Eight years on from its groundbreaking release, what’s new in Slate Digital’s Virtual Microphone System?
Where does the time go? It’s been eight years since my original review of the Slate Digital Virtual Microphone System, or VMS, which feels like more than enough time to check in and see what this somewhat pioneering product now has to offer. It was interesting for me to reread the original review and remember how keen we were at the time to unpick and generally assess just how authentic the mic emulations were. Indeed, we decided to focus the review on directly comparing some of the emulations to the real deal — which inevitably led to some mild Internet controversy around the test conditions and how valid the comparisons were, especially considering the natural variations between mics that are over 60 years old and may have undergone multiple services and repairs. My review was positive, however, and my closing thoughts were about being intrigued to see how this new technology would be received and developed in the coming years.
It feels like a different landscape now to when the original VMS was released, with most of us entirely comfortable about combining digital tools with our analogue ones. It is also fair to say, I think, that the development of very good‑sounding microphone emulations hasn’t sounded the death knell of traditional and vintage recording mics. My sense is that most engineers aren’t necessarily concerned with how authentic something sounds, and prefer to judge gear by the difference it makes in their day‑to‑day music making.
Perhaps in response to this shift, the team at Slate Digital decided to drop the hardware preamp side of the original VMS package and instead focus solely on making the microphone as affordable and simple as possible to use. So, while there are software preamp emulations included in the VMS bundle, the only hardware component now is the ML‑1 mic. This behaves exactly like a normal capacitor microphone, with users supplying their own preamp, while the software is neatly contained with Slate Digital’s Virtual Mix Rack plug‑in.
Overview
Losing the preamp side of the system seems like a good move to me, as I think most users want simplicity and to also feel like they are not having to use, or pay for, extra equipment to get good results. The mic itself is intended to provide a good‑quality ‘blank slate’ for the modelling software to effectively do its thing, and is a neutral‑looking mic that would be a fine centrepiece as the only mic in a smaller setup, whilst still looking at home in a studio like mine with multiple other mics kicking around.
One of my concerns in my original review was that users could end up getting lost in too much choice, and however you might feel about that aspect of modern production, the Slate Digital VMS now offers a total of 26 vintage microphone emulations. These are available in a few different bundles, or as a complete collection if you subscribe to Slate Digital’s Complete Access Bundle or All Access Pass. Slate Digital were early adopters of the monthly subscription model, and whilst you can stay outside of that if you wish, the relatively high pricing of the expansion packs seems intended to strongly encourage you to go become a part of the Slate Digital ecosystem — which does include a huge number of emulations, among other production software to explore. The pricing for the VMS is now also significantly reduced compared to the $799 of the original system, to further encourage you into the Slate Digital world. Jumping ahead a little, I can report that the ‘raw’ mic itself sounds better than many mics I have auditioned in that price range, so it’s relatively low‑risk if you do want to explore what the VMS has to offer.
If you wanted to avoid the ‘choice paralysis’ of having so many models, you would ideally monitor your recording session through the Virtual Mix Rack plug‑in, auditioning the mic models and then recording with your chosen model in place. I had some concerns about this in my original review, as you would need to be able to record with very low buffer sizes to avoid any audible latency in the performer’s monitoring. However, the continuing development of computer processing means this is now less of a problem, and I’m happy to report that recording at 44.1kHz and with my buffer set at 64 samples (using Pro Tools on my five‑year‑old PC) produced no audible latency. I can imagine it being more problematic if you were returning to a track to re‑record some vocals where the mix has a lot of plug‑in processing going on, but this could be worked around with relative ease, and the base mic itself certainly sounds good enough to work with without the emulations engaged if needed.
Microphone models are available in a number of bundles, including packs based on the mic lockers of Blackbird Studios in Nashville and Strongroom in London.
Bundle Up
The mic ships with the Classic Tubes 1 and 2 collections, which include emulations of the ‘big hitters’ in the vintage mic world as well as a well‑known dynamic mic: the Shure SM7. Apart from the Shure, these are all aspirational, eye‑wateringly expensive tube mics most of us will never own, such as the Sony C‑800G, Neumann U47 and U67, AKG C12 and Telefunken 251. Also available at the time of writing are four separate expansion packs, including the Classic 87 collection, which offers new and old versions of the ubiquitous German large‑diaphragm capacitor mic. There’s also a Classic Tubes 3 mic collection available, and, intriguingly, the opportunity to sample the mic lockers from two well‑known recording studios: Nashville’s Blackbird Studios and London’s Strongroom.
I’ll mention a few of my favourites shortly, but there’s a mouthwatering selection of tube behemoths to sample in the Blackbird pack, in particular, as well as some classic solid‑state and ribbon options in the Strongroom collection. More details about the specific mics modelled can be found on the VMS page of the Slate Digital website.
In Use
I was given access to all 26 mic models for this review, though there isn’t space here to give you a comprehensive breakdown of how each one fared in my studio! Instead, I’ll take go through four studio recording applications and give you a few of my favourites on each source.
Many of the high‑end valve options sounded great for bringing out an airy quality to the vocal...
Looking at female vocals first, it was interesting to hear how the different mics ‘framed’ a singer I have recorded a number of times in my studio. Many of the high‑end valve options sounded great for bringing out an airy quality to the vocal, with my favourite being the B‑49 (available in the Blackbird expansion pack), as well as the FG‑37A (Classic Tubes 3). I also thought the new version of the U87 worked nicely on my singer’s voice, as did the SD 414EB found in the Strongroom pack.
For my male vocal example, I liked how the Blackbird B‑67 softened the sibilance in his voice, with the 4038 ribbon mic found in the Strongroom pack taking this even further, resulting in a lovely dark vocal sound that would work well in a sparse or more vintage‑sounding production. I also liked how the older U87 sounded on his voice — which is appropriate, as I normally use a U87 with this singer! The Blackbird B‑251 also worked very well for a brighter‑sounding vocal that would cut through a busier mix.
Moving away from vocals, I tried the ML‑1 as a mono drum overhead and it was impressive to hear how the VMS recreated the sound of a 4038 ribbon mic in this setting. Another popular choice for drum overheads is a C‑414, and the EB version included in the Strongroom pack sounded detailed but without making the cymbals too strident. I also liked how the FG‑44 (Classic Tubes 3) ribbon emulation and the (included as standard) FG‑12 sounded on drums, and the dramatic differences in flavour here really highlighted just how much flexibility you have with this technology.
As a last test, I tried the ML‑1 on acoustic guitar, where the FG‑67 model seemed to work well at capturing detail and generally feeling nicely balanced. The Blackbird B‑251 was better for a brighter sound, and I also liked how the Strongroom SD‑12‑VR really made the guitar ‘sparkle’.
Summing Up
I was impressed with many of the options that I tried. Unlike in our original review, I haven’t tried to evaluate how accurate the emulation are to the specific mics they model, but in general I was greeted with some very familiar tones and differences in style as I auditioned the different models. All of the packs available for the VMS have a number of great‑sounding options, and I found two or three mics in each pack that seemed to fit my own tastes straight off the bat. If you are just starting out with the VMS, my advice would be to identify a few favourites early on, as it’s not advisable or practical to constantly be auditioning 20+ mics on every recording! I would recommend trying to limit your options a little and still focus on the basics of developing good mic technique and placement, rather than expecting software to solve issues with sibilance and the like after the fact. If I was using the VMS on a regular basis I would also try and bounce the audio through the modelling plug‑ins and commit to a sound as soon as possible, to avoid losing all sense of perspective when mixing!
Those workflow caveats aside, I was again impressed with how the VMS sounded, and although perhaps most people would approach this system with vocals in mind, it was in my drum recordings where the sheer breadth of choice proved most valuable. Being able to switch between a older ribbon mic and something like a 251 valve mic is not a subtle difference! This is technology that is still maturing before our eyes, and the Slate Digital VMS offers engineers new and old a chance to play with the sound of literally hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of vintage microphones for a very modest outlay.
Summary
Now that the ML‑1 mic is the only hardware component, the current iteration of the VMS is significantly cheaper and simpler to use than the original. There are also many more mic models to choose from, though some are only available as part of subscription bundles.
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