Softube Console 1 MkII
A redesign rather than an ‘upgrade’, the
second iteration of Softube’s Console 1
channel strip plugin and controller combo
doesn’t bring any new hardware functionality
to the table (just very minor layout changes
and brighter LEDs), and the software is the
same as that available to users of MkI.
However, through a series of free updates,
that software has come on quite a bit since
we reviewed the original Console 1 (8/10,
204), and with a massive price drop from
£719 to £439, our main criticism of it – that it was
very expensive – has certainly been addressed.
Let’s take another look…
Strip to the bone
Console 1 consists of the Console 1 plugin
(VST/AU/AAX) and a USB-powered hardware
controller – and it is ‘only’ a controller, not a
UAD-style DSP box; the software runs entirely
native to the host Mac or PC.
The plugin is a modular channel strip,
incorporating three main sections: Shape
(gating and transient shaping), Equalizer and
Compressor. Each section loads its own
software model from a menu of classic
emulations, initially limited to the three
corresponding elements of the stunning
bundled SSL SL4000E channel strip that we
Softube
Console 1 MkII £439
Can a dramatically lowered price and support for UAD plugins
up the score for this innovative hardware/software mixing hybrid?
“With a massive price
drop from £719 to
£439, our main
criticism has certainly
been addressed”
covered in the original review; but over the last
three years, the library of separately available
add-on modules has grown considerably. You
can now splash out on the equally impressive
British Class A ($249), SSL XL 9000 KSeries
($329) and Summit Audio Grand Channel ($329)
full channel strips, many of Softube’s other
plugins (Drawmer S73, Trident ARange, etc),
and – with the latest software – a number of UAD
plugins (see Universal appeal).
Input and Output modules bookend the three
main sections, housing High and Low Cut ilters,
Volume, Pan, Solo and Mute controls, overdrive
(also modelled as part of the loaded emulation)
and various utility functions: signal low,
sidechain routing, phase invert, etc.
The plugin UI simply comprises a graphical
representation of the hardware controller, for
use when it’s not attached. The actual parameters
of the loaded modules are revealed in the
On-Screen Display, which we’ll get to shortly.
2
MINUTES
WITH…
VIDEO
88 / COMPUTER MUSIC / September 2017
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CMU246.rev_console1mkII.indd 88 6/27/17 3:19 PM