Slate Digital RC-Tube - Manual (Page 11)

11
Slate
Digital
RC-­‐Tube
VIII.
C
ONCLUSION
MAKING THE RC-­‐TUBE
By
Steven
Slate
The
VCC
RC-­‐Tube
is
an
emulation
modeled
after
a
classic
RCA
Broadcast
Tube
Console i ,
the
BC-­‐6B.
The
BC-­‐6B
was
a
stereo
console
with
9
faders
and
22
inputs.
It
was
very
challenging
to
model
this
console,
because
first
we
had
to
find
one
that
worked.
While
I
scoured
the
country
trying
to
find
someone
with
a
working
model,
Fabrice
started
to
build
some
algorithms
based
on
the
schematic.
But
in
order
to
truly
recreate
the
sound
of
this
classic
tube
console,
we'd
need
to
run
our
specialized
test
files
through
it
to
thoroughly
analyze
it.
After
a
long
search
that
lasted
a
month,
suddenly
within
one
week,
I
found
two
people
who
owned
a
BC-­‐6B,
and
one
person
who
had
a
BC-­‐3
which
was
a
similar
design
with
less
inputs
and
8
faders.
So
that
was
the
good
news.
We
were
able
to
have
some
test
files
run
through
the
units.
All
seemed
good.
But,
then
we
got
the
results.
As
we
somewhat
expected,
all
three
consoles
had
very
different
responses.
This
could
have
been
due
to
many
factors.
These
consoles
are
50
years
old,
and
over
time
had
been
recapped,
retubed,
and
probably
modded
in
some
way
or
another.
Therefore,
they
didn't
share
the
exact
frequency
response
or
harmonic
structures.
However,
we
were
able
to
build
an
algorithm
that
was
based
on
all
three
units.
From
the
very
first
algorithm
that
I
was
sent,
I
knew
this
would
be
a
special
model.
First
and
foremost,
it
is
by
far
the
most
obvious
and
least
subtle
desk.
Its
thick,
rich,
fat,
and
warm,
with
a
smooth
and
silky
top
end.
Kind
of
what
you'd
think
a
classic
tube
circuit
would
sound
like.
What
was
also
interesting,
is
that
the
tube
mixbuss
wouldn't
hard
clip
like
a
solid
state
console.
In
order
to
hard
clip
the
mixbuss,
you'd
have
to
add
an
extra
24db
of
gain!
So
this
thing
had
tons
of
headroom
before
it
got
nasty
sounding.
After
doing
some
mixes
with
the
tube
model,
I
was
extremely
pleased.
Although
the
desk
model
was
fairly
colored,
I
could
still
add
the
emulations
to
an
already
mixed
song,
and
it
would
somehow
just
make
it
better
sounding.
Even
on
mixes
that
already
had
another
VCC
model
sounded
cool
when
adding
the
RC-­‐Tube.
Then
a
week
or
so
later,
I
was
mastering
a
friend's
band
that
was
recorded
and
mixed
digitally.
It
lacked
a
bit
of
vibe
and
sounded
a
tad
sterile.
Tossing
it
through
some
analog
outboard
compressors
helped,
but
it
still
needed
some
extra
character.
I
tossed
the
beta
version
of
the
VCC
RC-­‐Tube
mixbuss
plugin
on
the
master
and
gave
it
a
bit
of
drive.
Suddenly
the
song
got
deeper,
fatter,
and
had
this
amazing
analog
vibe.