Kush AR-1: Fat, Old, Gritty Tube Compression… No iLok Dongle!

[Beatworld]

Another thread that turned into iLok debate...
Guys, the compressor is awesome. It sounds awesome. Give it a try, you'll be happy.

I'm trying to give it a try but iLok is allowing it to happen. I've never spent so much time trying to get a plugin work. Not really a big surprise here, this is why people hate iLok.

I downloaded the iLok demo code, activated it in Licence Manager, downloaded and installed the plugin.
Boom, it worked straight away.
The whole process taking about 2 minutes including the plugin install.

Great compressor the AR-1, nice work Greg

[rageix]

I wish I was that lucky. After I punched in the trial code in to iLok, I then got in auth screen on the first launch of S1 and couldn't complete it. It was telling me I could only put it on an iLok key. So I quit the process. Then it wasn't showing up in S1. I eventually got it after about a half hour of screwing around and deleting the Studio One plugin cache folder and getting it to re-scan everything. More of a PITA than it really should be. I haven't used iLok in a while and who knows, maybe I screwed it up but it really shouldn't be that complicated.

The plugin does sound pretty good, I don't know that I think it's game changing or anything but it does sound good. Disappointing to see no High-DPI support in such a nice plugin released in this day and age. You can make it render larger in S1, and the controls seem to work but the rendering of the needle is supper laggy and the whole thing looks blurry from the up-scaling.

[pekbro]

^ You should be able to use the plugin manager in S1 to fix stuff like that.
...just sayin

[rageix]

^ You should be able to use the plugin manager in S1 to fix stuff like that.
...just sayin

First place I went, didn't seem to work the first time I tried it.

[mrdoghead]

Kush always disappoint, because they always use ilok. Which version does not matter.

If - boom - that protection racket works for you, that's fine for you. For others it's not so fine.

The title of the thread guarantees it will be "another" ilok debate.

[sqigls]

this vs Magic Death Eye anyone?

...vs Opticom XLA-3 vs Royal Compressor... ??


GOD, when will the EQs and Compressors STOP!??? my folder is full
I love the fact that plugins are sounding AMAZINGER and AMAZINGER, but 99% of the time I'm going for CPU efficient plugins over anything. if a compressor sounds SMASHING but uses 30% of your CPU, what's a software based electronic music producer to DO!!??

ok demo...

[rageix]

this vs Magic Death Eye anyone?

...vs Opticom XLA-3 vs Royal Compressor... ??


GOD, when will the EQs and Compressors STOP!??? my folder is full
I love the fact that plugins are sounding AMAZINGER and AMAZINGER, but 99% of the time I'm going for CPU efficient plugins over anything. if a compressor sounds SMASHING but uses 30% of your CPU, what's a software based electronic music producer to DO!!??

ok demo...

Haha, yeah your really do have to demo. AR-1 is eating about 10% cpu (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X) with one instance, which is a lot. Something like bx_opto uses, 0-1% and they both can sound quite similar in my testing.

Magic Death Eye I just started testing out, hard to say. My early results show they are VERY different compressors.

[s28]

this vs Magic Death Eye anyone?

...vs Opticom XLA-3 vs Royal Compressor... ??


GOD, when will the EQs and Compressors STOP!??? my folder is full
I love the fact that plugins are sounding AMAZINGER and AMAZINGER, but 99% of the time I'm going for CPU efficient plugins over anything. if a compressor sounds SMASHING but uses 30% of your CPU, what's a software based electronic music producer to DO!!??

ok demo...

I preferred Magic Death Eye. I only used it on two full mixes tho, very briefly, not on individual tracks or busses so very removed from real usage. Only way to know is to try for yourself but that was my initial impression all the same!

I haven't purchased either and on a side note, I just feel really over buying plugins ha. I've got the odd one here and there over the last year but whilst these new compressors sound nice, I haven't felt drawn to getting them. Magic Death Eye is very nice but I have Sonimus TuCo which I love and love the sound of Airwinows Buttercomp2 which is deadly simple to use and uses barely any resources. It doesn't sound big and open like Magic Death Eye or something like Kotelnikov but it just sounds really good and simple.

Without getting too off topic, I really like Kush Audio a lot and this does sound cool.

[sqigls]

well... done demoed...
along side bx_opto and Fuse Audio Labs VCL-864U

I slightly preferred this over the Magic Death Eye, which is a different bag i guess, but... to be perfectly honest, maybe it was the cynicism whispering placeeeebohhh in my ear, but i kinda preferred many aspects of the VCL-864U and bx_opto.

All great compressors, but i can't warrant such small detail for a hundred bucks...
Not for the added CPU strain.
GAS BEGONE!!!

The AR-1 tone control is handy.

[DavidCarlyon]

This thing is unreal. Seriously. I love two types of comps - hyper modern, forward thinking (multiplicity, compassion, smartcomp etc) and really fat analog (fuse audio, Kush etc)
This just really nails it for me. Love novatron too, but the movement on this one is insane. Instant groove and feel. It seems like since kush did 'tubes and transistors' their modelling stepped up big time. Since then their tube products have been off the charts.
Absolutely hanging there at the top. Seems like a fair intro price too.
I just need to buy their transformer line now - pure gold.
I tend to use these tools not for heavy lifting (i use more precise digital tools for that) but i add these on for vibe and weight - this comp does that perfectly.
What surprised me is the versatility of this thing - i didnt think it would be as good as it is on bass/drums.
Great stuff

Yeah this one is something special. Love the way it gives a sense of fullness to the midrange on keyboards and voices. The Tone knob is very interesting too. It cand do magic on mixbus too. Very versatile...I love Vari-Mu topology for that.

Regarding the price, I don't think it's an intro offer. I don't recall Kush doing this kind of marketing move. And this is the trick here ! Lot of people feel like it's an intro price. It tells a lot about the quality of the product and the price it deserves in their mind.

When you think about the AR-1 or the MagicDeathEye by DDMF, these are some incredible comps for a very affordable price. $99 can be steep for some people that's ok, but with a bit of savings anybody can afford these comps and have amazing tools right in their daws.

What a time to produce and mix music.

I know, this is a seriously high end bit of kit. Haven't even tried it on mixbuss yet, will get to that tonight.
Yeah it is a great time for producers/mixers/engineers. Some of the tools we have gotten recently are incredible.
I didnt get magic death eye yet...don't know whether that was due to the psychology of no intro pricing - but i waited on that. The one thing i didn't really get was the lack of oversampling. But again, the movement on that compressor is incredibly music.
I too love vari mu types, i love the fuse ones also..
Yeah people have really come to respect Kush as a brand. To be fair, everything they have put out in the last couple of years has been incredible, with this one being no acception.
I might even say this is their finest comp yet - though i haven't compared it to nova. Novatron is very versatile, but this one is so instantly musical...and works on way more sources than expected.

I also really approve of Kush's move to add numerical readouts for parameters. That is one thing that used to drive me crazy about them.

Fuse VCL-25A is incredible, Ray is a killer developper. Concerning MDE...well you can still ask for the OS option in a future update or oversample using MetaPlugin if you have it.

I'm never disappointed by Kush plugins. It always finds its way through my mixes...even the good old UBK-1 is still a very good character box.

Novatron seems a bit more agressive or more snappy...and it also push the hi-mids a lot so it's not always the mixbuss best friend. But it's still an amazing comp. The AR-1 seems clearly like the best of of Kush DSP experience.

Totally agree. I wouldn't use nova on mixbuss for that reason. This one is actually beautiful on mixbuss - i will prob end up using it on busses (synth/bass etc)
Still loving the movement this comp gives. It you run hot into it you get a ton of drive too.
Really detailed work by kush

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

For me, lately it's been AR-1 on tracks (commonly bass, vocals, guitars) and MDE on the mixbus (also amazing on piano). The Fuse Mu's can still get use too depending on the track. And sometimes I'll even run the Overloud Fairchild on Drum Bus (actually through Metaplugin with Oversampling on). So many good Mu's.

[waldemarjohann]

For me, lately it's been AR-1 on tracks (commonly bass, vocals, guitars) and MDE on the mixbus (also amazing on piano). The Fuse Mu's can still get use too depending on the track. And sometimes I'll even run the Overloud Fairchild on Drum Bus (actually through Metaplugin with Oversampling on). So many good Mu's.

Can you compare the two Mu's from Kush and Fuse?
Thanks!

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

For me, lately it's been AR-1 on tracks (commonly bass, vocals, guitars) and MDE on the mixbus (also amazing on piano). The Fuse Mu's can still get use too depending on the track. And sometimes I'll even run the Overloud Fairchild on Drum Bus (actually through Metaplugin with Oversampling on). So many good Mu's.

Can you compare the two Mu's from Kush and Fuse?
Thanks!

For me, the Fuse 25A is warm and pillowy. Put it on a mix, or the right instrument and you'll feel a bump in the lows and a warm, soft-ish compression. The AR-1 feels way more rock and roll to me. It can be more aggressive in terms of the saturation, do a faster attack, add some clarity (CCW) or hair (CW) depending on how the Tone knob is set...they're quite different other than being Mu style compressors.

[waldemarjohann]

For me, lately it's been AR-1 on tracks (commonly bass, vocals, guitars) and MDE on the mixbus (also amazing on piano). The Fuse Mu's can still get use too depending on the track. And sometimes I'll even run the Overloud Fairchild on Drum Bus (actually through Metaplugin with Oversampling on). So many good Mu's.

Can you compare the two Mu's from Kush and Fuse?
Thanks!

For me, the Fuse 25A is warm and pillowy. Put it on a mix, or the right instrument and you'll feel a bump in the lows and a warm, soft-ish compression. The AR-1 feels way more rock and roll to me. It can be more aggressive in terms of the saturation, do a faster attack, add some clarity (CCW) or hair (CW) depending on how the Tone knob is set...they're quite different other than being Mu style compressors.

Thank you very much for the information and your impression.

[jbarish]

Great comparison. Now do AR-1 vs Brighton