selection and handling and then move on to a walkthrough of Con sole 1 s effects sections Track Selection Ihe DAW tracks where you have initiated the Console 1 plug in will be routed to the corre sponding Console 1 track as set in the Console 1 plug in See Track Name and Number on page 10 Pressing a Track Selector button on the hardware selects the corresponding track and all knobs and buttons now control that track The LEDs above the track selector buttons will light up if a DAW channel is routed to that track and the LED of the currently selected track will light up brightly LEDs next to each button and around each knob show the respec tive parameter s current setting C High Cut Parameter with LED showing the In the meter bridge of the On setting Scre
59. ty lower cost and no need for an external power supply the Con sole 1 hardware is USB powered The Console 1 software is also very CPU efficient but please refer to System Requirements on page 45 to see if your computer is powerful enough to use with Console 1 And obviously most mixers are contained in one single hardware unit The Console 1 system consists of three different components that work in tight integration the hardware the On Screen Display and the DAW plug in One might say there is also a fourth component namely the channel strip or single effect you have loaded into the separate Console 1 tracks If you re new to Console 1 the channel strip will be the SSL SL 4000 E that is included in the purchase There will be more plug in channel strips for Console 1 such as that one that can be purchased separately And you can also load other Softube plug ins into the system See Loading Other Channel Strips and Effects in Chapter 6 of this manual Getting started In order to install the required software and activate your license first make sure your computer has internet access Use any browser to visit the page www Ssoftube com consolel install Here you will be guided through all the necessary steps You will be asked to enter the unique license code printed on the Quick Start guide that is enclosed in the Console 1 shipping box Setting Up Your First Console 1 Session When you have gone through th

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