Brainworx Audio has unveiled the bxconsole Focusrite SC, a plug-in inspired by two channel strip modules – ISA-110 and -130 – which featured on Focusrite’s super rare Studio Console. Focusrite’s Studio Consoles were originally designed by the godfather of recording technology, Rupert Neve. Focusrite’s Plug-in Collective Holiday Bundle brings together two powerful audio effects from Mastering The Mix and sonible, and a highly realistic virtual guitar instrument from UJAM. Whether you missed our previous offers or you're brand new to Plug-In Collective, this is your opportunity to greatly expand your production toolkit – for free. Brainworx have modelled the full signal paths of the Focusrite ISA 110 and ISA 130 modules for the bxconsole Focusrite to bring all the analogue character and colouration of the Focusrite Studio Console.
This plugin is included in our new MEGA Bundle Subscription at no extra cost!
Some History - 9 Studio Consoles Only in Existence!
We’re proud to welcome Focusrite’s famous and ultra-rare console to our platform.10 were only ever made, 9 are still alive today. Please check the amazing 38 minute documentary (made by Focusrite) about this console on YouTube, which is in our video playlist above.
The birth of Focusrite began in 1985 when Sir George Martin, otherwise known as the fifth Beatle, approached Rupert Neve to inquire about custom modules for AIR Montserrat. His studio regularly saw everyone from Paul McCartney, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and countless others. George discussed with Rupert a design for a top of the line microphone preamp and an EQ with low noise and an extra wide bandwidth with the main goal of it being as musical as possible. What came out of this vision was the ISA-110, featuring a transformer-coupled mic preamp with a four band EQ and highpass and lowpass filters. Word travelled fast and these standalone units could soon be found in studios across the planet. With the massive success achieved by the ISA-110 and the companion ISA-130 compressor/limiter/de-esser module, a ton of orders quickly emerged.
In the late 80’s Focusrite spared no expense when working on their ambitious studio desk, but as costs rapidly reached astronomical levels, the rights to the console were acquired by Phil Dudderidge of Soundcraft Electronics. The Focusrite Studio Console was finally completed by his team. From the work on ISA-110 and ISA-130, Phil’s engineers crafted equally successful designs, the ISA-215, 220 and 430. Since then, the Focusrite Studio Console has gained an enviable reputation for dynamic punch and clinical equalisation and firmly established itself as the recording and mixing desk of choice in select studios all over the world. The list of records made on this desk includes everyone from Green Day, No Doubt and tons of others.
True and Faithful Emulation of the Analog Hardware in the Digital World
Brainworx Focusrite Sc Manual
The plugin version of this legendary piece of gear, bx_console Focusrite SC continues the tradition started by our bx_console N and the SSL 4000 Series in that it offers 72 channels based on Brainworx's pioneering and patent-pending Tolerance Modeling Technology (TMT). Every one of bx_console Focusrite SC’s 72 channels offers a different Focusrite channel by modeling the slight channel-to-channel variances amongst the analog components. Run a different channel across your entire mix and you can easily get the depth, width and punch that the original analog Focusrite Studio Console provided – all inside your DAW!
Most channel strip plugins on the market emulate a single channel of the desk that they are modeled from. So no matter how many instances of that single channel plugin you use in your mix, you get the same exact equalization and compression curves, along with identical frequency and phase response. And even if you use different control settings for each plugin on a track, you still end up with a flat, narrow and two-dimensional digital sound.
On the other hand, every channel on a large-format, analog mixing console sounds different, often yielding a more complex and dimensional sound. Our bx_console Focusrite SC accomplishes just this by using Brainworx’s proprietary, patent-pending Tolerance Modeling Technology to accurately replicate the variations found in the values of over 150 individual electric components specified by the original console designer. This groundbreaking technology creates the small channel-to-channel variances in phase and frequency responses that you would get in an actual analog mixing desk.
And There is More!
Much like with the other plugins in Brainworx’s expanding line of mixing-console emulations, the bx_console Focusrite SC is stacked with an arsenal of extra features designed by Dirk and his team of award-winning design engineers that make the plugin even more powerful than the original hardware. We added a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) control which you can use to dial in some color and saturation along with a Virtual Gain control that can be used to add simulated noise to get an extra analog vibe to your tracks. Adjustable per channel, of course.
Our bx_console Focusrite SC is made in close collaboration with Focusrite to offer you nothing but the highest quality when it comes to the digital replica of this iconic original analog hardware. Try this channel strip in your mix today and experience the transparency, power and control of the world famous Focusrite console!
Brainworx Focusrite
News Story
Introducing Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC
Exclusively free for Clarett, Red, RedNet and ISA customers
Two of the most revered pieces of recording gear in the history of music production, the Focusrite ISA 110 Mic Pre and EQ, and ISA 130 Dynamics Modules helped to shape the sonic landscape of the 1980s and ’90s. They were key components in the original Focusrite Studio Console, their unique specification, exceptional build quality and impressive versatility delivering a beautifully open sound that found favour among audio engineers the world over. With only ten Studio Consoles ever made, even fewer still in existence, and the original ISA modules commanding sky-high prices on the second-hand market, their very special brand of audio magic has been utterly inaccessible to all but the most privileged of producers… until now!
Designed and coded by the DSP geniuses at acclaimed software house Brainworx, the new bx_console Focusrite SC VST/AU/AAX plug-in for Mac and PC faithfully captures the sound, feel and styling of our original studio icon. Since the plug-in’s launch in 2019, it’s been included for free with every Clarett and Red audio interface. Now, ISA and RedNet customers get the plug-in, simply by registering their equipment online.
Accurately modelling the full signal paths of of the ISA 110 and ISA 130, bx_console Focusrite SC brings all the analogue character and colouration of the Focusrite Studio Console to your DAW-based productions. Offering four bands of parametric and shelving EQ, high- and low-pass filters, compression/limiting, gating/expansion and de-essing, it's as powerful a sound-shaping tool today as it ever was – indeed, it improves on the capabilities of the original with modifications including continuously variable THD and Gain controls. And with Brainworx's Tolerance Modelling Technology providing 72 selectable modelled circuits, you can even recreate the subtle timbral variations between channels that you'd get with the real console.
With bx_console Focusrite SC retailing separately for $349, its inclusion for free with all Clarett, Red and RedNet interfaces and ISA hardware is a huge deal, and we're deeply honoured to see and hear these two historic modules so brilliantly emulated in software. To download the plug-in, simply register your Clarett, Red, RedNet or ISA unit online, log into your Customer Portal page, where you'll see bx_console Focusrite SC listed in the ‘My Software’ page among your registered products.
Focusrite Plugin Bundle
To learn more about the Focusrite Studio Console, watch the documentary that tells the amazing story of this studio legend