Any suggestions regarding to Acustica Audio?

[adl]

I tried their free Baxter EQ, which you get when you create an Acoustica Audio account and was blown away with the depth and...yeah, 3D-ness compared to the Plugin Alliance Baxter EQ which I used until than (which is the same as the UAD version, so if you got that you can so some comparison yourself with both Baxter EQ versions). So my advice would be: create an account, try out their free stuff and see, if that works for you, especially CPU and workflow wise, as you need to set your latency buffer higher with Acustica Audio plugin (or at least I need to do that), so it's more of an classic workflow with dedicated composing and mixing stages instead of a mishmash of both.

[cfanyc]

That doesn't even exist. There is Technical Grammy award and from your list McDSP isn't in it. Am i mistaken? Actually only Waves won it for plugins. https://www.grammy.com/recording-academ ... ers/awards

UA won it for something else. And that's that.

You do realize these tech "awards" are paid awards you do realize that right? Of course noone will admit that but it's also "common knowledge"

Waves is a joke, they sounds so cheap. I never want to use them and never will

I do not use waves, nor do i particularly recommend them
but fyi most commercial hit releases after the late 90s and until up
recently were mastered with a waves limiter and numerous were mixed with various waves plugins.
So, no they do not sound cheap. Crappy mixes by bedroom "producers"
sound cheap.

[duboy1996]

I do not use waves, nor do i particularly recommend them
but fyi most commercial hit releases after the late 90s and until up
recently were mastered with a waves limiter and numerous were mixed with various waves plugins.
So, no they do not sound cheap. Crappy mixes by bedroom "producers"
sound cheap.

Yes, crappy mixes by bedroom "producers" sound cheap. Yes, some big names mix use 1 or 2 waves plugins. But it doesn't change the fact that waves plugins sound cheap. Just test it on individual track and compare it to the same emulated model by UAD or AA.

[cfanyc]

I do not use waves, nor do i particularly recommend them
but fyi most commercial hit releases after the late 90s and until up
recently were mastered with a waves limiter and numerous were mixed with various waves plugins.
So, no they do not sound cheap. Crappy mixes by bedroom "producers"
sound cheap.

Yes, crappy mixes by bedroom "producers" sound cheap. Yes, some big names mix use 1 or 2 waves plugins. But it doesn't change the fact that waves plugins sound cheap. Just test it on individual track and compare it to the same emulated model by UAD or AA.

You are being a bit presumptuous here, by implying that you are the only one
who has tested plugins and hold the absolute truth of what sounds best.

So to answer you question, yes I have tested them, extensively. Some are better, some worse. None I have found to sound cheap.

My turn to wonder (with no offense intended, but as food for thought):
- Have you done blind testing
(eg with a utility like HOFA Blind Test with gain matching
turned on and multiple rounds of random orderings) in order to remove the name bias, volume bias, gui bias, familiarity bias, random distractions, ear fatigue, etc?
- Have you tried to spot the difference blindly between say a Slate, a uad, an aa and a waves plugin
doing the exact same function (eg modeling the same eq or compressor)
in a complex mix, in a sparse mix, and in single track?
- For various instruments, groups and multiple genres?
- Have you measured if the compared plugins
when null-tested differ above the audible threshold?
- Have you turned the aa preamps on and off and tried HD on and off to see the effect
in all of the above settings?
- Have you repeated your comparisons in another day to remove day-to-day
mood and listening acuity variation?
- Have you run your findings by experienced engineers or musicians to make sure
differences and preferences are not imagined?

If you have done the above, does waves always come last?

[plexuss]

VIBRANT!

[duboy1996]

You are being a bit presumptuous here, by implying that you are the only one
who has tested plugins and hold the absolute truth of what sounds best.

So to answer you question, yes I have tested them, extensively. Some are better, some worse. None I have found to sound cheap.

My turn to wonder (with no offense intended, but as food for thought):
- Have you done blind testing
(eg with a utility like HOFA Blind Test with gain matching
turned on and multiple rounds of random orderings) in order to remove the name bias, volume bias, gui bias, familiarity bias, random distractions, ear fatigue, etc?
- Have you tried to spot the difference blindly between say a Slate, a uad, an aa and a waves plugin
doing the exact same function (eg modeling the same eq or compressor)
in a complex mix, in a sparse mix, and in single track?
- For various instruments, groups and multiple genres?
- Have you measured if the compared plugins
when null-tested differ above the audible threshold?
- Have you turned the aa preamps on and off and tried HD on and off to see the effect
in all of the above settings?
- Have you repeated your comparisons in another day to remove day-to-day
mood and listening acuity variation?
- Have you run your findings by experienced engineers or musicians to make sure
differences and preferences are not imagined?

If you have done the above, does waves always come last?

I did everything you said above. I blind test many of my friends and family, professional and unprofessional. Some of them can't hear the differences. But if he/she can hear any difference, they always choose the UAD track. Same model, same setting, same loudness. I can't test on every instrument but I tested on main instruments: guitar, vocals, keys, bass, drum. Also can't test on every genre, only rock, jazz, hip-hop, r&b, synthwave, lofi.

Most musicians does not have great ears. Your ears function has nothing to do with your music knowledge. I don't have great ears, but even for me, the difference between Waves and UAD is so obvious. I always do blind tests and I always depend on my ears, even sometimes there is a difference, but if I can't hear it, it is a myth to me. I hate myth, but this one, UAD vs Wave, is not a myth to me and people around me.

[cfanyc]

Well thanks for clarifying. I do not necessarily share the same conclusions
but at least our divergent opinions are formed with care to avoiding obvious
biases which makes discussion more informative/less frustrating for me.

I do think that even if for your material/ears/comparison method
uad>waves consistently, that does not exactly mean that waves sounds
"cheap". Uad is a very very high standard and it keeps getting stronger...

[cfanyc]

VIBRANT!

come on have some passion man...

[The Noodlist]

Well, Dave Pensado seems to use AA plugins...

He has a signature AA plug-in.
ACQUA - Pensado EQAcustica

"Audio and Studio DMI have joined forces with Grammy®-winning mix engineer Dave Pensado (Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé) to create a brand new, powerful EQ plug-in for the contemporary mixing engineer."

https://www.acustica-audio.com/store/products/pensadoeq

[duboy1996]

Well thanks for clarifying. I do not necessarily share the same conclusions
but at least our divergent opinions are formed with care to avoiding obvious
biases which makes discussion more informative/less frustrating for me.

I do think that even if for your material/ears/comparison method
uad>waves consistently, that does not exactly mean that waves sounds
"cheap". Uad is a very very high standard and it keeps getting stronger...

Yes, my conclusion is based on my own experience. I can't judge it for someone else. I'll rephrase my words: Waves sounds so cheap to me and some people around me. We prefer UAD much better.

[seangm]

Second important advice : Read the recommandations on their forum concerning settings. Buffer size, some asio settings and other tweaks can make a world of difference. Most negative comments you read about cpu or laggy gui's are from ppl that didn't read those tips. I know because i was one of them
As AA plug-ins require to read a lot of samples/impulses you simply cannot expect them to work on lower buffer settings, just like with large sample banks. So no real-time use.

Does anyone have any links to where in the Acustica forum (or elsewhere) they explain how to adjust the buffer size? I'm trying to google that info and not really finding anything helpful. Thanks.

[0degree]

Just saw this -
Really mindblowing

[dionenoid]

Second important advice : Read the recommandations on their forum concerning settings. Buffer size, some asio settings and other tweaks can make a world of difference. Most negative comments you read about cpu or laggy gui's are from ppl that didn't read those tips. I know because i was one of them
As AA plug-ins require to read a lot of samples/impulses you simply cannot expect them to work on lower buffer settings, just like with large sample banks. So no real-time use.

Does anyone have any links to where in the Acustica forum (or elsewhere) they explain how to adjust the buffer size? I'm trying to google that info and not really finding anything helpful. Thanks.

Here's a lot of info about other settings :
http://forum.acustica-audio.com/viewtop ... 32&t=28945

Buffer size can be adjusted from within your daw, soundcard settings usually.

[The Noodlist]

It appears the XML files can also have their dspbuffer sizes changed.
http://forum.acustica-audio.com/viewtopic.php?t=11708

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http://forum.acustica-audio.com/viewtopic.php?t=29667

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Glitch Free Audio eBook

[seangm]

Second important advice : Read the recommandations on their forum concerning settings. Buffer size, some asio settings and other tweaks can make a world of difference. Most negative comments you read about cpu or laggy gui's are from ppl that didn't read those tips. I know because i was one of them
As AA plug-ins require to read a lot of samples/impulses you simply cannot expect them to work on lower buffer settings, just like with large sample banks. So no real-time use.

Does anyone have any links to where in the Acustica forum (or elsewhere) they explain how to adjust the buffer size? I'm trying to google that info and not really finding anything helpful. Thanks.

Here's a lot of info about other settings :
http://forum.acustica-audio.com/viewtop ... 32&t=28945

Buffer size can be adjusted from within your daw, soundcard settings usually.

Awesome! Thanks