@Jaymz @Von_Steyr @WillTheWeirdo @Talmi @mercurysoto @digitaldragon

Crew! )

Some last (for now, hopefully) questions if you dont mind advising on:

1) Kernels: "Best" quality is kept 0 (Max), correct?
2) N4 vs N4ZL: ZL is higher quality, yeah? (soundwise)
3) In attempts to get the highest quality, would you change any of the settings in the below image? I adjusted the LTimed, FreqD and Buffer Size. Should anything else be changed? Thanks!!

 

I'll send you the Akai AX80 manual . . .

 

#1 is correct
#2 is just almost 0 latency for ZL>>>the quality is the same for both \m/
#3 as long as your DAW buffer is set to same as the Plugin you are good to go>>> other than that things look pretty good \m/ Mixing i use 1024 for buffer in DAW and plugin >>>if you are using 256 then just make sure your DAW is set to same brother \m/

 

I can't really answer anything regarding Nebula. I have downloaded the trials and got overwhelmed by the complexity of the system. I'm so glad Acquas fill the void for the uninitiated. However, after a couple of days proudly owning Amethyst3, here are my impressions and the reason why I'm so hooked up so fast, especially for those people still making up their minds about it.

I'll explain it in terms of guitar playing. If you own an amp of lower caliber, say a Marshall MG, you know it's not the sound of your beloved guitar heroes. Of course, you make the best of it and learn it so that you sound ok with it. It takes work and chops to tame that kind of amp, and then you know that a guitar upgrade is in place, and then a couple of pedals, and then you think the cabling you use is also a factor. You are trying to do what you can with a consumer level piece of equipment. If you buy a higher end Marshall like a Valvestate (I know they are out of production anymore), the power-starved valve does help and you start to smile more often out of your guitar sound. Once you buy a Bluesbreaker or a JCM 800, then you know -instantly, that it is the Marshall sound you dream of.

Those of us who work ITB with algo plugins, stock or stuff like Slate, are working with sound comparable to a consumer guitar amp. Some of them will be Valvestate Marshalls and Vox Valvetronix, great amps, but not that dream tone. Acquas are like buying an AC30, a Twin Reverb, or a Bluesbreaker with a ridiculous price tag. That sound mojo is there instantly. I really wish I hadn't given so much of my money to Slate. I'd have Sand and Gold right now. Nebula to me is like buying the amp in parts to be soldered together. You can customise it at will, but it's a hassle I'm not in for.

Side note. Last night I was burning the midnight oil to send a mix that was due for a client. I was already burned out for the day and I decided to slap Amethyst3 on the busses and do a quick balance of the song knowing that I'd come back for revisions and criticism. They came today complimenting it on the openness and depth of the sound. There were fixes to do and things to re-balance, but they were really happy with it. That says it all.

PS. It's true. I am now using Amethyst to forge the sound of my mixes and using UAD plugins for individual tracks. I'm using the legacy plugs, which take the least DSP consumption. However, I don't regret having bought my UAD collection. Some of them are beautiful plugins.

 

Fantastic news ! It's awesome that your clients appreciate the result and that you can make this great tool fit so fast in your workflow , even better if you can have them live side by side with the uad plugs you already own, UAD makes great stuffs. I completely agree oncerning what those AA tools bring to the table next to the algo realm. There are so many plugs taking dust since I dived into the AA universe, gives me a few regrets too, regarding a few purchases in the past. It makes me even more value the fews that are still usefull to me (airwindows, cytomic, dmg and u-he mostly, plus a few izotops and a gems here and there from a few companies)

 

@Jaymz got you covered regarding those...But regarding your previous question for knowing if stacking up bands of MMeQ (for example)is something some of us do. I actually do that if need be and nyrv agent (the vst) is pretty good to stack up nebula instances and do a personalized interface that gives you access directly in one vst to all the main knob/command you need. It optimizes also the cpu usage (Agent I mean). N4 is planned to allow in the future to stack up different libraries, but in the meantime, Agent can be an elegant solution (or any vst hoster, but agent allows you to personalize things a bit, Bidule can also be personalized and gives access to shortcuts to commands, but it's not as pretty nor cpu efficient for nebula).

Also I have Ultramarine3, and it's indeed a great compressor. Love the mid side possibility on it which opens up horizons for processing, and the pre on it is lovely. What I also enjoy about it (but I guess it comes with how the original unit was designed) is that it works with anything, but I mean anything. So far anytime some other acquas or nebula comp didn't yield what I expected, this one can handle the job. That doesn't mean it's the best acqua comp. Some do what they do the best (sand on the drum mixbus is hard to beat imo), some are going to work in various situations very well, etc. Ultramarine I use a lot, then Sand and lately gold comp, and Lime has really interesting models. I always come back to lime for its comps and its numerous pres. But titanium gets a lot of love too (it comes with a single band compressor too, very nice also), as well as Pearl limiter and amethyst. I use less all the Pinks compressors so far, but I think they are fantastics too, I just find them little use so far. I'm not even talking about all nebulas compressors here and there are many I love (Violet from AA and summer 100A from Tim P are very noticable, but the list can be endless)...I've been using Acquamarine3 a bit more too, he's growing on me, but first I couldn't use it well, the 2 comps design was just going above my head, it took me a bit.
Man, I haven't even talked about Coral, and this comp alone is one of the best acquas ever made imo.
There are too many of them, that's why testing is really in order, again, imo.

 

Last edited: May 21, 2017

Appreciate the thoughts. I'm building BC Patchwork presets to handle all parallel processing & chain needs until that N4 update.

Sounds like you use them all! What a privilege for us all to have them! Good stuff... I've got many Nebula libraries, but I see myself getting Gold and Sand in the near future... Perhaps once some of these bugs I've been reading about have been fixed

 

Hi,
Former N4 user here.
Giancarlo stated in the AA forum that this kind of upgrade will never see the light.
There is a long thread in there where he explained it well.
As he said, the possibility of lunch multiple libraries in one single Nebula instance is never be planned or promised. It seems like it is just a speculation of some users, and it created some misunderstanding. That's the reason why I asked for and obtained a refund. Giancarlo accepted my request as he is a serious developer and he realized that, as I have already N3 pro, that was the only reason I looked at N4. Just to let you know.
Anyway, Nebula and Acqua plugs are the best ITB option for mixing and mastering by a mile.
Amethyst 3 is a real deal at this price. Get it, you can't go wrong!!!
Sorry for my English, cheers from Italy,
Andrea

 

Agreed! Neve tracking + SSL mixing are like babies and pacifiers!

I guess gear lust has me trying to justify a place for Amethyst in my toolbox when Sand provides a largely similar experience as far as mixing tools go.

And I'm thinking all that Neve on Neve action (Gold+Amethyst) might be overkill in a mix.

But Amethyst's EQs can get even tighter and more surgical than Sand's and it's filters are amazing and its being sold at a great price point...

 

Are you suggesting that going for Gold after Amethyst would be overkill? like pretty much two of the same nature? I've just bought Amethyst, so maybe I should aim for Sand next?

BTW, what do I do with the Amethyst trial? Is there an uninstall of any kind or should I just remove the plugins themselves? Do I lose what I've mixed with them?

 

Freeze them cause yes you will loose them from the trial...trial is not compatible with commercial release \m/ >>> or you can always render or write down all your setting lol

 

Ultramarine3 yes i forgot to list this one as one of my most used>>> beautiful compressor \m/ it also can be very quick to grab the signal>>> wen i demo it i was a lil concerend with the price untill i used it then i was on to buy it real fast lol

 

Sand is more far more aggressive than Amethyst 3 IMHO, and at times you just need things forward so Sand just nails it..... but AM3 is super smooth in tone and great for acoustic instruments and fits the needs at times also. There are no bad or overkill combinations, just combinations that work for your music, always trust your ears and have fun.

The point is just like in hardware each Acqua has a sound you must learn, as each can do different things to audio....... there is a reason you see all the different brands of gear in every studio, it's the same with Acqua's. I always suggest you demo each Acqua as that's the only way you'll know for sure which one it the tool for you.

 

Last edited: May 21, 2017

Yeah, Coral is a killer 2 buss comp and Violet too......... but Cobalt is coming in a week, Coral has serious competition, lol.

 

Until they fix Ultramarine with the latest compressor tech I will not use it as it does not act like the hardware and the compression is off IMHO..... but it does sound like the hardware.

 

It was never a speculation, but a feature that was announced by them and after the initial release of N4 Giancarlo said that the multi instance feature is planned for a later release. The fact that they are changing their minds doesn't look good. Probably the idea of people creating their own complete eqs in N4 makes them think Acquas will lose sales. Too bad.

 

I disagree........

AA did announce that within the next few years N4 will load multi libraries, it will just take time as that functionality never existed in Nebula, and it has to also stay backward compatible. What everyone must understand is that AA will be merging everything into 1 flagship product over the next few years, that will be Nebula and it will do everything, but it will take time to get there. Acqua's are just stand alone multi-Nebula libraries and that tech will be slowly implemented into N4. One thing at a time, today N4 presets is in beta now and works great, it was just ported over from the Acqua's, soon you'll be able to load an Acqua preset in N4.

Always remember that Nebula technology is AA's IP, they are requiring developers moving forward into a license sharing system. With all the new advancements we've seen over the past 2 years the future is looking bright for AA IMHO.

 

Right on brother ive never used one these Hardware before so i cant make the judgment >>> i do like the sound of it tho \m/ the upgraded compressor tech for it will sure be welcome cause it does seem a lil grabby on certain elements >>> thanks for the info @WillTheWeirdo

 

+ @WillTheWeirdo

It seems Gold is warm/fat whereas Amethyst is smooth? (Both being Neve)

Seem like a fair assessment?

 

I'm demoing both right now. They are similar, add a very nice flavor, and yes Amethyst is very smooth especially on high frequencies.
Gold, is more versatile, it has more choices than the "little brother" (maybe too much) and I can't say I like it more.
The difference are subtle, and Gold costs the double.
Both are on pre sale and you can save some bucks. If I read well, the Gold pre sale ends tomorrow. Then the price rises to 199 €. Now is 159€. Amethyst is far more cheap, around 80€ and for the money is a steal.

I think I'll go for the latter, because I want to learn to use a single consolle like I used to in my studio. Too much choices could be a limit.
If you have just one or two similar items you have to learn them well to obtain great results and in the meantime your mixing skill grows.
Too many preamps, EQs, comps, reverbs, etc. I spend more time to change them than to mix. It's true, you can always find something better each single day, but If you use the lost time to look for new stuff to learn how to use the things you already have, probably the mixes would be better and you would also save a lot of money. And I'm speaking about ME