Hello and welcome to my site. Folks, I hope you are doing well. Today, I am going to talk about the Slate Digital Submerge plugin. First, producers used to side-chain a song’s various elements with the compressor plugin’s help.
This process gave more control over the sound, but it was challenging to set a compressor for the side chain. After that, developers developed automatic side chain plugins for side chaining, such as the Xfer LFO tool, Nicky Romero 2 vst, etc.
These plugins replaced the method of side changing with the help of compressors. But after some time, producers wanted more control over their side-chained sounds, and these plugins failed to meet their requirements.
To tackle this problem, many plugin developers are developing new side-chain plugins. In this regard, it released its new plugin. This plugin is known as Submerge VST.
Introduction of the Slate Digital Submerge:
Submerge is an automatic side-changing or ducking plugin released by Slate Digital. Why should another plugin be created if many side-chain plugins are already available?
The answer is pretty simple. The new advanced and valuable features are always warmly welcomed in every area of life. In the same way, if a plugin offers new features compared to the old plugin, then the users will warmly welcome this new plugin. So Slate Digital claims to have some new features in their submerge VST.
I will tell you about the slate digital submerge VST in this article. So, in this article, I will discuss the following topics.
- Overview of Plugin
- Application and use cases of slate digital submerge VST.
- Technical Information of the plugin.
- Comparison with Nicky Romero Kickstart 2.
- Comparison with Xfer LFO Tool.
- Lastly, I will share my honest review of this plugin.
Overview of the Plugin :
In this blog section, I will explain all the functions of every control present on the plugin’s interface. So, without wasting any time, let’s get started. Before exploring the plugin, let me embed a picture of it so that after looking at it, you can better understand it.
This plugin has four sections. Let’s discuss each section one by one. The first section has the preset browser and A/B comparison option.
Preset Browser :
The slate digital submerge plugin has a preset browser. It consists of pre-designed presets, which can be a good source of inspiration. If you are a new user of this plugin, you should also explore these presets to seek inspiration. If you find some preset helpful, you can use it or tweak the plugin’s settings and optimize it for your interests.
A/B Comparison :
After that, we have the A/B comparison option. This option is present in every slate digital plugin. It allows the user to compare two different plugin presets or between the two different plugin settings made by the user. This helps decide what settings are best for the user. Slate Digital and other companies are also introducing this feature to their plugins.
Here is the representation of the 1st section of this plugin.
Now, let’s discuss the second section of the slate digital submerge plugin. In this section, we have the tempo and trigger options; lastly, we have the threshold and delay options. Let’s explain these one by one.
Tempo Option of Slate Digital Submerge Plugin :
As I mentioned above, a plugin with new features is always welcomed. Slate Digital claims that their submerge plugins offer accurate controls, making them unique to other plugins.
The plugin’s tempo option allows the user to sync the plugin to the tempo of the DAW. After that, there is another sub-option called time. There are different time settings, like 4/16, 1/4, etc. For example, if you have selected 4/16, then it means you want the ducking effect of this plugin to occur four times every minute. By selecting different patterns, the user can introduce complex rhythms in his sound.
Trigger Option of the Submerge Plugin :
There are three trigger options in this plugin. The word trigger means to put the plugin to work, and I imagined this meaning concerning this plugin. The trigger option tells the plugin when to start ducking the audio signal. Now, there are three trigger options in the slate digital submerge VST. Let me tell you about these options.
Auto Trigger Option of Slate Digital Submerge VST:
Auto means something that happens on its own. In the same way, the plugin’s auto-trigger option makes the plugin duck the input signal based on the tempo of the DAW.
Midi Trigger of Slate Digital Plugin :
This option is more important as it replaces the old compressors used for side chaining. As the name shows, options make the plugin work based on MIDI notes. This option is used for complex side chaining. With the help of this option, the plugin ducks the sound when you play the MIDI notes on the keyboard.
Audio trigger Option :
This option causes the plugin to recognize the audio signal and start ducking it. If this mode is chosen, the plugin ducks based on the audio input signal.
After that, we have other options such as the delay and thresh. Let me tell you about them.
Thresh Option :
This option sets the ceiling for the ducking effect to occur. Let me clarify with an example. For example, you have set the threshold to 4 DB, and when your input signal reaches 5 dB and passes through the plugin, this extra 1 db will be ducked. It’s not the compression. It’s ducking, which means the extra 1 db will be rhythmically lowered in volume.
Delay Option :
The delay option controls the time the input audio signal takes to reach the threshold level and be ducked.
Here is the visual representation of the 2nd section.
Now, let’s explain the third section of the plugin. This section has the shape, morph, and depth options. Let’s explain these options.
Shape :
The slate digital submerge plugin is a ducking plugin. So, for the ducking effect, we have to choose the shape that defines how the ducking occurs. So, under the shape option, we can select the shape of the curve. There are different shapes, such as sine, square, etc.
You should experiment with various shapes and see what fits you best. Mostly for the classic EDM songs, producers choose the sine shape to duck their bases or synths for the kick. However, in Future Bass and other modern songs, producers choose square curve shapes or design them according to their requirements. Here is the visual representation of the shape section of the plugin.
Morph Option :
This option changes the shape of the curve. If you want to make your LFO curve low steep, or you want to change its starting point, then this is the knob that helps you.
Depth Knob of Submerge Plugin :
The knob sets the intensity of the ducking effect. If you select a higher value, the ducking impact will be more noticeable, or vice versa.
We have our last section, the 4th section, which is the effect section.
Effect Types in the Slate Digital Submerge vst:
Eight different types of effect submerge vst offers. These effects can be applied over the ducking signal to create a complex rhythm. These effects are given below.
- Gain M/S
- High Duck
- Low Duck
- Sample Duck
- HP LP Filters
- HP + LP Filters
- HP Filter
- LP Filter
Tweak Knob :
With the help of this tweak knob, you can tweak each effect to introduce uniqueness to your sound. So, till now, I have explained the slate digital submerge vst. After reading the above part of the article, you will be able to know about this plugin.
can be used. I have also explained the technical information in the above section of the blog. Now let’s move on to the next part of our article.
Slate Digital Submerge Free Download :
People have asked me this question many times. The question is, “Is slate digital submerge free download available ?” The answer is pretty simple. You can download the slate digital submerge for free on their official website.
The developer will give you the free downloaded plugin on a trial basis. So, the Slate Digital company gives you a trial of this plugin for 14 days. You can use this plugin without any limitations in this trial limit. After the trail limit has passed, the plugin will not work. You have to buy it from the developers for further use.
Applications and Use Cases:
Here are a few applications and use cases of this vst.
Rhythmic Patterns :
The slate digital submerge plugin is a ducking plugin that offers various ducking possibilities. This plugin can help you create interesting rhythmic patterns.
Cleaning the MIX :
These ducking plugins are usually used to duck the bassline. This creates room for the kick and reduces the risk of the kick clashing with the bassline. Thus, producers prevent the mix from getting muddy.
Sound Design :
You can experiment with the different settings of this plugin. This can also be used for sound design.
Time-Saving:
In the old days, the compressor did the side chaining, which was time-consuming. This plugin offers automatic side-changing, which can save time.
Adding the Movement :
You can introduce different ducking patterns into your sound. It can create other interesting rhythmics. You can add movement to your bearing melodies to make them more interesting.
Slate Digital Submerge Plugin VS Xfer LFO Tool and Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 :
Now let tell you the basic difference between the Submerge vst and the xfer lfo and the Nicky Romero kickstart 2.
| Feature | Slate Digital Submerge | Xfer LFO Tool | Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 |
| Core Function | Ducking and other creative effects | It needs a lot of time to master. It is difficult to use | It simply provides the ducking and lacks the other creative effects |
| It also provides the ducking and other creative effects | Difficulty | It needs a lot of time to master. It is difficult to use | It needs less time to understand. It is very easy to use. |
| Depth of Control | High | very high | Low |
| Versatility | High | Extremely High | Low |
| User Interface | Easy to navigate | Hard to understand, and it is moderate in navigation | Very easy to navigate |
Honest Review :
I’m sharing my thoughts about this plugin. I didn’t get paid or get anything free to write this. I want to help people who might be interested in using it. Everyone likes different things, so what I think might differ from what you think. This is just my opinion.
The slate Digital Submerge plugin is good. I have used it and found it useful compared to other side-changing plugins. This plugin offers a wide range of effects compared to traditional ducking plugins. This new option can be used as an experiment to develop something new.
I used this plugin over my melodies and found that it can turn boring melodies into interesting ones. I love to use this plugin for hip-hop production. The interface of the plugin is friendly and easy to navigate.
On the other hand, the other ducking plugins in the market need to be more basic and complex. But this plugin is advanced and easy to use.
One thing I found bad about this plugin is its weightage on the PC. It may be CPU-consuming if multiple copies of these plugins are opened in one project.
So, if you want to experiment with side chaining and have nice and interesting rhythms in your melodies and pad, If you have a caliper to learn something complex and achieve better results, if you want more control over the side chain, this slate digital submerge plugin is for you.
On the other hand, if you want to have a classic ducking effect for your basslines or your projects don’t need any complex side chaining, then you should use the old traditional ducking plugins. Using this plugin might lead to confusion.
