Plugin Alliance - still ok? i see lots of sales?

[jamcat]

I paid $9 for something I could have later gotten for free, and $25 for something I could have later gotten for $20, and probably for $15 in another year. I don't really care. I've always gotten a good enough price, and wouldn't have bought otherwise.

[plexuss]

I have to say I went on the site and the stuff they have is okay, but I get the weird feeling that all the stuff is the same architecture with different GUI's.

You are incorrect.

[elxsound]

I paid $9 for something I could have later gotten for free, and $25 for something I could have later gotten for $20, and probably for $15 in another year. I don't really care. I've always gotten a good enough price, and wouldn't have bought otherwise.

But did you have cake?

[jamcat]

Yes, I have tried an other cake *ROFL*

[greenmind72]

I noticed that some brands previously exclusively listed on Plugin Alliance, are now also listing on Plugin Boutique. Eg Black box, Adptr, Shadow Hills.

[plexuss]

I noticed that some brands previously exclusively listed on Plugin Alliance, are now also listing on Plugin Boutique. Eg Black box, Adptr, Shadow Hills.

Yes that happens sometimes. It's all part of the plugin industry fun that we love so much as consumers.

[Tj Shredder]

They have only one big competitor, thats Waves with the same strategy… Lots of sameish plugins, officially in the price range of several hundred whatever, sold for 30 or less… Some gifts you would never buy anyway to sit unused in your plugin folder…
I could just resist some nobrainers for stuff I don‘t need… 90% of their stuff can be easily replaced by the native plugins of your DAW, if you use your ears…
A few exceptions also exist, like Unfiltered Audio or Dmitry Sches…
Most hit records out there are done with 1 console, not 10, one specialized outboard compressor for vocals maybe, not 32 of them…
Most of these plugins replicate artifacts of limited gear. Nothing wrong if it sounds good and adds character, but usually one of them would be sufficient…
But hoarding and collecting is human nature, they simply know how to play that game… I bet they are doing well… I play with them as well…

[jamcat]

Most hit records out there are done with 1 console, not 10, one specialized outboard compressor for vocals maybe, not 32 of them…

It’s a little more complicated than that. Tracking and mixing are done months apart, quite often on different consoles at different studios. It’s not even uncommon for tracking sessions to be done at multiple studios with different consoles.

SSL has been the preferred consoles for mixing since the ‘80s. But it’s been true historically that producers and engineers have preferred to track on Neve, API, or Helios. It should make sense why. Those consoles are known for the sonic character of their preamps and the broad tone shaping abilities of their EQ, while SSL is known for a clean, transformerless signal path, surgical EQ, compression on every channel, and fader automation.

Every studio has at least a couple 1176s, LA-2As, Distressors, and Pultecs in the rack. These will get used during tracking quite frequently. Different kit is needed for different sources and singers. Just like mics. These tone machines are usually used during tracking because the producer and engineer want to know they’re getting a good sound on tape before they hit record, rather than rolling the dice on “fixing it in the mix” months later.

Understanding all this, you can recreate this signal flow in your DAW using multiple virtual consoles, outboard gear models, and tape machine emulations at various points. This is a better process than just throwing on plugins randomly for “character.”

[plexuss]

Understanding all this, you can recreate this signal flow in your DAW using multiple virtual consoles, outboard gear models, and tape machine emulations at various points. This is a better process than just throwing on plugins randomly for “character.”

That's if you want to (try) and re-create the workflow (and sound, sort of) of that ancient process. Also, if you are going for sound quality why would you try and recreate hardware workflow - the vast majority of commercial recordings sound like sheit! (I find it funny that so many studios and engineers and producers are revered because of the names they produced, not the sound [which is generally sheit]). With modern audio technology (DAW, plugins) we can do whatever we want unconstrained by hardware and what record companies want in terms of poor sound quality.

With that, having options of using different EQs, compressors, and other processors opens up many doors for us modern producers and we can also exceed the poor sound quality of modern commercial productions.

And with that, PA offers some good options in each of the processor categories. You just have to run them at 2x+ oversampling to get decent sound.

[jamcat]

With that, having options of using different EQs, compressors, and other processors opens up many doors for us modern producers and we can also exceed the poor sound quality of modern commercial productions.

The flip side to all that is modern productions end up with poor sound quality because producers with more plugins than limitations use too much processing, simply because they have the plugins so they’re going to use them.

There’s a tendency to want to use whatever new toy you just got, and to be wowed by whatever comes out of it. But the latest sounds rarely prove to be the greatest sounds in hindsight.

[plexuss]

With that, having options of using different EQs, compressors, and other processors opens up many doors for us modern producers and we can also exceed the poor sound quality of modern commercial productions.

The flip side to all that is modern productions end up with poor sound quality because producers with more plugins than limitations use too much processing, simply because they have the plugins so they’re going to use them.

There’s a tendency to want to use whatever new toy you just got, and to be wowed by whatever comes out of it. But the latest sounds rarely prove to be the greatest sounds in hindsight.

Uh, no. Poor sound quality is more to do with what is expected by record companies and the inability to get anything better by the producers and engineers. There seems to be this mistaken idea that commercial recordings are the north star in terms of sound quality - they are not the north star for sound quality - they are the north star for revenue. Profit does not equal quality. So many people brianwashed into thinking achieving the same quality as professionals is something good. It is not. But if that's the person's goal so be it. Just understand: the goal of pro productions is not high audio quality - its whatever mechanism produces profit. Considering the poor quality of the monitoring hardware and listening aptitude of the vast majority of those that pay for music it's not a wonder. We need to talk about sound quality and plugin usage as separate things because they are not related.

[motomotomoto]

if you can't make a nice sounding mix with PA plugins then it's not the plugins fault lol

[lightsfadelow]

if you can't make a nice sounding mix with PA plugins then it's not the plugins fault lol

Arguably, you could replace "PA" with "stock" for just about any modern DAW.

[musicdoc]

20 years ago, UAD plug-ins really helped with mixing and things like reverb were much better than any native offering. But nowadays the plugs that I use are more about familiarity than superior sonics. Plus a some of UAD stuff is now available as a PA plug. If I was starting over today with yesterday’s knowledge intact I’d be content with stock DAW plugs for 95% of what I do.

[Bodhisan]

There seems to be this mistaken idea that commercial recordings are the north star in terms of sound quality - they are not the north star for sound quality - they are the north star for revenue. Profit does not equal quality. So many people brianwashed into thinking achieving the same quality as professionals is something good. It is not.

Of course, we must (or should) all agree, this is quite subjective - but I feel the very same way. I can't think of too many modern recordings/big-name producers that sound good to my ears when I compare them with productions from "long ago" that sonically were supreme. They suck the body out of vocals and practically leave the bass out. But I think we should also agree that the typical audio consumer doesn't give a rat's behind as to hifi, but rather - and I don't disagree, how good a song is. And I know this, too, is philosophized in many threads within planet KVR.

On topic: It's probably been stated in this thread as it has in other similar threads, but Plugin Alliance is not a plugin developer - they are a distributor. As Jamcat outlined, the emulations allow those who wish (myself included) to have fun and pretend we're at the helm of Abbey Road or fill-in-the-blank studio that uses Neve, SSL, API, or any combo thereof, making our hobby a little more exciting. I know I get a kick out of this fantasy and it motivates me to "record."