DMG or FabFilter

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Im going to be buying some mixing/mastering plug ins pretty soon and these are at the top of my list.
Runner up plug ins are, Ozone 6, and Waves.

What is your opinion on this plug ins? :) I need help making a purchase
-Tristan
MacBook Pro|MacOS Sierra|Bitwig Studio 2.0
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I too am interested in what people think about this. I demoed equality for a while but I always felt like it was too heavy to have on every track. I think the fabfilter stuff looks amazing, but it's pricy.

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I hear a lot of people like "DMG is so easy and FabFilter is confusing" I think the exact opposite. Ive think DMG has horrible, clunky GUI, but I hear everyone say DMG sounds so incredible and better than FabFilter. Im willing to adjust to DMG GUI in exchange for the great sound, but idk
-Tristan
MacBook Pro|MacOS Sierra|Bitwig Studio 2.0
UA Apollo Twin| EVE SC207 Monitors|ATH M50x|Focal Spirt Pro|Komplete 10|Push

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My favorite are:

1. Slate VTM, VBC, VCC, and VMR
2. Brainworx bx_XL V2 and bx_digital V2
3. iZotope Ozone 6

I use FabFilter Pro-Q 2 all the time for channel EQ. Best GUI ever, and probably the best EQ ever.
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My best advice is to simply demo products from both developers and decide for yourself. DMG has a very lenient demo policy and will sometimes give you more demo time if you ask them nicely. I'm sure Fabfilter would do the same as they are also very nice too.

If you got something like Equilibrium you would be pretty set as far as equalizers go, as it offer a lot of EQ curves which you can mix and match. The customization factor with Equilibrium or Compassion is amazing as well and can be as advanced or complex as you need which is different than Fabfilters (You see what you get) approach.

Both are very visual, but Fabfilter really emphasizes a quick workflow vs DMG audios highly customizable approach. Sometimes having more options will just overwhelm someone.

I should point out that Fabfilter and DMG Audio are both extremely focused on a clean modern sound for the most part. DMG Equilibrium does have the classic filter curves from old analog desks, but it does NOT incorporate soft saturation like some other classic EQs do. Fabfilter i think does have some, but its still very clean sounding.

*Edit*

With all the said I guess i would really go for Alloy2 + Ozone5 or 6. I've demoed fabfilter and DMG audio quite extensively and as much as i loved them i found them to be expensive for me right now. So i ended up getting Alloy2 + Ozone until i can save up and buy Equilibrium, Compassion etc.

Ozone6 is a mastering tool, so you'll find it has quite a bit of latency so only use it for finishing up your tracks after everything has been mixed. Alloy2 does zero latency mixing so it's a great tool for covering most of your main mixing needs and doesn't use that much CPU if you have a fairly modern computer.

Why i say this is, is i think Alloy2 is a great place to start as it incorporates all the things you need in one tidy package. The workflow might not be for everyone though, but it is nice for most mixing tasks and is more than capable of professional results when used with Ozone.

You could get individual plugins and basically make your own channel strip with fabfilter or DMG audio, but it boils down to the amount of complexity you desire or actually need.

In the end DMG Audio, Fabfilter, Izotope are all very good choices but it boils down to which is best for your workflow.
Last edited by V0RT3X on Sat May 23, 2015 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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V0RT3X wrote:My best advice is to simply demo products from both developers and decide for yourself. DMG has a very lenient demo policy and will sometimes give you more demo time if you ask them nicely. I'm sure Fabfilter would do the same as they are also very nice too.

If you got something like Equilibrium you would be pretty set as far as equalizers go, as it offer a lot of EQ curves which you can mix and match. The customization factor with Equilibrium or Compassion is amazing as well and can be as advanced or complex as you need which is different than Fabfilters (You see what you get) approach.

Both are very visual, but Fabfilter really emphasizes a quick workflow vs DMG audios highly customizable approach. Sometimes having more options will just overwhelm someone.

I should point out that Fabfilter and DMG Audio are both extremely focused on a clean modern sound for the most part. DMG Equilibrium does have the classic filter curves from old analog desks, but it does NOT incorporate soft saturation like some other classic EQs do. Fabfilter i think does have some, but its still very clean sounding.
I demoed both. I didn't like all the options that came with DMG honestly. It felt like I was setting up a whole new piece of software, however I do like the options and its something I value, just not necessarily in the was DMG presents them.
-Tristan
MacBook Pro|MacOS Sierra|Bitwig Studio 2.0
UA Apollo Twin| EVE SC207 Monitors|ATH M50x|Focal Spirt Pro|Komplete 10|Push

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Depends on your needs.

FabFilter for easy going from the start, visually pleasing and maybe the most well-thought-out GUI in the plugin world. If you're looking for simple but effective and transparent EQuing, it's definitely a top candidate.

DMG for endless flexibility and options (can be a bad thing I guess, if you're not patient with it :hihi:). You can customize pretty much everything from GUI, to dsp accuracy vs. CPU consumption, to phase response, etc. etc.

I think the way the DMG stuff is supposed to work is, you set it up in the beginning GUI and DSP wise, then create a bunch of presets for various different situations: general clean slate mix eq as default, maybe a couple more colourful ones for EQuing certain instruments and busses, and a hi-def one for mastering. Then you'll load those when needed and don't have to think the other stuff that's going on behind it.

If you really want to dig deep and pay attention to the sound of different curves and phase responses and get creative, DMG is the way to go. Also, you can learn a lot about these different aspects of EQ with it.

PS. I might be a little biased. Only you know your needs so demo both. :phones:
PPS. IMHO the DMG workflow in the graph mode with modifier keys can be even faster than Pro-Q. Right-drag band listen mode is awesome. =)

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I love fabfilters de-ess and gate. But for master tools I use a lot of toneboosters and stillwell. Better deal, better quality imo.

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Acon Digital's Equalize is also very interesting. I don't ow it and just played around with the demo mode but what I saw so far was really nice. The GUI is very clean and intuitive. It comes like Fabfilter's with a spectrum analyzer, but not in full screen mode or freezing function. Also there is no piano roll. The work flow, however is one of the fasted I ever saw. It has three differents latency mode, is very clean and not coloring offers step curves up to -120 dB. I think the amount of filters is lower than in EQ2 but for me there were more than enough. The overall price is a lot lower than the EQ2 (that is unless you have an education account for Fabfilter plugins, which offers 50% discount also on the bundles…)
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You can't go wrong with Pro Q 2... I can't think of one complaint I have with it :)

Spectrum grab and the full screen mode is so nice... the workflow / GUI is to die for in general.

Fab filter offers very nice discounts if you buy a bundle also :tu:
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I think you answered your own question with the comment on DMG. I don't find the interface of Equilibrium to be presented badly options wise, if you do then Fabfilter is the way to go.

I own Pro L, G, and C from Fabfilter and Equilibrium from DMG. Pro L is my goto limiter, colorless, and the analyzer lets you see how much you're bricking your audio. Equilibrium is IMO the best EQ out there followed very very closely by Pro Q.

You really can't go wrong with either company, Pro C and G also live up to my expectations, and if I didn't have so many great options for compression I would own Compassion from DMG. Having Pro C, various compressors from PSP, Nomad, and IK Multimedia I don't have a need.

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Fabfilter's products have been my go to for years now. I love them! Pro-Q, Pro-C, Pro-L and Pro-G and all amazing. Pro-Q is great for simple or complex stuff, and it goes as deep as I think I'll ever need an EQ to. But if I just want to do a quick high pass, it's great for that too.

I tried DMG Equilibrium a while back, and didn't really get it. There's tons of options, some of which will bring any computer to it's knees. But did it sound better for all that complexity? I don't know, I couldn't hear a difference. If I boosted a frequency, it sounded boosted, just like in any other EQ. Am I missing something here? Can anyone explain what's supposed to be so good about this plugin?

Pro-Q gets my vote, as it's good for pretty much all EQ tasks. The Mid/Side processing is great too, and I love that it has a built in analyser.

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ulisses wrote:Acon Digital's Equalize is also very interesting. I don't ow it and just played around with the demo mode but what I saw so far was really nice.
Amazing in mixed phase mode :hihi:
This entire forum is wading through predictions, opinions, barely formed thoughts, drama, and whining. If you don't enjoy that, why are you here? :D ShawnG

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2 years back? ..after pretty intensive comparisons I ended up blind testing 3 EQ plugins that I found sounded the best for go-to clean EQs.

I ended up with DMG EQuick and been using it ever-since as my go-to EQ.
A close 2nd wasn't FabFilter's EQ but...... DDMF IIEQ Pro (has a sound to it that's for sure)

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HamHat wrote:I love fabfilters de-ess and gate. But for master tools I use a lot of toneboosters and stillwell. Better deal, better quality imo.
Better quality? How? Do you refer to colored sound as better quality or what is better quality? Fabfilter have quality to it and really high! But fabfilter plugins are very neutral and do sound very uncolored and transparent! I am just curious, first time ive heard anybody say fabfilter quality is worse then toneboosters or stillwell! You might mean a tonal sound that you like better but actually im really Lost about your statement
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