Vertigo Sound VSM-2 Mix Satellite

The Vertigo VSM-2. Insane. This box is pricey as all hell but worth every penny. I can't even describe what the distortion is capable of doing for some reason. Things get wide - not just in M/S mode, either. Even in stereo the distortion has a way of just widening things. I absolutely adore it on Masterbus and especially on guitar bus as well. With the VSM-2 I can zero in on very specific things on the guitar bus to highlight and bring out with distortion so it feels like a much more controlled and higher class way of using distortion other than just piling it on. For example, on one guitar bus, I was able to bring out the weight of the body with the 2nd harmonic on mid and bring out the overtones of the distortion with the 3rd harmonic on hi-mid. The end result was that the guitars got huge and wide with serious balls and a great cutting distortion that didn't overpower everything regardless. And this was in stereo. You can either saturate the entire source, or select frequency ranges. This alone sends the usefulness through the roof. Then apply that saturation to the mid and the sides separately. The quality of the saturation is top notch - unlike anything I've heard before. If there's a "mastering saturation / distortion", this is it. This is the kind of distortion I have no problem putting on an entire mix. I know it sounds like I'm underutilizing the distortion circuits but I'm so obsessed with it on guitars and masterbus that I haven't really used it on a lot of other stuff. Also, with it on masterbus, no matter how low I lower the volume, the mix never falls apart. I used to mix at mid volume and constantly lower the mix very low to readjust things that kind of fell apart when the volume was lowered but with the VSM-2, I don't know if the distortion on the masterbus acts as some kind of balancer, but I can lower the mix almost to silence and the mix will sound virtually identical as it did at high volume. Honestly, this to me makes the box worth the $$$$ because it was always a pain constantly checking at all volumes to see if anything stuck out or disappeared and readjusting. The mix just never falls apart for some reason. This has been the biggest WOW moment to me. On top of the distortion circuits it has two inserts. The first one has a parallel mix circuit which lets you insert anything in parallel. You can use it with a compressor, or even an effect unit. I can use it on reverbs to get a wet / dry mix instantly. Or even better I've used it with the Black Box HG-2 inserted to get parallel distortion! Endlessly useable. On top of that, the first insert is able to be run in L / R or M / S. If you have a compressor with dual mono or two mono compressors, plug them into this insert to instantly get M / S compression. A lot of usefulness with a dual mono compressor but you can also let your creativity run wild and plug different mono compressors into the circuit! How about putting a Buzz Essence Opto compressor on the sides and an API 525 compressor on the mid? Mix and match types! Stick a VCA for punch on the mids and stick a FET for that fet crunch / harmonics on the sides - You might be surprised! The second insert is a Mid / Side OR a stereo balancer depending what mode you run it in. Stick an EQ on here and EQ in mid / side. Then the knob becomes a mid / side balance. Raise the sides and make it sound wider! Or here's something else that's fun - stick a reverb on this insert then completely suck out the mid! Now you get a nice floating reverb without it congesting the middle of the mix or track. If you run this insert in stereo, then the knob becomes a left / right balance knob. There's also a mid / side solo switch so you can hear what you're doing to each source exactly. On the outset this unit might seem like a lot of money but honestly, with everything you're getting and the fact that everything is internally patched means that trying to do this with outboard would be a nightmare. You're getting an insert with a parallel mix circuit that can be run in stereo or mid / side. You're getting a second insert that can be run in mid / side or stereo along with a mid / side solo. You're getting TWO distortion circuits - a 2nd and a 3rd and the ability to choose how to integrate them! And all of these elements are INDIVIDUALLY able to be selected for mid, side, or stereo all at the flip of toggle switches! No patch cords needed! Do you want just 2nd distortion on the low signal? Do you want 3rd harmonic distortion on the whole signal? Do you want the second on just the mid but the 3rd on both the left and right? Do you want your compressor to act on the stereo signal but the EQ to act on the mid / side? All quickly done with a few switches! Not only that but the box is built to a mastering standard. Think of what it would cost to have this functionality at a mastering level and all of a sudden the price of this box actually isn't bad at all. On top of that, being able to do all the above with just switches and not having to patch things to your M/S matrix or parallel processor or an extra fader. Honestly once you start using it, it very quickly justifies its price. I'm very happy with mine.