LOUDER THAN LIFTOFF Silver Bullet mk2

[bmanic]

If you use your DAW to save the preset

Reaper presets, please. Don't be so shy we love your stuff

Yes please.

Here you can download my Reaper presets for the LTL Silver Bullet mk2 VST3 plugin. These are the "built in" presets for each plugin within Reaper.


bM SB mk2 presets for Reaper


IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the presets use the "secret pink EQ" mode and that mode causes massive DC offset. Make sure you have a DC block filter (any High Pass Filter set between 10 to 20Hz will do!) placed and turned on (!!!) after the Silver Bullet mk2 plugin before trying these! Real damage can be done to speakers/headphones if you are using them at loud levels!


Note: You need to copy this .ini file to the Reaper resources 'preset' folder. Make sure you backup your own .ini file before you overwrite it with this one. Alternatively if you want to combine the two just open up the .ini file in a text editor and copy/paste the presets from one to the other. Just follow the rather logically laid out system of the .ini file.

These presets are for the most part just starting points, meaning that all the various EQ settings are for the most part set flat. I use these presets and the preset names as a general purpose cheat sheet for quickly selecting a serial number that does what it says.. meaning some have words like "punchy" and some have "laid back" etc. Basically they describe what happens to transients, the stereo field and the overall feel I got from the SRN chosen.

People who are not using Reaper may still find the file interesting to browse with a text editor as I've clearly labelled the serial number being used and given it a text description. Note that some presets are not just flat presets but need to be driven hard into for it to actually saturate.. but for the most part, like 90% are just flat plugin settings with not much saturation happening.

[bmanic]

2. The changes are all subtle in the way 98% of users won't even hear changes. Those like bmanic or mastering engineers are an extreme minority.

Well, not exactly true. Just load up the plugin in Plugin Doctor and look at how drastic the changes can be. Especially if you use the loose tolerances mode 2. We are talking of up to +/- 3dB of EQ differences between some serial numbers. Can't you hear a 3dB EQ boost?

What makes it even more complex/interesting is that these tonal changes are completely dependent on the various knob positions too. So even if the difference is rather small between two serial numbers at specific knob positions, it may be very large when you simply change the saturation drive knobs! For one serial number you may get a dip at 2kHz of about -1dB whereas another serial number would instead boost +2dB with the same knob positions!

[kmonkey]

2. The changes are all subtle in the way 98% of users won't even hear changes. Those like bmanic or mastering engineers are an extreme minority.

Well, not exactly true. Just load up the plugin in Plugin Doctor and look at how drastic the changes can be. Especially if you use the loose tolerances mode 2. We are talking of up to +/- 3dB of EQ differences between some serial numbers. Can't you hear a 3dB EQ boost?

My response was exaggerated for the purpose of discussion. Anyway, I salute you for the Reaper preset file. Thank you!!!!!!

[bmanic]

You are very welcome!

Note that some presets use that "secret pink EQ" mode and that drastically changes the response and is a bit "broken". It needs you to use a DC offset filter post plugin. Or at least I very highly recommend one because the DC offset can be as much as -20dBFS in some cases! Enough to potentially cause damage to speakers or headphones if you are running them hot!!

Any basic HPF filter will do. Just set it to the minimum value.. anything around 10 to 20Hz is enough to take care of it. I've labelled all of the presets that need a DC block filter and take great care when you switch to one of those! I recommend having the filter engaged first.

[kidslow]

Here you can download my Reaper presets for the LTL Silver Bullet mk2 VST3 plugin. These are the "built in" presets for each plugin within Reaper.

Thanks bmanic. Will have a look this weekend I hope.

[tomerun]

Soo....I really wanted to like SB more.... Spent some time with it while mastering a couple of songs over the weekend.
I was keen on getting some new toys from PA through their Custom Bundle offer, so tried SB alongside a few others (Amek Mastering Compressor is so unique, The Oven is cool as well, and the new Masterdesk Pro is a beast!)

After several attempts I opted for better alternatives to its 2 main areas of operation - 1. Multiple Saturation flavours with Neold Big Al (and others), 2. Bax like eq with Bettermaker (and others).
And with regards to the quirky bits - I already have Unfilterd Audio LoFiAF and Needlepoint (plus more lofi toys).

It really sounded to me like a (different) channel/colour strip in a way, that offers "highlights" from other tools, but with less control over each individual one.

I definitely have a strong fomo of not keeping it in my arsenal after the trial period.. )
But I just can't see where it excels, over having its components as separate plugins (or inside a StudioRack for example).

I guess as a hardware unit it kind of makes more sense, as in one place you have many controls and flavours, not needing to reach to other units. But with software... it's a different story perhaps?

[misc007]

I'm sceptical of all PA releases that aren't NEOLD

Sure, it looks like a Silver Bullet, just like SPL Iron looks like an SPL Iron, and Shadow Hills plugins look like....

I'll wait to hear comparisons with hardware (not from paid Youtubers) or demo it myself.

Finely a post where I can give an evil laugh and grin with the hairs on my chinny chin chin
I owned the VK SH MBC before PA made a plug.. I loved that thing the PA version sounds like the real deal in a plugin sense meaning < not as wide or just playing material through the box adds enhancements > but the action, behaver and energy is crazy close makes me feel like I have the real thing back Infront of me..
My 2cents
Best Gear Space thread To hear analog comps goggle "The Hardware Compressor & Limiter Comparison Thread (With Audio Files)" enjoy!!

[zerocrossing]

As interesting as it is, I think it's a bit of a risky move for the developers to assign every user a different default serial number, if it changes the sound as much as people say. It seems like that would lead to a lot of varying opinions out there, e.g. someone saying it's good for certain uses but others having different experiences due to the difference in sound.

Also, I know you can change the default serial number, but since it's tied to your account it would be cool to be able to change that permanently, across installations. Looking forward to experimenting with this, though.

It’s more like analog gear. People manage just fine overall using analog gear for the past decades.

True, but in the analog vs. digital debates, I've never seen "every unit sounds a bit different," as an argument for analog hardware.

I think a much better, though less cute, way to do it is to have a feature called "random calibration," or something. It switches between 20 different profiles, or you can choose a profile manually, if you have one that you particularly like.

[ambientdogs]

I use Airwindows Purestgain before and after the plugin, both automatically linked in opposite directions using Reaper's excellent plugin control linkage system. This gives me a very quick and easy to use way for gain staging.

First poster thread necromancer here...

Hey bmanic I was wondering if you had a tip for setting this up in REAPER to instantiate 2 instances of PurestGain/gain plugin around Silver Bullet/etc with inverse linking quickly- perhaps some custom action of some sort? Or are you just quickly setting up each time and used to doing so?

Also about hitting it at +2 to 7 dbfs, what circuits did you like to hit that hard, that sounds insanely sick! lol

Thanks

[Dr.Gunjah]

Not bmanic, but this may help you:

So basically:
(- lower your volume just in case you do something wrong... purestgain does +40db)
- load purestgain twice
- left click gain once on the 2nd instance
- click param -> last touched -> parameter modulation/midi link
- set baseline to full right
- enable link from midi or fx parameter
- in the field below choose the gain parameter of your first instance
- leave offset at 0 and set scale to -100%

You can also save this as an FX chain so you don't have to do it again.

[bmanic]

First poster thread necromancer here...

Hey bmanic I was wondering if you had a tip for setting this up in REAPER to instantiate 2 instances of PurestGain/gain plugin around Silver Bullet/etc with inverse linking quickly- perhaps some custom action of some sort? Or are you just quickly setting up each time and used to doing so?

Just follow the video posted by Dr.Gunjah above. Use two instances of Purest Gain. Then set up the linking, then select both instances of Purest Gain that you have linked and save them as a FX Chain preset. Now you can easily recall this exact linked setup at any time and it'll already be linked.

Or alternatively if you happen to use Airwindows plugins as VST you can simply download my Reaper FX Chain preset here and put this file in your Reaper resource folder, within the FX Chains folder:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eK7I5u ... sp=sharing

Also about hitting it at +2 to 7 dbfs, what circuits did you like to hit that hard, that sounds insanely sick! lol

Thanks

You can abuse the Silver Bullet plugin as a soft clipper by pegging it's meters. Just hit it hard and you'll notice it starts shaving off all peaks, even if you have the plugin itself set to quite moderate settings. It has different stages of soft clipping internally. For instance even if you setup it up to only use the EQ section it will still soft clip if you drive audio into it over 0 dBFS.

[ambientdogs]

Awesome, thanks for the tips guys! I knew how to set it up but I was envisioning some kind of custom action that could put it around a plugin quickly, FX Chain method is definitely sufficient enough for sure. I wish Reaper just had a little trim knob before and after every plugin, but most people would probably think that'd be overkill.

I've definitely been abusing Silver Bullet, haven't been brave enough to try +7 though. I had great success making a very wimpy live Kick In signal come to life by pushing it way through the A circuit while turning off as much of the others as I could.

Cheers!

btw I've been using
'leafac_Volume (Gain) (Trim) (Mixer Control Panel - MCP) (Track Control Panel - TCP)'
as pre/post/gain which gives a little window for the gain in the MCP window (that you can close after) and has nice ergonomics, give it a try

[ambientdogs]

Realized that last suggestion might be too vague, here's screenshots of it so you can gauge your interest. 2 shots of the gain window opened and closed in MCP with 'Show embedded UI in MCP'. Smoothly goes up in 1 dB increments by dragging, .1 increments by holding ctrl.

Sounds Human youtube talking about it (0:33):


leafac repository:
https://github.com/leafac/reaper/tree/main

I copied the jsfx and renamed mine to 'Gain MCP' rather than the long name bc I need tidiness in my life

thx to Sounds Human and leafac

(Edit: got error msg on my attachments, might not come thru, see video)

[bmanic]

I wish Reaper just had a little trim knob before and after every plugin, but most people would probably think that'd be overkill.

I've asked for this feature for Reaper already several times.. first time probably more than 10 years ago.

I really do wish they'd implement pre/post gain (with linking capability) into Reaper itself, just like they did with the dry/wet control.

[ambientdogs]

I wish Reaper just had a little trim knob before and after every plugin, but most people would probably think that'd be overkill.

I've asked for this feature for Reaper already several times.. first time probably more than 10 years ago.

I really do wish they'd implement pre/post gain (with linking capability) into Reaper itself, just like they did with the dry/wet control.

I've asked them for it directly too. Just something easy, unobtrusive, only visible in the FX pop out window just like the dry/wet. We must not stop demanding it! Haha