Strymon Big Sky Plugin

[ReverendLove]

Might happen if you talk in third person to them when they're present.

Makes sense. Iwans a Little bit frightened. Now I yam settled again. Thanks.

[cryophonik]

What happens when I open a UAD plugin in my Apollo hardware? Does it make the software sound betterer, or the hardware sound worserer?

[ReverendLove]

What happens when I open a UAD plugin in my Apollo hardware? Does it make the software sound betterer, or the hardware sound worserer?

Don't feed it at night! Never!

[VitaminD]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software.. even though they're both using the exact, same code. So the only way they could possibly sound different would be gain staging or your audio interface in general. Otherwise the difference is in your head.

And I think that's because people psychologically expect a dedicated hardware device costing much to be a better product sonically than the software operating on a general purpose X86 computer.

Hardware traditionally has been the primary way to get high quality audio output and plugins, for many years, were rather inferior. So there is this psychological box people place themselves in to hardware vs software. Despite the hardware today often being software masquerading as hardware.

[chk071]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software.. even though they're both using the exact, same code. So the only way they could possibly sound different would be gain staging or your audio interface in general. Otherwise the difference is in your head.

It could very well sound different due to the DAC's of the Virus. Actually, I'd be surprised if they wouldn't sound different, because the DAC's weren't very good back then.

[VitaminD]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software.. even though they're both using the exact, same code. So the only way they could possibly sound different would be gain staging or your audio interface in general. Otherwise the difference is in your head.

It could very well sound different due to the DAC's of the Virus. Actually, I'd be surprised if they wouldn't sound different, because the DAC's weren't very good back then.

Those people were saying the Virus Hardware sounded better though. Either way, the DSP is the same; the differences are outside the sound generator.

[vurt]

Even with plugin delay compensation?

Oh, what I totally forgot in my writing above is that, in the Gearspace discussion, the most frequent criticism about software reverbs I heard is that they sound somewhat separated from the dry signal, which I can confirm with some reverbs I tested. Some reverbs glue magically, while others just sound separated, artifical and off. Scientifically spoken. And some sound like a bathroom, no matter what you do. But, I wouldn't even name those in a serious discussion about that, because, mostly, those reverbs aren't highly regarded anyway.

true bypass on the dry
yup, cant get that in a plug in no matter how good, there will always be latency on the dry signal even.
most important on guitars for me personally, as its about the sound as you strike the string, if theres too much latency, you trip over yourself.

that doesn't really help when tracking guitar live as an example, not that it's not possible, especially today with faster computers and less latency.

just in a pedal, the dry signal doesn't do ad/da it's just straight through, only the wet is converted.

was mostly just trying to explain what chk had read, again not saying it makes things impossible

[chk071]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software.. even though they're both using the exact, same code. So the only way they could possibly sound different would be gain staging or your audio interface in general. Otherwise the difference is in your head.

It could very well sound different due to the DAC's of the Virus. Actually, I'd be surprised if they wouldn't sound different, because the DAC's weren't very good back then.

Those people were saying the Virus Hardware sounded better though.

Probably for the same reason some of the modern plugins are considered inferior sounding to older VA hardware: Almost too hi-fi. Shrill can be unpleasant.

You also hear that with Waldorf's hardware. The old stuff from them almost sounds as if there is a low pass filter on it which filters the very high frequencies. Makes for a more "airy", soft tone.

[VitaminD]

I think it is more people expect expensive hardware to sound better than lower cost software.

[Etienne1973]

just in a pedal, the dry signal doesn't do ad/da it's just straight through, only the wet is converted.

If we're talking about digital reverb effect pedals then it depends. My Digitech RV7 does ad/da convert the dry signal. TC Electronic Hall of Fame (as an example) has analog-dry-through, doesn't convert dry to digital and back.

[chk071]

I think it is more people expect expensive hardware to sound better than lower cost software.

Hey, I wouldn't rule that out at all. Now that I have the Virus in the box (Motorola DSP emulator), I must admit that I also fell a bit for the legendary status of the device (same when I first tried Sylenth1, by the way). Still sounds pretty damn good to me though, right up there with the top sounding software VA's, if not a bit better. It's not so much the single components, it's the overall image. Synth sounds good, fx's sound good, the feature set is great. It's just a very good overall "package".

I'm actually very surprised about the fx. Considering that they're so old, it's a bit of a pathetic display for software developers that so few manage to put some good sounding fx in their soft synths. Spire being one of the laudable exceptions.

[jens]

Might happen if you talk in third person to them when they're present.

Huh? Who adressed Manfred in third person? What did I miss?

[Modular Manfred]

Valhalla Supermassive comes with 16 different algorithms, and the damn plugin is free and sounds better than the Big Sky plugin. SMH.

No, it doesn’t. It sounds like a plugin.

Ah, interesting - so hardware sounds better than plugins, right?

I guess that means the Big Sky plugin sounds inferior to the hardware Big Sky then...


Guys, you heard Manfred: this plugin ain't worth it - after all it's just a plugin and thus sounds like a plugin - get the hardware instead - that's the real deal!

Or of course you could also get this:

https://schneidersladen.de/en/valhalla- ... cardtridge

Just ask Manfred - it's hardware - thus much better than V³


Thanks for the insight Manfred! It's always great to have people around who really know what they talk about!

Let me correct you once again. I said Strymon plugin is spot on with the pedal. Both sound like the classic hardware reverbs that people usually refer to when defining how the reverb sits in a mix. For reference I have Lexicon PCM70, Lexicon PCM81, Eventide Eclipse, H8000, all the OTO Machines boxes and some cheaper ones like the Strymons and the few others, and I only use these on synths. Because when you say something sounds better (like the op I responded to) you should also say in what context?

- Big Sky (pedal/plugin) in a musical context I use it (on old analog synths, eurorack and moog modulars) sounds really good in terms of how it glues with the sound and, how it sits in the mix. It has that thickness to it. Not as good as the PCM70, but perhaps not really comparable. While I use the PCM70 as a ‘general’ effect, I tend to use the Strymons for more animated effects. So the 70 would go onto pads and polys, the Strymons and OTO Machines onto arpeggios and stuff.
- Supermassive does not have that sonic property (to me) in terms of thickness and how it gels with the mix. BUT this is sometimes an advantage. Sometimes when the raw sound is already too ‘thick or fat’ for lack of a better word, you want something more polite. Supermassive is super for this. I use it on my Moog Matriarch and my old Voyager more than its built in delay for a similar animated effect that I would use the Strymon for on ‘more polite synths’. It does magic for trippy arpeggios, but for other synth, for instance my current eurorack setup I chose the Strymon for the same purpose as sounds somewhat more robust, for lack of a better word. Most plugin reverbs fall short in this category.

The point I was trying to make was that when someone just blatantly says one thing sounds better than another, should always elaborate the musical context. Which I admit, I could have done as well. Instead of appearing as a car salesman.

Anyway for anyone who cares or don’t believe that this is trolling, my recommendation is. If you like the Strymon pedal, it’s worth getting the plugin to have a substitute on your laptop to play around when on the road. If you don’t have the pedal but like the sound, I think it’s safe that you can get the exact sound for cheap by getting the plugin, if the tactility is not your thing. I hope they will do the Timeline as well.

[jens]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software...

But that is not comparable to Manfred's brainfart. Manfred said the plugin sounds better than another plugin because hardware.

[Modular Manfred]

Well people were saying the Virus hardware sounded different than the Virus software.. even though they're both using the exact, same code.

It’s not how it works. If you are talking about the TI then it depends on wether or not you use the DAC.