Tone Projects Michelangelo (Handy Amps)

[Ploki]

Hefty price-tag.

But it has:
- Superb (and tweak-able) coloration
- Dynamic mode
- M/S bias per band
- Transient/body mode that's actually intuitive (doesn't become watery as well) and musical
- Saturation bias PER BAND (you can de-saturate just a single EQ band, a fairly unique feature)

It's a joy to use and sounds very musical.

It's in my opinion one of those "don't demo if you don't have money to splurge" plugs.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Today's the day of $150 EQ plugins designed in collaboration with hardware designers.

[Ploki]

But this one is good

[bmanic]

Disclaimer: Have been testing this for almost half a year now.. so take everything I write as such. I simply love this plugin and have been using it as my go-to mojo thing since day 1. It's just so versatile and great for almost anything you can think of.

The way it sounds is just the tip of the iceberg. It is a truly reliable workhorse of a plugin due to it's many forms of processing. You got dynamic EQ with full attack/release settings, you got transient based EQ with full control of the transient length and sensitivity. You got great filters (one of them is slightly hidden beneath the right most big red knob), you even got the possibility of running a shelf either from the highs or lows to create a compressor or expander.

Then there is the tube section that gives you a lot of power to shape the tonality of the saturation. You got a width control for spreading those harmonics out between the channels and you got an actually honest to god working cross feed section that sounds rather unique.

If I was a betting man, I'd wager on this one. It's bound to become a classic. This is also not a product that just "carries a name brand" for the sake of it.. Chris was actually involved with the plugin development and encouraged all the quirky unique features and to explore the sonic possibilities of the saturation and cross feed.

[simmo75]

Tone Projects and Michelangelo's EQ $149 vs Relab and ChatGPT's Maselec EQ $149...

Which one is the best EQ ever?

[audiouser720]

Tone Projects and Michelangelo's EQ $149 vs Relab and ChatGPT's Maselec EQ $149...

Which one is the best EQ ever?

The one in your DAW

[Ploki]

I’m just gonna echo bmanic here

And i pretty much just use proq3 and tdr/vos slick and have aversion to analog models.

But this one really is nice

[enCiphered]

Nice one. Is there a discount for users who have already purchased one or all of their plugins?

[compressedform]

There is, you should see an email with a code. I had to dig it out of my junk folder.

[plexuss]

Nice one. Is there a discount for users who have already purchased one or all of their plugins?

LOL $150 is that discount. $170 intro and $250 reg.

I will pass. I really like Unisum and Kelvin but have no need for more distortion in an EQ for $150. Maybe pick it up 2nd hand one day... for now, I will try the demo.

[sqigls]

doesn't matter if you own one or all their plugins, just get a $20 discount.
looks phenomenal on paper, but it really is a poor 'loyalty discount'.

that said... holy crap i'd use the fudge out of that one
goes on the "one black friday sometime in the future" list

I am curious as to how many decibels of reduction had be had dynamically,
it's obviously a different beast, i see no ratio controls, and it appears more focussed on the transient vs body thing.

i want it and i doubt i'd even need to demo it. but I don't see any mention or indication of a side-chain? surely?

[enCiphered]

Nice one. Is there a discount for users who have already purchased one or all of their plugins?

LOL $150 is that discount. $170 intro and $250 reg.

I will pass. I really like Unisum and Kelvin but have no need for more distortion in an EQ for $150. Maybe pick it up 2nd hand one day...

Hmm, I have to agree. That's disappointing

[Ploki]

There’s another “submenu” you can open to further tweak transients and dynamics lol.
It’s really like an onion, but it works great on every layer.

No external sidechain.

Drive biasing is exceptional.
It’s like just the musical part of spectre and spliteq and dynamic eq rolled into one analog model.

You can use it flat and just bias drive like softube overstayer or kelvin tone control or spectre de-emphasised.

It’s been my go-to as well. Really fun to use.

[simmo75]

I'm wondering why you love this bmanic, but you're hating on Relab's new EQ?
They're one and the same surely, only one is clean, the other is saturated/color/mojo/anyothermarketingbs.

This a legit question, I'm genuinely interested, I don't understand why anyone would pay such a ridiculous price for an EQ.

[Ploki]

I'm wondering why you love this bmanic, but you're hating on Relab's new EQ?
They're one and the same surely, only one is clean, the other is saturated/color/mojo/anyothermarketingbs.

This a legit question, I'm genuinely interested, I don't understand why anyone would pay such a ridiculous price for an EQ.

How are they the same at all?
Relab is literally just an EQ with terrible ergonomics (like most PA analog EQs)

Tone Projects is so much more than the hardware.
Dynamics, transient, saturation and completely different ergonomic approach than the relab's field of knobs nonsense.