Smart Audio Solution – Emulsion v1.0.9 for WiN

Emulsion BOX is a highly accurate emulator of four highly acclaimed converters; it also offers colour mix-and-match functionality and a digital harmonic THD section that can be used across the various modules

EMULSION

In photography, emulsion is the process that decides the grain, the quality, the emotion that film will give back to us.

Emulsion was built with that idea in hand. It takes its inspiration from analogue circuits that create character, emotion and colour — sometimes subtly, sometimes far more openly. With Emulsion you can now combine those sonic characters that make the difference for a record that is produced, and that moves people.

Analogue warmth in your DAW

Conversion to the analogue domain is not just about quality; it is also about recreating that sonic cohesion that makes all the difference across every musical genre. Emulsion not only recreates this cohesion but also allows you to ‘blend’ sounds together in a way that would be either impossible or extremely costly in the real world.

Create saturation chains that are impossible in the analogue domain, but whilst retaining the analogue sound in your DAW

Emulsion is a subtle-sounding instrument, but BEWARE: during countless listening tests and calibration sessions, we noticed something: in blind tests comparing the bypassed signal with the processed sound, in 99 per cent of cases – even at the lowest settings – the processed signal was preferred. Emulsion excels both on individual instruments and on the master bus, tightening up the sound and creating that ‘produced’ sound we’re all looking for

DRIVE LEVEL

Turning the control clockwise gives you the neutral, balanced sound of the emulated unit; turning it anti-clockwise makes the sound brighter and less rich in harmonics. If you turn it clockwise, the sound becomes richer and slightly darker.This parameter affects the amount of signal that modulates the transformers or the pre-conversion circuit. The colour this control adds to the sound depends very much on the input level: if you’re mixing individual tracks and have plenty of headroom, you’ll have more leeway; if you’re inserting the module at the end of the mastering chain, you’ll immediately notice the effect on harmonic distortion. In this context, it’s best to set it to zero or turn it anti-clockwise, unless you want to create a super-saturated, clipped effect – which is sometimes just what a mix needs, isn’t it?

A/D Circuit mode selector

Where available, this mode switches the saturation level to either the transformer or pre-conversion mode. I don’t have any specific advice to give you – just use your ears depending on the music source. What I can tell you is that the ‘green – 22dB’ mode is perfect for achieving RMS levels without raising the peak… brilliant… I’m curious to see how you’ll use it in your productions.