fBox Audio has released fBox, a complete virtual analogue studio for Windows. The suite comprises fBox Console, fBox Rack, nine multi-mode processing plug-ins and fMeter, a free metering suite, and is also available in six bundles. fBox Audio is the one-person company of flakebelly, a musician and producer based in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
fBox Console
fBox Console is a 32-channel analogue-modelled desk with 8 group buses, 2 aux sends with returns, a stereo master section, 300 insert slots, an integrated 16-track tape machine and a multi-pass automation system. It runs as a VST3 plug-in or as a standalone Windows application that loads audio files directly, so a mix can be built without a DAW. One licence covers both.
fBox Rack
fBox Rack places up to eight VST3 effect plug-ins inside a console channel with preamp, summing, bus EQ, compression, saturation and output stages, from fBox or any other developer.
The nine processing plug-ins, fComp, fEq, fPre, fSat, fMod, fTape, fVerb, fDelay and fDrone, each contain several separate models, 62 in total: nine compressors, six equalisers, six preamps, eight saturators, eight modulation effects, six tape machines, eight reverbs, eight delays and a three-mode drone synthesiser. Each works on its own in any VST3 host, and all except fTape can also be loaded into fBox Console and fBox Rack.
fMeter
fMeter is free, with no licence, no activation and no expiry. It pairs a VST3 plug-in, with VU and PPM needles, peak, true peak, a phase scope and streaming-standard loudness metering, with fMeter Offline, a Windows application that measures up to a hundred finished files at a time and prints reports. Its mono check sums a mix to mono and reports in one word whether it holds up, thins out or collapses. Unlike the rest of the range it deliberately has no character of its own, and it never alters the audio passing through it.
A defining feature of the range is that every instance of every processing plug-in is given its own serial number, which sets its character, modelled on the small variations between hardware units from the same production line. Units can be saved, recalled and pinned as the default for new instances.
I’ve wanted a hardware console for most of my adult life. It was never going to happen. I live on a Scottish island, the shipping alone would be a nightmare, and my studio is already crammed with gear I can barely fit around. It started as the studio I couldn’t afford. It ended up being the studio I actually want.
flakebelly, fBox Audio
Key features:
- A 32-channel console with an integrated 16-track tape machine, multi-pass automation and a standalone application.
- FBox Rack, a console channel that hosts up to eight VST3 effect plug-ins.
- Nine multi-mode plug-ins with 62 models between them.
- Per-instance serial numbers giving each unit its own character.
- Three quality tiers and patch cards in every processing plug-in.
- FMeter, a free metering suite with an offline application for batch file analysis.
Introductory pricing for three months
- FBox Console: £119 (regularly £249).
- FBox Rack: £39 (regularly £69).
- FComp, fEq, fPre, fSat, fMod, fTape, fVerb and fDelay: £29 each (regularly £49).
- FDrone: £39 (regularly £59).
- FMeter: free.
All prices are GBP, excluding VAT.
Six bundles are also available:
- The Processors (fComp, fEq and fPre): £59 (regularly £99).
- The Character Tools (fSat, fMod, fTape and fDrone): £79 (regularly £129).
- Time and Space (fVerb and fDelay): £39 (regularly £69).
- The Full Outboard Suite (all nine processing plug-ins): £149 (regularly £279).
- The Rack Bundle (fBox Rack and the Full Outboard Suite): £179 (regularly £329).
- The Full Studio (fBox Console, fBox Rack and the Full Outboard Suite): £249 (regularly £499).
fBox is available now for Windows (VST3), with fBox Console also available as a standalone application. Every paid plug-in has a full 14-day trial, activated with an email verification code and requiring no payment details.
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