Acustica Audio SAND British Console EQ/Buss Compressor

[AudioGuy720]

If you've ever wanted an authentic Ess Ess El mixing experience in the box, look no further.



Acustica Audio has you covered with two British equalizers (Black and Brown knob), two high/low pass filter types and two "glue" style quad British console compressors. Oh...and I almost forgot to mention EXTERNAL SIDECHAIN COMPRESSION!

Track, mix buss and compressor saturation? A plethora of routing options? It has that too. The price is quite nice as well.

[Zookes]

A demo or trial is available somewhere??? Not listed in products.

This website confuses me.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

There is a trial version (full working trial, it expires)
http://www.acustica-audio.com/index.php ... Itemid=189

There is also a commercial version.
http://www.acustica-audio.com/index.php ... Itemid=189

[AudioGuy720]

Yep...just go to the bottom of the page that Giancarlo linked to and click "Add to Cart". If you are brand new to Acustica plugins then watch this video and follow along after creating a user account and signing in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2MQrX9_Lvs

Once you do it the first time it is easy the next time. Well worth the trouble for the quality you get. The only thing the video does not mention is that you need to run your DAW in administrator mode if on a Windows system. And depending on which operating system you use, your .AUT/.SER files will be in different locations.

Giancarlo, thank you and your company fellows for another excellent release. You guys have knocked it out of the park and got a grand slam in 2016. My mixes have never sounded better and my confidence level has even helped with marketing to an extent.

[Zookes]

Thankyou for this offer of help. However shortly after my post before, I did find my brain somewhere after losing it.

To speak shortly, I will say this shopping and activation procedure was not so friendly and also such filesizes (1.1GiB+1.0GiB for update) for a plugin like this is unorthodox, but OK. Now I trial.


So trial version is not so good maybe. Findings from Cubase 8.5 on Win7-64:

+ GUI looks very nice from first load with no animation.
+ GUI is slow to respond in use, having 2-3s latency to toggle sections of EQ on/off or models.
+ Meters are sadly like choppy and not updated so often to be useful.
+ Some knobs snap to nearby value, but are visually smooth while using - makes precision impossible.
+ Very very high CPU usage for single plug-in; average 6-10% from each instance using Broadwell 6 core CPU and with nothing else in this project excepting audio stems. Ouch.
+ Automation and tweaking of any parameter is very very CPU intensive, using even just filter cutoff.
+ Altering module routing incurs very nasty performance spike, causing sometimes drop-outs.
+ No presets?

+ Not changing any parameters or automating anything, sound seems OK, tho not so impressive to say "wow" I think.

Similar like this using 64-bit of Reaper and Bitwig also.


OK. This SAND version I am using is lemons, I think. It must be.
Wrong files maybe? Debug build maybe? This cannot be a release being so bad after updating.
There is maybe some hardware device I should be using like UAD???
Maybe such issues is not included with purchased versions?

I wish to enjoy this plugin, but so painful for use being as it is.

[Burillo]

no, that pretty much describes any Nebula plugin

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

+ GUI is slow to respond in use, having 2-3s latency to toggle sections of EQ on/off or models.
+ Meters are sadly like choppy and not updated so often to be useful.
+ Some knobs snap to nearby value, but are visually smooth while using - makes precision impossible.
+ Very very high CPU usage for single plug-in; average 6-10% from each instance using Broadwell 6 core CPU and with nothing else in this project excepting audio stems. Ouch.
+ Automation and tweaking of any parameter is very very CPU intensive, using even just filter cutoff.
+ Altering module routing incurs very nasty performance spike, causing sometimes drop-outs.

this is the price you pay for a "sampled" approach. Basically we process gigabytes of data realtime.
Performances are a bit lower than using different approachs, cpu is higher.
On the other side, please evaluate the product honestly side by side with other similar console emulations.

Be honest. It is up to you if you want to pay this price (cpu, spikes) for this exact "sound quality".
I know there are other bus compressors around for example, please evaluate carefully if they are "alive" and don't feel like "plastic" or "ditigal" for the same exact task.
I encourage to try it.
Our customers tell us very often, a good single plugin can to the work of dozens because you feel the track never good enough. At the end even if a single plugin is less cpu intensive, you end with something which is really cpu intensive if you are going to add many instances of something wrong.

Last but not least, I think this is one of first bus compressors which really "glues" a bus in effortless ways (try it in insane mode). It never breaks, sometimes even hardware models fail for same tasks (we tried a dance track at low attack/release and high threshold, and a famous hardware bus compressor was going nuts). You need maybe a single instance. Normally on several consoles you have just one of them and they are even pretty limited compared with our implementation (for example they don't feature a modulation of attack shape).

+ No presets?

this is a presale/preorder version. For the first time we are also releasing a commercial version, so you can start using immediatly in your mixes since day one. There will be several updates, one of them will feature presets (we are working on them).

[AudioGuy720]

Nebula based plugins are definitely not for everybody. Unless you have a very powerful system, your workflow will change. Track freezing or bouncing to free up CPU. In the end, it's worth it (for me, anyway) over the cost savings of the real hardware.

[Zookes]

Thankyou for this explanation. I understand.

So honesty. I will be honest by what I know.
Using this, I am unable to hear improvement from A/B comparison to similar channel strips as Softube and Waves or even good parametric EQ with multiband saturation and filtering. Difference of character yes does exist for each, but only just different, and my opinion is it being not so much more good or bad of quality. I have not so good hearing maybe???

I am thinking anyway that such specific sound of hardware is less important to me than this simple fast easy workflow of tweaking few knobs and having nice results. Channel strips being nice for this - metering, EQ, filter, compression, character saturation from one page working together with good presets allowing useful starting for quick results. Must be fast and reliable to work like this for me.

Looking to SAND for this, I desire to enjoy so many character models from one page. No others offer such variety and flexibility. Very good design! But this is so expensive using so much CPU, so much latency, and GUI is not fast or reliable like is needed.

Maybe inherent values of such intricately developed products as this is lost to me, maybe I am unworthy for such things. Maybe also I have such bad hearing and being unable to appreciate the characters such that workflow concern becomes secondary. I cannot know.

Oh well. It is learned today I have bad ears and very picky workflow desires.
So such technology as this is not good for me, but maybe good for others. Hoping others will find joy using it how they use it.

[Stuart T]

This is a great plugin I like the eq and comps. It's a bit slow to respond but that's probably my computer and I was running lots of other plugins. 2012 iMac 16gb. The low eq is very good and the comp helps glue an already good mix. Good job acustica.

[bmanic]

Oh well. It is learned today I have bad ears and very picky workflow desires.
So such technology as this is not good for me, but maybe good for others. Hoping others will find joy using it how they use it.

It's indeed a big tradeoff with workflow vs quality. Here are a few audio examples that show what Sand is capable of. Just listen how clean the kick, snare and especially cymbals and hihat are. Just try it with any other SSL type plugin, you'll quickly notice how everything "gets smaller" and grainy.

Examples are from Addictive Drums, Indie kit.

Original Loop

EDIT: added 24bit 16bit file for original loop and the most extreme compression example ever created.

Original Loop (24bit 44.1kHz)

Impossible amounts of compression (24bit 44.1kHz)

Sand - Impossible amounts of gain reduction
Note how ridiculously clean the above example is. I dare you to get similar levels of GR with any other SSL type plugin compressor and still have this clean audio, especially the way the hihat and cymbals are still intact. It was more than 16dB of compression.

Sand - Heavy Parallel Compression

Sand - Choked Kick, using sidechain routing tricks

Sand - Dominating kick, here I force the compressor to make the kick the dominant drum in the loop

Sand - Basic drumbus punch

Sand - Almost invisible yet nice compression, notice how it glues the loop very nicely

Sand - Typical SSL 30ms attack setting for drumbus punch

I understand that it can take a while to really hear these benefits but trust me.. they are there.

Cheers!
bManic

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

Appreciated... They are very good, especially the choked and the impossible
The choked is very daft punk style

[Zookes]

Oh well. It is learned today I have bad ears and very picky workflow desires.
So such technology as this is not good for me, but maybe good for others. Hoping others will find joy using it how they use it.

It's indeed a big tradeoff with workflow vs quality. Here are a few audio examples that show what Sand is capable of. Just listen how clean the kick, snare and especially cymbals and hihat are. Just try it with any other SSL type plugin, you'll quickly notice how everything "gets smaller" and grainy.

Sand - Impossible amounts of gain reduction
Note how ridiculously clean the above example is. I dare you to get similar levels of GR with any other SSL type plugin compressor and still have this clean audio, especially the way the hihat and cymbals are still intact. It was more than 16dB of compression.

Why dare???
This is a contest? I do not understand.

Yes, many compressors I have capable for such tasks, but they are not within channel strips like this. This is besides any point.

First complaint of mine is not sound quality, it is usability. SAND has OK sound, this is no argument. SAND has also not so good CPU use and such limited automation capability resulting, and this is not OK for me.

You are pleased by this plug-in as it achieves requirements for your work situations. I congratulate you for this. It is good for you, and this is good also.

I am unpleased by this plugin while it does not achieve requirements for my work situations. I will have no congratulations, it is not good for me, but this is good also also.



No contest is meant here. I say only I am not compatible with this plugin.

[bmanic]

I'm not here to convert you, I just wanted to highlight and answer your question if the plugin sounds better than other similar plugins (you DID ask this question in your original post). The answer is "yes", in my opinion. It does indeed sound better. By quite a margin.. and I think I demonstrated it quite well with the audio examples.

The "I dare you to.." line was written with tongue in cheek. It's not meant to take literally. The point was: You are very skilled and have found a magic plugin if you find any other candidate that can do this kind of compression so cleanly, without losing the original signals integrity.

The workflow issues that come with using Nebula/Aqua technology are real hurdles. I completely agree with you there. I too do not use 100% Aqua/Nebula stuff (though I do use them a lot) because of this very reason. My most used plugin is FabFilter Pro-Q, a "run of the mill" EQ plugin. Why? Because it's so damn pleasant and quick to use. I get instant results.

Do I think it is compromising my audio signals? Yes.. more so than some of the high end Aqua and Nebula programs but for every day tasks it is enough.. and the consumer in the end doesn't really care.

[logburner]

Examples are from Addictive Drums, Indie kit.

Hi bmanic,

Thanks for the comparison files! They do seem to show what sort of compression duty Sand is capable of and they sound excellent!

Just one favour to ask you if you don't mind. Is it possible to upload some more versions with other buss compressor plugins (like Glue, MJUC, SSL Duende, Slate VBC, etc..) and maybe a hardware compressor if you own any, with heavy gain reduction applied? I think such comparison would make the difference even more evident.