ECS2 Channel Strip
by Apogee · Channel Strip · EQ, compressor and saturation channel strip
Not rated yet
ECS2 Channel Strip combines a vintage-modeled 3-band EQ, a compressor tuned by Bob Clearmountain, saturation and a high-pass filter in one plugin.
It is built for quick tone shaping on vocals, drums and single tracks, for $49.99 (regular $99).
Best for: Vocals, Drums, Guitars, Bass, Keys & Synths. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: vocals, drums, bass, vintage, electric guitar, keys, low latency, orchestra, auto-gain, hardware emulation, heavy, metering, built-in mix knob, mixing, musical, parallel processing, simple, subscription, subtle, thick, tight, visual feedback, warm, wide, zero-latency.
What it does
ECS2 Channel Strip is Apogee's all-in-one track processor, modeled on "vintage 70's hardware" and tuned by Bob Clearmountain. It grew out of the Symphony ECS Channel Strip, first bundled with Apogee's Symphony Desktop interface, and is built for quick, musical shaping rather than deep editing.
- EQ: a vintage-modeled EQ, listed by Plugin Alliance as four bands.
- Compressor: Clearmountain-tuned, with automatic makeup gain so level stays steady as you compress.
- Saturation: a drive stage that goes from subtle gain to "warm crush."
- High-pass filter: a flexible filter for clearing low end before the rest of the chain.
- Apogee hardware: DualPath monitoring with Symphony Desktop, so you can track through it with near-zero latency and keep the same settings natively.
Reviews of the first version describe the controls in more detail:
- EQ layout: low and high shelves and a sweepable mid with tight or wide Q, plus a high-pass filter up to 300 Hz at 18 dB per octave (Tape Op).
- Compressor controls: threshold, selectable 3:1, 5:1 and 10:1 ratios, a dry/wet control for parallel compression and an LED gain reduction meter; there are no attack or release controls.
- Output: a level trim after the drive stage.
The current version is 2.0.0 (September 2026). Plugin Alliance sells it (on sale at the time of writing), includes it in its CORE and PRO subscriptions, and offers a 14-day trial.
When to use it
ECS2 goes the other way from channel strips like Waves Scheps Omni Channel, SSL Native Channel Strip 2 and iZotope Neutron 5, which give you many modules and fine control over every stage: it has a few knobs, fixed attack and release, and a drive control, so it is quick to set on many tracks in a row. Compared with Apogee's own Clearmountain 8068, which models one Neve console channel, ECS2 adds a compressor and is less tied to one desk's sound.
- Best for: fast EQ, compression and drive on vocals, bass, guitars, keys and drums.
- Genres: any style, especially rock, pop and singer-songwriter mixes.
- Look elsewhere if: you need attack and release control, gating or precise parametric EQ; Scheps Omni Channel or SSL Native Channel Strip 2 give that, or pair Pro-Q 4 with a dedicated compressor.
- Tip: Tape Op found the gentle 3:1 ratio suits vocals and bass, and 5:1 is the sweet spot for guitars and keys.
What producers say
Reviewers of the original Symphony ECS Channel Strip praised its sound and speed and saw its short feature list as a strength.
- Production Expert (Julian Rodgers, 2021) gave it an Expert's Choice award, calling it "simple and it sounds great," especially the high EQ band, which avoids harshness.
- Tape Op (Gus Berry, issue 143) called it "well worth the money" and a quick route to solid sounds, praising the drive knob for adding thickness without harshness.
- Criticisms: no phase flip button (Tape Op) and no attack or release adjustment (Production Expert).
Where to buy
- Plugin Alliance: $49.99
Tutorials and reviews
- ECS2 Channel Strip - Quick Overview
- Bob Clearmountain on the Apogee Symphony ECS Channel Strip Plugin
- MAKE YOUR MIX ROCK! Apogee SYMPHONY ECS CHANNEL STRIP PLUGIN
- Apogee Symphony ECS Channel Strip - Tested
- Apogee Symphony Channel Strip Plugin Review
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