Been using this for awhile. For me it's more stable than plugindoctor, just obviously with less features. It's just as good if not better for basic EQ curve analysis!

 

Do you get hungry when you use Frohmager? A cow is a cow. No need for bells and whistles. Vsts can make you horny, angry, sleepy, happy, sad, and also hungry?!

 

Geez, I thought that it was my own personal little secret that I've got an udder kink, a heifer hunger and am the kinda guy who goes schwing for a lick 'o plein air lactose! Cow tipping is a courtesy after a good time and has a whole other meaning to me than for those mean, stupid teenagers abusing those sweet creatures out in the boonies.

"Honey, I'll be back in a minute, I'm going out to pick up a litre of milk".

Perchance, I've said too much.

 

platone studio
We are a team of passionate musicians and skilled programmers dedicated to delivering intuitive solutions for your music production. Driven by creativity and fueled by your feedback, we continuously develop and refine our products to empower artists worldwide.
Discover our extensive range of plugins and sample packs, including a selection of free downloads. Join us on this exciting journey as we strive to inspire and enhance your music production experience.




https://platonestudio.com/product/flex-reverb/
https://platonestudio.com/product/delay-eleven/
https://platonestudio.com/product/dj-filter/

 

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/maxwell-smart-by-lively-audio
Among my favorite limiters, I hadn't tried it since it was seemingly an unassuming true peak limiter from 2012, but boy was I wrong!

My ears tell me this limiter perfectly preserves the dynamics of a signal whilst keeping it precisely below true peak levels. A spectrum analysis shows it generates quite a bit of harmonics, but you just don't really hear them in a busy mix. Definitely no harsh distortion associated with brickwall limiters.

For comparison, it sounds way better than UrsaDSP boost with less pumping & better transient preservation despite objectively producing higher harmonics than it.

 

Native Instruments - Komplete Start

NI's recently revamped bundle of free Kontakt instruments and effect plugins.

Includes the full version of the Ozone 11 EQ (I had to claim this separately)



Very solid EQ with sustain/transient mode and mid/side operation.

Includes feature reduced versions of the Supercharger tube compressor, Replika delay and Guitar Rig 7.
Includes the full versions of the Raum reverb and vinyl effect Vinyl.
All worth checking out / claiming.



---

Samplab - TextToSample

AI trained on audio. Lets you enter a prompt like with other AIs and spits out a generated sample that can be saved or dragged into your DAW. Works offline once the model (~1.5GB) has been downloaded. Maybe more of a toy, a fun one though.



---

VoS epicPLATE mkII

Bootsy's much improved take on plate reverbs. Now worth having. HQ mode recommended!



---

Psycho Circuitry's suite of compressors

EDIT: Caveat: The developer has been struggling to fix some bugs, so nyeeeeaaah.

RLC-79 - A very solid and uncomplicated dbx160 emulation with additional saturation options.



---

MiniVCA - A VCA compressor with three switchable compression and saturation styles, also very solid.



---

Psycho Circuitry also offers Qx-Comp - a two-band compressor and dynamic EQ type of thing, which I haven't looked at.

---

Venn Audio - Free Suite

Now public. Comes with an update to Free Clip. Also includes a compressor, convolver, EQ and some other basic tools and effects. Free Clip and Convolve are worth checking out. EQ and compressor might be useful to some, although fairly basic.

 

Last edited: Nov 21, 2023

Apart from the fact that neither Knee, nor Transformer or Saturation make a real difference (if any).

 

You mean in terms of the dbx160 having a softer knee than this? That might be, I don't have the hardware unit. I use this mostly on bass and drums and the difference between soft/hard is pretty noticeable when compressing 5+ dB imo. If the saturation is too subtle - there'll be an update that lets you push it further (like in MiniVCA), not sure when though. I think he tried to ~match his own unit without going much further than that. Presumably, it doesn't saturate super heavily.

 

Bro miniVCA is not free ?

 

The free version is further down on the MiniVCA page.

 

No, no, I meant that, according to my analysis, changing these parameters has no effect.

 

Are you talking about the RLC 79? Because I tested that out last week and I didn't dislike the general sound of it, though I like AO's dBComp better. Aside from that, I *thought I could hear a difference with the Hard/Soft knee, but after trying a few more audio sources I kind of couldn't... ? so in the end I just decided to middle-ground my assessment and conclude that it was a wicked subtle difference, which struck me as a poor choice on a compressor that's used almost solely to slam drums into the ground. The saturation didn't seem to do anything noticeable either but, in fairness, I didn't test the saturation out thoroughly, since the knee seemed wimpy—or, possibly, nonexistent—I kinda lost interest. I haven't checked PluginDoctor, but that's a secondary to testing the plugin in a real scenario... which, I guess I did... so... I *could check it out... dammit, @No Avenger ... making me... *more incoherent grumbling*

Update: I just dumped it into PluginDoctor real quick, and the Hard/Soft button does make a small alteration to the knee, the Harmonics knob pulls up a bit of upper harmonics, and the transformer does... something... which is fairly minor as as well. I went back and tossed it on a breakbeat with a big ol' round kick and you can hear the knee change how open the kick sounds, and the harmonics pull up some weight in that area on an EP progression that was heavy with notes in the higher register—still, nothing to get excited about. I want to say it's a nice clone for a freebie, because it is, if nothing else for the compression, but I don't know why anyone would choose it over the dBComp with its extremely flexible knee. Just my two-cents.

 

Last edited: Nov 15, 2023

Yes, that's perfectly fine! I like the way RLC-79 sounds as it is, but maybe I'd like it better too with more saturation - will see after the update.

The reason I don't usually try AO plugins anymore is because of how often he releases broken plugins with 'obvious' bugs, like when LALA ended up being a fuzz pedal or how the current iteration of updates breaks existing projects. GUI and extra features are really nice though, wish other developers would follow suit, especially those asking for $$$.

 

Absolutely, AO tends to change the sound of the pluggies, so you must be careful with updating.

 

His work in always analogue musings are never static, one can say that it is akin to an obsession.

 

Last edited: Nov 17, 2023

Pfff i'm so dumb thank you bro

 

I'm not coming at you, as this is a legit gripe, but I've also never fully understood the issue. First, why would you be updating plugins right in the middle of a mix? Wouldn't you just wait a day or two and then install them? More than that though...how is it a problem to just dial them in again? The challenge, if there is one, is getting the plugin where you want it, not returning it to that state. I've actually had updates that didn't change the behaviour of a plugin, but for gawd-knows what reason, default-ed the settings back to "0" on every instance... and you just dial them in a again. I can understand how this would be an annoyance, but not how it's a major issue.

 

The major issue is simply that AO tends to change the basic sound. If you open an old project you might not be able to reproduce the result exactly.

 

I think many people don't like the uncertainty factor. I guess that's why so many music production machines are frozen in time with an older OS and older plugin versions.

Did this really sound this way before? Do I like it better now after dialling it in again or was it better before? Maybe I should get the old version, render out all tracks and then compare against the new version to be certain? But that's another 732mb in my project folder and a lot of effort.

 

Okay, see that wasn't specified. That is an issue.

I've been there before, even recently, to an extent, but I also enjoy a challenge, and I'm usually not married to one brand/plugin as far as a particular tool goes (though there are definite exceptions.) On the flip-side, there aren't a whole pile of DBX160 emulations out there... but I suppose there are some "hidden" DBX series compressors, ones that have enough controls that they can ballpark them, though not with the exact same character. Dunno, I've always just been a fan of trying to find a chain that can match a "unique" plugin.
People like "... but it M/S saturates with per-band adjustable..." **me reaching for SDRR, Mongoose, and SigMod**