Is it just me, or do bootsie's plugins don't do the trick...

[eduardo_b]

And does any of this really matter? If the effect is not desirable, or if it is everything one could ask for, the reality is that whether it matches or approximates a vintage piece of kit is irrelevant. And who will really know anyway. No one. Coloration, transparency, warmth, ooie gooie thickness...it's all a matter of taste when it comes to mixing.

True - though there is always the factor "I don't have the hardware for like 10 years anymore, but I still remember the sound of it".

Oh, yes, the illusive, completely unreliable acoustic memory syndrome.

I thought about that quite often. I came to the conclusion that certain sounds are that special that they "move me" inside in certain ways. If those "move me" components are in te sound then it's fine for me. Otherwise the "emulation" failed. I have this with Moog sounds, guitar sounds, certain reverb sounds, etc.
Just as some odours can bring back exact memories of situations and feelings it's with certain sounds. Completely unreliable? Not completely.

Shogger

What I meant was that unless one had significant experience using certain hardware, all one really has is some sort of recollection at best...if that. Acoustic memory is very unreliable, which is why there is A/B testing. And as I was reading your post, I got to thinking about how little we know about the actual hardware used for favorite music from that golden era of recording. Not like it was on the record jacket -- the board, the outboard gear for each track and so on. It's all very nostalgic to remember those analogue sounds, but do these plugs really accomplish this?

[bmanic]

I can't name 1 digital eq that can reproduce second and third harmonics.

I can, Nebula. Check out the Doc Fear eq for it, do a high freq boost and then pick your jaw back up off the floor

Back on topic, The Nasty series is pretty damn good for freeware!.

Ive got nebula 3 bought version, it's nice, but a CPU hog.
And it still can't replace my analog eq
I wished for years for something to come out so i can sell my desks, but i am still waiting.

Nebula is one of the plugs that comes close to what i want, but comes close doesn't cut it for me.

I just feel stupid buying all these plug ins over the years, it cost's a lot of money.... and after all where does my mix end up?.... in the desk

You need to have some pretty seriously impressive analogue EQs in your rack to compete with Nebula's "Doc Fear" equalizer program. Trust me, I've A/B tested two high end analogue EQs against this thing and it is definitely in the "same league". The only thing slightly lacking was the way it reacted to being over driven. Here it is noticeable that it is a plugin but ONLY in extreme cases.

Would be curious to hear what outboard EQs you have at your disposal. I've demoed the "Doc Fear" program against a pultec tube EQ clone (custom) and a very high end passive tube equalizer channel. It stands on it's own.

I cannot wait for the full release of the "Doc Fear" EQ. It's going to be absolute killer. I'm planning on releasing some high end EQ programs of my own (at least that pultec) but I need some serious time sampling it and the studio is not usually free for a week at a time (that's the minimum time needed for sampling it properly.. a week!!).

Cheers!
bManic

[bmanic]

Oh and I forgot to answer the OP.

@Compyfox: Yes, it is just you.

The bootsie plugins kick some serious ass! I use TesslaSE, RescueAE and NastyVSD all the time. Density gets it's fair share of use as well. The others, not so much.

Cheers!
bManic

[Compyfox]

Like I said... I might have a use for Rescue (no matter if AE or the normal one, though AE has a limiter and I guess the analog button, too). But after testing TesslaSE and NastyVSD... I dunno what went wrong - I turn up NastyVSD and hear nothing (it boosts both high and lowend at the same time if I got that right). And in terms of saturation, maybe my ears fool me, but I actually got more out of the Pultronic.

At least in my case.

[gmitch]

Be careful with NastyVSD, there seems 2 be some crostalk...I have brought this 2 bootsie's attention and he said there will be a fix soon..........

[shogger]

What I meant was that unless one had significant experience using certain hardware, all one really has is some sort of recollection at best...if that. Acoustic memory is very unreliable, which is why there is A/B testing.

Either I don't understand what you wanna bring across or you are contradicting yourself. If acoustic memory IS "very unreliable" then what does "significant experience using certain hardware" do to that unreliability?

And as I was reading your post, I got to thinking about how little we know about the actual hardware used for favorite music from that golden era of recording.

Right. I know basically nothing about that. From my own experience using this stuff I mean.

It's all very nostalgic to remember those analogue sounds, but do these plugs really accomplish this?

And this is the problem: What of the looooooong signal chain of even the most simple recordings from "back then" does exactly WHAT to the whole sound experience? While only a few do really know that most of us (me included) have only a vague picture of vintage, retro, etc. gear.
Me personally I'm happy when I use certain stuff and it does something nice to my sounds that I like in certain old recordings. I couldn't care less about some ugly Neve, SSL or even worse: API GUIs. They plainly suck. If it sounds good, fine. If I can afford it even better.
And now I'll go back to beta testing this nice looking, good sounding Synthmaker shell reverb plugin.

Shogger

[eduardo_b]

What I meant was that unless one had significant experience using certain hardware, all one really has is some sort of recollection at best...if that. Acoustic memory is very unreliable, which is why there is A/B testing.

Either I don't understand what you wanna bring across or you are contradicting yourself. If acoustic memory IS "very unreliable" then what does "significant experience using certain hardware" do to that unreliability?

Sorry, I was being unclear that I see two sides to this. One is that acoustic memory really is poor in the short term and far worse beyond that, but the second is that those who actually used these tools daily for many years would know and understand what the results would be even now. Audio engineers are the exception to the reality of acoustic memory because they have a different kind of experience with audio than the rest of us...or at least me.

[shogger]

I dunno what went wrong - I turn up NastyVSD and hear nothing

Try this:

VSD_cranker.mp3

Shogger

[Compyfox]

Hm... it distords the lowend, gives some mojo to the highend if turned up (not much, but still). Reminds me of X-Cita (exciter from Elogoxa) driven into clipping...

[Zombie Queen]

At first sight these plugins looked very exciting to me. After a while I've found out I never use Rescue or Density, I guess there are a bit too enigmatic or unusual to handle for me. I do however use Tessla and I like it a lot. I didn't see a need for another eq or filter so I didn't try these.

[Dean Aka Nekro]

FWIW: I cut my teeth on one of these:
http://www.amek.com/support/einstein/index.html
It was a quite nice desk to work on and also with it used alot of outboard and mic's. Oh and a Soundcraft Ghost console too - bloody awful sounding heap of shit if you ask me. These are not really suited to home studio setups at all and hell even if i could afford one i would not buy one as i would be more intrested in finding a good sounding room to spend on. I can honestly say that i do not miss the majority of the stuff. The space however i do miss alot (wish i had more space here at home) and their are certain bits that i intend to get around to buying so long as i dont have to pay OTT prices for the stuff but it would only take up about 2 12 Rack unit spaces up and is far from esoteric. My main priotities are mic placement and sound source when engineering (which i have been doing not very often lately for various personal reasons) rather than gear lust or what gear the signal is going through as long as it is clean and sounds the same on the way back out when monitoring as it does going in *obvioudly that is impossible to achieve but you know what i mean* (my guitar related addictionsd epartment takes care of that gear lust shit to be honest). Doing my own thing and working with friends though is totally different and all about feeling and having fun, doing what we like because we can. If i want some dirty nasty vocals then i let the inputs on the soundcard clip and pratice un-practice really, bosh whatever plug-ins we feel like and record it to disk so there is no undo. Just having fun is the important part to me

[bootsie]

Be careful with NastyVSD, there seems 2 be some crostalk...I have brought this 2 bootsie's attention and he said there will be a fix soon..........

Yes, fixed version was already in beta test and will feature nice improvements on the limiter algo as well. I will release it immediately after I'm done with epicVerb.

[Download SOphist]

[gmitch]

GREAT!!!!! Can't wait 2 use VSD again,It does nice things 2 mixes,etc........

[jens]

I guess it's really just a convenience issue. It's sad that these plugs have to go from my HDD - but I have so many plugins that I barely use. I usually always come back to IIEQ, Kjaerhus, GVST Comp and the ReaPlugs - and for send effects TAL, Kjaerhus and ArtsAcoustic. Only for special reasons I need something else (like an autopanner, transient designer, etc) - which is rare.

I think you've actually acquired wisdom that many don't yet have. You know what works for you, which is why you return to certain plugs time and again, whereas the rest are not being used. If you try a plug two or three times and find you don't have reason to go back to it, then it's not working for you. Not only is there nothing wrong with that, it saves you a lot of time and effort better spent with tools you know and like.

Wisdom, Yes? U sure?


I think wise would be to just use whatever works for you and to simply delete the stuff you don't need/use without feeling a need to start a thread about your own personal private negative opinion in a public forum, as if this opinion would be more significant than that of average joe.

Or is now everyone supposed to make a list which plugins he/she uses and which not?



Very odd that he writes that it's 'a shame' that these plugins have to go from his harddisk, while he doesn't use them. What's that about? How can it be a shame to delete something you don't have a use for?