Precision Compressor / Limiter now available on T-RackS CS + AAX compatibility

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

96€ now.
$19 when?

Can it be transfered without Custom Shop?

Not likely $19 (you may be confusing us with another company with that popular price point for old plugins on sale), but maybe Gear Credits will be cheaper in a distant Group Buy (but likely pretty distant)... And see above, or out FAQ here to answer your second question.

I do see some have tried it (and I'm sure Eddie TX and meloco_go will have their issues doing so sorted shortly) and enjoy the sound. That's always good to hear.

Thanks to zeep for the constructive suggestion too. We do have a huge rock demographic but I still think you have a point and will relay that. Thank you.

[SWAN808]

Id quite like to try this but no way am I downloading and installing this whole custom shop thing again..

[AC222]

This is a great release but I wish it had come a good six months or so sooner. I invested in other plugins beforehand to get that 33609 sound I treasure and so far really like the results I am getting with Nebula.

I like that the IK compressors I have used (Black 76) load so quickly and have a great GUI.

It would nice to have a Blend or Mix knob for extra control. That is one of the reasons why I like the Focusrite Midnight compressor I like and it helps me get an approximation of what the 33609 can do. But that is a designer decision.

Any more details about the modeling? Is there heavy physical modeling involved? The buzz around the Black 76 for instance is that the compression behavior is spot on but a bit more transparent than the real deal because the input section that contribute to harmonic content and distortion was not physically modeled. It would be nice to know more about the process involved.

Are the designers the same guys that do Amplitube or a different dedicated team. I have to say that I have been extremely impressed with the newer Custom Shop models as IK has really taken amp modeling to a whole new level in the past couple of years.

[jariya]

"Id quite like to try this but no way am I downloading and installing this whole custom shop thing again.."

This! I'd sure like to try some IK offerings but this process has stopped me from going any further. Why can't they make it simple? To me, it appears as if they go out of their way to complicate matters: huge downloads, funny "currency," (a bit like collecting baseball cards, or buying tickets at food plazas), childish logos and somewhat confusing website and links that are not clearly labelled. Come on guys... your approach could be a little bit more professional.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Any more details about the modeling? Is there heavy physical modeling involved? The buzz around the Black 76 for instance is that the compression behavior is spot on but a bit more transparent than the real deal because the input section that contribute to harmonic content and distortion was not physically modeled. It would be nice to know more about the process involved.

I guess you didn't see that Black 76 and White 2A were updated a while ago to rectify this, we should have posted more about that but definitely let people here know... Our process is meticulous, when we model a real piece of hardware like this we use the real deal and we take it apart, analyze and measure everything, even repairing any issues on some of the vintage gear if it has any because we have people here who are qualified to do so... We even modeled a hand-built compressor made by one of our own for our Opto Compressor so that is truly one-of-a-kind and all of this contributes to how our modeling is top shelf.

[SWAN808]

"Id quite like to try this but no way am I downloading and installing this whole custom shop thing again.."

This! I'd sure like to try some IK offerings but this process has stopped me from going any further. Why can't they make it simple? To me, it appears as if they go out of their way to complicate matters: huge downloads, funny "currency," (a bit like collecting baseball cards, or buying tickets at food plazas), childish logos and somewhat confusing website and links that are not clearly labelled. Come on guys... your approach could be a little bit more professional.

yes Im sure that there are other ways to create brand loyalty and buy in than having this annoying shell...I understand it might be useful in amplitube but its a slightly different concept with single effect plugins...I uninstalled custom shop because I do not like the meter or free plugins - and I dont like to clutter my plugin folder...anyways - there it is...

[sockofgold]

Yeah, I have to admit, as much as I like the T-Racks processors, I think the whole Custom Shop thing is really awful. I haven't gone so far as to uninstall it yet, but I certainly won't update it or click "Restore my Gear" any more (since that downloads like all 40 or so processors, and I have to re-sort everything, just to get one update), and it's really unlikely that I will buy anything further for T-Racks until I can use it without having to deal with Custom Shop. It's just really unnecessary--I would rather stick with other plugins than deal with it.

Not trying to say you guys (IK) don't make great products, because you do. Just that Custom Shop is... well, it's terrible, and it's a huge inconvenience. Are there any plans to liberate T-Racks from the Custom Shop ever?

Also, some modulation plugins would be awesome. Your comps and EQs are great, but I think we have enough of those already.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

No problem, your opinions have been noted and they are of course valid as that is the way some of you feel. We don't do things blindly, so it will be taken into consideration but I have to say that we're seeing a lot of positive response to Custom Shop too (even requesting it for SampleTank 3 and all future products) but again everything is taken into consideration.

[SWAN808]

yeah I can imagine some people like it perhaps those with particular preference for IK stuff...its a shame as the IK stuff is good and priced right...but personally I cant be dealing with all the shell etc...I thought there was a time where you could just buy the 1176 and instance it without the surrounding shell but thats a bygone era...

[Aiynzahev]

Indeed. I really like the processors themselves. I really don't like custom shop.

I don't agree though that you should stop the Eq/compression stuff. Not at all

The processors are so good I don't think you should worry about what's already been done either, like API etc. However it would be exciting to see stuff that's never been modeled before and also hybrids or entirely new designs.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

yeah I can imagine some people like it perhaps those with particular preference for IK stuff...its a shame as the IK stuff is good and priced right...but personally I cant be dealing with all the shell etc...I thought there was a time where you could just buy the 1176 and instance it without the surrounding shell but thats a bygone era...

While you do install the shell you aren't required to instantiate it in your projects, you can use the plugins individually as before.

[TheKid]

Wish I could also buy this without the custom shop. Best installation ever: extracting a zipped .dll to the vst-folder and be done. This is even easier to maintain than any installer %$&§. I could still crucify the cakewalk developer for default installing another vst-plugins directory...

So please please please: get rid of this custom shop stuff. There, I said it and I will say it again: please please please.

Without a doubt: you create a set of really great and high quality plugins. But that's all going to hell with the custom shop stuff. I'll be waiting patiently.

[zeep]

I just gave it a try. The thing is, just to try this plugin i had to download and install the complete Custom Shop again. I figured will take a minute..

Turns out it installs a whole bunch of things again, asking me for folders and paths again even though it could at least stick with last install paths, nope.

It installs 3 or 4 things, click click click, set path, click click, next one asks for paths, click click, new Authoriser, click click, Yes by all means install Microsoft Visual C++ without asking, No i don't want another Quicktime install.

Are you done now? Writing this post took less time.
All that for 1 plugin, i'm not doing that again.

I have the Custom Shop installed, make future stuff available in there with a simple 1 plugin download. This whole experience, however good your plugins are, is simply offsetting and takes too much time.


The Precision Compressor is nice, didn't get the best results with electronic bass and drums grouped. Instruments it did better. It has a relatively nice groove but the Classic Compressor has that too. The Limiter is ok but so far it's not the dealmaker.
I have to keep the Custom Shop running in the background for it to work, that is also not very customer friendly.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

You only need to keep Custom Shop running during the trial period. As an example since you mention QuickTime, you can find the "Do I need to install QuickTime?" FAQ helpful in cases like that (or support for direct help if you run into problems or have a question about what the installer does): http://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/3601 (hint: the answer is no, if you don't need the very specific function it provides).

[sockofgold]

I don't agree though that you should stop the Eq/compression stuff. Not at all

I wasn't suggesting that they stop making them. Just that I would like to see what they can with some modulation effects, as they are currently none in T-Racks. Just a suggestion, though. Obviously, they know what sells, so I am not trying to tell anyone how to run their business.

And no worries, Peter. I wasn't trying to start a "Custom Shop hate fest." I know you guys will do what's best for you, and that's fine. Just making sure to voice my opinion, for what it's worth. The ideal, obviously, would be to have it available both ways (i.e. with and without the use of Custom Shop), but that may not ever be possible.