An AA and Greg Wells plugin compressor....

Details here : http://newsletter.acustica-audio.co...d6acf-785e-4690-9899-a3a42066d052&ctx=console

Probably won't test this one, I'm not really a fan of signed plugins....
AA seems to go the Waves route...Thoughts ?

And I think it's also a follow up to the "diamond/Studio DMI" serie, at least there seems to be the logo on the compressor interface.

 

Here is a quick preview by DP

 

Cheers @Agent007 !

Edit : jee they did nail the saturation ffs !

 

@Talmi El Rey is being heralded by Acustica as their best product.

 

I bet. They tend to do that with every release.
It looks like a nice tube compressor, they don't have that much of this type. I do wish they did implement their latest core thingy and resampled and updated their other compressors, which don't emulate as much details as the new releases do , since the tech has evolved since then (thinking about Acquamarine, Ultramarine and Titanium).
Other than the originality of the sampled unit, the latest releases from AA (the Dante trilogy, the tape emu, the distotion unit), are all top notches and imo took it a bit further in term of fidelity to the original, with their new capacity to emulate a more convincing dist/sat. I guess I'm saying the quality witnessed here in the sampling/rendering process is bound to be ported to the other Acquas (when it's not already the case, a few have been updated), then it comes down to liking the offered sampled model, and the package you pay for.
Which is where my problem reside - and it was already the case with other diamond plugins which I got and are also awesome - it's a small package for what AA usually gives you when it's not a signed plugin. No pre, no brother eq or additional fun stuff like they usually do. I mean AA gives you comps and filters even when you get their reverb, delay or distortion unit, when they do signed plugs it's always expensive and small packages. Not that the plugins aren't good. But I do feel we mostly pay for the signature. So....

 

In 3 hours and 30 minutes I will buy it for €66,6 (instead of €269 full price), because of 45% Black Friday and 55% user loyalty coupon code.

I REALLY can't pass it !...

I really can't pass it. I can't.

I know you too @Talmi, you can't pass it.
You will buy it, and then you will praise it.
You will run to buy it, and then you'll be part of the cult.

That's it. It's stronger than us.

 

I know...I just can't pass it...
To be fair what I fear is that they systematize the business trick of selling overpriced simple single plugs (269 € !!! for a single compressor !! Wtf ??) just because they have been "signed".
If they do I'll just stop praising them and their products , no matter what I actually think about them.


EDITED : and it's officialy out ! Small file : only 144 mb to dl....

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2018

The cult has begun, on Gearslutz.

All the most prestigious sound engineers from all parts of the world are coming for the praises.

Well, I'll buy it tomorrow. For €66,6 (the number of the Beast) it can't be bad. Maybe I'll make better mixes/masters, who knows ?

 

It's pretty cool indeed. Very smooth, then there is a dry/wet knob, so parallel compression can be used directly with the plug. Probably usable on most sources, it's not aggressive, it glue stuff in a nice fashion. Should be good on a mixbuss, maybe even the master. It gives "weight" to the sound you pass it through. Might have to do with the pre they included (which you can't deactivate ? that would be a first in AA plugs...).
There is a neat auto gain feature, but no shmod knob...
Probably one of their best comps, don't know if it's my favorite, but it's good.
Hope the raving reviews don't get them greedy.
Still I'm happy they get some love, maybe the haters talking about fairy dust regarding AA tech will be much more quiet now. That would be pleasant, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Haters need to hate. So...

 

I don't understand the presets, and think they kind of cheapen the plugin a bit, hope they aren't inflating the cost... I'm also surprised at the amount of praise its getting, ..having a hard time believing a lot of these people aren't creating a globular mess... Feeling a gag reflex when I keep hearing "so and so uses it". All that said I'm liking this as a tube unit very much.

 

Yeah seeing names like "Pensado" or "Wells" in the preset (which are rare in the AA world, for the best imo) section of an AA plug feels kind of weird.
Honestly I like AA as a harware recreator in the software world. The technicity of its tech, the way it kills cpus, well as sucky as it may be it "protected" the company from that sort of buzz, cause it's hard to sell to people who don't get the hw thing and aren't fascinated by that whole aspect of things - which are most people - so it was kind of a "niche" market. "Big" names didn't wanna get their names attached to that. Not enough money involved.
Kept AA away from a certain marketing circus which makes me wanna puke too.
I guess their success -which is something ironically I've wanted since I've discovered AA - is catching up to them and to us.

 

Bought it, first contender to replace Ca-2a on the vocal group.

 

I found the entire campaign rather disgusting and obscene than appealing,
can`t remember to have seen users driven and boxed in such a way.

There`s a lot to say but I will not go into a negative cloud,
BF was very positive this year after all plus some surprises.

AA sales are generously construed to Dec 5th,
enough time to think about i.e. Sand coming fetching down with a coupon.

Anyway, enjoy El Ray!
No doubt it`s a good one.

 

It's definitely good.

Can agree on the whole attitude you stated, Marsupilami, from what I've seen on the GS thread. I do feel that the general attitude from the creators is a bit arrogant... but I don't feel that it affects the quality of the product, for me it's an incredible addition to my toolkit, with the discount I have it was about £92 which is fine for the quality of the effect. I love it!

 

It's so good it'll make your ears bleed. Add Taupe and die happy. I will.

The kind of distortion you get from Taupe is amazing. It just pops out. It's different from the emu's I've tried. The compressor that comes with it is not bad and the eq on lower freqs is top notch.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2018

Yeah I read the thread, and I remembered why I don't go often on GS.

Still after testing it more it's a very nice product. Others compressors from AA I prefer tbh. I got it cause for 66€, well why the heck not.
But honestly if someone is gonna take advantage of this Black Friday promo they got going, and without any coupon and with the possibility to buy only one, well you can get Gold 2 (160 for gold for 150 for el rey I think) in a close price, or Cream or Taupe , etc...All bundles with individual units - eqs comps pres for Cream and Gold, and tape unit for Taupe - and all honestly on par in term of quality with El Rey, not that they are the same recreated gear, it depends what you prefer to emulate itb. They all have the latest core.

Man and Amethyst 3 goes for 75€ ! Crimson at 83 ! Wow.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2018

I don't buy plugins. I save the money and buy hardware instead. Sometimes people spend money buying several different versions of a hardware emulation. They can purchase a hardware clone for less than what they paid for the plugins and get better quality.Take Warm Audio as an example their EQP-WA Equalizer, although not perfect, can be brought used for $350-$400 and will run circles around any plugin including UAD. If I MUST have a plugin, I go to the sister site.

 

Last edited: Nov 26, 2018

Sorry for going OT
but this is the inviting part of AA`s BF sale,
unfortunate mixed with El Ray and might be overlooked.

If you want to support users to tip a toe into AA creations,
this is a very good entry level.
An extra thread may back the issue
(as you know them all and may want to comment them).

Look,
5 CS units alone under the psychological benchmark of €100,
some significantly, others sharp.
Not to mention EQ`s and comps etc.

And there`s plenty of time still to trial them,
which is not given in case of El Ray
and that`s what I consider obscene for example.

Any pro around El Ray that orders an hw unit for trial
is given 3 weeks minimum, sometimes 3 month (plugins not that different).
They know it and yet driving users into a 3-4 days decision.
It may be extended but that`s how the campaign started.
Just one point of many I have in this very specific case.

I mentioned Sand because a successor is announced.
So the deal can look like:
a user buys Sand for under €100 if no coupon (and after a good trial!).
He gets soon a successor, let`s say Sand2 for free,
he gets announced upcoming free upgrade to core 13.
Pretty good timing and bang for the buck if you ask me ...

 

Yep I agree on all account.
Sand is awesome even before the upgrade which will be there soon (and I'm not just talking about the upgrade of the Core which is badly needed, but about Sand 2)...Of course then you'll have both sand 1 and sand 2 for the price of 100 euros.
Same with Amethyst, a whole strip, individual eqs, comps and pres (and Amethyst rocks I never understood why they sell it so cheap, although it's awesome) for 75€. Future updates free, you can access to the previous releases too.
Indeed it's perfect for starting in the AA world. Then get a couple more at xmas promos, you'll get a 10 percent or more reduction anytime a new product is released.
That's how I got started.

I used to post thread for their big sales and all, but not anymore, which is why I didn't create a thread for this BF sale. I still advertise for AA releases because I really love the tech and what they have been achieving lately. I'm no beta tester, no reseller, no interest in it for me. I just hope as many people can experiment what I enjoy since I started using those plugs.
But man I don't do it any more except the new products, because I post threads regarding releases, they get viewed in average more then a 1000 times and when I'm lucky I get 4 to 6 reactions. I don't give a shit about "likes" and ratings and that food for the average idiotic facebookian lost in those premices, but I really think a lot of people suck in a huge way.
The point of those threads isn't just information and allowing AA to make sales. It's for having feedbacks and exchanges around those plugs. We're on a forum, but I guess it's a bit much to ask.


To illustrate my point : this is the thread I created for BF last year : https://audiosex.pro/threads/acusti...-serie-and-big-sales-for-bf-and-cm2017.32555/

The only reaction (for a 1000 views) I got was from a mod to tell me I didn't put the thread in the right section....

 

Last edited: Nov 26, 2018

This could be discussed ; hardware is very cool, but it has maintenance to be done, and electric consumption (ok, a computer has electric consumption too, I guess a little less than several audio hardwares). Hardware hasn't total recall. Hardware can't be multiplied like plugins in a project. Then, Acustica Audio plugins with their special technology aren't on the sister site. They can only be tried (one month full functionality) or be bought.

 

Last edited: Nov 26, 2018