SubMission Audio has recently released a new preamp plugin, and Josh Turvey shares his hand-on experience in our latest review.
Summary
PreFire presents its collection of eleven, legendary preamp emulations in a streamlined, easy-to-use plugin. It excels on a wide variety of audio sources, effectively imparting analog-style saturation that brings life, depth, and dimension to individual tracks and group buses.
Pros:
- Excellent collection of high-quality preamps.
- Simple to understand and implement.
- Large range of customisable saturation timbres that suit multiple use-cases and applications.
Cons:
- No automatic gain compensation when boosting the Drive control.
- No metering options included within the plugin.
Intro
Established by Ermin Hamidovic and Andrew Scott in 2020, SubMission Audio has spent the last half-decade cultivating a catalogue of premium, virtual-bass instruments, and mixing plugins. Their latest release, “PreFire”, is the result of a fruitful collaboration with Steven Atkinson—the founder of Neural Amp Modeler (NAM).
Drawing on Atkinson’s expertise in developing neural networks to better emulate analog gear, SubMission Audio have directed this technology towards the emulation of eleven, iconic preamps fabled for their sonic, analog character (see/click GIF below).
Whilst NAM is an open-source project, it should be noted that the variant of neural networking technology underpinning PreFire was specifically designed for the plugin, the result of which is reflected in Atkinson’s following quote:
“PreFire is an excellent demonstration of what I want NAM to be able to do—to enable the digital realm of musical tools to reach a new level of realism, and for this to elevate the whole industry.”
Below, we explore the various models included within the plugin, as well as some possible use-cases.
Design & Features
PreFire houses all of its features in a one-page layout, which is divided into three sections (see image above):
- Header (Green Box): Provides access to the Preset Menu, A/B Comparison, and the plugin settings.
- Main Panel (Red Box): Accesses the modelled preamps and their essential controls.
- Footer (Yellow Box): Features additional parameters to drive and attenuate the input/output of the plugin. Users can also invert the phase of the original audio signal and bypass the plugin.
Main Panel
As the central focus of PreFire, the Main Panel (see image above) is responsible for sculpting the timbral quality of the saturation that is imparted onto the original audio source. Users can select from eleven included preamps (yellow box), which, in addition to heavily influencing the sonic flavour of the saturation, also updates the interface to visually represent the emulated preamp.
The Drive control (red box) controls the amount of saturation, but it can also greatly increase the overall volume of the signal. Unfortunately, PreFire doesn’t include automatic gain compensation when using this parameter, so users are required to manually adjust the output of the plugin. As with many analog preamps, PreFire includes High and Low Pass filters (green box) to quickly sculpt the frequency balance of the saturated signal. The Low Pass filter is particularly useful for shaving off any abrasive high frequencies, but the two filters can be used in tandem for both creative and practical purposes.
Finally, the addition of the Mix parameter (blue box) greatly expands PreFire’s utility by opening up the possibility of parallel processing. Users can thus over-saturate the signal using the Drive control, before decreasing the Mix to blend the processed signal with the original audio source.
Preamps
As mentioned earlier, the eleven preamps included within PreFire have been extensively modelled using the customised neural networks built in collaboration with NAM. They represent the heart of the plugin, with each one embodying a different sonic profile that radically influences the quality of the processed audio.
- FOCUS: This mode emulates the Focusrite ISA 430 MKII Channel Strip with the “Air” parameter engaged. This unit features Focusrite’s famous ISA 110 Preamp, which was originally designed by Rupert Neve.
- GEMEL: This is modelled on the preamp section of the GML 2020, which was originally designed by George Massenburg—the creator of parametric equalisation.
- MILLENIUM: The Millennia HV-3D is famed for its clarity, detail, and excellent bass response.
- AP1: This mode models an API Channel Strip that features their 512C Preamp. As the creators of the 500 Series format, API’s 512C is arguably the most popular module on the market, and it is praised for its loudness, punch, and versatility.
- B43: This mode models the BAE 1073MP. Brent Averill Enterprises (BAE) originated in the 1980s. The company earned its reputation by repairing Neve and API modules, before developing accurate replicas that became highly sought after. A change of ownership in the 1990s rebranded the company to British Audio Engineering, thus retaining the initials of the original owner.
- GERMANIUM: Models the Chandler Germanium with its “Thick” parameter engaged. Despite the ubiquity of silicon transistors due to cost considerations and the technological advancements made in the 1960s, earlier analog gear often relied on germanium transistors. This unit is thus a throwback to the 1950s, and is lauded for its character and its warmth.
- MIDA: Emulates the Midas XL42. Midas are renowned as a leader in live sound, and are famed for creating mixing consoles that set the industry standard in this field of professional audio.
- N3V3: This mode models the Neve 1073LB, a 500 Series module that is based on the 1073, which is one of the most famous examples of professional audio gear ever created. Developed by Rupert Neve in 1970, the original 1073 is an iconic preamp that is revered for its clarity, polish, and bite.
- TIGI: Emulates the Chandler TG2. This is a recreation of the EMI TG12428’s preamp, which was used at Abbey Road throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The sonic characteristics of this unit are often described as being creamy, smooth, and clear.
- UNIVERSE: This mode emulates Universal Audio’s 6176, which features the legendary 610 tube preamp designed by Bill Putnam Sr.
- VBOX: Emulating the iconic tube preamp of the Manley VoxBox, this mode excels on vocals, synths, keys, and bass. Although the Manley VoxBox was designed as a one-stop solution for vocal mixing, its preamp is highly regarded for its versatility, warmth, and clarity.
In Use
PreFire requires virtually no learning curve and is incredibly easy to use. The drive control makes it a breeze to saturate any input source according to taste, imparting the essential, non-linearities associated with analog gear that add depth and weight to the signal.
The eleven included preamps are all distinct in their nature, so it is fantastic that users can effortlessly switch between them, or use the A/B feature to compare different saturation flavours depending on the use-case.
True to analog preamps, PreFire is designed to be the first plugin on individual tracks. Used in this way with subtle amounts of drive, it can have an excellent cumulative effect on the overall mix. The plugin can also be inserted on Group Buses to mimic the summing behaviour found in analog consoles. This can help to glue the individual elements of a group together, thus enhancing the cohesion of one’s project.
The additional Input and Output controls (see image above—blue box) enable users to further drive the input of the plugin. This can lead to aggressive distortion and the complete destruction of the audio signal, which is useful for sound-design and creative experimentation.
The lack of automatic gain compensation when using the Drive parameter is one area that could be solved with an optional toggle/button. However, users can capitalise on this omission by inserting Transient Shapers, Clippers, and Limiters after PreFire and boosting the Drive parameter.
The additional harmonics and level changes will interact with the following processing chain in different ways, which can be an excellent way to create sonic variation in mixing and creative workflows. It should also be noted that despite the lack of automatic gain compensation and inbuilt metering, PreFire does make it easy to manually adjust the overall output of the plugin via the Output trim in the footer.
Conclusion
As the use of AI continues to infiltrate every aspect of digital existence, it’s wonderful to be reminded of the stark contrast between Generative AI and the deep-learning capabilities found in advanced neural networks. PreFire provides strong evidence that AI is capable of complimenting and augmenting music production workflows without directly encroaching on the creation process. Additionally, the wide variety of preamps within one plugin affords the user a large amount of flexibility, thus ensuring PreFire’s versatility, which is rare for a plugin that prioritises simplicity.
Whether deployed in the production or mixing process, PreFire has the potential to adapt to multiple workflows, thus bringing a hint of authentic, analog flavour into the digital domain. Overall, PreFire delivers on its promise and potential, successfully harnessing artificial intelligence to create an effective plugin that brings subtle, analog realism into one’s Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
Technical Info
- Simple download, installation, and authentication process. SubMission Audio and iLok accounts are required.
- Mac & PC are both supported, with options for VST3, AU, and AAX.
- Online Manual accessed from the settings of the plugin.
- The CPU usage well optimised. PreFire can be deployed across multiple tracks within a project without having a negative impact on performance.
Disclaimer: This review was conducted on a MacBook Pro M4 Pro with 48 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD (macOS Sequoia 15.5). User experience with the reviewed software may vary with different technical specifications.
Alternatives
It’s rare to find a comprehensive suite of analog preamps included within one plugin. Most available alternatives tend to include other elements of the channel strip, or will not feature such a wide variety of saturation types.
- Vintage Console Bundle (Sonimus)
- FrontDAW (United Plugins)
- Burier and NOIZ One Series D Bundle (Kit Plugins)
- Pre-TridA, Pre-1973, and Pre-V76 (Arturia Plugins)
- LA-6176, Helios Type 69, and Manley Tube Preamp (Universal Audio)
PreFire is available to purchase at the Submission Audio store for $149 USD. A free 7-day free trial can be downloaded to try the plugin.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Josh Turvey is a musician, producer and an avid plugin enthusiast. He provides online, 1-2-1 tuition for guitar and music production for NoiseQuest.
