SKnote Q796

SKnote has released Q796, the first in its new series of plug-ins modeled on classic hardware devices.

Emulation from classic hardware is mounted on a digital frame for enhanced control. Q796 is built starting from an emulation of a classic mastering device.

Q796 features

  • Three modules for stereo mastering and mixing:
    • Expander: includes a pump-up mode (compresses LOW levels, makes sound full).
    • Compressor: Feed-forward (the modern way) and feed-back (the vintage way) modes, Sidechain, Negative ratio, Continuous Peak-RMS set, Gain reduction limit (great for invisible squashing), Distortion (static and dynamic; starts over the threshold and increases with gain), Long time integration (an additional very slow time constant).
    • Limiter: a very fast limiter (with brickwall mode to 0dB).
  • The “analog” interface, modeled on the hardware, is integrated in a “digital” frame, for a better control. Three separate graphs show in realtime:
    • Input/Output waveform.
    • Control signal (from Peak to RMS).
    • Gain reduction.

Note: Look-ahead function (up to 10ms) has been added to the analog emulation. Delay compensation is reported to the host each time the switch is toggled. Verify the update in your host.

Q796 is available as a VST effect plug-in for Windows PC for 129 EUR. A demo version is available for download from the product page (it adds a short burst of noise every 20 seconds).

Visit SKnote for more information and audio demos.