Empirical Labs Complete Collection Upgrade from Empirical Labs Lil FrEQ

Modern analogue flavour, tasty price.

All 3 Empirical Labs products in one bundle.

Upgrade Note: This is an upgrade for owners of Empirical Labs Lil FrEQ. The full version of the Empirical Labs Complete Collection is also available.

When you think ELI, you think rock & roll. You think Dave Derr. You think quality modern analogue. Aggressive, but never harsh in the extremes. The Empirical Labs Complete Collection allows you to do more than think about it. It lets you hear it, feel it, touch it, and taste it. All. For less.

Made in close collaboration with Dave Derr himself, this bundle of Empirical plug-ins will give your mixes that coveted analogue tang heard on so many thousands of records. Precisely modelled and calibrated with mixing professionals and recording engineers in mind, the collection brings the retro grunge that ELI does so well into the DAW-based studio. Into your studio.

What's included?

• Empirical Labs LilfrEQ
• Empirical Labs Mike-E Comp
• Empirical Labs Trak Pak for Console 1

Empirical Labs LilfrEQ

The warm and punchy analogue sound of the Empirical Labs Lil FrEQ makes it something of an oddity in the world of equalizers. But it’s no sideshow. With its heart-shaped box of tricks, mighty analogue tone, and de-essing chops, Softube were hard-pressed to think of a more powerful analogue EQ. It’s what makes Lil FrEQ the ace in the hole for so many high-profile recording engineers and mixing professionals. When your equalizer features eight different processing sections, you can ditch the multi-plug-in setup and get on with it. The native software version—expertly modelled under the watchful eye of Dave Derr himself—gives you all that tone-shaping and correction power, plus supernatural sound quality, and flavour galore. In a word, it's un-freakin-believable.

Features

• An expert component modelled native plugin version of the Empirical Labs Lil FrEQ hardware
• Input Gain after Meter with clip indicator
• Vintage style High-pass filter: 18 dB/octave
• Super smooth High and Low shelving EQ
• 4-band fully parametric EQ: LF, Lo Mid, Hi Mid, and HF: +-14 dB
• Super-wide to super-narrow bandwidth and generous frequency ranges
• Blue markings for vintage British style of equalization
• DS section – the same as the famous DerrEsser
• Individual bypass on all bands and sections
• Punchy, fat and analogue sound

Learn more about Empirical Labs LilfrEQ.

Empirical Labs Mike-E Comp

Precisely modelled in close collaboration with Dave Derr, Empirical Labs Mike-E Comp offers high-calibre, one-of-a-kind saturation/compression based on the famous ELI Distressor. A punchy preamp that's available before the CompSat circuitry, and three different emphasis modes—plus NUKE!—enable multi-stage distortion and quick changes to the character of the saturation/compression behaviour. Available for the first time as a native plug-in, Mike-E makes it a total blast to go overboard. And when you do, you’re rewarded with nary a hint of harshness—no matter how far you push it to the extreme. Excess without consequence? That’s rock & roll. And it's what makes Mike-E your man in the box.

Features

• An expert component modelled native plugin version of the Empirical Labs Mike-E hardware
• Warm and punchy preamp up to +18 dB of gain
• Hi-Pass and Phase, vintage style 18 dB/octave at 80 Hz
• Multistage soft-clipping saturator in CompSat section with Drive and Toasty/Warm meter
• Three emphasis modes in CompSat section (HF, HF2, LF)
• Compressor in CompSat section based on the Distressor
• The famous NUKE mode in compressor
• Ratio presets: BYP, 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 & NUKE
• Attack times in ms: 0.9, 8, 12, 20, 100 • Release times in s: 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5
• External Sidechain
• Dry/Wet mix

Learn more about Empirical Labs Mike-E Comp.

Empirical Labs Trak Pak for Console 1

Ever wonder how an Empirical Labs console would sound? Trak Pak has your answer and it’s an emphatic, hell yeah. Introducing the Empirical Labs Trak Pak channel strip expansion for Console 1. In partnership with Dave Derr, the mastermind behind ELI, Softube expertly modelled two killer hardware units: the intensely punchy Lil FrEQ de-esser/analogue equalizer and the hairy, fat-sounding Mike-E saturator/compressor. Turns out, these two get along like gangbusters.

Combined and configured for mixing, this pairing stuffs obscene amounts of power, punch, character, and analogue warmth into a single channel strip. With the highly valued Console 1 workflow and bone-deep ELI sound, Trak Pak is unique for Console 1 and unlike anything on the pro audio market today. Drop exceptional analogue sound and the perfect amount of vintage mojo onto your ecosystem with the Empirical Labs Trak Pak.

Important Note: This product requires Softube Console 1.

Features

• It’s basically like having an Empirical Labs console
• High and Low-pass filters from the Lil FrEQ: 18 dB/octave
• Shape section from the DS section of Lil FrEQ (DS and HF, high frequency limiting)
• 4-band parametric EQ from Lil FrEQ with the separate shelves and filters selectable on the LF and HF bands: Gain +-14 dB
• Compressor from the Mike-E (based on the Distressor) including NUKE mode
• Compressor ratios: BYP, 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 & NUKE
• Compressor attack times: 0.9 ms to 100 ms
• Compressor release times: 0.05 s to 0.5 s
• Drive has the multistage soft-clipping from the Saturator of Mike-E

Learn more about Empirical Labs Trak Pak for Console 1.

System Requirements

• macOS Big Sur 11, Monterey 12, Ventura 13
• Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
• Softube account
• iLok account
• Computer with AU, VST, VST3, and/or AAX-compatible DAW host software
• Internet access (for downloading installers and managing licenses)

Supported CPU Families 

• Apple macOS computers with Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or Apple silicon (M1 or newer) CPU. Apple silicon is supported natively. 
• Windows computers with quad-core Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or AMD quad-core processors with SSE 4.2 support.
• Other Intel processors (Celeron, Pentium, and Xeon) are compatible if they support SSE 4.2 instructions. 

Supported Host Software (DAW)  

Any 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, or AAX (Pro Tools 11.0.2 or higher) compatible host application should work. However, due to plug-in host differences between DAWs—and our rigorous standards—Softube only officially test their plug-ins and instruments in the most recent versions of Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One, and Reaper. Softube plug-ins are not tested regularly in non-listed systems. They will likely work if the system requirements are met. However, the manufacturer cannot guarantee a solution for issues in unsupported systems. 
  
Softube strongly recommend using VST3, as some of their plug-ins have features that are not present in the older VST format. Supported sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in both mono and stereo. The most recent maintenance release of your DAW application is recommended. AAX DSP is not currently in active development. TDM/VENUE/RTAS are no longer supported. See Legacy Installers.

Important Notes

• This product requires Softube Console 1.
• Make sure that you always use the latest iLok License Manager. It is not included in the Softube installer but can be downloaded from www.ilok.com​