P455 MDN Sidecar

Marc and Ken

Overview

The P455 MDN Sidecar is a summing and 2-bus mixing and mastering audio plugin capturing the analog chain of  Marc Daniel Nelson, a two-time Grammy and French Academy Award-nominated mixing engineer, music producer, creative director and educator.

The P455 delivers Marc’s analog workflow which includes analog summing, tube driven stereo imaging, 2-bus punchy stereo EQ, custom glue 2-bus compressor and the unique character of two high end analog to digital converters. 

The P455 MDN Sidecar isn’t just a plugin; it’s a calibrated blend of Marc’s seasoned approach and Pulsar Modular progressive audio design with focus on musicality at each step of the signal path. 

For years, Marc Daniel Nelson has been openly and graciously sharing his techniques and expertise. He is now taking this a step further and delivering his signature sound to you, without restrictions or compromise, through the P455 MDN Sidecar and P450 MDN EQ audio plugins.

Check out TapeOp Review

Features

P455 MDN Sidecar
  • Summing without need to insert a plugin on each channel.
  • Different routings and options for a true analog workflow experience.
  • Custom 2-bus compressor.
  • 2-bus stereo proportional EQ.
  • Two ADC emulations.
P450 MDN EQ
  • 4 bands EQ with stepped frequency and gain.
  • Low & High Shelf- stepped.
  • Gain Multiplier to cover alternative gain and Q.
  • Op-amp behavior and signature punch.
“No other plugin does this. The 455 sounds absolutely terrific. Just like the console in studio B at Record Plant, Sausalito. Spending a year recording Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on that console, the sound is burned in my head forever and this is IT. The Eq section behaves just like what I remember. That soft saturation the more you push the eq. I have been waiting for years to have my old friend back.“
KEN CAILLATMulti-Grammy Winning Record Producer (Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Colbie Caillat)
KEN CAILLAT
“No other plugin does this. The 455 sounds absolutely terrific. Just like the console in studio B at Record Plant, Sausalito. Spending a year recording Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on that console, the sound is burned in my head forever and this is IT. The Eq section behaves just like what I remember. That soft saturation the more you push the eq. I have been waiting for years to have my old friend back.“
KEN CAILLATMulti-Grammy Winning Record Producer (Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Colbie Caillat)
KEN CAILLAT
"The P455 MDN Sidecar is the perfect complement to my orchestral mix stem buses. For the times when we are forced to record sections separately, the performance can unfortunately suffer as a result. The sidecar allowed me to breathe a level of unifying cohesion into the mix that feels warm and enveloping. Almost impossible ITB, but not now!"
ADAM MICHALAKMULTI-AWARD WINNING SCORE RECORDIST/MIXER (Star Wars, Jurassic World, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Riot Games)
ADAM MICHALAK
"Holy fucking s#!t. The P450,455 is the most flexible api plug-in on the planet. It’s an amazing plug-in and I’ll be so happy to be able to use it as a creative tool designed by a creative person. I’m extremely impressed."
RYAN FREELANDMULTI-GRAMMY WINNER PRODUCER/MIXER (Ray LaMontagne, Aimee Mann, Bonnie Raitt, Morrissey)
RYAN FREELAND
“EQ, Check. Compressor, Check. Harmonics, Check, Check, Check. 2 A to D convertors, Check. The P455 and P450 have some of the best analog emulations I’ve heard. When I put the P455 on the Stereo bus, the mix sounded done. Marc, you really did it on this one!”
DAVE PENSADOMULTI-GRAMMY WINNER PRODUCER/MIXER (Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Shakira)
DAVE PENSADO
“These aren’t your granddaddy’s plugins, they are the secret weapons you’ve been searching for. A quantum leap forward in the super-saturated world of digital audio. You did it Marc. Thank you for making my life just a wee bit better.”
ANTON SANKOMULTI-AWARD WINNING FILM COMPOSER (Big Love, Masters of Horror, Amanda, Fractured)
ANTON SANKO
“These are pretty wonderful plugins! The sidecar in particular! The A-to-D/Line Amp section alone adds a magical glue, weight, and dimension to any source. I will definitely be using this for Atmos. The EQ section is one of the closest to the real thing i’ve heard adding all the transient op-amp goodness from the hardware! The compressor is great at adding life to flat sources or gluing dynamic tracks together. The only thing missing(wink wink) is a final limiter and this thing will be the only thing on the end of every mix!”
J. CLARKATMOS/360 PRODUCER/MIXER (Jennifer Lopez, MK, Rauw Alejandro, The Hold Steady, Mickey Guyton, Nelly)
J. CLARK
“This thing sounds incredible. Turn up the input on the P455 and just enjoy the instant vibe. The bias knob is the secret sauce and Atticus or Wille will be on every mix I do.”
SAMARTH DHAWANMIX ENGINEER (The-Dream, Breez Kennedy, Nile Rodgers, Joelle James)
SAMARTH DHAWAN
"The P450/455 absolutely gives you full access to Marc’s unique and beautiful sound on the mix bus. Marc has mixed my music for over a decade and I immediately hear his signature fingerprint. High headroom, dimension, and a solid low end. Somehow, I’m now one of those guys who reviews a plugin by saying ‘It’s on everything I do’. Seriously. It is."
BRIAN S. CARRAWARD WINNING COMPOSER (Family Guy, American Dad, Superpower, The Landing)
BRIAN S. CARR
"I've known Marcus for a very very long time and have always respected his ears and meticulous approach to audio. So when he called to say he had some new plug-ins, I immediately had to hear them. I'm mid mix on an album and quickly added the MDN Sidecar to a percussion bus and was immediately impressed with the flexibility and sound. So yeah, that's staying. The MDN EQ was next and offered that familiar clarity and presence I'm accustomed to hearing from API. Kinda fat... kinda clear... guess that's staying, too. Obsessively summing through extensive analog chains, any plug-ins I use must compete with my racks of outboard gear or they never get used. Well, these new MDN "units" are definitely getting used. Great job!"
THAI LONG LY, CASAWARD WINNING ENGINEER/PRODUCER (Robbie Williams, Postmodern Jukebox, Dionne Warwick, Hadrien Feraud, Stanley Clarke)
THAI LONG LY, CAS
“No other plugin does this. The 455 sounds absolutely terrific. Just like the console in studio B at Record Plant, Sausalito. Spending a year recording Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on that console, the sound is burned in my head forever and this is IT. The Eq section behaves just like what I remember. That soft saturation the more you push the eq. I have been waiting for years to have my old friend back.“
KEN CAILLATMULTI-GRAMMY WINNING RECORD PRODUCER (Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Colbie Caillat)
KEN CAILLAT
“I'm not sure we need just another EQ/Compressor channel strip. That is... unless it's bringing something new and different to the table. The P455's compressor in combination with the "Dog Pound" and "Line Amp" parameters is doing just that and not like a dozen plugins I already own. IT SOUNDS BRILLIANT!! ”
CRAIG BAUERMULTI-GRAMMY WINNING ENGINEER/PRODUCER (Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Wu-Tang Clan)
CRAIG BAUER
"This is behaving exactly like our "vintage" API 550 with the handmade opamps...it sounds almost identical to our unit with Jensen Transformers (JT-115K -e1, its a 1:10 ratio on the input but it does not do that strange "bump" at 20k common to most API's, we used a design from GroupDIY where they kind of swept transformers to find a good fit for this circuit) ...it seems turning the bias down cleans it up and makes it more of the "modern API" flavor...Essentially this plugin is doing what a very expensive hand tuned punchy EQ that was designed to get rid of harsh highs from saturated chip based op-amps normally do... Could have saved us a couple of thousand dollars about 10 years ago...but you either get wisdom or money."
MARK PIXLEYVALPARISO STUDIOS
"The P455 MDN Sidecar is the perfect complement to my orchestral mix stem buses. For the times when we are forced to record sections separately, the performance can unfortunately suffer as a result. The sidecar allowed me to breathe a level of unifying cohesion into the mix that feels warm and enveloping. Almost impossible ITB, but not now!"
ADAM MICHALAKMULTI-AWARD WINNING SCORE RECORDIST/MIXER (Star Wars, Jurassic World, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Riot Games)
ADAM MICHALAK
"Holy fucking s#!t. The P450,455 is the most flexible api plug-in on the planet. It’s an amazing plug-in and I’ll be so happy to be able to use it as a creative tool designed by a creative person. I’m extremely impressed."
RYAN FREELANDMULTI-GRAMMY WINNER PRODUCER/MIXER (Ray LaMontagne, Aimee Mann, Bonnie Raitt, Morrissey)
RYAN FREELAND
“EQ, Check. Compressor, Check. Harmonics, Check, Check, Check. 2 A to D convertors, Check. The P455 and P450 have some of the best analog emulations I’ve heard. When I put the P455 on the Stereo bus, the mix sounded done. Marc, you really did it on this one!”
DAVE PENSADOMULTI-GRAMMY WINNER PRODUCER/MIXER (Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Shakira)
DAVE PENSADO
“These aren’t your granddaddy’s plugins, they are the secret weapons you’ve been searching for. A quantum leap forward in the super-saturated world of digital audio. You did it Marc. Thank you for making my life just a wee bit better.”
ANTON SANKOMULTI-AWARD WINNING FILM COMPOSER (Big Love, Masters of Horror, Amanda, Fractured)
ANTON SANKO
“These are pretty wonderful plugins! The sidecar in particular! The A-to-D/Line Amp section alone adds a magical glue, weight, and dimension to any source. I will definitely be using this for Atmos. The EQ section is one of the closest to the real thing i’ve heard adding all the transient op-amp goodness from the hardware! The compressor is great at adding life to flat sources or gluing dynamic tracks together. The only thing missing(wink wink) is a final limiter and this thing will be the only thing on the end of every mix!”
J. CLARKATMOS/360 PRODUCER/MIXER (Jennifer Lopez, MK, Rauw Alejandro, The Hold Steady, Mickey Guyton, Nelly)
J. CLARK
“This thing sounds incredible. Turn up the input on the P455 and just enjoy the instant vibe. The bias knob is the secret sauce and Atticus or Wille will be on every mix I do.”
SAMARTH DHAWANMIX ENGINEER (The-Dream, Breez Kennedy, Nile Rodgers, Joelle James)
SAMARTH DHAWAN
The P450/455 absolutely gives you full access to Marc’s unique and beautiful sound on the mix bus. Marc has mixed my music for over a decade and I immediately hear his signature fingerprint. High headroom, dimension, and a solid low end. Somehow, I’m now one of those guys who reviews a plugin by saying ‘It’s on everything I do’. Seriously. It is."
BRIAN S. CARRAWARD WINNING COMPOSER (Family Guy, American Dad, Superpower, The Landing)
BRIAN S. CARR
"I've known Marcus for a very very long time and have always respected his ears and meticulous approach to audio. So when he called to say he had some new plug-ins, I immediately had to hear them. I'm mid mix on an album and quickly added the MDN Sidecar to a percussion bus and was immediately impressed with the flexibility and sound. So yeah, that's staying. The MDN EQ was next and offered that familiar clarity and presence I'm accustomed to hearing from API. Kinda fat... kinda clear... guess that's staying, too. Obsessively summing through extensive analog chains, any plug-ins I use must compete with my racks of outboard gear or they never get used. Well, these new MDN "units" are definitely getting used. Great job!"
THAI LONG LY, CASAWARD WINNING ENGINEER/PRODUCER (Robbie Williams, Postmodern Jukebox, Dionne Warwick, Hadrien Feraud, Stanley Clarke)
THAI LONG LY, CAS
“No other plugin does this. The 455 sounds absolutely terrific. Just like the console in studio B at Record Plant, Sausalito. Spending a year recording Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on that console, the sound is burned in my head forever and this is IT. The Eq section behaves just like what I remember. That soft saturation the more you push the eq. I have been waiting for years to have my old friend back.“
KEN CAILLATMULTI-GRAMMY WINNING RECORD PRODUCER (Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Colbie Caillat)
KEN CAILLAT
“I'm not sure we need just another EQ/Compressor channel strip. That is... unless it's bringing something new and different to the table. The P455's compressor in combination with the "Dog Pound" and "Line Amp" parameters is doing just that and not like a dozen plugins I already own. IT SOUNDS BRILLIANT!! ”
CRAIG BAUERMULTI-GRAMMY WINNING ENGINEER/PRODUCER (Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Wu-Tang Clan)
CRAIG BAUER
This is behaving exactly like our "vintage" API 550 with the handmade opamps...it sounds almost identical to our unit with Jensen Transformers (JT-115K -e1, its a 1:10 ratio on the input but it does not do that strange "bump" at 20k common to most API's, we used a design from GroupDIY where they kind of swept transformers to find a good fit for this circuit) ...it seems turning the bias down cleans it up and makes it more of the "modern API" flavor...Essentially this plugin is doing what a very expensive hand tuned punchy EQ that was designed to get rid of harsh highs from saturated chip based op-amps normally do... Could have saved us a couple of thousand dollars about 10 years ago...but you either get wisdom or money.
MARK PIXLEYVALPARISO STUDIOS

Videos

Audio Examples

Specification

Supported Plugin Formats
AU, VST3, AAX (Apple Silicon ready).

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 10.13+ Apple Silicon M1 Native and Intel CPU (Universal 2 Binary)
Windows 10+ x64-compatible CPU

Copy Protection
A one-time challenge & response over the internet. License works on up two separate machines.

Downloads

Use the slider to load the appropriate plugin data.

P455 MDN Sidecar
P450 MDN EQ
Preset for the MP MIDI Model 2A controller

Latest User Guides

English
German
Japanese

For previously authorized computers

  • Bypass parameter synchronizes with the Bypass of the DAW (those that support this feature).

                      

  • Hammer circuit- intensity boost.
  • Stage Focus- affects soundstage positioning.
  • Updated user guides.

                      

  • CPU efficient.
  • Smooth movement of BIAS and Volume Fader/Knob.
  • Step/Smooth parameter icon (Step for 1:1 of the analog chain or SMOOTH to allow a little more clear/open focus enhancement).

                      

  • Smoothing for  randomization routines: Lower digital distortion & increase headroom. 
  • This version uses more CPU.

                      

  • Optimized code solves issues with Steinberg Wavelab.
  • Color coding for the compressor’s GR meter reading.
  • Signal flow updated in the user guide.
  • Click Gain knob- displays the value of the gain.

                      

  • On start play for certain audio material, there is a soft click sound.
  • Show 80 Hz momentary when turning on S/C.
  • “Audio Dimming Transition” Fixed the implementation. Default is ON.
  • P455 compressor communicates the GR values to the Pro Tools. Accurate up to 5 dB.

                  

  • Official Release.

                  

15-Day Free Demo

To start your 15-day fully functional demo for 2 computers, Press the "DEMO" button and complete the checkout. Follow the instructions you will get by email. No dongle required.

Bundled with P450 MDN EQ, a dedicated mono/stereo stepped frequency & gain 2-bus punchy equalizer.

DEMO
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$225

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(47 customer reviews)

Customer reviews

47 reviews for P455 MDN Sidecar

5.0 Rating
1-5 of 47 reviews
  1. Henrik
    Verified owner

    Instant wow-factor, depth and space when applied on the master bus, even without going into more advanced controls/use.

  2. Ephraim Berkowitz
    Verified owner

    Wow, this summing system plugin is not hype at all; it really does it.

    I have been trying and using a lot of summing mixers over the years, and I know how summing sounds, The P455 shines as an individual “hardware type” summing mixer. I don’t know how this has been done in software, but it really shockingly does it. Now, I can place this on a mix and stay ITB without the need of going out of the box for summing.
    the EQ is wonderful. The compressor is GREAT—just that perfect glue, Magic. The Bias section—MAGIC.
    Everything in there is so useful, fully packed with high-quality processing,

  3. Michael Seaton
    Verified owner

    I really like the P455 MDN Sidecar & MDN EQ! They are great sounding, and the workflow is refreshing!
    The layout looks & feels genuine! Nice Colour & Nice Vibes!

  4. Oliver Caminos
    Verified owner

    P455 Sidecar adds a little dimension as soon as you strap it across a buss. You can tweak a little or really dive in to sculpt the sound. From a workflow perspective it does the job of 4 or 5 plugins and allows you to move quickly through a mix.

  5. yukinocomic
    Verified owner

    I don’t know the technical details, but this plug-in allows you to feel the characteristics of analog hardware.
    I feel that the BIAS knob and the compressor section are especially good for the workflow of creating sounds.
    The BIAS knob is not just a WET/DRY knob, and I get the impression that it can be used in conjunction with the Input knob to arbitrarily adjust the characteristics of the P455’s analog hardware.
    I appreciate the compressor section after making various adjustments.
    There are many parameters that are not obvious at first sight, so I recommend reading the manual and doing a demo.
    The manual also contains tips and tricks, which will be a good stimulus for your production.

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DISCLAIMER: The intellectual property rights, including names, logos, and trademarks associated with studio equipment and accessory brands, including API, belong to their respective owners and are not affiliated with Pulsar Modular or Marc Daniel Nelson. This plugin is designed to replicate the unique audio equalization, compression, and summing envisioned by Pulsar Modular and Marc Daniel Nelson. Any use of names, logos, or trademarks is solely for identification purposes to illustrate the hardware chain and audio workflow that inspired this product.