OTT

New: Xfer updated the interface recently, plus the GUI is resizable now.

About OTT:

The plugin is build after a preset for Ableton Live's multiband compressor, with the intention of giving the same signature sound to producer who use different DAWs than Ableton Live.

Testing both in direct comparison, The sound is very close the original preset, but OTT is actually louder than its idol (+1.3 dB Peak, +0.8 integrated LUFS) and seems (maybe because of that) to have a thicker impression.

But also keep in mind that Ableton's multiband compressor has a lot more features than OTT. So if you use Ableton Live, you probably stick better with the actual preset and compressor plugin, because it offers additional features OTT doesn't.

The sound of OTT in general is very high-mid to high frequency attuenated, with a tendency to almost sounding harsh and hardly tame the low end. But which exactly seems to work quite well for certain synth sounds, which led to its major popularity during the 2010's.

'Depth' acts as dry/Wet, 'Time' seems to adjust how fast Attack/Release is working for all bands. 'IN Gain' and 'Out Gain' let you adjust the according volume.

Now what I am missing intensively, especially for such a complex effect (even if it is just a rebuild of a preset), is more explanations or tips about the use, work and relations of its parameters. OTT does not provide any clues or tips to guide and help to get along with it.

Bad. A reason more to better stick with the original, if you have access to it.

Another thing, many people complaining about is the non-linear phase cancelations which occur at the crossovers and led many to completely dig the plugin.

Take a look at the thread in the Xfer forum, where Steve Duda (the developer) gives response to it:
https://xferrecords.com/forums/general/ott-phase-rotation-fix

I personally share the same opinion that many other plugins do phase shifting as well and noone is complaing about it there either, but I also think it could give the plugin a better shape and lifespan, if he/they would consider updated 'OTT' in this manner.

Meh... I mean, it's all good but is not near as good as people say it is. It use is too specific and can be achieved with other plugins. I rarely use it but I guess it has its own sound quality.

On paper this is a compressor, but I honestly use it more like an equaliser. This plugin is able to take a 'dull' sound, and instantly make it 'brighter' and clearer in the mix, while also adding some punchiness. This is also in no small part due to the fact that it retains it's ease of use, without sacrificing utility of function. I can't imagine not having this handy dandy utility in my plug-ins library, and it is my opinion that every musician and producer should own this.

Synopsis:

Xfer OTT is an awesome tool for getting any instrument/loop more modern.

OTT is a 3-band compressor that works both upwards and downwards (that is, pulls quite sound up and pushes loud down). It was born out of somewhat famous Ableton compressor preset, but here you can finetune your effect to get just the thing you want. It can be barely visible, but people mainly use it to really pronounce something. Put a low-passed synth with some kind of subtle hi-freqs details in it ... and be blown away by what exactly multiband processing can get you this fast — and yes, for free.

Downsides:
- latency of 2 samples (so no parallel processing without extra gimmicks employed)
- somewhat noticeable CPU hit.

In other regards and if cooked right, it's simply awesome.
Besides getting a job done, it's an extreme fun: feed rather detailed, high-quality, but not "pushed" source to it and watch it transform drastically, in a good way.

A great sculpting utility that can become a to-go tool for modern music producers.
Absolutely recommended.

I use this in my master chain and it gives an expanded sound at 25% depth, 100% time, 0/0 gains, High/Med?Low at center, upw/downw 100% each. For a free effect from Xfer, the quality is extremely high. The High/Med/Low meters give a great representation of the levels so these bands can be adjusted as needed. I start with center for my master, but can use this OTT effect in a drum channel, for example, with adjustment of the Low band and get some incredibly deep kick drum sound from it. It really alters the sound if you adjust the depth very high, so I would suggest you put it in early in your development of a track, and keep it in the master chain throughout your process so you can hear what you are getting. Overall, this is a great effect for free from Xfer. There is no direct link on their page, so search it and find it or check here: https://xferrecords.com/freeware/