I mean this thing is beautiful. Definitely first-rate "desert island" channel strip. In using it as a beginner home producer this was one of the first real leaps I made in translating the sound of what I wanted alongside the expectation of how workflow should be and respond vs what I was hearing, changing and trying to improve the sound of. Someone says "it stays out of your way, until you don't want it to" and nothing could be more accurate! The components of the strip WORK WITH YOU, it's like it's HELPING honestly. It doesn't impart a bucketload of character and flavour until you REALLY REALLY drive it SO if you, dear reader, are after a tighter sound and fatigued of overly-saturated and tubby/fuzzy mixes despite racking up those other channel strips you bought and thought you'd love just get this in; it'll clean things up so so much nicer. The low-shelf on this thing on kick specifically is just TRYING to get your sound tight tight tight! Give it a try and you'll see what I mean; effortless taming on kick and bass and just tie the rest of it up gloriously; that stereo width control and frequency mono-ificator (scientific name) are right at your fingertips. If you're making punk, metal, anything loud and dense this will tidy you up VERY nicely and let you explore your tracks rather than the compromising and firefighting I always found before. I can work better with the heavily-seasoned sounds of other emulations now because I know I have this to fall back on. And if you want to make those thin vocals punch a bit, if you need a little drive and saturation on that thing you just found, if that snare isn't quite right then attack that THD knob - it's certainly got grunt to deliver if you want it. In a market now where all sorts of ITB offerings in virtual drum plugins, guitar and bass amps etc all come with saturation oozing out of them you really want something to tame all that "bigness" and you'll have it here.
So silky smooth for analog and digital synth pads. Very nice interface! Used or not used strip mode ;-) Love it!
Amek 9099
★★★★★
by rkowal
This is hands down the best plugin I’ve ever used. It’s like 8 plugins in one, from shelving to eq to compression to width control. Plenty of analog sounding gain stages, it’s so versatile. It sounds so friggin goooood. This is now my go-to for every channel. Brainworks is genius.
A magic toolbox and a sound sweetener
★★★★★
by PaoloT
I deal with acoustic and sampled acoustic sounds, and work in digital. The 9098 was conceived to be as clean as possible under any conditions, so one could ask why an analog device trying to be as clean as a digital one would be of any use. Well, was Rupert Neve used to say, analog is not digital. That's a different type of clean. Everything that is passed though this channel becomes sweeter and airier, even if with just a touch of EQ or compression here and there. Leave it clean, and it will get you back a different type of clean. All the included processing is of the highest quality. Again, clean and transparent, but not of the surgical type. Everything is very musical, and adds something to your sound. I don't know the original console, but I understand this has that magic touch that high-end devices posses. It has the creamy allure I found in some Focusrite ISA preamps I could work with.
AMEK Metal AF
★★★★★
by Mongoosh
Best channel strip for metal, I love it Its not the Amek hendrix from Morrisound recording in Tampa. But nobody ever emulated that monster, Used on many cool Death Metal albums and Napalm death and Sepultura albums for example. But this is in line with that machine. And got way more options. But also this design A really good tool for death metal
The definitive must have
★★★★★
by TommySca
I would like to describe the background of experience accumulated over years of production and what I have understood of the real difference between software and a piece of high quality hardware. I worked with Amek preamps and compressors and I remember the great sonic feel they gave me. I don't want to dwell too much except to say that this plugin has given me back all the magic that can be felt in making a mix with very high level and clean equipment such as the Amek series. The equalizer sounds so musical and precise that it's almost hard to believe it's software. The compressor allows dynamic control with excellent results. I was able to level out very dynamic sax parts and at the same time retain the necessary transparency. For coloring there is the limiter/clipper, another nice utility to have on every channel. The stereo controls are excellent, as is the THD. The CPU usage is so low that it gave me back a new computer. I could say much more but I conclude with a simple and infinite Thanks Brainworks!
Amek 9099
★★★★★
by Bauer Productions Studio
Pure magic pours into your art. One of my favorites & best that I have used. Apply listen bypass listen. Tweak to perfection. The Amek 9099 is one hell of a beast! Try it, buy it, create!
Just enough transparency!
★★★★★
by SSR Studios
What an amazing channel strip! Every section imparts just enough character to add that extra wow. Unlike the SSL or API strips that definitely impart a desired sonic signature, the Amek 9099 kind of "stays out of the way" in the best possible way. It's so clean, honest, and transparent that you hardly know it's there, until it's not! It says what it has to and it says it well. Bravo.