After getting chance to try all the cracked versions, which ones are your favorites and why?

 

Deleted them all years ago.. (I actually BOUGHT "Honey" way back") absolutely over-rated cack. Resource hogs, buggy, sound no better than algo at 96k (and often worse thanks to all those hidden artifacts and sonic flaws that AA only reveal after the 'new improved version') Add on the fact Giancarlo is a giant cock AND that they are low effort almost thieves of hardware without doing any real coding. I can't stand the plugs, can't stand the company.

Dump them and use Algo at 96k, any PC can do that now, better workflow, better results. Do not line the pockets of scum.

 

No ears thats for sure but than again now we have N.A.M neural amp modeling that can sample hardware where you cant hear no difference at all.
On Nebula you can.
So i guess a new standard will come soon as sampling will ALWAYS beat algo when it comes to AUTHENTIC sounding PERIOD!!!.
But today very few have heard hardware so they go for easyest plugin.

 

Deleted them all, except for Voxa (does something nice on certain vocals), and Diamond EQ (although I see little use for it).

Bloated, clunky UI, resource hogging, and overrated, is how I would describe them.

If you want EQ, any digital EQ will do. If you want your EQ saturated, just... use any decent saturation plugin.

(Blah blah analog nonlinearities, blah blah sampling, blah blah vibes, blah.)

 

If you deleted them all years ago, then your opinion is outdated. They've come out with some good stuff recently; in fact, pretty much everything they've released in the past year and a half I find to be superior to all their oldies.

To answer OP's question I really like all the Hyper stuff. Pumpkin Pro, Midnight, and Ash Ultra for example. Also Frost, El Rey 2, and Gold 5. (all released in the past year and a half btw. But if Slapdash said he deleted his Acustica plugs years ago, then that must mean he has never tried any of these?)

Don't know why there needs to be so much negativity. Keep that s**t on social media man, don't bring it here. (And before you say it, no i would not consider this social media, rather just a niche forum board for music ENTHUSIASTS. not people who love to hate products made by people they don't even know.)

If you dislike Acustica's products, it's REAL simple. Just don't use or support them. Use whatever you want to use. Support whatever you want to support. But if you have nothing positive to say, maybe just skip ahead to the next thread instead of dropping in to call people c*cks and leave animosity in response to what was otherwise a very innocuous and simple question.

Please don't recirculate hatred. There's enough of it out there, believe me. On the other hand; if you want to have civil discussions with other musicians (based on CURRENT findings) about WHY you believe that certain products are inferior, or superior, to others? I'm all ears.

 

Last edited: Jun 14, 2024

Also, i'm just going to leave this here:
https://audiosex.pro/threads/your-f...in-giancarlo-appreciation-thread.73361/page-4

 

Is N.A.M neural amp (and Proteus) really better than Nebula (genuine question - I have never used Nebula but wonder if it's worthwhile)?

The files are really small compared to the Nebula samples and it's much easier to use. What are you opinions since I really start thinking I will skip Nebula/Acustica and focus on N.A.M neural amp - should I even bother with Acustica?

 

I only liked ash, but I really liked it until (legit version btw.) someday it outputs the loudest signal imaginable, almost destroying my ears, my gear and the whole planet. Never used it again.

 

I confirm, it can be dangerous while tweaking the parameters.

AVOID ASH (classic version)


use ASH ULTRA which is more stable and efficient


the sound is a bit different for me, but I confirm:
the classic version is buggy AND DANGEROUS. Should have been posting this somewhere else ages ago, but forgot

it's the same legit or R2R

 

Using none. Many of their EQ's I tried have preringing (although they are not linear phase) - that's why people say about them that they "sound smooth" - yeah, bye transients. Compressors, I have a handful and never wanted more. The only one that seemed special was Space control. When is in linear phase it prerings. When is not in linear phase is completely changing the EQ of the sound going through it - this makes automating the width of a sound impossible, because along with extra width you get a different eq curve. Clippers - how many do we need? So yeah Acustica... thanx but no thanx

 

Snake Oil 90% at least

 

I only installed Ash (flat), the installation was very bloated, the plugin had poor performances and the gui was not retina ready so I nuked it and installed Crispy Clip instead wich I love.

I have nothing in favor or against Acustica and only wanted to try Ash, the Giancarlo memes are funny tho.

 

Only kept Ash (not Ultra since Ultra is only sampling the clipped part whereas the original is the whole box) and Black.

Oh and Fire the Filters which is really simple and handy to use with an envelope follower or automation.

 

NAM and most machine-learning apps (Tonex, etc.) are amazing for distortion and drive, probably the most accurate at the moment. But they have some limitations, and the most notable is that they're mono only (Proteus has a stereo output but it's double mono). Also, at the moment they're topped at 48k. And depending which resolution you're working with and which software you're loading your captures on, the oversampling can mess up the signal by filtering out the lows and highs.

So at the moment I'd only use machine learning for mono sources (guitars, bass, etc.) and for distortion/drive purposes, not to get a console stereo image.

 

-Lemon, Ash, Mystic, Wite: Kept just in case, don't actually use them.
-Erin: i just like having an 825q emulation around, even though i never use it.
-Lava: I don't buy this mic transformation thing but sometimes the results are quicker and better than just EQing things.
-Cream: idk, i just like it. I have it legit but had to uninstall so it didn't conflict with unlegit stuff, but now it's unlegit too so that's cool.
-Salt: I like what "sand" does to distorted guitars, the way the pre saturates is nice too.

So in short, Cream and Salt and Lava. And even then i rarely use them.

 

Ive found myself using Ash a lot. Not noticed any buggy performance. I love magenta and try to work it in when i can as well. I plan on using El Rey more. and ive used pink on guitars often.

 

Hey thanks for info - I didn't know about Proteus being double mono - that's really important to know.

What about using NAM at 44.1k will it work correctly or is there any problem that messes up the signal?

I know there is Genome (paid) and the (now free needs iLok) Tonocrazy - do these solve that problem with proteus (going to 44.1k or 96k) I guess it is still double mono even with those plugins right?

Are you working at 44.1k or 48k?

 

If you went from zero to obtaining 60% of their catalogue trough the siter site, wihout any prior experience, you will be confused. Go slow and learn to listen. Some real gems in their catalogue,preamps and comps, eqs as well. Many are very good imo.

 

Those gigantic rack handles of AshUltra look dangerous too

 

Im a plugin hoarder with a lot of HD space, so i still got all of them. I use them? Sometimes, The ones i use a lot are Black, Gold, Pink, Sand, Tulip & Amethyst. Rest of them, when im experimenting with stuff. Dont really know if they are just snake oil or something else, but to my ears they add a vibe to some things, maybe i can get that same vibe using fabfilter stuff? Maybe, but doing a lot of extra work. So there you got it, a lazy hoarder.