give me your advice on Acustica Audio

[AudioGuy720]

. It's those pesky low end microphone, low end instrument, low end preamp, low end converters, and low end room acoustics tracks that really benefit from Acustica Audio plugins.

theres huge amount of digital artifacts tied to algo plugin world...and theres even bigger amount of digital artifacts tied to Nebula sampling approach - only these artifacts are new and very different and it takes a lot of time and pain to realize this fact...nebula church doesnt want to hear this

Giancarlo answered very thoroughly. The old Acustica is dead. Nebula technology has improved tremendously even in just a couple years. I think all of the issues with EQs are solved and now compression + metering are left to be tackled.

but crap in crap out rule still apply here so you simply CANNOT expect to record with low end hardware and use Nebula as a fairy dust to make resulting mix great...this snake oil kind of marketing is silly in the long run and even the most stupid person in audio world will - in the end - find that buying decent hw for tracking is much more preferred option than spending crazy amounts of money for some "magical" but useless software...

I never said Acustica plugins would turn crap into gold. Just that this is where the big difference between run of the mill algorithm EQs are concerned. The extreme cuts/boosts and that "3D effect" most of them add...like real hardware does.

Had you quoted me fully, you would see that I agree. Better hardware matters. If you can find a place to buy an API 550a, 550b, 560, 5500 and 2500 for $200 please let me know!

[kvaca]

sorry for short answers, but my time is limited

Giancarlo answered very thoroughly.

yes, I must admit he is good at marketing+I have zero need to continue useless debate with him

The old Acustica is dead

I was not talking about old Acoustica at all

Nebula technology has improved tremendously even in just a couple years

yes, more artifacts and bugs were added as a "features"

If you can find a place to buy an API 550a, 550b, 560, 5500 and 2500 for $200 please let me know!

if you find a 200$ sw which sounds an behaves exactly the same as their hw counterpart /and not necessarily some expensive ones like your mentioned/, please let me know!!! - And this time I am eager to see and hear decent AB audio examples /Nebula etc. vs THE SAME brand of hw!/ from AA...

[sales@acusticaudio.net]

Hello people , i have seen a lot of time some news about new product / update ... of acustica audio , are they overpriced ? is there something different than the waves / cubase plugin ?

Thx

Hello Jeniza,

Considering all that has been said by others here, I believe that you deserve a detailed and honest answer.

Let me start with admitting the fact as someone who is paid by Acustica Audio to do PR and marketing (as of Dec 2017) I must be biased by definition. However, without willing to turn this post into something personal, I will tell you that I fist got in touch with Giancarlo (CEO/CTO) some 6 years ago, as I was a happy customer who could hear his tech something, which was not identical (and frankly not as good) as the HW boards I was using on a daily basis at the time (4 x Neves and 3 x SSLs). However, to me what the Nebula tech was offering, with all of its quirks and inconveniences, was something much closer to HW and certainly very different from all other plug-in alternatives I have used since 1996. As a result of this I later became one of the internal plug-in developers at AA and as of recently I do also what I am doing here right now.

The second thing I should admit is that our tech does not come without some drawbacks and that we as a company still have a long way to go. Yes, there are a lot of things that can be improved! What maters most to us on the team though is that we put all of our hearts in what we do and that in the past 3 years Acustica grew from what was a one man hobby to a steady and constantly improving company.

Now, I understand that the whole point of forums is so that people can give their opinions, but really, the best way for you to build an opinion about the value of what we do and its sound is to test it for yourself. If you browse through all of the replies here you will see some very negative and some very positive ones, a few that are in-between. However, one of the very negative attacks is coming from someone who have just registered an account here on KVR and hides behind a nickname (makes you think, doesn't it?), others are based on problems, which we have already overcome or we are in the process of fully eliminating, and YES, there are some that are of real problems!

But I can also give you a long list of issues that have been solved in the past few years and things that have largely improved. It is the natural process of making something as complicated as running a plug-in company in an oversaturated market with limited resources, while relying on your own cutting-edge and YES unique for the market development approach...

And if you feel like it, please have browse also through this post on Gearslutz, which is about our latest release Pink2. Certainly all of those people who say that what we've done with this release is just absolutely amazing cannot all be paid fake users or beta testers! And frankly, usually it is GS where we get lambasted if people are unhappy with something...
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-pro ... ore12.html

Back to Pink2 - it sounds amazing! Sure, don't take my words for granted - I am the marketing guy but why not try it for yourself? Would you believe your own judgement more than that of people on the internet who you don't know (incl. myself and all the guys who said good things about us)? I personally prefer to test things for myself!

If you ask me, I'd say, give either the Ruby EQ (a D.W. Fearn officially endorsed VT5 emulation) or the Pink2 bundle (5 x EQ, single band comp, multi band, lots of circuit colours) a go. Both of these products already benefit from our latest development, which we call Core12. To put it in simple words - the so called ‘echo bug’ and other ‘ringing artifacts’ as mentioned in some of the posts here are now completely gone, a thing of the past. At the bottom of this post I have included a step by step guide on how to install trials for these...

And if I may answer to your question about the price of these. You will find that they vary. For example Ruby is one of our most expensive plug-ins at price of €235. That is comparable to the prices of companies such as UAD. The reason for this is that we did it in collaboration with Mr Fearn and his HW EQ is priced at $9150 - so it is what makes sense from a marketing perspective. However, Pink 2 delivers for a lower price (€199 after the current presale/public beta period) a lot more than most other companies would provide you with. I dare to say it is actually very, very cheap for what it offers! You can compare and see all of our prices here:
http://www.acustica-audio.com/store/marketplace

I am not saying that there aren’t any cheaper alternatives. I am also not saying that you cannot make great music with your stock plug-ins that come with your DAW. However, non of these use the technology on which our plug-ins are based. That is that what we do relies on dynamic sampling of the real gear (a bit like Kontakt instruments are sampled from the real deal and then the sample packs are executed by the sampler). And in the end of the day, I don't care if my customers or fans will hear the difference between mp3 and WAV, or 44k and 96k recording, or a 1073 pre and a cheap interface pre. I hear it and it makes me more inspired and happy when mixing to do it in a better way! It also gives me the satisfaction that I've done the best job, which I could (or at least I've made the attempt to)! In the end everything that can be done in the name of better music is worth the push!

Now think about this. Hardware gear has a lot of specific distortions, peculiarities, imperfections - I’d say that each of those boxes has its own soul. What we do is to extract those our of the real gear, instead of trying to emulate them with math formulas or by rebuilding these as electronic systems in the digital domain.

Of course, we are not hiding that our products are more CPU / RAM heavy than the regular stuff out there. There is a simple reason for this - all of our signal paths are based on FIR filters (as opposed to what most other companies use, which is IIR filters). If you open any book on DSP you will see that in general FIR filters are considered to be more accurate and allow for a great deal of flexibility when it comes to the phase of the signal. However, they are far more CPU demanding than an IIR filter. And in something like the Ruby EQ there are 2500+ samples - it is normal that these plug-ins are large in size and need more RAM.

For this same reason, it is also normal that there is a slight delay when switching from one setting to another, as the plug-in has to load a bunch of new samples. However, as I will explain below, all of these drawbacks are becoming less and less intrusive in your mix workflow, simply as newer computers are becoming faster and can handle all this in a much better way.

Now you may ask, why is it that we are using this approach and others aren’t? Well, lets think about some of those big name companies that exist for, say, 15, some, 20+ years. Back in the day when I started mixing I had a 66MHz CPU, 16MB of RAM and a 230MB HDD. On a computer like this you simply won't be able to even run a single band of one of our most basic EQs. But those early developers, for whom I have a great deal of respect, had to find a way to deliver something that could be used with such computer specs.

Now, since than such companies have certainly improved their tech. Still, a few rely on this FIR approach, which we have adopted right from the start in 2003 (and if they do, they use very simplified versions of it). Imagine that once you have adopted and development an approach which is working and is selling, it would be difficult to find a reason to migrate something as problematic and resources demanding as what we do. On top of this, I'd dare to say that to mature such tech will take years of beta testing and debugging.

More importantly, even until recently it was impossible to mix a big project entirely relying on our software, without the need to freeze/commit tracks. But we are looking in to the future, not the past!

As it was mentioned by Zaphod already, CPU speed is increasing quite a lot all the time. In some cases it is not only the CPU clock speed, but the way these are build and the instructions they have built inside that help a lot (also in relation to hyper-threading). Let me give you an example.

On my MacBook Pro 15” top of the range specs at 96kHz in Pro Tools HD12.8 I can run 40 of our Lime Compressors. On the 2017 model (again top specs) I managed to run 80. Double! Of course, the SSD inside is faster (quicker load), the RAM is faster (quicker to access), the CPU cache is faster, the clock speed is just a tiny bit faster. But nonetheless, this is a giant step up!

And in Reaper, this figure goes up, as not everything depends on us. The way the DAW handles hyper-threading and other processes also matter big time. Luckily DAW manufacturers are realising the need for such improvements in their environment and simply things are getting better all the time!

Also, at 44k, those figure will probably double!

If you look at all this, I guess you will understand why our software is becoming more and more popular - it simply wasn’t a thing to mix on some years ago. It was too heavy. Our tech wasn't perfected. Hell, we didn't even support AAX and 64 bit architecture and the latency was a true nightmare. In fact, when the first ever Nebula plug-in by Acustica did come out, it was only possible to use it in offline render/bounce mode, not in realtime. But it is the SOUND that makes us unique and the reason why we are still around and keep on growing! And I dare anyone who is navigate towards what we do - give Pink2 or Ruby a go - it is worth the time guys!

I hope this brings some clarity to your questions. Peace and music to all!

And here is how to trial our latest products:
1) Register an account here:
http://acustica-audio.com/store/signup
2) Download Aquarius, which is our new assistant application to handle downloads, installations, updates and soon it will become a lot more:
http://acustica-audio.com/pages/aquarius
3) Run Aquarius, a pop-up window will appear - login (note that you should use your e-mail address as your username!)
4) Once logged-in, click on the little gear-like icon on the top right of Aquarius to go to the 'Settings' page. In this page go to the 'Coupons' tab. Enter the code: “LASTTRIALS” to automatically activate trials into your account for the latest Acustica plug-ins .
5) Click on the 'Purchased' tab (situated at top center of the screen). Select the desired plugin format and then click on 'Install' button. At this point Aquarius will automatically download and authorize the product at the end of the installation process. (Note that x86 is for 32bit version of the application and x64 is for the 64bit version. Trials as fully fictional for a period of 4 weeks, but not compatible with the commercial version - if you have questions, ask. I am here to help.)

Cheers,
Nik Georgiev
on behalf of Acustica Audio

[jbarish]

Completely biased sales pitch. You should be charged for running an advertisement in this forum. And like most ads it's full of half truths and hyperbole that just "coincidently" favor AA. It's also the same retreading of AA excuses, 'It's not our fault out software doesn'r run more efficiently, it's either the CPU's not being powerful enough or it's your DAW". You don't hear any other manufacturer using these weak excuses. And that should tell you ALOT.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

Completely biased sales pitch. You should be charged for running an advertisement in this forum. And like most ads it's full of half truths and hyperbole that just "coincidently" favor AA. It's also the same retreading of AA excuses, 'It's not our fault out software doesn'r run more efficiently, it's either the CPU's not being powerful enough or it's your DAW". You don't hear any other manufacturer using these weak excuses. And that should tell you ALOT.

no man, we should charge YOU for running this advertisement, because each time you reply and you force us too answer you are basically pushing our sales.

[plexuss]

Completely biased sales pitch. You should be charged for running an advertisement in this forum. And like most ads it's full of half truths and hyperbole that just "coincidently" favor AA. It's also the same retreading of AA excuses, 'It's not our fault out software doesn'r run more efficiently, it's either the CPU's not being powerful enough or it's your DAW". You don't hear any other manufacturer using these weak excuses. And that should tell you ALOT.

no man, we should charge YOU for running this advertisement, because each time you reply and you force us too answer you are basically pushing our sales.

I highly doubt that.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

there are legends, and there are facts...
The situation would be completely different if I was answering badly.
The point, we are replying to your concerns explaining our point of view, and we are polite.
Someone attacked and we just answer our point of view.
The final result is a thread speaking about acustica audio visible as first thread in the effect forum. The haters will continue being haters, they will not change their mind, but new possible customers are more aware about our pros and cons. I will not lie, we are not perfect, but we are bringing something different and new on the table. Today hate and love are different feelings of the same thing, it means there is interest about what we are doing. The worst enemy is the complete lacking of interest in what someone is doing.

"If It Doesn’t Matter Whether It’s Good Or Bad, Just As Long As They’re Talkin’About Ya’"

[jbarish]

Because anyone with a poor experience with your company and attempts to hold you accountable for your BS is "attacking" you. You're not a clown. You're a pathological liar, an asshole of a business owner and f**king idiot.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

no, because facts. He bought products and he prefers to not be refunded and he thinks it is better to suggest others to not buy.
It's like when you say a thing but the action is the opposite. He is doing the same about Apple, but he obiously doesn't like Windows either.
About attacks: they are not attacks each time they are polite concerns, but some of them are not. If you want really to create a problem you should describe exactly what you don't like, technically.... you said we have "half truths", instead of "half lies", possibly because you know they are "truths" after all.
Seriously, in all this topic, which is the problem? the "poor experience" for you which is considered "quite good" by someone else?

[plexuss]

Because anyone with a poor experience with your company and attempts to hold you accountable for your BS is "attacking" you. You're not a clown. You're a f**king idiot.

And dont buy all this "we are so night" BS from AA - seach the Effects forum for two locked threads about AA. you will see the shilling, the doxing etc where they post personal information out of their customer database in public forums. Let alone the lame excused for their shitty code, UX and customer support. It's all pretty much BS.

Demo their products, read the forums, make up your own mind. But be warned not to take AA at face value.

AA dont you have better things to do, like fix bugs?

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

plexuss, if you want someone believes you, you should stop using our products completely.
At this point we all will believe you. If you really think apple is a bad company you should move to windows. Seriously.
First rule: do what you think other people should do.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

You're not a clown. You're a pathological liar, an asshole of a business owner and f**king idiot.

You see? This is a personal attack
A good example.
Pay attention, I can sue you. In Italy they give to me not less then 3000 eur and there is the jail. It is defamation.
An international legal action could cost to you the money of your house.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation

just take in account the number of users reading what you wrote and you'll have an idea about your position.

[djscorb]

Ad hom attacks display a total lack of respect and only serve to show that you've run out of fair points and the ability to have a rational argument or conversation.

I think the couple of posts above from Acustica show that they have come a long way in recent years and have humility enough to admit shortcomings whilst demonstrating the passion needed to push their technology and company to where it needs to be going forward.

I am far from an Acustica fanboy as I only have a couple of their products. Some of the criticism thrown in their direction on here and GS has been fair enough, but some of you are stepping way over the line and attacks like the above only reflect badly on the attacker.

Pretty sad.

[hivkorn]

What a mess !
I don t expect this kind of reply when i created th topic ! I just wanted to know if the plugins are good !

[jbarish]

Ad hom attacks display a total lack of respect and only serve to show that you've run out of fair points and the ability to have a rational argument or conversation.

Funny, I thought that point was reached when you threaten to sue someone.

Pretty sad.

Indeed