I've just ordered the Slate ML-1. It seems like the best option in my price point for someone looking for a versatile, decently high quality mic.

I also see the Slate VSX with really positive reviews, and I've started thinking about getting those aswell, and buying the slate full year subscription.

Both of these products seem to have pretty good reviews, and I dont have many plugins for mixing/mastering as I've focused only on producing for the past few years. It seems to me like the best value for a beginner to this space. Im just a little skeptical, because the $120 a year or whatever commitment is a lot on top of the initial like $600 for mic and headphones. I think having access to all those spaces digitally could really help me feel confident in mixes. In my current location, listening on monitors, let alone treating my room, is out of the question.

Do people here think this is a good idea? Im not looking for the best of the best here, but it seems for bang for buck and convenience there isn't a better option to go for. It's hard to trust these youtube reviewers then 4/5 seem sponsored/ paid off. Im moreso skeptical of the VSX being worth it over the DT770 pro I already have. Are these good headphones even minus the software?

To me, sounding convincingly professional is the #1 most important thing, so if it can get me in that realm, it would be worth it.

Also, regarding the MetaPitch plugin, is it possible to get the effect on brockhampton- something about him at the beginning from this? They use Alterboy, and they seem pretty similar, but im not sure if it would have the same kind of artifacty sound. I know this song isn't good but I like the effect.

I ordered the ML-2 and am basically happy with the plugin part of it even before wiring up the mic.

If anybody is thinking about the ML-1 or already has it, but only with the stock plugin set, I actually have the "Classic Tubes 3" expansion plugin set that I don't need. Any reasonable offer can take it.

I thought it could be used with the ML-2, and bought it for that, but you have to have the ML-1 plugin set to use CT3 expansion, so I can't use it.

BTW, also want to add: I found Slate's customer service to be outstanding when I tried to figure out why I couldn't get the expansion set to work. Response was almost immediate, and it's thanks to CS that I now know the software is transferrable.

Oh: justinturrell: we may have been motivated by some same reviews. The Billy Hume "I'm Freaking Out" channel clip got me to pull the trigger. Seems both a bit paid-endorsement but also not dishonest. There was a part where he's putting the different mics on guitars and discovers that one of the plugins for the ML-1 -- the 47 sim I think, the one I bought the "...Tubes 3" plugin for without realizing that wouldn't work without the ML-1 stock software -- sounds really nice on the ML-2. That's how I ended up buying the ML-1 extension set, not realizing it wouldn't work without the stock ML-1 set already installed.

ive seen just about every slate review. I watch them in my free time at this point. Everyone seems very positive, but I'm always skeptical of the shit music YouTubers push. Generally, if YouTubers are selling you something, it sucks. This is pretty true in the world I come from (hiphop production). It does seem Slate is the exception though. Maybe it doesnt apply on audio engineering YouTube.

I have a subscription but tried to cancel it a while back.

I guess you can't just cancel so I still have to pay for it until April even though I don't use any of the plugins.

Since you don't have other plugins and are getting the ML1 microphone, it might make more sense in your situation.

I guess I also just like the idea of buying and owning plugins rather than renting via subscription.

So it's not worth it for me but it might be for you.

I would return the ML-1 lol. I've been in this for 15 years and one thing that's always disappointed me was microphone emulations. Having one really good microphone is more useful than having a swiss army knife microphone that leaves its sonic fingerprint on every emulation you choose.

The emulations are a really cool idea and the GUI they use for those types of products are really interesting and fun looking for what it's worth.

It would only make sense to do if I get an at4040 instead or get the sm7b again instead and idk if any of those would have better quality.

Is your recording space well treated? AT4040 is good if so. If the room isn't treated well, you'd be better off with the SM7B. I'm a little bias, but I would always recommend investing in treating your space (there are cost effective ways to do this) then grabbing one quality microphone such as the TLM 103.

Im using a car, so no, it's not good at all. I just have no other option. I dont understand how amateur musicians can ever record unless they can afford studio time.

Im investigating ways to "treat" my car but I doubt im going to be able to get it to a point where it produces usable recordings.

Either there’s something everyone reading your posts is missing, or you’re leaving out information. That’s certainly your right to do so, but it’s also making any advice not really land. If you have a portable setup, just record anywhere you are. I record live shows all the time, tons of things bleeding into a mic, and no one complains about the vocal sound.

Here’s an example, in a church basement due to the room where this was supposed to happen suddenly not being available. The vocal mic is from the tape op magazine message board group buy 20-ish years ago, with a cinemag transformer that I swapped in. That’s about $175 total? No expensive mics at all on this session, and a borrowed qsc TouchMix 30 was used to track it.

https://youtu.be/VIqxT_-23bc?si=qXfay1cs3KCD4tKh

Yeah, if a Youtuber has no made name (from production credits, legit previous career, etc.) they are probably going to be non-credible people seeking free gear via a proven record of shilling.

There was a great review of these obviously ridiculous "drum in the air with these sticks, get digital real drums" drumsticks, amid tons that were obviously not reality-based. If your thread reaches a conclusion I'll see if I can find it. Goldmine for comedy. As far as the Slate Digital, I saw two reviews, 1 by Billy Hume and 1 by Justin Coletti ("Sound Scoop" or something channel). They both read as genuinely the held opinions (Coletti's was not really focused on Slate Digital, but there was useful "read between the lines and read the lines" stuff in it). Both seem to me to be on the line of shilling ("negative findings may be omitted or discreetly framed, but all opinions shared are truthful" probably), but they have real, pre-existing cred to protect, i.e. make a living on their credibility both on and off Youtube, as opposed to having little or nothing to lose like most Youtubers.

I'm probably interested in the mics for the same reason as you (making "home recordings" on minimal expenditure), but I also am interested in processing plugins because I have 2 copies of one good mic (Warm Audio product) that seems to cover most of my needs for now. Unlike some in this boat, I did a fair amount of amateur analog recording previous to 2010, so I have a fair amount of experience with inexpensive mics (under $700 range, in pre-2010 markets). I lost all that equipment in Katrina, and didn't start recording again til recently. Hence the bargain shopping now.

I don't see where a subscription is ever a good idea for an amateur, unless you expect to stop recording, as opposed to continue until death do you (and your gear) part.

I still haven't tried the ML-2 mic yet, but will and will report back if you don't get useful hands-on testimonials or input.

The final word from Hume and Coletti on emulations in general was that, No, they don't equal the originals, but Yes, the results can be great, and definitely mindblowing by early 2000s standards for the cost.

Oh: if you or anybody reading this has an unharmed, no-problems ML-1 you want to sell, with full transfer of licensing for the software, I want to buy it if the price is good.

What plugins are you using right now?

For mixing I dont really have any I just use the default FL stuff mostly. I have pro-q and some other things aswell

Just my opinion. I just bought eight UAD plugins over the last three weeks, along with the AT4040.

They have a sale until the end of the month.

2 for $79. 3 for $109. 6 for $199.

I have a certain setup and the UAD plugins seem to be a good fit for what I'm doing.

UAD has made a fan out of me with these plugins.

Here's the thing. It could be your space and the recording environment.

Here's my setup right now as of last night.

I play guitar and sing at the same time while recording using two mics.

So I'm not looking for a profession recording where you separate and fine tune everything in isolation.

I'm in a small bedroom with some acoustic foam on the walls. So I guess you could say it's "semi-treated" but probably not anything near what some of these other people use.

Here's what I'm using and getting a pretty great sound right now.

Vocals - Audio Technica AT4040

API Vision Channel Strip (UAD)
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor (UAD)
Hitsville Reverb Chambers (UAD)
Lindell 902 De-Esser (Plugin Alliance)

Acoustic Guitar - Audio Technica AT4047

API Vision Channel Strip (UAD)
Soundtoys SuperPlate (Soundtoys)

Master Channel

Capital Mastering Compressor (UAD)
Studer A800 Tape Recorder (UAD)

This is a pretty simple setup. No Pro-Q or mastering/surgical EQ of any kind.

I'll be honest. I know the Pro-Q is great but surgical eq's aren't my thing as I don't see myself as being refined enough or patient enough to use them properly.

The closest thing to the Pro-Q in my setup it is probably the Softube Weiss MP EQ but I don't use it very often.

An update: I finally got around to actually plugging in the ML-2, because I happened to buy an ML-1. I wasn't that enthused about the ML-2 mic when I found out the plugin I wanted to use with it could only be used if I had the ML-1 (software) already.

I put them side by side with a Warm 87, live recording the same vocal signal (my voice, I am a singer, going "ha ha ha ha" at different volumes and pitches) with the 3 mics within a 6 inch diameter from each other, gain staged to be in the same volume output range, mouth less than 12 inches but more than 5 inches from any mic. I didn't spend a ton of time on trying to be "scientific," just made an effort to be fair to all 3 mics.

The ML-2 screen was less than 3 inches from the Warm 87 capsule and in the middle, the ML-2 was about 3 inches from the ML-2. I did *not* use a windscreen on any mic, and this may have a lot to with the results (maybe the SD mics are more sensitive to air movement? Seems unlikely, but who knows without actually doing the whole thing again with windscreens, which I'm not going to do).

Results: output adjusted to be identical (-1.0 on the Logic Master meter for all 3, to avoid any possibility of clipping on output to Audeze headphones), both the ML-2 and ML-1 introduced artifacts that the Warm 87 didn't. At higher, boomier volumes, they introduced a sound like a window rattling with a loud band on the other side of it, that also seemed almost to be a clipping point, though the signal was actually low, not even close to clipping on the interface meter, or in the Logic meter.

The Warm 87 didn't have any of that.

There were no filters/plugins that made the ML-1 sound like the 87, and where it fell short was basically in resolution or detail/clarity, and in lack of exaggerating background noise to signal (and the Warm 87 picks up a lot of background noise) but it was a really good vocal result for a mic that cost me $300. The results with the ML-2 were generally brighter and less full, more like you would expect, with the same plugins and filters as with the ML-1, more suited to an SM57 filter for example.

If I wanted a mic primarily for vocals, and the question was, "Spend a few hundred more for a Warm 87 or get an ML-1 with all these filters and plugins?" I would now know I should get the Warm. If I wanted a mic for guitar, it's a tossup, because I am probably not going to get the vibrancy with either the ML-1 or ML-2 that I get when micing a good amp with the Warm 87 from either, but a lot more accidental, and maybe desirable coloration might come from either.

If I already had the Warm, and I could have either another Warm or *both* an ML-1 and ML-2, I would probably take the latter, which thankfully is exactly what I did. I basically only have 2 Warm 87s, and these two SDs, and am not worried about not having what I need to make high quality recordings of guitar, bass, wind instruments, percussion and voice (until I can make a much higher cost purchase of additional mics). That said, I previously only had the Warms, and I wasn't worried then either, i.e. the only limitation, to me, was me.

I do have a lot of experience with cheap mics like Rode NT, Oktava 319, etc. - enough to mic a full band with horn section, including live drums with 5-7 mics, and piano, and owned lots of mics previously that I lost in Katrina - so experience with all those mics of course informs all this, in particular the sense that, really, as 1 person just recording himself I could really do everything with only a Warm 87. But it would be a lot more fun with more good mics. In my case, the SD combo will add a lot of versatility, but none that would not be better (more vibrant, clear, detailed) if I had "the real thing" that the SDs are emulating.

I'm going to do the same trial with acoustic guitar next, and I expect both SD mics to do much better against the Warm, there.

I'm not an experienced/sophisticated sound person/engineer, obviously, but neither are most of the people shopping for any of these 3 mics. Hopefully my generally illiterate remarks will make useful sense to the intended target audience for the Slate Digital. I hit this thread looking for info on ML-1s and ML-1 software bundle. It is probably going to happen to others in the future.

Hopefully some use to OP, too, of course.

But OP is not recording in his car because he is getting a "bad sound" in his house. OP is recording in his car because he can't disturb his neighbors. Or he can, but he doesn't want to.

It's not a matter of mics, plugins or even sound treatments. It's matter of soundproofing.