Chris Johnson, the man behind Airwindows, did his best Santa Claus impression this year by gifting us all ConsoleX on Christmas Day.
Despite dropping on the typically hectic Christmas Day, I’m sure many of you immediately downloaded the highly-anticipated mixing console plugin and hid away in blissful ignorance of everything else the day brought.
In addition to the fact that Airwindows releases great plugins time after time, the anticipation for this release heightened when Chris dropped a few teasers in the form of the StoneFire plugins: the StoneFire (non-EQ) EQ and StoneFireComp.
These plugins allowed users to preview the clever use of Kalman filters that would form the foundations of ConsoleX.
Kalman filtering algorithms are prominent in many fields, like data tracking and prediction, but not so much in audio. Regarding the StoneFire non-EQ EQ, Chris explains that by using the Kalman filter as a crossover, targeting texture, not frequency, it becomes an incredibly powerful texture-shaper.
ConsoleX is Airwindows’ biggest console, and Chris describes it as his “ultimate mixing system,” suitable for vintage/retro or modern mainstream projects. The mixing system consists of two plugins: ConsoleXChannel and ConsoleXBuss (each sharing identical controls).
ConsoleX features two Pop3 compressors, adjustable via the Stone and Fire bands, each with Ratio, Sustain, Release, and Threshold controls. There’s also a range control that, when set around midway, brings out the strange nature of the Kalman filter crossover.
Additionally, having the same or similar settings for Stone and Fire will produce more normal or expected behavior; contrasting settings will encourage more of that strangeness (pleasing strangeness, I might add).
Each band also features a Gate section with independent Threshold controls.
A four-band EQ processes raw sound pre-compression but gates along with Stone/Fire.
We also see more, perhaps unconventional but quite brilliant, use of Kalman filtering with the Air3 air band EQ control. The Air control is ideal for reducing harsh brightness in a way that sounds natural and airy rather than over-filtered.
Airwindows is the gift that keeps on giving for so many musicians and producers and has been ongoing for almost two decades. ConsoleX is an amazing festive treat, but I’d like to highlight how prolific Chris is with new releases (like November’s Consolidated multi-effects plugin); it’s constant throughout the year, and I’m not sure how he finds the time, but it’s appreciated.
Check out Chris Johnson’s Patreon if you can.
ConsoleX is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
I know some users reported issues with Logic Pro X validation – I had no problems with Logic Pro 10.7.7 – all good here, but feel free to share any issues you encounter.
Download: ConsoleX (FREE)
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