Hi: I'm using Sonar 2 XL (and have Sonic Foundry) and I'm just starting to understand the subject.

I'd like to get some recommendations of some plug-in's you use.

TIA (thanks in advance) for your time.

Heck, if you have Sonar 2.0 XL then you've already got a couple of top notch plugins. Sonic Timeworks CompressorX and "blue" EQ are extremely high quality professional native plugins that would sell combined for $428!

-Tronam

Tronam wrote:

Heck, if you have Sonar 2.0 XL then you've already got a couple of top notch plugins. Sonic Timeworks CompressorX and "blue" EQ are extremely high quality professional native plugins that would sell combined for $428!

Thanks Tronam for replying, I've tried them both many times, but the screen is so small that I find it difficult to read / see. For some reason there is no help file (it's missing), I wrote to the company a (long) while ago but no response.

Sonar / Sonic Foundry have a few (too many??), I understand the theory pretty well (now) but I keep jumping from one plug-in to another with little satisfaction, can't seem to settle on any one in particular, after a while I get confused and try again another day. None seem to cover it all (or most of it).

I do like Timeworks for what it can do but when you can't read the screen (even with glasses) and you're just guessing well ... that's what prompted me to inquire about what other options are out there.

Thanks again for the repsonse.

Wavearts Trackplug, it comprises Parametric eQ, Noise Gate, Compressor.

Really good one.

www.wavearts.com

As for a single eQ, I recommend you the PluginSpot Parametric eQ included on the Mastering pack (delay, stereo enhancer, Param eQ) these are really good.

http://www.pluginspot.com/

Thanks Matias I'll check these out.

Tronam wrote:

Heck, if you have Sonar 2.0 XL then you've already got a couple of top notch plugins. Sonic Timeworks CompressorX and "blue" EQ are extremely high quality professional native plugins

Dittio-Ditto-Ditto.Perhaps the money would be wiser spent on a proper pair of glasses,or adjusting your screen resolution(free).

Try TC Native's stuff. There is nothing better than that. It's kinda expensive, tho. Btw, even Kraftwerk's Fritz Hilpert uses TC Native DeX for mastering...

peace

iZotope Ozone all the way!

http://www.izotope.com/

Well, if you'd like a good alternative to the Timeworks EQ and also has the built-in spectrum analyzer, then you could look at iZotope Ozone. Of course, as a "mastering" plugin it also has a great deal more. But, I often find myself using Ozone for it's EQ and nice big user interface. I'd recommend Eqium/Firium, but their user interfaces are even tinier and probably harder to read than the Timeworks stuff.

There are numerous compressors available. I personally think very highly of the Waves Renaissance Compressor, but you'd have to buy the Renaissance Maxx bundle to get it. Various high quality freeware solutions are available too, like the digitalfishphones stuff... endorphin and blockfish. Voxengo makes amazing plugins that are also inexpensive. There's his linear phase CurveEQ as a mastering EQ and Sonic Finalizer for multiband mastering compression as well as his awesome L2 killing ( ) Elephant for brickwall limiting.

I'm sure there are many others that I'm forgetting. I'm looking forward to the upcoming VST effects section for K-v-R, if it ever becomes a reality

-Tronam

Matias wrote:

Wavearts Trackplug, it comprises Parametric eQ, Noise Gate, Compressor.

Finally, somebody who knows how to use the word "comprises" properly! I'm impressed.

Thanks for the tip on the plug, Matias.

Matias wrote:

Wavearts Trackplug, it comprises Parametric eQ, Noise Gate, Compressor. Really good one. www.wavearts.com

I like Trackplug as well. I didn't really need the compressor or gate, but I was impressed by the EQ when I tried out the demo. Particularly for surgical eqing using it's 'notch' filter. You can literally get down to thousandths of a cent! Amazing precision.

-Tronam

http://www.pspaudioware.com/

blankets of sound

dkistner wrote:

Matias wrote: Wavearts Trackplug, it comprises Parametric eQ, Noise Gate, Compressor. Finally, somebody who knows how to use the word "comprises" properly! I'm impressed. Thanks for the tip on the plug, Matias.

LOL Did I said something wrong? remember I don't "speak" english

I'd also like to mention TrackPlug. It's really a great plugin. I also use SONAR 2 XL with the Timeworks stuff, and I use TrackPlug much more frequently than I use the Timeworks plugins. It's a great sounding plugin that I can dial in the sound I want very quickly. It's also very CPU friendly. Even on some of the low-end systems you could probably use it as an insert on several tracks without really worrying about running out of horsepower.

I occasionally use the Timeworks EQ, but I was pretty dissappointed with the Timeworks compressor. If you spend enough time with it, you can usually get it to sound OK, but it always seems to take a lot longer to get dialed in. I can spend half an hour tweaking on it, get something I like, and then compare it to a sound that I've tweaked for two minutes with TrackPlug and the TrackPlug sound wins every time.

Matias wrote:

LOL Did I said something wrong? remember I don't "speak" english

No! A whole comprises its parts, which is just what you said. A whole is not "comprised of" its parts, which too many people say.

You speak English better than a lot of Americans I know.

trackplug trackplug, go buy trackplug

I mentioned PSP in this thread, but I use Trackplug the most. PSP has a wider variety of sound and I like to play with those when I have completed a song. I use Trackplug ALL the time and Masterverb also.

OH, Wavearts give s big discount if you are a teacher, I think it also applies if you are a student. (i'm a teacher )

Only music spoken here, sorry.

MDA Multiband.

Definitely love the Timeworks EQ that's bundled with 2XL....it's my favorite so far, and the built-in spectrum analyzer can be a god-send. IMHO worth getting new glasses for.

I like ths Timeworks compressor as well, but I don't find myself using it as much as mda's Dynamics (and sometimes mda MultiBand) compressor. I've said it before, I'll say it again: it somehow always seems to give me exactly the results I was looking for, with the least amount of effort.
On the other hand: the Timeworks Compressor does make a very nice brickwall.

Other compressores I like: PSP VintageWarmer, endorphin. All have their own unique flavors.

Just wanted to say many THANKS for responding / suggestions. Very much appreciated.

....and I just want to say THANKS to all those here who put me onto Wavearts stuff - Holy shimoli that Masterverb is phenomenal!....using really very small room settings (ie putting the blob in the very bottom left hand corner) you can really place different parts of your mix accurately in the 'front to back' axis, without deadening or filling the sound as all other reverbs seem to do.

Right, I'm off to try Trackplug.

deW

for compression check out:

http://www.db-audioware.com

and for EQ:

the one you got (Timeworks EQ) is one of the best

Two plugins I've been using in my mixes lately are Anwidasoft CX1V (compressor) and GEQ31V (EQ). They are nothing super fancy or amazing, but I find they do a good job and are light on the CPU.
hope this helps.

I'll second TC Native stuff - very useable (not cheap though, but better value for cash than Waves).

Eq - hold on with that one because PSP are supposed to be developing an Eq... if their other stuff is anything to go by, then their Eq should compete with the big boys. And when, oh, when are they going to release their reverb?
I've not really tried out the Voxengo Eq, but you see some good opinions of it around here.

And fairly cheap also is DSPFX - worth a look at - their packages include some pretty good other FX too.

Digilogue are always worth a look at.... nothing flash, but serious bread and butter tools.