[Free] Introducing the difficult but tsundere Tube Preamp plug-in

[Free] Introducing the Tsundere plug-in Tube Preamp

I'm yosi, the maintainer of Chillout with Beats.

This is the introduction of the plug-in that you taught me on Twitter.

This is a really tsundere plug-in.

First of all, there are so many knobs!And low operability!

Hey shit, is this shit?

Eh, what is the sound of Nanoko!Isn't it good!Is this free?It's like that.

Isn't it overstated?You might think, but it's a good idea to use it.

The introduction has become a little longer, but you can get it from the link below.

It's been a little long, so from the conclusion

To be clear, I spent a lot of time trying to make it feel good at first.

Therefore, I will mainly describe the parameters that greatly change the sound.

1. is easy to distort, so I think it's better to lower it. (Or set it high and set it in your DAW's WET / DRY)

2. If you set "1." low and adjust "Drive", you can get a proper distortion.
(Too much raising may cause problems)

If you lower XNUMX., the overtones will increase and you will get a pleasant distortion.

Other than that, I think it would be good to lower "1" to 180 or something, lower "2" to 10th place, and lower "3" to adjust the distortion to your liking.

Other parameters have little change, but please try various things.

The sound is like this.

Overview of Tube Preamp

"Tube Preamp" was created based on a bachelor's thesis jointly published by Philipp and d & b audiotechnik GmbH in 2002.

Therefore, the approach is different from other tube emulation systems. (Although there may be something similar as a result)

I will post the outline as it is in the basic translation, but I tried to examine it by excerpting a part.

Since the sound of analog tube amps has always been very attractive, electric circuits using tubes have played a role in the world of audio engineering to date.On the other hand, audio technology is becoming more and more digital.In many cases, digital models emulate real equipment so that you can barely hear the difference in sound.In this work, we have developed a model that can emulate the typical sound of a tube amp on a digital device.The focus here is on preamps with triodes that have a special effect on the sound.

First, develop a tube model based on the physical properties of the actual tube.This mathematical model contains not only the analysis of the data sheet, but also the results of theoretical studies.Then, we will implement the entire amplifier circuit using this model.The amplifier circuit contains several passive elements in addition to the tube itself.In the realm of digital signal processing, these passive elements are described by finite difference equations and solved recursively.

The resulting algorithm is eventually implemented as a VST plug-in, whose timbral characteristics can be examined.The operation of the digital model is well compatible with the actual amplifier circuit.The important effects of analog tube amps have also been demonstrated in digital models. You can download the VST plugin at the end of this page.

Triode model

The first step was to develop a triode model based on the characteristic curves of the actual tube.Theoretically, the characteristic curve of a vacuum tube is described by Langmuir-Child's law.However, when compared to a real tube, it quickly turned out that this law was not accurate enough.So a new model was developed.This model describes the triode as a mathematical function.In this model, it is possible to calculate the plate voltage (Upc) as a function of the grid voltage (Ugc), which depends on the operating resistance (Ra) and power supply voltage (Ub).

Type

As I noticed on the way, you can set the value by double-clicking on the number.

It's quite annoying with just a mouse, but this makes it a little easier to use.

 

Frequency characteristic

I checked it using Plugin Doctor.

Each parameter is fairly closely related and is listed as far as we can find out.

Default

It seems that this is not something that adds even harmonics, which is common in interesting things.

 

Drive

If you raise it basically, it will go down except for Lo.

The waveform is flying at the maximum.

I actually made a sound and examined it, but it seems to be a problem.
(However, it does not seem to occur if the input is low)

The overtones look like this.

The movement near the maximum is still strange.

In FL Studio, the sound became extremely quiet and the phase was disturbed near the maximum.

I tried adding pink noise, but it's interesting.

This is not the case with other saturation systems.

I tried it with "Saturation Knob" of Softube.
(I tried about 5 other types, but they have almost the same tendency as Saturation Knob)

Knob with default value of 250.0V (upper left knob)

I think it's about how much voltage is applied.

If it is low, the volume will be low, but changing this parameter will affect the following points.

At 100V, it is about 1.5V and 3V, but at 300V, it goes up to about 6V and 10V.

And the second parameter is also affected by the value of Drive.

A knob with a default value of 10.0 kΩ

If you lower it to 1.5kΩ and 2.5Ω, raise it to about 250V and adjust the Drive, the distortion of the drum etc. is good.

The frequency characteristics are like this.

The overtones look like this.

The actual sound is like this.

 

A knob with a default value of 10.0nF

It's inconvenient not to have a knob name.

However, there is a lot of interaction between the knobs.

Decreasing the value of this knob will cut Low.

There is almost no change in overtones due to this parameter.

In Plugin Doctor, the part where the waveform is skipped will not sound properly if it is the actual sound.

It is ringing at first, but soon one sound becomes quieter and the other gradually becomes quieter.
I think it's a bug.

 

A knob with a default value of 100 kΩ

Honestly, I don't feel any change.

Looking at Plugin Doctor, it looks like this.

It feels like it moves a little in the bass, but it's so low that I don't think it will change with ordinary speakers.

The overtones look like this. (Gain is raised to make it easier to understand)

A knob with a default value of 1.00 kΩ

If this is also the default setting, I do not feel much change.

The overtones look like this. (Gain is raised to make it easier to understand)

 

A knob with a default value of 0.63 kΩ

Somehow this parameter behaves strangely.

Basically, increasing the value will make the volume sound.

The only strange thing is that it undulates a little after it is dropped.

It will be settled in a few seconds.

Actually, I've seen this wavy behavior with other plugins,RX950What is it?

RX950In the case of, I think that the fluctuation of the frequency leads to the feeling of Lo-Fi.

However, it is an effect that can not actually be used if the parameters are changed for a few seconds ...

Let's verify whether it makes sense by shaking it with an LFO.

The overtones look like this. (Gain is raised to make it easier to understand)

 

A knob with a default value of 126µF

This parameter is also almost unchanged.

Only in the case of the minimum value of 1, there was a large dent around 100kHz.

However, increasing Gain will reduce the amount of change.

It's really confusing.

A knob with a default value of 10.0µF

This looks like the bass is raised.

However, when I actually try it with pink noise, it behaves a little differently.

Mystery is.

Knobs with default values ​​of 1.00 MΩ and knobs with 1.22 kΩ

It doesn't end at all, so the two together ...

First of all, the knob on the top seems to be able to shift the frequency.

Increasing the lower knob will lower the Gain and increase the overtones.

Lower the knob to increase the overtones. (Gain is raised to make it easier to understand)

 

A knob with a default value of 65.3µF

This doesn't change much either.

However, when the minimum value is 1.0, the area around 100kHz is dented.

The overtones look like this. (Gain is raised to make it easier to understand)

A knob with a default value of 1.00 MΩ

This is also almost unchanged.

There was almost no change in overtones.

A knob with a default value of 10.0nF

This is like a High Pass filter.

There was almost no change in overtones.

[Free] Summary of introduction of Tsundere plug-in Tube Preamp

I was a little tired, but I could understand the general movement and got a delicious point.

I think it's a good level to sell if the adjustment and operability of this plug-in parameter range is improved.