Here, for you, are some very useful tips and tricks + reviews from Gearspace and the AA FB page, meticulously collected by our kind power-user David Gary in one thread for our VERONA plug-in.
Verona is a very accurate emulation of a extremely rare tube console from the late 1950s
TUTORIALS
Exploring Verona Vintage Tube Console on various materials.
ITB production: Faking Vinyl Compression in the style of Madlib – Brighton and Verona
Male Vocals Test – Brighton Opto Tube Comp
Highlights from reviews
1) Really nice EQ. Provides density and a lovely 3D soundstage. Have tried it on my mix bus and it has lifted the song I’m working on to another level. The mid-range really opens the song out. Need to be careful with the high shelf as it’s a bit grainy, but quality stuff.
2) With tube eqs like this I always wish there was one more mid bands within the plugin to tone shape more.
↪ reply: Just put a Tokyo or Osaka EQ instance in series with Verona, with the harmonics at minimum or even the pre off.
3) Wonderful and warm sounding. The Preamp provides that old school Elmer’s Glue to tracks.
4) This thing is the truth. This might be the finest anti-digitizing tool I’ve heard (and I own most AA libs, many N4…).
High shelf with a light subtraction and the saturation to taste makes a truly nice, smooth result that will play into the strengths of your favorite tape sim beautifully.
When cranking the saturation, listen for a congestion- and instead of backing off, see if a little subtracting with the mid band at that freq lets you keep going even more.
5) The openness, density and 3D are shocking for a plugin. Takes the digital coldness away with the quickness.
↪ reply: Yep this sounds special. The different pres are going to be really useful. Just doing simple smiley EQ just sounds right. It’s going to be a buy for me but I’ll echo the above opinion about the gap in the mid-range though, an odd choice to have more than an octave between positions right in the middle where I personally would want it the most; 400, 500, 600Hz are pretty important areas. From what I understand the original sampled frequency was 900Hz so it was their decision what frequencies to use and mostly they’re excellent choices, it just feels like there is one missing somewhere between 350 and 730 IMO.
↪ reply: Exactly, the MID bell is so wide and it also interacts actively with the LOW SHELF that the existing frequencies are more than enough.
There is also the trick to place a Tokyo Eq, that features continuous controls, just after or before Verona to work with more precision in a specific frequency.
Just like in a real studio: with the console you define the sound character and with an external gear you will tune it more precisely, if needed. And the harmonic distortion, phase distortion, dynamics path will become richer and richer. Your overall mix consequently.
6) This thing slays on bass guitar, might be my new go-to for that. Even just inserting it and engaging the preamp brought a dull bass sound to life, that’s before I got to the EQ which also brought in great midrange without sounding weird (which can be difficult to do on bass I’ve found). I’m guessing the curves are quite broad.
7) Finally had some time to test this last night. Absolutely amazing work! Also, a really interesting story how you found and got hold of the unit. Whatever it’s doing in terms of harmonic distortion is really pleasant and has a tendency to bring out details nicely. It pairs very well with a digital plugin EQ afterwards… basically I drive Verona quite hard, with large boosts and then compensate with a digital EQ to bring down the crazy curves to actually suite the material. What this does is bring out all the detail and lushness in a source while still being relatively transparent
8) Cranked this demo up again and started picking tonight… What I’ve got dialled in sounds almost near identical to the opening of Lynyrd Skynyrd ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ on guitar… Unbelievably good. How can this be possible in a computer? Just wow.
9) I already have so many awesome Acustica Audio plugins and Nebula EQs. I am pretty spoiled with amazing sounding EQs so I am not quickly impressed anymore. First, I didn’t feel the EQ but didn’t have it a fair spin. A couple of days later I tested it out again: WOW! This EQ has so much attitude and vibe! The preamp is amazing and the low end is so powerful! I work mostly with soft synths and some are really lacking analog attitude. With the low-end boost of this EQ stuff comes really alive!
↪ reply: In fact, it’s something more than an EQ: just put it in every track or stem as console…
10) I tried Verona on my master bus! the low band does magic and make sound every mix like a record. the mid scoops in an extra musical way and give air and space to the entire mix! Saturation knob adds the icing on the cake! bravo.
11) Q: Curious to know how Verona compares to Silver Bullet. Any SB owners in here?
A: I have both. Verona definitely has more of a tubey, almost iron-like sheen, especially when you drive the preamp on it towards the 8 and 9 factor.
I’d say the SB A and N sections still have a bit more separation when you put them on every track in a mix. That probably has to do more with converters than anything, though. The SB Eq is pultec-like with high and low emphasis.
One other thing I like about the Verona is the mid scoop/boost knob to adjust the mid frequencies.
12) Verona really rules on drums. I’ve been working on some 70s inspired music with very flat and dry drums, and Verona almost seems tailor made. Bring up the highs for a little sparkle, the lows to bring some more thump, and tune the snare to sit better in the mix with the mid knob (different songs might have different sweet spots).
And of course, saturation to taste. Such a great sounding plugin.
13) Using Verona as a summing mixer makes me want to do less and less further processing and mix comes together faster and less struggle to gain definition and separation. I start by inserting first thing Verona on each channel (a gain plugin only if needed before it) or bus before even touching a fader. Add to that a great Eq that never fails to shape your tone the way you want it (a fourth band would have been perfect). Verona not only sounds great. It’s also fun to mix with.
14) Really don’t want to buy this. Seriously. I have enough “bettermakers” in my large arsenal of plugins. No need for another one, I’m so sorry.
Testing this one for three days on different sources. Single tracks and busses. I really like what it does on single tracks. This evening I put it on the mix bus of a beloved project I´m mixing. I just inserted it and activated the preamp. Wow! There goes my money.
Very well done, London Acoustics. The Verona sounds honest and is filled with rich audiophile quality.
15) Q: I saw that it’s recommended to have the input to this be around -18dbfs. If I’m running a big hotter but it still sounds good, is there a reason to back it off? Or will it create audible problems if it’s truly too much?
A: Advice is not a rule. Usually for slow transients and a lot of low freq energy material like bass and synth pads -18dbFS is almost a rule, for tracks with fast transients you can reach higher levels just like -12 /-10 dbFS without having crackles.
What I suggest is to listen the solo track to double-check if there are no problems, because often the mix can masks some small crackles.
↪ reply: Thanks! I’ve been using it on drum tracks, so that makes sense.
16) I was just playing around with only the preamp on and they are indeed very colourful. With Preamp 1 engaged there was almost no need to adjust anything else. Preamp 3 has a nice bass bump.
17) If I understand correctly, the preamp dial starts with original barn find state on the far left, then they successively re-capped it, sampling along the way and the far right is the cleanest with all new capacitors.
Really useful. For mastering or on the stereo bus, to just add a nice glow, I like the preamp all the way to the right and saturation all the way down.
For adding more color, the left side is amazing.
This is one of a few plugins I have that really does something different and special and I’m finding I’m using it on everything.
Everyone has been claiming that their plugins sound analog for years, but this really does sound ‘real’ in an unusually compelling way.
18) I threw a variety of test mixes at VERONA and I couldn’t beat it with any of my other comparable plug-ins, whether Acquas, N4s or algos. It really did give more depth and dynamics to the mixes although it’s an EQ with a saturated pre-amp and not a reverb or expander. The tracks sounded “calmer” if that’s a permissible audio term. Decongested would be another. Or effortless.
19) Q: In the manual it mentions turning off unused EQ bands to save CPU. I’m finding that even with the bands on with no boost they add noticeable mojo.
Question: With Tube Sat at zero does the preamp have no effect or does the Tube Sat knob only affect the EQ bands section?
A: In Verona everything does something (pleasant). (the advice to save CPU is for the users with old systems)
The EQ bands, if moved, change continuously the THD of the plugin.
20) While I first used it to warm up things, I am now exploring the midrange of it. Never heard such a pleasant quality before with and through my computer. Wow.
↪ reply: It really seems like magic! It has a quality of clarity and enhancement when on the master bus that would seem to only be possible with analog summing. The highs are clear without being the least bit brittle.
I use it on literally every project now. It adds such a clear, hi-fi sound. I continue to be amazed with this. What’s especially cool is that this is basically a one-of-a-kind unit but now we all have access to it.
21) I’m using Verona in mid side mode with Logic’s dual mono capability.
It is amazing for the drum, percussion and bass stem, and also dual mono for the guitars stem, where each side is a different guitar, eg: acoustic left and electric right, so I can EQ each side accordingly and choose the Pre that is best suited. Same for mid side re choosing the right Pre.
22) I really have to say that this plugin gives me a whole new perspective regarding working with frequencies and forming the character of a sound/instrument. Like I wrote earlier, I am now getting deep into the mid-range of the Verona. Especially on vocals every step changing the mid-band while lowering and increasing its gain feels like changing presets. Wow! Never had such an experience before, it just feels so very different in a quite sensational way.
↪ reply: It’s very interesting also combining Verona with Enna and/or Telge. Put Enna and raise the mid high level, a then tame it back with Verona. Telge in parallel as always.
23) Q: Is Verona suitable to simulate an analog console by using it as the first plugin on every track in my mix bus (just like I use Sonimus Britson, by example)? I’m looking for an alternative to achieve another sound when I don’t want exactly what Britson brings to the table, but I don’t know if Verona could be used in this way, and if it’s somewhat lighter or heavier on CPU.
A: This is its best usage. The plugin features 9 different preamp channels and also a very interesting channel equaliser (that you can anyway switch off if you don’t need it). Depending on your system, Verona Vintage Tube Console is in the average of the Acqua EQ for the resources consumption.
For a console emulation it’s quite likely you will need for 12/24 channels at least, then we recommend anyway the track freezing in order to free your CPU/RAM for further processes. Pretty sure you’ll find Verona is playing in another league compared to Sonimus.
24) I can happily second that Verona does something very special and musical once added to a track without even touching its parameters. From there on it’s the EQ that does some very serious magic. I own many EQ-plugins, but this is the one if I want to go not only for character and depth, but also for really sculpting the “personality” of a track/instrument/sound.
25) This is my second Nebula plugin (my first is Taipei which is quite something as well).
The preamp sounds so good just on its own before even any EQ’ing is done – definitely pointing closer and closer to actual hardware tonality (as are some newer algorithmic plugs, but the direct sampling of reality still has the edge for ultimate “very close to reality” status IMO).
Other Nebula I’ve tried have sounded a little more static or flat – not sure why this is, but London Acoustics is killing it for my taste, and the CPU usage is bearable for the quality as well – their plugs mark the first time this equation between usability vs sound has won me over as viable for actual flow inspired mixing, without getting bogged down in CPU meltdown, Nebula style.
Really something special here on the tube emulation front, which is quite hard to nail ITB (and I have a Thermionic Culture Rooster and a UA 610 MKII sitting right beside me as well) …
26) FYI from PRE1 to PRE9, from the most “vintage” to the most linear and “contemporary”.
27) Just bought it and it’s really quite ahead of the competition.
I don’t consider it colored in the sense that it makes a source more nasal or more bright or punchy or anything.
It adds a sizable amount of width and bass, but the bass is not peaky or resonant. It’s just a gentle shelf that is just a perfect broad stroke.
I realize it’s not clean or digital, but there are some colored plugs that are a straight up turn off because the “color” almost feels like a developer trying to hide aliasing or some other bad coding like when transients leak through a compressor.
Really, Verona is like a MORE box. It just gives you more of what you already had, and then it gives you more of what you want.
A color box might take your mix into another direction; Verona keeps your objectives straight ahead and just makes balancing a mix that much easier.
Boxes like Kelvin and BB N105 and Cupwise AXR102 are great companions to Verona , but they all seem so subtle compared to how much this piece enhances your sound. Verona > Brighton is by far the centerpiece to a great 2023 signal chain.
(credit to AA users from Facebook & Gearspace)
***These are just guidelines. Free to explore further.