The top 3 Plugin Alliance? Gems

[mixtur.se]

Most used for me (not necessarily best):
Adaptr AB
bx_control
Noveltech character

Honorable mention to Black box

[DCrown]

All their free plugins are ok.

[dj ray]

Glad to see the Silver Bullet getting some love. Definitely a dark horse that does so much to get you there, simply and elegantly. For the other two, I’d pick BYOME (great for bread and butter FX, as well as for getting weird), and the AB Plugin. Talk about an eye (and ear) opener.

[pekbro]

Weirdly, I didn’t like the silver bullet 2 or whatever. I didn’t grab it for $20 even.

I felt kinda bad tho, since they offered it to me
at that price after the sale ended.

[itanever]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Vertigo VSC-2. It's my go-to compressor. I can't be the only one who likes this plugin.

[Igro]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Vertigo VSC-2. It's my go-to compressor. I can't be the only one who likes this plugin.

its very good and I like it more than VSC-3 by Vertigo itself (which is gentler)

[_al_]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Vertigo VSC-2. It's my go-to compressor. I can't be the only one who likes this plugin.

I bought that along with the VSM, and although VSM gets heavily used here, the VSC... dunno... it just left me cold. And I don't even know why!
I'm actually not very good at gaging the quality of a compressor, but this just didn't do anything that made me want to remember it.
Maybe I'll give it another look

[legendCNCD]

Elysia Alpha
LTL Silver Bullet (though I bought it from LTL )
Elysia nVelope

--
there are couple of others but these are our far and most used ones

[itanever]

I got it as part of a bundle and VSC-2 was filler for me or that's what I thought. It's difficult to make it sound bad, especially on drums. You can push it way harder than many other comps. But most of all it just works. Most of the time. It's a good all-rounder.

[Raddler1]

Never understood what was so special about silver bullet.
Personally, I think all the Neold stuff is the best. Alpha compressor for the master is wonderful too.

[t.o.t.s.]

Most used:
bx_Opto
Silver Bullet
Maag EQ4

[legendCNCD]

Never understood what was so special about silver bullet.

Well, if you do not hear it, it is not so special. What I heard was immediately special, something I have not heard almost at all in digital format and have been using various methods to make so. Seeing that it is actually "alive" on its own confirmed it.

If it works, it works, if it does not for you, it does not

[vitocorleone123]

Never understood what was so special about silver bullet.
Personally, I think all the Neold stuff is the best. Alpha compressor for the master is wonderful too.

I've never understood what was so special about the Neold stuff. Old Timer is the closest to decent they've come and the only one I'd maybe suggest to people. I'm just not a fan of the developer, despite buying and trying many of his plugins over the years from different brands (including the latest Fuse ones). They're solidly... okay.

Silver Bullet is one of the few plugins that sounds like "analog". That's why it's special. If that sound isn't important to you, and there's no requirement that it should be, then definitely skip it.

[PTV]

Probably all of them are from Unfiltered Audio (BYOME, Fault, SpecOPs, Dent)

[concealed identity]

Never understood what was so special about silver bullet.
Personally, I think all the Neold stuff is the best. Alpha compressor for the master is wonderful too.

I've never understood what was so special about the Neold stuff. Old Timer is the closest to decent they've come and the only one I'd maybe suggest to people. I'm just not a fan of the developer, despite buying and trying many of his plugins over the years from different brands (including the latest Fuse ones). They're solidly... okay.

Silver Bullet is one of the few plugins that sounds like "analog". That's why it's special. If that sound isn't important to you, and there's no requirement that it should be, then definitely skip it.

I think your second paragraph kinda answers the first. Saturators are amazing when they give you the sound you're looking for, and worthless when they don't. For me, Neold Big Al often does a great job for the things I use it on (often drum breaks and vocals). But if it doesn't give you the sound you want, nobody can convince you it's good.