Gut-busting drums. Crackling, searing, face-melt- ing guitars. Meaty, punching bass. Rich, up-front vocals. Wide-open, airy, living electronics. If you will it, it is no dream with the American Class A. Dream Big, Sound BiggerBased on the greatest classics of American mixing console hardware, this channel strip is fast and easy to work with, and brings a truckload of character to the party. With a shape section featuring gate and transient designing, a stellar four-band EQ with proportional Q and range control, a fascinating compressor design which can be switched between feedback and feed forward operations, and a warm, crunchy output drive section, no modern studio is complete until this sonic option is at hand. Along with the British Class A, the Summit Audio Grand Channel, and two SSL models (4000 E and 9000 K), the American Class A gives users of the award-winning Softube Console 1 hybrid hardware/software mix system versatility and workflow like they"ve never known before. But furthermore, American Class A is a standalone native plug-in " one license gives users both versions. The standalone plug-in features cutting-edge hi-res visuals, which give all the feed- back the modern mixer expects, and more, putting the classic analog sound and work- flow into an ultra-modern context. The American gear on which this strip is based is perhaps best known for the way it brings out the power and energy of modern rock music; acts such as Radiohead, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, and Pearl Jam have used similar consoles. Drums leap out of the speakers, vocals grab you by the scruff of the neck, guitars spontaneously combust. But the American Class A is also capable of subtlety. Using the range controls of the EQ to limit the gain boosting and cutting to a half or even a quarter of the starting values, it becomes a high-resolution mastering unit. And running a synth sound through these same hard-rocking controls can result in im- proved openness and vitality just as easily as increased grunt.
