Product Reviews by KVR Members

I am a long time fan and owner of many eareckon plugins. I have a mac and a PC and on my mac i have ableton pro tools logic and reaper. pc basically the same except logic. now I don't do beats much and when i do i use my mac because of logic but often times i do do live performances or help friends with there live music setup. now as a guitar player i find bio expander a great way to work when im practicing or doing live sound stuff on my pc. I know lots of people say ableton for live but i kinda only have it because when I got into SAE it came with tuition.

I love how this is for windows both 32 and 64bit. The stability is fantastic and not to mention how I can choose to setup channels to mix life sound make a guitar emulation or even work with midi. Latency is not a issue with this program and the way it handles CPU load thanks to 64bit is great.

You can do many many things including saving your setup as a preset so when lets say you do one song need to move on to the next you can just load it up and away you got. the interface is maybe a little big and bulky if you like everything super tiny but for my bad eyes its perfect in the dark.

besides that I would say its pretty dope for those of us who dont like that flat weird look of ableton. dont get me wrong ableton is great for DJ's and stuff but im a pro tools guy and this works better for live sound for me. PS i mean real live sound instruments singers stuff like that for bands and stuff.

ratings

looks 10/10 because the way it looks makes my eyes not bleed in the dark

workflow 9/10 takes a quick minuet to get but once its got its got

stability 10/10 hasn't crashed on me once yet.

preset no need

compatibility 7/10 i give it a 7 because its both 32 and 64bit but no mac and that would make it just perfect for me"HINT"

manual all eareckon plugins have very nice manuals 10/10

overall 8.5 out of 10 because no mac but it works great and I love it.

this thing is amazing. and its FREE.

now first of lets start out with saying its a Variety Of Sound plugin. As we all should know this is a well known name and well respected. yes its only 32bit and not mac compatible and that is why I could not give it its full 10 that it deserves. But the quality of this things is amazing.

lets start by giving a basic talk about what it is. its basically a parallel eq/harmonic enhancer/exciter

with 2 modes one black with -18 set at the level to mix at basically for people like me who use VU meters for gain staging. and the blue with 0 for louder signals.

it has a low shelf mid bell and a high shelf.

now how does this sound.

FANTASTIC

super nice give grit punch and life to tracks that need it and really can sound smooth and subtle when wanted to. drive I notice adds volume and overall gain to the input and output helps you dial back down.

Mojo is basically a way to emulate the destruction of the signal. the idea is that analog gear degrades a signal to give it its coloration basically.

how does this all add up well very well. I notice the quality of this thing is way above what some big expensive plugin brands would charge for over the top hyped plugin.

this actually is usable in subtle to over drastic ways. and I notice its hard to get a bad sound of it.

as far the rating

sound quality 10/10

ease of use 10/10

CPU 8/10 I only give it this because I notice for it having no oversampaling and no 64bit support its slightly high on weaker systems. now on mine it would take maybe a few hundred instanced to even notice but just saying for weaker systems.

price 10/10 its FREE I would pay a pretty penny for this!

Looks 10/10 very nice.

compatibility 8/10 its 32bit only but no problems bridging at all so thats a plus but no mac version so im missing out on my mac book :(

I bought this collection maybe a month ago after buying my complete 8 and hearing a lot of buzz about it on Youtube and trying it out myself.in all honesty i wish it was just slightly lower in price. but I feel like it is well worth the price paid.the quality of each plugin is incredible and very very nice to look at.now also they are all super stable and have given me no problems what so ever
lets start off with the passive eq.
The Passive eq from the looks and feel is a nice emulation of the massive passive.it even has how every band can be a shelf or bell. now what i find is impressive with this eq is how amazingly smooth it is. perfect for mastering and even great for mixing.CPU hit is from what I have noticed small not tiny but more like slightly more than small. that is on my macbook pro 2.9gzh with 8 gigs of RAM running pro tools 10,ableton live 8, reaper, and logic pro.(all legit might I add)and on my PC a custom built PC with 3.6GHZ quad core I7 and 16gigs of RAM.the hit is basically tiny and not a big deal at all. on the pc i have reaper, pro tools 10 and sequoia.the Mid Side controls are it are really nice and come in handy when needed. so far I find it impossible to really make this ever sound harsh or shrill. super smooth filters and just a dream to work with.
The enhanced eq.now I am taking a guess and saying its a emulation of a pultec because of the way the boost and cuts work. now this little power house is basic a boost for low and cut at the same frequency and a boost bell for high or mids. where it gets interesting is the high damp it feels like it should be called. its basically a filter super smooth and extra gentle low pass filter. I find this super nice on kicks or getting a nice final eq bump when needed. and often times really does get used more in my mixing on tracks more than anything else. CPU hit is pretty small and again does not sound bad easly but I find you can get thing to sound a little to sharp or muddy with to much of a boost.
Now for the Vari Compressor
this thing KICKS ASS
I just have to put that first. Now this compressor will never be great for that super fast super squashed sound if that's what you want. yes you can squash the hell out of something with the limiter switch. but its more a mastering or a smooth gentle compressor. a few db of reduction and i get a super smooth "gel" sound is great CPU hit is good. Now for the real reason I think this thing just kick ass is the side chain can be both internal and external with a low end or High Pass detector mode to it. now why is this awesome? well when you start compression and hitting it harder you can really get the bass end to pump or sound dope if you squash the hell out of it.(personally I don't like pumping bass but i don't do electronic music) now after you get the bass or just the normal signal compressed like crazy you can lower the output and use the dry knob to give the original signal back into it. what I like about it is that well its like using it for parallel compression but with more control. you have the dry knob to set the level to about where you would like it and you can gently add that compressed squashed beefy tone and body of the mix or tone back in just enough to add some energy and power into whatever you want the mix the kick the sound the mix. and keep your dynamics in tact but have that nice body to thicken the mix up.

Now for the scoreing

manual its there and easy to understand. not really needed though. 10/10

CPU Hit small not really much on my end but might not be great for older computers with little CPU to spare. and there is little latency on the compressor i think it was. 9/10

sound quality is amazing 10/10

ease of use 10/10

presets 10/10 now here is where its kinda cool they are usable ones actually in the ballpark of where a good recording might need it.

looks 10/10 basically looks super nice.

and that's about it i would say 9.8 out of 10

edit also one thing after testing is they all add some harmonic distortion except the enhance eq. weird to me so that is one thing i am actually going to email them and ask about but they sound great and work well.

I tried this thing about 2 months ago thought it was okay.

but after really getting into it I notice its a damn good free reverb. not one that might be your go to for every application but its pretty good for when you need a simple easy to setup reverb.

I like how it can be set to really really dark almost to dark or super bright personally the dark is why i use it.

this reverb has super low CPU hit and its free so i cant see why not give it a try.

the way this reverb mainly works is you choose the size of the room then the diffusion of it with a fader after that you can choose pre-delay and the color of it. there is also a gate with full controls. after that you get wet and try faders. so if you need it for a aux send or just a insert it will work quick and easy. the reverb sounds alright not as much charictar as most other reverbs i use but its a good basic reverb easy to setup and actually usable in many applications i recommend at least tying it out its free and works well. the reverb look is simple and quick to get a hold of but not fancy if that is what you look for to bad. but if you listen with your ears and not your eyes then it should be okay and find itself is a few applications in the least.

Ease of use: 10

GUI design(way its setup) :10

GUI look(is it fancy) about a 7 honestly i like its simple look.

CPU use: 10

stability: 10

presets: 8 they have em they are pretyt good but who needs em when its easy to set your own.

recommended? full on yes. at least try it out its a really nice dark style reverb for a big room sound.

• I am redoing my original review. not because people complained but because I have started using this a little more since then just to see what I thought. I like it. its still not a amazing tape sound but the controls are pretty dope and simple.

• I still like the slap delay and I like how 15 and 7.5 ips do make actually a difference.

• 15Ips has more high end. and 7.5ips is a nice subtle DEesser if you need it. saturation is still pretty nice. I do love how you can change the calibration on all of the plugins in the bundle thats awesome I still love the eq and comp. and think this thing is pretty good for what it is.

• but to be honest Its not worth the price just alone. I would say go to Waves universe get it on sale as a bundle you wont be disappointed.

• I do like how this does not really kill transients easy thought that is always a plus in any tape style plugin. a lot of bad ones just do massive compression.

• Now as far as CPU goes I have a good computer so I can have a good amount of plugins on at once. but I notice it does use a little more CPU than other great tape emulations I own. still not much more though.

• I am not a fan of moving parts I think its tacky. someone said you can stop it from spinning I know that. I still think its tacky so no matter what I don't like that.

• oh and its stable as hell no crashes with any of the plugins I have used always a plus.

• okay so.

• Looks amazing.
• Quality good.
• Sound good.
• CPU pretty good.
• Stability great.
• Control good.
• Learning curve easy.

bad

• Moving parts are tacky.
• Uses a little more CPU than other plugins of its kind.
• Not the best tape emulation.
• Pricy for it alone but not bad in a bundle.

Just did a review on another plugin in the bundle and thought why not do this one to.

Now this compressor is nice its very clean and clear with just a nice smooth sound. To be honest I find the SSL comp a little muddy for my taste and I think this one is way better.

and yea not much really to say about it. its pretty straight forward. its a good low CPU hit and stable plugin.

the sound it really nice. Its not always what I need but good for vocals or a bus when my stripbus is not giving me what I need.

the controls are pretty easy to get you have a threshold a makeup gain ratio and release speed. I usually set it to about 2:1 ratio and just use gentle compression. I love the clean open sound it has and yea that is about it.

its a compressor you all should know how they work by now anyway.

but as far as the sound goes I would say its clean open sounding and pretty good at not destroying the dynamics

sorry for any spelling problems I am being lazy

lets see remember to use your ears because like any compressor it can sound like crap but it sounds amazing I love this thing and use it all the time whenever I want a nice clean open sound

I have Had the Tape, Tubes & Transistors bundle for a little while now. I love the whole bundle. This eq Is Smooth and clean and I love the coloration I get from the preamp emulation. the High end boos is pretty smooth and does not get harsh. I don't really use the mid range boost much. but the low end boost is pretty nice. Also you will need to gain stage this plugin. I notice that I get a kinda bad sound when just blasting it with noise.

Now I use a ADK PC with 3.6 GHZ i7 And 8 gigs of RAM and the CPU hit is basically none.

the plugin is stable and looks cool. I love the eq for the high end boost and really would say if your going to get a small bundle get this one. oh and get it from WAVES UNIVERSE that's where I got it from. the prices are worlds better than on the waves normal site. but remember to shop around there are deals many places.

um yea that's it great eq I am liking the whole bundle and love the pie comp. to be honest my more used tape emulation is still my roundtone but the waves one is pretty decent to.

okay bought it FINALLY. I have to say its smooth the way the meters react are quick but easy to see. I love love the calibration ability and find it very helpful. the basics of it are that you have a pink noise that will be generated with a level depending on what k setting you want. This basically lets you listen to the signal at the optimal level.

The metering for RMS is very nice and smooth and reacts in a quick but easy to read way. Also added are a few nice settings that are to be more like what the human ear hears. They have a fast one that I feel is more for like when I or anyone would mix a fast hard hitting song it would be the perceived meter to go to. Where the slow perceived meter would be nice for smooth relaxed music or classical styled music where the dynamics are wide and smooth.

Overall I would say the quality and use is very good the true peak detection is not bad at all its pretty darn good with oversampling on with out it its just a normal to 0 meter but the real use is the way that it helps you get a great dynamic and well balanced mix by helping you out with simple colors and a good smooth visual display. I love the modes and the low CPU hit to yay

the only thing I would say needs improvement is the fact that the buttons seems to be a little sticky to me. Like they are using both round and linear style of use at the same time. By that i mean I have to click to up and to the side to get it right. if they can just make it so I can click or make it linear it would be perfect. I love it and its well worth the money.

Also before I forget I would love if there could be a nice dynamic range number or something so I could know about where I am on it. this is just a cool add and not even needed but just cool to have. I say not needed because I find the way the meters react are much smoother and much more responsive than other meters so you will know if you are compressing alot and some times you need that compressed part.

This thing sound great It looks kinda funny being bright pink. but that is just what it looks like. so far I find its a smooth punchy and clean comp. Perfect for bus or track uses, Now no release control sucks for control freaks. But at the same time it keeps things simple making things easy and fast for us. now thats about it really no vintage saturation or crazy things about it

its clean smooth sounds great and for mac and pc

the only real down side is no release control but so far its more than a good comp from my uses.

its stable and sounds great what more can we ask for when something is free

I bought this the other day because I have a good few colored and clean compressors. But the one thing I never truly felt I had was a invisible compressor. Well I demoed this after a bit I had to have it.

I know the GUI is basic but that's the great thing it shows you what the waveform looks like and can be invisible almost like you did not compress anything at times. I love the way this thing sounds and the CPU hit is way smaller than I expected. Even with oversampling on full its almost no real hit. and if you want you can reduce it.

I personally do not use the limiter section because I get what I need with the compressor section alone but the limiter sounds pretty darn good to. now some times you might want to have a very clean invisible compression but maybe distort the signal some what I like is I can keep the audio quality in tact and use the limiter being pushed retarded amounts to distort the audio.

the only thing that I think could be done to improve this plugin in my opinion would be just one thing, If the gain knob basically worked after the compressor but before the limiter. this is only because with the gain working after the section you limit you can peak. with the gain working before the limiter you can use it as a true limiter just a idea but still its basically top quality and top on easy to use hope it helps its cheep and well worth more than its cost. I plan on buying the multiband comp from them soon