[Intro pricing extended] Available now: T-RackS Sunset Sound Studio Reverb

[Squids]

I think the general consensus so far is actually that the plug-in sounds AMAZING so I'm not worried to hear some people don't.

I'm sorry, but where exactly did you find this "consensus" ? The plugin was just released and maybe it's worth to wait for actual user opinions?

Well, for a start have a look here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-pro ... st14543746

The second part of the consensus is from talking to guys like Mark Linett who actually worked at Sunset Sound and mixed Pet Sounds and many other engineers who make albums and mix the Grammys and do all sorts of things professionally who would absolutely tell me if it DIDN'T hit the nail on the head.

[Squids]

I think the general consensus so far is actually that the plug-in sounds AMAZING so I'm not worried to hear some people don't.

As much as I like reading your informative and enthusiastic posts, I was like what the F this time around?!

How can one say something like that, not even half a day after the release, while most people in Europe, Africa and part of Asia were sleeping during that timeframe haha!

Haha. Well, this is also based on some opinions from the beta too actually (such as Mark Linett who I mentioned and I'm talking with other engineers like Tom and Chris Lord-Alge, Ross Hogarth, Joe Chiccarelli, Warren Huart, Bruce Botnick who recorded The Doors at Sunset Sound... people who would really know what it should sound like because they've made records at Sunset Sound, some of them classics). But, also, since it's just been released it seems that the people on Gearslutz in particular were very anxious to get it and actually use it. The general consensus so far from all of that is it's freakin' awesome. Sounds amazing!

But, now that it's out and you can try the demo it's easy just to skip past reading about it and hear it yourself. I always say that the best judge is your own ears... at least for how it is for your music. And that also depends on how your music sounds to begin with! Some people record in a poor sounding room to begin with such as an untreated bedroom or garage or rehearsal space. For that person this or any reverb might not sound good. But, if you have well recorded material to work with and good ears I think more often than not you'll agree this plug-in is one of the better ones of its kind and, due to the fact that its focused on a specific studio, it's the closest to that specific sound that's been offered yet. Hopefully that makes more sense now! Obviously, with time we'll hear more about people's responses to it and can update the general consensus if you'd like. I'm gonna see what Dave Pensado thinks and other respected engineers and producers. I bet Alan Parsons would like it. Those are the guys I look up to.

[Squids]

no offense squids but if a salesman gave me that pitch I would thank them, walk out the door and talk to someone who would listen to my needs...not attempt to define them based on their perception of my commitment level.

Just a hobby

I don't think you would because in person I would make sure you understood where I was come from. I don't look down on hobbyists at all. But, the needs may be different than a semi pro or a pro. This we all can understand. Even the difference between the psychology of a hobbyist who is a fan of the songs recorded there vs. someone who is indifferent to that is itself a massive divide.

When I speak about this stuff I'm just saying my opinions and sharing my own particular POV. It's not a sales pitch or I would say it differently. If I actually WAS the salesman in a store or something I would ask each person what their interests and needs were and ask things like "Do you like this band or that band or this album or that album?" and point out things to listen for in a plug-in like this vs. others and see if say the character and signature sound of it really makes a difference to them or not. If not then I wouldn't say they should get it anyway. I like to help people, not convince them to buy something they don't need.

But, I thought that was clear. Maybe it wasn't. If not I apologize. My main point is that Sunset Sound Studio Reverb gives you very specifically the ambient sounds of this studio. If you are a hobbyist and having that sound appeals to you then I'd at least say go try it and see. It's maybe more of a toss up than it would be for the other extreme where it's a pro engineer who mixes records all the time. That person I would say is more likely to buy it immediately just to have it in their sonic tool kit. I absolutely would.

With the semi-pro it's perhaps somewhere in between where one has to justify the expense for what they get out of it and, again, unless they are a fan of the sounds that have come out of that studio it's then a matter of just hearing the plug-in yourself and seeing if it's applicable to your music even if you never heard of the studio and that part doesn't matter to you.

Each product is different. This one is a little more toward the "esoteric tastes" appeal side of things in some ways... and then in other ways it could be a great reverb for anybody because of the variety of sounds it has and the musical quality of those sounds. But, probably still esoteric to people who would be happy with the reverb that comes with their DAW in the first place. Does that person need an additional third party reverb plug-in at all? Only they know.

[Squids]

I'll start saving up for a 12-core Mac then.

I would. It's not that you need to go that far though. A better deal is say a used or refurb Mac mini 6-core and put your own 64gb of ram in it. A powerful system can be made for under $2k. and in my opinion it is one of the best investments you can make for your studio. That's the heart of it. You need headroom to be able to run lots of tracks and plug-ins if you want to mix without having to disrupt the flow.

But, if one simply can't afford to do that then there are of course ways to work around it as we all know. I think it depends on whether work flow and the specific sound certain plug-ins offer regardless of their CPU power. That said, and I want to make sure this is understood, Sunset Sound Studio Reverb is not a resource hog at all so this isn't even relevant to that plug-in specifically. I'm speaking more hypothetically about ANY plug-in from any manufacturer. I have a lot from all over the place and some DO take up some serious CPU... and overall even when I just start loading up inserts on each track that itself takes up massive CPU. I finally just "had enough" and got a 12 core trash can. It wasn't even that expensive really. About $3k on eBay. More than I wanted to spend but my $1,700 laptop wasn't enough to mix that album without going nuts having to stop my workflow to make stems or freeze and commit tracks just to continue working. Food for thought anyway.

[Squids]

And they wonder why IKM always gets in arguments...
Must be the forum members, right?

In some people's case, yes, and obviously it depends on their attitude. Some forum members are friendly and respectful and others are not. Which do you think you are?

[Squids]

Maybe someone from IK could give us a little insight into Volumetric Response Modeling (VRM™) ?

"An advanced hybrid convolution technique, to deliver the highest-quality reverb effects possible..."

What Peter said but, generally speaking, it's the combination of techniques to achieve the resulting sound which includes the physical modeling aspects discussed earlier. I'm sure there's more to it but every company has proprietary techniques they don't explain in detail or have patents or are trade secrets etc.

That said, whenever I personally see an acronym like that shown in product information that's probably on the lower priority of concerns to me as a buyer. It's cool that there's some kind of special thing going on but we see that mentioned so many times we can be desensitized to it. I had that when I was buying a flat screen TV for Black Friday. I didn't understand half of what the salesman was saying about this or that technology but I could see for myself if it looked good so I got the one that looked good.

For me, I'd say 95% of the product's appeal is how it sounds. The other 5% is a combination of interesting facts about how it might have been made or the history of what it replicates in the physical world. Or it could even be 99% vs 1%. But that's just my view on that stuff.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

There's a good point to the "argument argument" there, though. Arguments seem to stem from giving out free feedings (like above) and/or refuting clearly off-base, incorrect, and frankly sometimes defamatory information that is stated. The former is not necessary but I can't throw stones as I've participated in the feedings in the past and have tried to get better. The latter is necessary as allowing incorrect information to be disseminated is harmful for any business, and IK is a business - just one that makes cooler products that this audience is interested in at KVR, that wants to keep putting out products that are useful and cool for both their customers/the market and themselves.

Enough of this meta bull**** though, I'm even boring myself. It should be clear what goes on in KVR threads, who the actors are and what their intentions are. In the end, this is a great plugin that I and many others including some really heavy hitters with great ears agree sounds incredible. That plugin is the topic of the conversation and I love hearing input about the actual plugin and now that input and discussion can be based on real experience with T-RackS Sunset Sound Studio Reverb so go ahead and try it if interested. Or not.

[kintsugi]

No true Scotsman disagrees!

[Elektronisch]

Maybe someone from IK could give us a little insight into Volumetric Response Modeling (VRM™) ?

"An advanced hybrid convolution technique, to deliver the highest-quality reverb effects possible..."

For me, I'd say 95% of the product's appeal is how it sounds. The other 5% is a combination of interesting facts about how it might have been made or the history of what it replicates in the physical world. Or it could even be 99% vs 1%. But that's just my view on that stuff.

Same here, tho for me personaly there is 0% caring if that reverb made after particular studio sound, i dont care about what those old group members used. I care what product i bring and today and tools that help me to do that.

In SSSR case, after demoing, particulary for my needs the conclusion i made "i like 50 eu less CPU intensive ValhallaRoom more"

[Bombadil]

And a good part of the turn-off is the hyperbole and the hard-sell. So when I see things like 'hyper-realistic' and such bullshit, it turns me away. When I see the corporate minions get snippy when people push back that turns me away as well.

That said, I like T-RackS, and use it all the time. I tried the demo, think it is quite good, but not worth the asking price.

And thanks for the free Studer!

[Squids]

Same here, tho for me personaly there is 0% caring if that reverb made after particular studio sound, i dont care about what those old group members used. I care what product i bring and today and tools that help me to do that.

In SSSR case, after demoing, particulary for my needs the conclusion i made "i like 50 eu less CPU intensive ValhallaRoom more"

Yeah fair enough. Makes sense to me.

[Squids]

And a good part of the turn-off is the hyperbole and the hard-sell. So when I see things like 'hyper-realistic' and such bullshit, it turns me away. When I see the corporate minions get snippy when people push back that turns me away as well.

That said, I like T-RackS, and use it all the time. I tried the demo, think it is quite good, but not worth the asking price.

And thanks for the free Studer!

Well, if price is the concern and you're not in a rush there are always opportunities that come up to get a great deal.

But, for what it's worth, I think it'd be a shame for anyone to be 'turned away' from people talking about a product or from what the product descriptions say etc. At the end of the day, and this is just my opinion, none of that should matter whatsoever. The product is part of your system and it either does it for you or not. And I say this as someone who offers a lot of opinions myself. Take it with a grain of salt and just explore. I'm sure you'll discover all kinds of things... like that you can get a free Studer once in awhile at least!

[MadDogE134]

the one thing i whole heartedly agree with is... i too am bloody tired of having to say 'in my opinion' and 'i think' over and over for the idiots always looking to be offended with their lack of perception skills. almost everything someone writes is their opinion and from their perspective and to have to lead idiots around by the hand gets quite cumbersome. lol

it's my opinion that others may have opinions... but i mite be wrong... and mites grow around a chicken's ass. lol cheers

p.s. i will check out the demo because i don't trust audio examples or videos... hope the intro price will be open for a bit because i am also in agreeance that the full price is beyond outrageous and is not an option lol

[Bombadil]

And a good part of the turn-off is the hyperbole and the hard-sell. So when I see things like 'hyper-realistic' and such bullshit, it turns me away. When I see the corporate minions get snippy when people push back that turns me away as well.

That said, I like T-RackS, and use it all the time. I tried the demo, think it is quite good, but not worth the asking price.

And thanks for the free Studer!

Well, if price is the concern and you're not in a rush there are always opportunities that come up to get a great deal.

But, for what it's worth, I think it'd be a shame for anyone to be 'turned away' from people talking about a product or from what the product descriptions say etc. At the end of the day, and this is just my opinion, none of that should matter whatsoever. The product is part of your system and it either does it for you or not. And I say this as someone who offers a lot of opinions myself. Take it with a grain of salt and just explore. I'm sure you'll discover all kinds of things... like that you can get a free Studer once in awhile at least!

I am always wary of marketing hyperbole. If a product is good, it doesn't need the hard-sell. My background is psychology, so I always see, in my mind, focus groups presented with a list of adjectives and told to report the ones that resonate most with them. That amounts to manipulation at the unconscious level. Hell, for all I know, this data can be bought from independent marketing agencies, rather than being done in-house. So, the more hyperbolic the description, the more I am turned off. If the product is 'all that,' then it should sell itself.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Though it is like the AmpliTube (or other companies') artist collections. Nobody is telling you that you have to only record Queen covers with AmpliTube Brian May or whatever. You can use the gear to achieve your own results and it is not limited to that artists' tone only. And it sounds kind of like we're talking about a studio that isn't still booking people to create great music... These rooms are not sought after just to sound like The Doors, Prince, or others. There's already variety in the types of music created there, and there still is to this day, including newer acts and very established but more "modern" folks (I like the work Beck did there, for example, that's pretty recent).

There are modern recording experts loving Sunset Sound, too - like Warren Huart who is no slouch. He's already done multiple sessions there with his Produce Like a Pro program and it looks like you'll see him soon in Studio 3 (along with some familiar folks including guest engineers and it might just have to do with T-RackS Sunset Sound Studio Reverb a bit too).

On the original topic of my reply, even Squids said elsewhere: "Btw I say 'The Doors Room' and 'Prince Room' for fun but so many great artists recorded in these studios it's kind of unfair to give them all the attention."