IK Black 76, White 2A, EQP-1A, Vintage 670 alternatives?

[J4R1O]

Hi,

I'm about to sell my T-RackS Grand licence, so please suggest me some good alternatives to replace the IK modules Black 76, White 2A, EQP-1A and Vintage Compressor Model 670.

Already downloaded Stillwell's The Rocket (demo) and TRIED to download Cakewalk's CA-2A but they sent me a broken link.

Any other nice plug-ins I should try? I know there are many options (Waves, Softube, Native Instruments, etc.), but something similiar (or even better!) to those IK versions would be nice.

PS. Have to skip UAD stuff for being too expensive.

Thanks!

[Keith99]

Slate's VBC console collection is very nice and has a Fairchild 670 type compressor, they did have a sale on but it may be over by now

[Eddie TX]

Some suggestions:

1176: NI VC76
LA2A: NI VC2A
Pultec: OverToneDSP PTC-2A
Fairchild: OverToneDSP FC70

Cheers,
Eddie

[Burillo]

why are you selling it in the first place if the first thing you want to do afterwards is to find the same thing from a different vendor?

[chokehold]

why are you selling it in the first place if the first thing you want to do afterwards is to find the same thing from a different vendor?

Maybe he's just had it with IK, like so many others?

@topic:

That CA-2A is great, I love it! Unfortunately, it currently crashes Reaper on exit (Mac) so I find myself inserting others more often. Not really LA-2A-ish but somewhat similar to control is the McDSP Retro Limiter, a nice and easy tool for making things loud quickly. I think JRRShop currently fling them for change. Caveat: iLok.

A true gem too seldomly suggested is the Focusrite Midnight comp, very versatile and can do anything from soft to heavy. The Midnights are NOT just the red Focusrite plugins re-skinned (didn't like them), they're entirely different beasts. I think they're currently on sale somewhere, definitely worth checking out the "usual suspects" online retailers.

I've fallen in love with the Glue lately, can make everything loud but gets somewhat too harsh for me when the clipping starts to kick in. Another (but more) SSL-ish all time fav of mine is the Vertigo VSC2 plugin, if you run a modest input through it, squash it a little and then use the make-up, it seems to somewhat saturate, but a lot more gently than the Glue.

I always used the IK Black 76 on drums' room tracks, it could squash the living hell out of them. I've since moved on to Eventide's Omnipressor, much more versatile and "safe" because of the clipping/saturation (better than in the Glue) - but you've really got to know what you're doing.

Also have the NI Compressors, and although they're great to have, I tend to prefer others over them. They're all somehow rather characterless, and their GUIs look rather bland. That said, I think the NI SSL Dynamics plugin is superb.

EDIT: I forgot about the Overtone plugins. Gave them a thorough test and compared them to similar plugins from IK, NI et al., but they didn't hold up too well. The Overtone Pultec sounded too harsh, IK's is way better, and the same goes for the Fairchilds. They have demos, try them yourselves. I'm a little wary of Overtone anyway, they've got their website all stuffed with "uses our own analogue blablabla", yet I was able to null any setting on their 500 series EQ with ReaEQ down to -80dBfs or even lower in a matter of seconds. (just like I could with FabFilter ProQ, but that's another topic)

[J4R1O]

Slate's VBC console collection is very nice and has a Fairchild 670 type compressor, they did have a sale on but it may be over by now

Yes, I have VBC and I love it. I quess I just want a pure Fairchild 670 clone (and 660) without MU integration. And talking about MU I also have NI Vari Comp but I haven't used it yet (got it yesterday).

[4damind]

NI (Softube) for LA2A and 1176 (and DBX 160). I use them in all my productions after testing IKM/Waves... Waves CLA is also a very good option but they are not cheap. Sometimes they have great offers but I had not the time to wait/search for such a offer...

[J4R1O]

why are you selling it in the first place if the first thing you want to do afterwards is to find the same thing from a different vendor?

Yeah, I know... But the thing is that Grand includes just too many plug-ins I don't use at all and if there's someone who wants to own Classic bundle, Quad Series, and those vintage modules, etc. I'm happy to sell the whole bundle and find something else to replace them.

I'm not gonna stop using IK stuff, no. Like I said I'd like to keep Bus Compressor and I use Metering on every project. I also use AmpliTube a lot and just purchased CSR Invert (and got Room for free).

[J4R1O]

Some suggestions:

1176: NI VC76
LA2A: NI VC2A
Pultec: OverToneDSP PTC-2A
Fairchild: OverToneDSP FC70

Cheers,
Eddie

Thanks!
I'm gonna demo those NI's soon...
OverTone... well, I demoed FC70 and didn't like it too much - for some reason.

[J4R1O]

NI (Softube) for LA2A and 1176 (and DBX 160). I use them in all my productions after testing IKM/Waves... Waves CLA is also a very good option but they are not cheap. Sometimes they have great offers but I had not the time to wait/search for such a offer...

Thanks! Yes, I'm gonna demo those NI plug-ins. And maybe Waves (just to compare).

[J4R1O]

That CA-2A is great, I love it!

Yes, I have the PC-2A, but VST would be nice (and the upgrade is only 19 euros). If I only get a working link to download the demo...

[J4R1O]

I always used the IK Black 76 on drums' room tracks, it could squash the living hell out of them.

What comes to squashing the living hell... I use Soundtoys Devil Loc.

And yeah, thanks for your post! Just finished reading it. Will check out some of those plug-ins you mentioned...

[Eddie TX]

Some suggestions:

1176: NI VC76
LA2A: NI VC2A
Pultec: OverToneDSP PTC-2A
Fairchild: OverToneDSP FC70

Cheers,
Eddie

Thanks!
I'm gonna demo those NI's soon...
OverTone... well, I demoed FC70 and didn't like it too much - for some reason.

I might add that the Waves CLA comps are worth a demo as well. The bundle is occasionally offered for close to $100 if you can wait.

Nomad Factory makes a good Pultec emulation ("Pulse-Tec") and a decent Fairchild (LM-662). It pays to wait for deals on those, too.

Cheers,
Eddie

[FreddyBLNG]

For an 1176 emulation try Hornet Multicomp. Here is a comparison between the Softube FET and Multicomp: http://youtu.be/TlmGGVk0fqE

It's reall great, cheap and has another two compression types!

[J4R1O]

I might add that the Waves CLA comps are worth a demo as well. The bundle is occasionally offered for close to $100 if you can wait.

Nomad Factory makes a good Pultec emulation ("Pulse-Tec") and a decent Fairchild (LM-662).

I demoed Waves JJP Analogue (PuigChild + PuigTec EQP-1A and MEQ-5 EQ) last night and I think I found what I was looking for. PuigTecs are on sale right now ($70), so that deal is a no-brainer.

Also tried Nomad Pulse-Tec (too expensive, and I also have some doubts what comes to Nomad plug-in's quality), Stillwell Rocket and NI Vintage Compressors (also too expensive). I like Stillwell Rocket a lot. Though there was a slight anomaly when I inserted Rocket on drum bus; the plug-in was blank grey - no graphics, nothing. And it only happened when I tried it on that one specific project I've been working on. I guess there might be some weird interaction with the other inserted plug-ins.

Also compared PuigChild and IK Model 670. Well, first I noticed that PuigChild is a few db's louder (not sure if that's a good thing) and what comes to M/S capabilites, PuigChild is a winner. Model 670 was kinda muffled compared to PuigChild and there was some significant loss at high frequencies even I had the same settings. Wish it was on sale right now. I guess I just have to wait...

So, my choices are: Waves PuigTec and PuigChild (when it's on sale), Stillwell Rocket and maybe Cakewalk CA-2A (if they send me a proper link to download and demo it).


P.S. T-RackS Deluxe + Grand UPG licences for sale (also iZotope Ozone 5). Check out the Market Place if interested...