We dive into the creative journey behind the plugin collaboration between MixWave and Coil Audio. Discover how the passion for gear, sound, and craftsmanship shaped one of the most essential tools for mixing engineers today. From initial inspiration to the fine-tuning process, Calin Enache reveals how they brought the rich, analog warmth of Coil Audio’s hardware to the digital realm.

Did you use the real unit before making the plugin? How did you discover Coil Audio?

This is a fun story. It all started with a comment on IG many years ago. I made a post about how I love my vintage 1073s so much and how they sound huge. A company I hadn't heard of yet called Coil Audio left a rather bold comment on my post saying that their tube preamps would smoke my vintage Neves. So I happily decided to take them on and they sent me a CA-70s to demo. Welp, I was amazed at how right they were. Honestly, it wasn't even close. I still love my old Neves but the Coils sounded absolutely massive in comparison. Way more low end and just more depth. So I pretty much immediately ordered a couple of their preamps. I have owned and used Coil preamps ever since. They have become some of my all time favorite pieces of gear.

What made you want to make a plugin for it?

I very quickly became buddies with Steve and Jim at Coil. I love how passionate they are about what they do and how seriously they take it while being super chill dudes. They also became my gear gurus. They are super knowledgeable and I trust their opinion on all things gear. When we wanted to get Mixwave into mixing plugins, they came to mind right away. I pitched them on making a plugin because I felt like the hardware is so good that we absolutely need it in the digital world as well. Thankfully they agreed. And now it’s out there in the world and it seems that a ton of other people agree, as well! In all honesty, it is one of my all time favorite plugins made by anyone. I use it on every mix.

Describe the development process.

The process was really smooth. Coil sent a freshly calibrated CA-70s over to MixWave HQ and we listened to it a bunch and ran a ton of audio examples through it. We developed the code in parallel with the graphics and it all came together really well. Before sending a plugin to a partner brand for listening and their feedback, we want to make sure that we are thrilled with it ourselves. Sometimes we have to do a ton of work to get that last 10% right, but with the Coil we felt we nailed it relatively quickly. We then sent it to the Coil guys and they had a few small notes so we went back and forth a couple times to really nail down that last 1-2%. By the end, we were all really happy with the results. And we are proud to say that the Coil guys were blown away that we were able to pull it off.

What do you use the plugin version for?

I use it on anything in a mix that I want to have more weight, more depth, and/or less harshness. Poorly recorded vocal that sounds thin and resonant? Add the Coil first and THEN EQ it after. It de-harshes the vocal and inflates it to give you something to grab onto when making EQ moves. 808 that sounds a bit anemic? Add the Coil for a ton of weight. Digital sounding soft synths? Add the Coil and listen to how they now sound like they are far more real and expensive with a lot of that digital grossness removed. Harsh horns? Add the Coil and it just magically deals with the harshness in a really musical way. I could keep going - This thing is a cheat code.

What do you like the most about this plugin?

I love how it sounds and feels incredibly analog. I feel like the heart and soul of the hardware is in the plugin. I am super proud of this. And I just love that we made a tool that I genuinely love and reach for constantly. As a longtime gear nerd, that is so cool.

How would you compare it to the hardware?

I think they both have their place. For tracking, obviously the hardware makes sense. I love so many of the records that have been tracked through the hardware preamps. Some of my favorite vocals I have personally recorded were through a CA-70s. It's also great for running line level audio through and committing to that big vintage tube vibe. 

The plugin just takes that whole Coil Audio vibe and optimizes it for the digital world. I love how versatile it is. The mix knob is your friend. Sometimes the plugin can sound awesome but just be a bit too much, so if you roll back the wet/dry knob and use your ears to adjust it to taste, you can very quickly end up in a place where you get what you want out of it without giving up anything. You get to have your cake and eat it, too. So the versatility is a big strength of the plugin. And since it is so low CPU, you can also run a ton of them in a session.

Any plans for future collaborations with Coil Audio?

Oh, absolutely! The 286 is already in development and they have some other cool new things on the way that we are super excited to have in both analog and digital form. Stay tuned!