Plug-in developer Fuse Audio Labs has launched Tube Lab as a vintage channel strip ‘designed to add character by being overdriven’, with a multi-tube preamp, Baxandall-style EQ and optical leveller sections.
Tube Lab allows its users to configure tube tones and module order to create their custom tone. The Tube Amplifier (preamp), Baxandall Equalizer and Optical Leveler (opto compressor) sections can be freely ordered both visually and within the signal flow to turn the channel strip into a flexible tone-shaping environment.
The Tube Amplifier section offers classic tube types from 12AT7, 12AU7 and 12AX7 to 6DJ8 and 12DW7, each bringing its own balance of headroom, density and grit to the signal, ranging from restrained colouration to fat, dirty and aggressively driven sounds. The three-band Baxandall Equalizer shapes tone in broad, musical strokes, while the Optical Leveler provides Classic and Modern modes with optional AGC for smooth, musical results.
‘Tube Lab combines our passion for authentic analogue behaviour with the flexibility modern production demands,’ says Fuse Audio Labs CEO, Reimund Dratwa. ‘By allowing users to configure both tube character and signal flow, we’ve created a channel strip that feels vintage in tone yet contemporary in design.’
Tube Lab is available at US$69 directly from its dedicated webpage, which includes more in-depth information.