1. The limiters are pretty good. you can push them, fairly hard without distortion, and they tend towards the clean transparent type sound. I don't think you'd class them as true mastering quality, but for home use, they are right up there with equivalent limiters. I wouldn't really compare them in the same league as something like the new Kjaerhus one sounds like it will be...but they're not really in the same price bracket either. Considering how many individual FX modules you get in the whole bundle, they're a fraction of the price and not specifically tailored to be the best of the best in anything. But you can certainly use the limiters happily on any channels, and they're perfectly adequate for home mastering.In any case, how would you rate the different module of the bundle? I'm specifically looking for:
A mastering limiter (the non colorful kind)
A single band compressor w/sidechain capability
A native reverb solution (not the metallic plate type, more organic type of thing)
A de-esser (although the one from digitalfishpnones is pretty amazing in itself)
2. The compressors, likewise, I'd put in the mostly clean and transparent variety. Good if you just want to tame peaks, or get volume without character. Good for sidechaining - simple ducking is not a problem. I use other comps for when I want real character though. You could patch up fancy comps with hints of saturation and other things if you want though (although I personally don't bother doing that, so I can't attest to the results). I've used QFX for compressing and isolating specific bands to good effect. It'll do de-essing fine too. Again - all without fuss and reasonably cleanly.
A potential strength is for intricate multiband compression. As long as you're going to do it subtly, QFX has all the controls do fine tune band compression. I wouldn't use it as heavily as, say the Cubase multiband (which can be pushed very hard - it's an under-rated multiband IMO), but QFX beats it hands down, ni that you can pretty accurately control all of the attacks, releases etc of all bands you use.
3. Reverb...probably not specifically QFX's strength. It's actually quite useable for some things. Occasionally it surprises me how well its reverb can fit into a mix when used for specific channels (I wouldn't use it as a send over everything though). I'm picky about reverbs, and I admit I tend to poo-poo QFX reverb, but it's really not as bad as my natural bias tells me it is.
One thing I will say is that I simply love the QFX reverb used in the guitarFX. It seems to fit very well with that type of sound. I'd much rather use QFX's own reverb on any guitar patch than even a fancy 32bit convolution impulse of a flash unit like a Lexicon or Eventide etc on guitar patches. As with any FX, it has weaknesses and strengths.
Another potential strength with the reverb is that you can (if you wish) do things like patch up dynamic reverbs. Have it sensitive to input peaks, volume etc so that your RT60 varies according to strength, or whatever. Not always needed, but can be useful.
4. De-esser...as mentioned - I'd call it clean, if anything. Not amazing, but useful. I still do really like the Digitalfishphiones one too. I don't often use de-essers (I'm not into vocals at all), but Sascha's one just feels right somehow.
I have a strange relationship with QFX. Whenever I use it, I love it...I get all sorts of fancy ideas about weird FX I can do with it. Sometimes I patch up those FX, sometimes I don't. I still regularly use just the presets patches for bread and butter stuff. Their guitar suite is my automatic goto FX for any dubby guitar patches. I'll often use their Eqs to rerender simple changes in audio - for cutting, not boosting. I'll often use their sidechain comp for thinning down a channel or being a chain in a mangling session. I often use their "creative" preset patches, especially the swept overdrive and the fancy filtered delays (the added preset of the ducking delay is simply superb for dub
) and the beat slicer, although more limited than fully blown slicers, is again great for breaking down loop and dubbing them up.And yet I can go for a long period without even loading up QFX. Sometimes I wonder why I bought it if I don't even use it that often...but as I said...when I do use it, I realise how wonderful it can be.
The main drawback with QFX is that you only get out of it what you are prepared to put into it. And I sometimes simply can't be bothered going through the whole process of patching up fancy FX.
I think the best way to look at it is that you get a very useful set of clean and quality bread and butter FX, some very creative fancy FX straight from the box, and the added bonus of being modular if you're into it. From a purely monetary viewpoint, it is excellent value for the amount of out-of-the-box FX and multiFX you get, as is. It's really worth it even just for the guitarFX, the plethora of compressors and limiters and the fancy delays you get. But you get so much more also.
If you really want the ultimate best in quality and character for individual FX...then you still need other FX - I wouldn't like to use only QFX (although I could if I had to). One thing I do know is that I almost never d/l any freebie FX any more, unless they do something unique and valuable. Because QFX almost certainly can do it to the same level and often better. I still buy fancy quality individual FX such as compressors, Eqs etc, but I always will.
I have an old Digitech TSR24S modular FX unit - cost alot at the time, and is still a good'un compared to the majority of modern multiFX - but that rarely gets dusted off, because QFX is so much easier to use with a big screen and mouse...and can actually do alot more. That unit cost me 700 quid back in the day + another 75-100 quid for an EPROM upgrade to double its power...so to me personally QFX is worth the same money, as it does the same job, yet it cost a fraction. I wouldn't touch something like a QuadraverbII, or Zoom or any other modern multiFX unit with a bargepole now I have QFX.
So...I love it/ignore it to differing amounts at differing times. Strange.
) and I wanted a dirty organ sound. I got the organ OK, and I specifically didn't want to drown it in reverb or delays, even though it's a dubby-ish affair. Choruses just muddied it up and lost the impact. Filters made it too dark, and almost all distortions made it too grungy. I tried my old trusty MixSat, and that also gave it too much impact. Compressors were no good, because I wanted to mix it just enough in the background that it didn't dominate. In the end the only FX that worked in any way whatsoever was QFX with the Aura guitar from QFX2 (a premium FX). All I had to do was tone it down and fine tune it, and it gave it that perfect dirty 70s vinyl feel but was still identifiable as an organ. I must have tried over 100 FX and in various chains. Should have just known that QFX was the one