KStrip
by Kiive Audio · Channel Strip · Three-console channel strip
Not rated yet
KStrip is a channel strip with preamp, EQ, compression and saturation modules, each switchable between three console circuits.
You can mix circuits per module and reorder them, with low CPU use. It costs $99.
Best for: Vocals, Drums, Guitars, Bass, Keys & Synths. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: bus processing, clean, CPU-light, drums, electric guitar, musical, vocals, wide, American console, British console, look-ahead, mid/side, punchy, sidechain input, bass, glue, gritty, hardware emulation, mix bus, mixing, modular, mono-compatible, oversampling, smooth, thick, vintage, visual feedback, warm.
What it does
KStrip is a modular channel strip with three console flavours, A, N and S, in every module, studied from API, Neve and SSL hardware (not licensed by those companies). The developer's pitch is an end to "stacking four plugins to chase a sound".
- Preamp colour: A is punchy with forward mids and some grit, N is thick big-iron warmth, and S stays clean and detailed until pushed.
- EQ: A adds energy with bold boosts, N uses broad musical curves, and S is punchy and direct.
- Compression: A is fast and snappy and keeps transients forward, N glues in a smooth vintage style, and S is aimed at group tracks.
- Saturation: also offered in A, N and S variants.
- Mix and match: choose the circuit separately for each module and reorder the chain, so you can run, say, an N preamp into an A EQ and an S compressor.
- Dynamics and stereo extras: reviewers describe a gate with lookahead and visual feedback, a transient shaper, sidechain filters, mid/side processing and a stereo width control with its own high-pass to keep lows mono.
- Light on CPU: low CPU use, with optional 4x oversampling.
It has free updates for life. A 14-day, fully working trial needs no card.
Source: Kiive Audio product page
When to use it
KStrip is the strip to pick when you want three console characters in one instance and the freedom to mix them per module. Compared with the bx_console SSL 4000 E or SSL Native Channel Strip 2, it models no single console in depth, but it gives you API and Neve flavours that those SSL strips don't have. It is closer in spirit to Scheps Omni Channel, with swappable modules, though its sections are console flavours rather than distinct tools for each job. Against the API Vision Channel Strip Collection it trades an exact API recreation for range and a much lower CPU load.
- Best for: everyday channel processing on many tracks, from vocals and guitars to drums, plus mix bus width with mono lows.
- Genres: all styles.
- Look elsewhere if: you want one console modelled down to its quirks, like a bx_console strip, or a strong transient shaper, which a dedicated plugin does better.
- Tip: reviewers liked a Neve-flavoured preamp or saturation into SSL compression on guitars, and the gate's lookahead for drum bleed.
What producers say
Two reviews we read call it a practical, musical strip that sounds convincing, though not an exact replacement for high-end single-console emulations.
- Mix & Master My Song called it "a solid channel strip with real-world tone", praising the per-section flavour switching and clean left-to-right layout; against UAD and Waves API plugins it sounded close.
- SL Studio found each mode recognisably different and liked the gate, mid/side and sidechain filters; it suggested SSL mode for clean corrective EQ.
- Criticisms: both found the transient shaper subtle, one wasn't impressed by the A compressor, and neither sees it replacing dedicated high-end emulations.
Where to buy
- Kiive Audio: $99
- Plugin Boutique: $199.99
Tutorials and reviews
- KStrip - Kiive Audio's new flagship channel strip!
- Kiive Audio K Strip: The Ultimate 3-in-1 Channel Strip!
- Kiive Audio K Strip First Look: Neve/API/SSL-style channel strip with Saturation, EQ, & Dynamics
- Unbe-Neve-able! - KStrip - The New Console Emulation Plugin From Kiive Audio!
- KStrip: 3 World-Class Channel Strips In One Plugin
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