Results: A/B Test re Final Mix vs. Master Mix

[RJWlaw@aol.com]

These observations are meant to help the Master Mix cause and not to disparage it. The vst has promise and its refinement should be pursued.

First things first. Master Mix ('MM") is not Acuma Labs Final Mix ('FM') ported into a 64-bit environment. In a perfect world, Mackie would tweak FM to be a 64-bit vst which could be used by any DAW, and Master Mix could go in its own successful direction.

To compare FM and MM, I used the current version of 32-bit T5. In this way I could park an instance of FM and an instance of MM in the mastering plug in spot in T5.

I opened the GUIs of both vsts and pinned them open side by side.

I selected the "Acuma Punch" preset in FM.

I carefully read each data entry field in FM one by one and typed each numeric value, one by one, into MM.

First obstacle: some fields in FM have two dashes in the field. MM will not accept a dash and automatically substitutes in a value of 0.1. I do not know if this has a meaningful effect on the setting.

Second obstacle: MM engages in automatic rounding. If a value in FM is 2.5, and you type it in, MM rounds it up to 3. (Query: Cumulatively will this have a meaningful effect?)

Of lesser concern, MM will not accept values expressed in kilohertz. If a value in FM is 1.14k, you must type in 1,140 hertz.

The third obstacle I encountered is found in the 3 crossover band modules. MM permitted me to change the Threshold and End Point for each band, but poof-crashed T5 each time I typed in the proper FM value for a Node, be it Node 1, 2, 3, or 4. That being said, the resulting graphic for each band visually looks extremely close but the ever-so-subtle curve is not there.

I transferred/typed in approximately one hundred twenty-three numerical values, made sure all the proper buttons were properly configured, and saved the setting as an fxp file using the T5 function (MM is missing the Menu button and a save function.)

I played a song, and toggled between (1) no vst, (2) FM, and (3) MM with what should have been close-to-identical settings (Acuma Punch and my attempted clone).

I am just reporting here, I am trying not to opine.

Objectively, the mix sounded very good with no vst.

With FM enabled, the mix sounded tangibly 3-dimensional, fuller, crisp with no harshness, "analog,"and slightly wider.

With FM disabled and MM enabled, the mix sounded "flat" -- 1 dimensional, thinner, 'digital," and slightly wider.

I am the first to concede that I was not able to precisely duplicate the settings, but if one were to look at all the graphic representations of the GUI, they look pretty much identical.

I thereafter tweaked MM to try to dial in the FM setting sound. The tweaking had to be rather drastic to get into the ballpark, but the bottom line is, thus far, I cannot get that 3-dimensional "magic."

I disabled FM and MM and opened my Izotope 6. I toggled between FM and a similar Izotope 6 setting: The 3 dimensions were back in both, but subjectively, FM still sounds more analog and pleasing to me than my Izotope 5 or 6.

It is my understanding that MM is all new code. I have zero coding knowledge and can only try to describe what I perceived in the admittedly-flawed A/B test. Perhaps Christian, a savvy developer, can identify what is missing code-wise. Perhaps FM was just a "happy accident" and there is no JUCE solution.

Bottom line. For lack of a better term, FM has "soul," while MM may still be finding its own. I for one hope it does, and soon.

For the price MM is a good deal and should be regarded as being an essential tool for all T5 users. Start with MM's "Rock with EQ" preset and go from there.

Lastly, if anyone has success in mimicking the Acuma CD Mastering preset, the Acuma Punch, the Acuma Leveler, or the Acuma Final Mix preset, please consider emailing me the fxp file(s) at RJWlaw@aol.com.

[jabe]

There is a facility on KVR for up/downloading banks/presets for plug-ins, allowing easy access for all.

[TSC]

Thanks for the detailed comparison RJLaw - much appreciated

I would say that I have a similar experience - the MM processing results in a subtly 'airy' characteristic - which I have come to relish when stacking numerous instances of the plug in a mix.

Its a little bit of a misnomer to label the plug 'mastering' (and is a carry over from the original), as it really packages up the benefits of a channel strip into a single plug - I typically run sessions with one on every channel.

I had a similar reaction when I first tried the Korg Triton back in the day - compared to my other 'fat' sounding synths like My Supernova, it sounded thin and a little 'unexciting' - it was only when I started to pile sounds into a mix that I realized the benefit of this - rather than having surgical EQ task to do every time I added a sound, I could layer in with little fettling

Certainly up for sharing presets - Christian is working on more of course

[IIRs]

I spotted this thread yesterday, and it reminded me to go and grab my copy of MM while its still discounted... I'm reminded why I liked those "compressors" so much: they're still unique!

Anyway, I think I found an important difference in the implementation of the sidechain filters, which could explain some of the differences in sound. Bare in mind I don't have old versions of Tracktion installed so I'm working from memory, but I checked my old tutorial video to make sure, and I remember checking it carefully at the time as it wasn't how I initially expected it to work.

Anyway the key difference: in Final Mix the separately tunable sidechain filters operated on the already filtered signal from the main crossover. In other words you could use these filters to narrow the band only.

Master Mix appears to work as I initially expected Final Mix to: the sidechain filters are fed the raw input signal, and are the only filters in the sidechain signal path. This means you can do interesting stuff thats not possible in FM, eg: duck low frequencies in respond to mids and vice versa. But it also means the dynamics section will almost always be keyed by a different signal to that its processing.

It also means the presets won't sound the same, even if all other aspects such as envelope following and GR smoothing have been perfectly matched: many of the FM presets had sidechain filters set much wider than the crossover bands, which puzzled me until I realised what the internal signal flow was. Of course these presets were not keying the compressors with content that was way out of band: rather they just kept the sidechain filters effectively out of circuit, so the compressor was responding to exactly the same signal it was processing. The same setting in MM would be dramatically wrong: there would be significantly more gain reduction, and bands would be ducked by content from adjacent bands in a way that was never intended by the original FM preset designers.

The thing is however: the current MM implementation offers many cool creative possibilities, and I'm reluctant to give it up entirely. How about making it switchable?

[frankvg]

Ah Dan, thanks for pointing that out. Was puzzled by the difference in sound. Although I heard that the key filters were operating differently, I incorrecty assumed that is was because of the slope of the filters.

[RJWlaw@aol.com]

FYI: The Help button of FM opens a signal flowchart.

It sounds like the FM airiness/ 3-D psycho-acoustic effect might be restored in MM if the FM sidechain filters could be hit with filtered signal rather than "clean" signal.

I hope Christian, the code writer, hears about this thread.

[IIRs]

I had a look on my studio machine today: still have the old Mackie plugs there, so I recreated the "Acuma The Leveler" preset and ran a side by side comparison...

A couple of tips for anyone trying to reproduce the old Final Mix presets:

1. You will need to interpret the sidechain filter settings due to the issue I mentioned above: any preset with sidechain filters set wider than the main cross-over filters will need to be adjusted so the sidechain filters cross over neatly at the same frequency as the main cross-over filters, and don't overlap. The filter slopes still won't match (unless the crossover filters are set to 30dB) but this will get you much closer than slavishly recreating the old FM settings.

2. TURN OFF AUTO-GAIN in both plugs for all 3 compressors. The Mackie plugs had a weird implementation of auto gain which I've never seen anywhere else. Long story short: turning off auto gain won't change the actual gain setting for the compressor, so the sound won't change. But until you do the gain readout shows an offset not the true value...

Anyway, once I'd addressed those two issues I was able to get reasonably close very quickly (granted I deliberately picked a preset that didn't use any extra compressor nodes!) They didn't sound quite the same though: Master Mix is much better quality than the old Final Mix! The FM version had audible issues at the cross-over frequencies with the material I was using, particularly the lower one at about 130Hz which robbed the snare of all its punch. Master Mix's cross-overs are commendably flat and transparent.

I didn't check while I was at the studio, but I seem to recall all the Mackie EQs cramped near Nyquist? That was pretty standard at the time, but not really good enough these days. Certainly not for a "mastering" tool. Master Mix EQ doesn't cramp.

My conclusion: Master Mix is what Final Mix should have been! Better quality, and capable of much more creative results courtesy of the sidechain filter implementation.

To the people missing the presets: seriously guys, presets for mastering? You know it only sounds better cos its 10dB louder, right? Nevertheless, tell me which presets you're missing and I'll see what I can do to recreate them (crazy amounts of make-up gain and all!)

(I saved an fxp of my Leveler settings but forgot to bring it home with me. I'll post it up tomorrow if I remember.)

[dhbret]

I'm just a guitar hack that likes to write songs. Being able to scroll through Final Mix presets made me sound like I knew what I was doing. So I say thank you Dan for doing the presets. I mostly used Acuma CD mastering.

[frankvg]

I have all the original Final Mix presets recreated for Master Mix and asked Dan if he could do some modding to make them more suitable for MasterMix.

[RJWlaw@aol.com]

Dear IIrs / Dan;

I just discovered your website. It certainly looks like you know your stuff. I saw that you have a "donate" button on your site.

If you can approximate by ear the Acuma Leveler, Acuma Punch, Acuma Final Mix, and Acuma CD Mastering presets for MM, and make them available for everyone via fxp files, I will donate $25.00 per fxp file to you for each one of those four fxp files. My email is RJWlaw@aol.com.

[IIRs]

You must really want those presets!

Just to be clear however, I'm not interpreting them by ear: I simply plugged in all the values from the FM presets, then adjusted cross-over settings to compensate for the different internal signal flow. Didn't take me very long, so don't feel obliged to make that donation!

MasterMix_Acuma_presets.zip

The only thing I did by ear was compare the results: with the "same" settings they sounded pretty close, but the Master Mix version sounded better with all the material I tested, so I didn't make any attempt to tweak it closer.

Final Mix has a washy, phasey quality to the sound which I suspect is down to the crossover filters. Transients were preserved much better with Master Mix, which might be down to better compressor and soft clipper algorithms, or might also be due to the better crossover design.

I checked the EQ in FM btw: yes it cramps at Nyquist. Thats another difference between the plugs that should definitely not be changed! Master Mix is a better plug in every respect except preset management (do I really have to mess about with fxp files...?)

Anyway as a bonus here's some presets I made today:

MasterMix_DanWorrall_presets.zip

Feel free to donate for these if you like them...

You won't get the same instant LOUDER impact as with most of the Acuma presets, which makes it possible to judge the difference properly... you shouldn't be using this type of plug for loudness anyway, thats what limiters are for.

[metrognome]

Dan, thank you for the zip files.
A question though if I may.
I did a full search in my windows and could find many .fxp files.
None had anything to do with Tracktion/Acuma/FinalMix/MasterMix.
Where do the .fxp files go?


btw, "RockwithEQ" rawks

[IIRs]

Just put them somewhere you can find them again. If you want to know how to get the presets into the drop down list on the gui... Yeah, so do I.

[RJWlaw@aol.com]

Donation of $100.00 just made.

For me these presets are all about the workflow, being consistent, and being productive. I stick Acuma Punch on the drum track/buss, I am done with the drums. It out performs a UAD dbx 160.

In any event, your deep knowledge and effort deserves compensation.

[klangbastler]

wow, great gesture!