A large part of this is down to the clever way in which Softube have managed the visual side of things. What struck me straight away was how easy and intuitive the mixing process becomes, at least once you've got your instances of the Console 1 plug-in inserted and named (see box). By and large, this proved perfectly feasible, and you can read more about how it panned out in this month's Mix Rescue article. I decided to hit the ground running by mixing a track using, as far as possible, no other tools apart from Console 1 and the host DAW (in this case, Pro Tools 11). The hardware, meanwhile, attaches to your computer via USB, and is bus-powered with no option to use an external PSU. The software element uses the new type of iLok authorisation that does not require a hardware key, and one Console 1 licence can authorise up to three computers. In the fullness of time, Console 1 will be a cross-platform product, but at present it only works on Apple computers, and I tested it on a mid-2013 MacBook Air running Pro Tools 11 and Studio One 2.6. Softube also have further complete channel strips in the works. As supplied, the Console 1 processing is based around a licensed emulation of the SSL 4000 E-series channel strip, but if you own other Softube plug-ins such as the Tube-Tech CL1B compressor emulation, these algorithms can be loaded into the relevant section of the channel in place of the SSL variant.
There are two elements to Console 1: a plug-in that includes all the signal processing found in a top-flight mixer channel strip, and a proprietary hardware controller that matches the layout of the plug-in and provides a dedicated knob for every function. Instead, Console 1 gives you what is in effect a single channel from a very well-specified mixer, implemented in a hybrid software/hardware system. However, there are no banks of motorised faders here, and in fact, no control over DAW parameters at all. The goal of the Console 1 package is to make mixing within digital audio workstation software more like mixing on a large-format analogue console. They've collaborated with other manufacturers such as Native Instruments and Universal Audio, but the new Console 1 is their first foray into hardware design. Swedish plug-in developers Softube have made quite a name for themselves over the years with emulations of sought-after studio equipment and guitar amps. Can Console 1 liberate us from mouse and keyboard? Softube are out to make DAW mixing more like using a large-format console.
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