slate digital FG stress

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

The key to remember that 6:1 on a Distressor (UAD or FG-Stress) is 8:1 on Arousor. This is true of the other ratios as well - Arousor is always off by one against a hardware Distressor or emulations. This impacts the knee shape too so it's more than just ratio. .

Are you sure? That seems completely bizarre and a like a huge coding errror to me and how did they not get that during coding and testing? Also how does that actually work? Arousor adds two additional modes (1.5:1 and 8:1) so is 1:6 actually an additional one and 1:1 too, as 1.5:1 equals 1:1 in the others? And what about Nuke then, is it completely missing in Arousor?

That comes from Dave Derr himself. I think it's even in the Arousor documentation. You're over thinking the additional ratios. If you want to emulate 4:1 on a Distressor go 6:1 on Arousor. Load em up in Plugin Doctor and see for yourself how the ratios and attack/release times match up.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

And just to add, Page 6 of the Arousor manual:

https://www.empiricallabs.com/wp-conten ... ev2_v1.pdf

Note: If you wish to match a favorite Distressor Ratio, select the next higher ratio on the AROUSOR. IE 6:1 Distressor equals the 8:1 on the AROUSOR.

See? Not making stuff up!

[jens]

No, I did not think you were making stuff up - I was just assuming it must be more complicated than that - it still doesn't really make sense to me tbh...

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

No, I did not think you were making stuff up - I was just assuming it must be more complicated than that - it still doesn't really make sense to me tbh...

Here's my quick attempt at a "Distressor to Arousor Ratio Conversion Table."

1:1 on Distressor = 1:1 Arousor
1.5:1 on Arousor doesn't exist on Distressor
2:1 on Distressor = 3:1 on Arousor
3:1 on Distressor = 4:1 on Arousor
4:1 on Distressor = 6:1 on Arousor
6:1 on Distressor = 8:1 on Arousor
8:1 on Arousor doesn't exist on Distressor
10:1 on Distressor = 10:1 on Arousor (here's where it switches back)
20:1 on Distressor = 20:1 on Arousor
Nuke on Distressor = Rivet on Arousor

...it's not quite the same as you may need to adjust the input and output knobs a bit on one or the other to get the threshold exactly right, but you can dial in almost identical knee and and reduction curves using these settings. Compared Arousor against the UAD Distressor (don't have the hardware yet, but the Empircal Labs HQ is right down the street from my cousin's house and I've emailed Dave Derr a number of times on Arousor/Big Freq related stuff - one day I'll pop in and pick up a hardware Distressor).

Should also note: the blue dots on the Arousor GUI equate to Distressor settings. So the HP filter has a blue dot at 110hz, that's the HP setting for a Distressor. But in Arousor it's a knob. Same for the other blue dots.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Here's a quick tip: when comparing two emulations of the same piece of gear (or in Arousor's case, kind of an expanded Distressor against a Distressor), it's useful to throw the plugins up in Plugin Doctor to fine tune settings. Not every emulation is calibrated the same. Plugin Doctor lets you see the transfer curve, see the harmonics, see the attack and release shapes. You may find that 5 on one device equals 5.2 on another and 4.6 on another, or that you have to adjust the input and output gain... In the latest Plugin Doctor versions, it's easy to load two plugins and hide one with the Mute button to make sure you've got the settings dialed in as closely as possible. And if you find the release curve is all wrong and can't be fixed or the harmonics and their response are completely different, that's good information too. Dial in what you can.

Once you do that, take those dialed-in settings and bring them into your DAW to compare against actual audio to hear what it sounds like when fine tuned. It's a tedious, though insightful way of comparing one emulation to another. Has saved me money.

[jens]

Very useful stuff - and it makes a lot more sense to me now - thanks for that!

[InkSFX]

How would you fellow Distressor appreciators rank the Distressor plugins if you take into account all emulations there are? The ones I know of are the UAD, FG-Stress, Arousor, SK Disto-s, and of late, the Softube one. Slightly different beasts, I'm sure, and for each their own. Nevertheless I'm interested in how you guys find them especially in terms of sound, usability (UX) and functionality

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

UAD has the best balance of GUI, workflow, functionality and sound. FG-Stress sounds great but the VMR workflow is a pain. Arousor is terrific IMO, but more complex in a bit awkward GUI wise. Haven't used the others in any meaningful way.

[4damind]

Does the "new opto" mode (B) with Arousor mean a LA3A?

[InkSFX]

UAD has the best balance of GUI, workflow, functionality and sound. FG-Stress sounds great but the VMR workflow is a pain. Arousor is terrific IMO, but more complex in a bit awkward GUI wise. Haven't used the others in any meaningful way.

Thanks so much! Do you mean something specific about VMR? I am assuming that you're referring to having a "bloated" rack plugin full of stuff, and if not owning licenses for all, it is inconvenient to use only one instance alone in the rack vs having it as a single plugin. But if this is not the case, and you're referring to something else, I'd be happy to know more!

I'm maybe most interested in how Arousor and the new Softube compare to one another. Have to demo them side-by-side asap. There's of course the new IK Comprexxor which I forgot to list, but to my understanding that is good sounding albeit quite different compared to the rest. I'd be very intrigued to get the UAD one, but don't have a UAD interface at my disposal.

[plexuss]

I didn't realize Softube had a Distressor plugin. I've added to the list in the comparison thread here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=565559 I did not add it to the poll because the poll ends later today and wouldn't get equal representation in the poll.

[SoftSynthLover99]

UAD has the best balance of GUI, workflow, functionality and sound. FG-Stress sounds great but the VMR workflow is a pain. Arousor is terrific IMO, but more complex in a bit awkward GUI wise. Haven't used the others in any meaningful way.

Thanks so much! Do you mean something specific about VMR? I am assuming that you're referring to having a "bloated" rack plugin full of stuff, and if not owning licenses for all, it is inconvenient to use only one instance alone in the rack vs having it as a single plugin. But if this is not the case, and you're referring to something else, I'd be happy to know more!

I'm maybe most interested in how Arousor and the new Softube compare to one another. Have to demo them side-by-side asap. There's of course the new IK Comprexxor which I forgot to list, but to my understanding that is good sounding albeit quite different compared to the rest. I'd be very intrigued to get the UAD one, but don't have a UAD interface at my disposal.

Most people probably don’t know this but when you install VMR you can choose which modules to install (at least on MacOS) and delete the ones you don’t use or don’t own. For instance I use revival and monster and those are the only modules I have in VMR at the moment since I’m not subscribed anymore.

And if you don’t want the “dream strips” just delete them. VMR is not complicated as people make it out to be. It’s actually extremely intuitive and simple.

And FG-Stress outside of UAD is by far my most used and favorite distressor. I’m starting to use IKs new emulation but idk if it will replace FG Stress for me. Time will tell!

[plexuss]

Most people probably don’t know this but when you install VMR you can choose which modules to install (at least on MacOS) and delete the ones you don’t use or don’t own. For instance I use revival and monster and those are the only modules I have in VMR at the moment since I’m not subscribed anymore.

And if you don’t want the “dream strips” just delete them. VMR is not complicated as people make it out to be. It’s actually extremely intuitive and simple.

And FG-Stress outside of UAD is by far my most used and favorite distressor. I’m starting to use IKs new emulation but idk if it will replace FG Stress for me. Time will tell!

Thanks for the tips! I reinstalled with only what I oen selected and that makes VMR much easier to use. Thanks!

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

UAD has the best balance of GUI, workflow, functionality and sound. FG-Stress sounds great but the VMR workflow is a pain. Arousor is terrific IMO, but more complex in a bit awkward GUI wise. Haven't used the others in any meaningful way.

Thanks so much! Do you mean something specific about VMR? I am assuming that you're referring to having a "bloated" rack plugin full of stuff, and if not owning licenses for all, it is inconvenient to use only one instance alone in the rack vs having it as a single plugin. But if this is not the case, and you're referring to something else, I'd be happy to know more!

My biggest issues with VMR can be mitigated [depending on your DAW], and they are 1) using a rack when you only want one plugin, 2) mapping two a hardware controller can be finicky due to how the parameters are mapped internally, and 3) who wants to see a bunch of inserts labelled "VMR." This is where the VMR workflow gets clunky overall because you may not want "all Slate" plugins in your chain, or all PSP, or all anyone else. So you can end up with Fabfilter Pro -G, VMR, Fabfilter Pro-DS, VMR, etc. And you don't know what's in either VMR instance.

Now, the workaround I've discovered that resolves these issues for me in Reaper is to:

1) Load up VMR
2) Click the trash can icon to go to a default state (this is important to get things in Slot A for consistency)
3) Load the module you want into slot A (this is important for controller mapping)
4) Rename the FX Instance from VMR to "FG Stress"
5) Map your plugin
6) Save as an FX Chain preset
7) Repeat for other modules

...the downside is these end up in the FX Chain section of the browser and not in the plugin section, but it's as best a workaround I've come up with otherwise.

[InkSFX]

I didn't realize Softube had a Distressor plugin. I've added to the list in the comparison thread here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=565559 I did not add it to the poll because the poll ends later today and wouldn't get equal representation in the poll.

Thanks, plexuss, this is great! Had missed the thread completely for some reason...