Kazrog Retro Sta-Level

[enCiphered]

Sounds very good of course, lately tho, HW emulations aren’t doing much for me. I tend
to prefer high-tech wizardry…

I may pick it up during a sale one day.

Pretty sure if you ever post without the , the KVR servers would throw a 404 error from sheer confusion. You both seem inseparable

[pekbro]

Sounds very good of course, lately tho, HW emulations aren’t doing much for me. I tend
to prefer high-tech wizardry…

I may pick it up during a sale one day.

Pretty sure if you ever post without the , the KVR servers would throw a 404 error from sheer confusion. You both seem inseparable

I love that emoji, it’s true

[audiojunkie]

I feel like an absolute cretin. Maybe it’s my tinnitus and hearing loss over the years—probably is. I just went and listened to the demos, and the dry and affected audio sound the same to me. At the very least, the affect “seems” to be very subtle. Am I totally missing the plot on this? (Again, my guess is that I probably am). :/

Are the audio demos soloed channels, or in a full mix?

I'm going to guess they're soloed, since audio demos almost always are. And also because that's almost certainly the problem. We're wired to hear things relatively, so unless the difference is huge or you know exactly what to listen for, it's going to sound the same to you. It's one of the things I really hate about most product audio demos. Soloed tracks are great for reverbs and ampsims, but not for EQ, and especially not for compression.

You really need to hear it in the context of a mix. Then the effects will be much more clear. Because compression is all about what it does to one track relative to other tracks. Suddenly you'll hear how the vocal doesn't dip up and down and lose syllables and breath noise in the mix. You'll notice the pick attack on a guitar punches through the mix and remains defined. But without that mix, the most you'll probably notice is it sounds a little bit louder.

Makes sense. Granted though, my ears aren't what they used to be too.

[El°HYM]

I love that emoji, it’s true

Liking the Retro Sta-Level a lot so far, really responsive behavior.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Has anyone compared this to Arturia's STA-LEVEL model?

To me, the Arturia version sounded more vibey (more saturated, tiny bit darker, a little more closed). This sounded cleaner and more airy with smoother release. If I could get the vibe of the former with the release behavior of the latter, that would be a nice plugin.

I didn't feel inclined to rush out and buy this since I own the Arturia version. I have yet to compare to Mjuc from Klanghelm yet but that would be another interesting one to compare against.

[pekbro]

Damnit, played around with this too much and bought it...

[sQeetz]

I didn't buy any of them so far tbh,
beyond the True series. I've also not moved up to the guitar stuff from the old
Thermionik series. No particular reason either, just haven't...

I also didn't pull the plug on the amp stuff. I have Softube's whole catalog and Guitar Rig 7 for that.... But besides that, Green MHB, Sta Level , the True series.... they are all pretty solid and unique to me to justify having them in the arsenal

[El°HYM]

[sQeetz]

I have a mixed like/hate relationship to Mixbus. But I'll listen to it pretty soon

[El°HYM]

Not my favorite reviewer for sure; yet this one gives a quite good overview of the different models available.

[sQeetz]

after watching the video... he's right. Every single plugin he tested sounded kinda different, but in the same ballpark... I can only compare Kazrog to Klanghelm which is also uniquely nice
Still believe that the Kazrog version is somewhat more usable, though.

[audiojunkie]

If one could only have a single compressor, and it was to be used for everything (vocals, guitar, synths,drums, orchestra, etc), and for every purpose limiter, bus compressor, side chaining, etc., and you could only choose between Retro Sta-level and U-he Presswerk, which would you choose, and why or why not? What are the pros or cons of each, and which, in the end, has the better quality sound? I’m trying to choose between these two for my Linux setup, where there are less options and choices, and compression is a weak area in my knowledge and understanding. I mean, I understand the basics, but I don’t know what is best for vocals, vs best for drums, etc. Thank you for your valuable knowledge in advance!

BTW, the reason I ask for a “single” compressor for “everything”, is that I don’t feel comfortable with compressors and their differences to know what type of compressor is better for each particular use case. One that works well for everything solves that problem, as well as solving the problem of there being lack of choices in Linux.

[El°HYM]

The good folks at Kazrog surely delivered with this one.

[Kretch]

If one could only have a single compressor, and it was to be used for everything (vocals, guitar, synths,drums, orchestra, etc), and for every purpose limiter, bus compressor, side chaining, etc., and you could only choose between Retro Sta-level and U-he Presswerk, which would you choose, and why or why not? What are the pros or cons of each, and which, in the end, has the better quality sound? I’m trying to choose between these two for my Linux setup, where there are less options and choices, and compression is a weak area in my knowledge and understanding. I mean, I understand the basics, but I don’t know what is best for vocals, vs best for drums, etc. Thank you for your valuable knowledge in advance!

BTW, the reason I ask for a “single” compressor for “everything”, is that I don’t feel comfortable with compressors and their differences to know what type of compressor is better for each particular use case. One that works well for everything solves that problem, as well as solving the problem of there being lack of choices in Linux.

I’d go with P11.

[sQeetz]

If one could only have a single compressor, and it was to be used for everything (vocals, guitar, synths,drums, orchestra, etc), and for every purpose limiter, bus compressor, side chaining, etc., and you could only choose between Retro Sta-level and U-he Presswerk, which would you choose, and why or why not? What are the pros or cons of each, and which, in the end, has the better quality sound? I’m trying to choose between these two for my Linux setup, where there are less options and choices, and compression is a weak area in my knowledge and understanding. I mean, I understand the basics, but I don’t know what is best for vocals, vs best for drums, etc. Thank you for your valuable knowledge in advance!

BTW, the reason I ask for a “single” compressor for “everything”, is that I don’t feel comfortable with compressors and their differences to know what type of compressor is better for each particular use case. One that works well for everything solves that problem, as well as solving the problem of there being lack of choices in Linux.

If you want a "desert island" compressor I would go with Presswerk.
Although Sta-Level can make stuff sound nicer... it's not a "bread & butter" compressor.