There are plenty of them on the market so I'm wondering what's your favorite Fairchild emulation? Could never hear the original unit myself and i've tried and use the Puigchild and the one from IK, but how close are they from the real thing?
I've heard the one frim UAD is good but cant afford it unfortunately...
Curious to hear which one you use, on which material and why??

 

@Olymoon or @Noavenger I posted it in the wrong section...could you move thr thread please?

 

Moved to "software" section

 

IK MULTIMEDIA - Model 670 ( € 25 )

A replica of a Fairchild 670 in its prime. The sound is quite appealing and can make a lot of intermediate stops, from airy to brutal. In the absence of an original (currently on loan) only the comparison with the UAD remains.

In short, I have both accepted. Both emulations have their own personal touch. While the UAD is more courageous, the T-Racks Fairchild still remains somewhat transparent in extreme settings. Well then. The M / S Matrix dominates both, so the comparison remains a matter of taste.

www.ikmultimedia.com/products/trvintubcomplim/

 

Waves. because It’s enough in overall mix

 

UAD2 Fairchild 670

 

I have 3 favourites and just pick em up on random no specific reason, and change to another if it doesn't work for the track. the IK, Overloud and Puigchild.

 

i think Overloud made a nice job on putting three units on one plugin (gem comp 670). I don't know if it's close to the original since all three units they based the plugin on sound pretty different, but i find it's more useful than the others i've tried if you're going to use it on various sources and purposes.

I've heard the original and UAD versions in comparative videos only, and as much as i hate UAD i have to say it sounds amazing, but very different to everything else (yes, including the original). So who knows, maybe there's more than one original hardware fairchild sound.

 

all worth mentioned are mentioned , maybe sknote's is worth to add
so try all its not like 126 comps to try its just 5-6

 

Bumping this thread in 2024...

What are the best Fairchild emulation these days?

Here's the ones i already know about:
-Overloud
-UAD
-Acustica
-Tone Empire
-Antelope
-MagicDeathEye is Fairchild inspired apparently (though less "firm" to my ear)
-Waves
-Cupwise
-Klanghelm MJUC
-Ik Multimedia
-Slate VBC Mu

Any others i don't know about?

Working on a retro track at the moment, time for the shootout of all shootouts

 

Last edited: Jan 24, 2024

I don't know if Magic Death Eye is a faithful recreation or not in terms of sound (they certainly didn't try to make it look like one) but I really really do like it.

 

I love it too. I use it on probably 50-60% of the masters i do, which is more frequent than any other compressor i use probably.

The plugin is based on the hardware unit of the same name, and the hardware is inspired by the Fairchild, but it's not an emulation. The designer put his own spin on it.
I haven't heard the hardware, but the plugin isn't quite the Fairchild sound imo. MDE is great if you want an open natural sound with a stylish "squish" and a nice sense of movement.
The Fairchild sound is more of a "firm" sound (which is what i'm searching for in this scenario)
I guess you could say MDE has a softer knee than the Fairchild (just guessing though).

 

Yep UAD for me.

 

i had the honor of using the hardware for a year or two, and its crazy how close the plugin is. DDMF is a great dev.

My favorite Fairchild is a toss up between UAD and Acustica ultramarine or their newer one Midnight. All are great and serve a different purpose / have their own sound. Midnight is my latest go to as it has a wide range of applications. From crunchy and smacky to gluey and vibey. Great plugin.

 

As I mentioned above 3 years ago, I think I'm still with that those I've mentioned but ditched the PUIGCHILD altogether and added ULTRAMARINE to the list. GEM 670 and IK 670 are all over the place in few of my templates.

These few weeks, if I want that low-mid thickness with Fairchild style choke my go-to is this one, because most other Fairchild emu attack is too slow for my liking. It suppose to be fast attack compressor no ? I like it around 5-7ms attack with slow release, limit mode, smash them all but blend/mix back at 75%. Most of the time I use this type of compression to adjust the track's "groove" or what I call add vibe, things like that. Other Fairchild emu is kinda limited on that, some even focus on freq balance that I dont need because I EQ into compression. Most of the time I don't have the energy for Unisum that can do it way way better. Novatron is vibey in its own way with enough controls.

 

I like how Stevie says he likes the way it sounds and what you get from it. It's the only thing that matters. To expect something to sound a certain way because its GUI looks authentic to real thing will make you feel like it sounds that way, even when it doesn't. It's good to know the truth, so use plugin doctor to find it out for yourself.

Having said that, I sometimes use Overtone FC70 (now ACMT) on tracks and buses to get a kind of vintage limiter mojo when I think a track could use that.

 

Last edited: Jan 24, 2024

Pulsar Audio MU also, but this one is based on Manley's?

 

UAD sounds better than Waves version in my ears

 

And also do some blind test between plugins using Hofa blindest plugin so that way your EYES favourite might not be your EARS favourite

 

I tried the UAD 670, the GEM 670 and the TR 670.

In the end, I stuck with the UAD, just putting it on my master chain already gave this destinct nice flavor, without even turning some knobs.