Since we're on the subject of plugins, I made a free Camel Crusher Rack for Ableton that solves the 'no-screen' bug a lot of users have with it. Link is at the end of the blog article.

https://www.hereticalaudio.com/ableton-live-free-camel-crusher-rack/

Still one of my top warming plugins to this day.

 

This thread has given me an idea. I think I will challenge myself and do a mix with only 3 plugins:

• Sonnox Oxford Dynamics
• McDSP EC-300
• Lexicon PCM

 

fabq3
goodhertz vulf compressor3
softtube TSAR-1 (i wonder how different the eventide model is?)
valhalla delay
infiltrator

 

It could be a toss up between the plate and a room reverb, both of which I have from Valhalla, but the plate fills a happy part of my early memories of what music sounds like recorded from the mid 60's to mid/late 70's during my formative years of listening to AM radio, 33 and 45 rpm records and the likes of what was used on lots of Beatles, Pink Floyd and other's from Abby Road Studios. It's the same for me in regard to what an acoustic guitar sounds like as played by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, David Gilmour or pretty much any bluegrass guitarist which always pointed at a Martin as the as the standard bearer of steel strings.

 

PluginDoctor doesn't tell the whole story. People put too much stock in that thing. Good monitoring is the best barometer

MagicDeathEye is getting use all the time over here, especially recently. I've used it on probably 70% of my masters in the past couple of months. Great compressor action. Really wanna try DDMF's GrandEQ too

 

Sonnox Limiter
Soothe2
Smart EQ3
EchoBoy
NI Raum

 

In what regards to distortion it does tell you the whole story. But repeating what I said earlier: it might not always be ideal. I was just pointing out a technical aspect of the tool.

 

I saw that video on YouTube of the guy showing how much less distortion Boost has compared to the other limiter competitors on Plugin Doctor. I assume that's what you've seen too. Here's the thing though, distortion isn't the only barometer of transparency of a plugin. It could have all the low distortion in the world but if it comes at the cost pumpiness then it isn't "clean" at all.

Distortion can be pleasing anyway. It's not the be all and end all to have as little distortion as possible. Pleasing psychoacoustic cues aren't possible without distortion, for example.

"Clean" and "transparent" is when a plugin can process the signal without being obvious about it and with as little tradeoffs as possible. I would not put Boost in this category (in a mastering context)

If you can't hear the pumping then I'd be curious to know either:
A) your monitoring system.
Or
B) What settings you're using

You mentioned you're not using special settings in particular, but there are parameters that affect the way the plugin behaves significantly. E.g. the Focus slider, the pump button, how hard it's being driven.

I mentioned it before but it's very possible I'm getting pumpiness because I'm not using it properly. I'm willing to learn...

If I am using it properly, well then it's not a clean/transparent plugin at all (cos pumpy), regardless of low distortion numbers on plugin doctor

 

"Distortion can be pleasing anyway. It's not the be all and end all to have as little distortion as possible. Pleasing psychoacoustic cues aren't possible without distortion, for example."

I never said otherwise, I don't think distortion is a good or a bad thing in itself, it depends on context, the same goes to transparency.

""Clean" and "transparent" is when a plugin can process the signal without being obvious about it and with as little tradeoffs as possible. I would not put Boost in this category (in a mastering context)"

That's exactly where I would put Boost according to my experience using it.

"I mentioned it before but it's very possible I'm getting pumpiness because I'm not using it properly. I'm willing to learn...
If I am using it properly, well then it's not a clean/transparent plugin at all (cos pumpy), regardless of low distortion numbers on plugin doctor"

That's a tough subject since I don't know how you're using it and for what purpose. I can only tell you and demonstrate my own experiences with it (I can send you one of my tracks mixed/mastered mainly with Boost). Really I have no idea, me and my music production friends been using it for a while now and this never presented as an issue.

 

Last edited: Jun 30, 2023

There's no Eventide version of TSAR-1, it's an original Softube product and not an emulation. Previous poster confused Softube with Eventide

 

oh! it feelt like i was feeling left out
Thanks for clearing up that.