Even though Fabfilter Mixing Bundle is great my recommendation would be Waves as if you want one professional bundle then you get a much better deal with Waves Gold. Or for 650$ you could go for Waves Plantium which is on sale at the moment for exactly that amount. With Plantium you would have all the plugins you will ever need for both mixing and sound design. Hard to beat for that money. Or you could go with Gold when it is on sale usually for ~ 300$ and add some other Wave plugins that you specifically would find useful.
And don't listen to Theo - there's nothing wrong with Waves compressor's as they are used in big name productions all the time. The H-Comp is definitely great for overall compression tasks and the old RenComp is still a good workhorse plugin.
Looking for a mixing plugins suite - basic plugins: eq, compressor, limiter, gate
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- KVRAF
- 2648 posts since 20 Jun, 2012
No signature here!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 853 posts since 3 Nov, 2006 from Poland
Thanks guys for all the hints.
I'm not really looking for plugin packs like Waves - I have a good reverb, many great delays and so on (I should look for a good chorus and phaser, but it's not for this thread). I'm looking for a good compressor, eq and gate. I like Elephant and if you say that I'm not missing anything with that I will not look for another limiter - maybe just update it to v3.
I worked with Waves plugins when I was doing some radio/tv ads mixing in the studio where I was working (I was doing it as a last resort help - I'm a video editor:)). And... I didn't liked it much. So no Waves for me.
As for Melda stuff - I think they make great plugins, but the UI kills me (and I'm a Reaper guy).
I know that I sound like a little princess choosing which cakes she wants to eat, but I'm looking for plugins that will help me restart my creative process (I had a long break in music making). Not really the best sounding or with the coolest on the market ("yep! that's what all the hipsters use now for their trap hits!"), but the ones that will make it easy for me to stay focused on the music.
Just to make it more clear - what's important for me is the GUI and the workflow (and as a third point - it should not sound like shit:) ). I like how FabFilter stuff looks - so I'm not looking for some analog emulation with a VUs, screws, wood panels on the GUI
. It should be a strong basic base for mixing - so I'm not interested in a great emulation of some esoteric legendary HW eq or compressor, just plugins that will work on any track and bus. That's why I don't need dozens of Waves compressors or eqs - I want one that will help me to shape the sound. For giving it color I will use other things. I think it's something like a "channel strip" plugins suite...
. That's why I didn't bought FabFilter's Total Bundle when it was on 25% sale. I tried to score it on Call to Arms Charity auctions too and I failed in the last seconds .
And that's why I'm on the fence really here. It's easier to buy a new plugin than to find the time to make some music. That's the sad thing here and that's what keeping me from opening my wallet .
But back to the topic - I've tried iZotope Alloy and it's fun and seems to be CPU light on my ancient Mac. I have to test the FabFilter stuff - how it will hit my CPU.
What do you guys think about DMG Audio stuff - Compassion, Expurgate and Equlibrium/Equality?
I'm not really looking for plugin packs like Waves - I have a good reverb, many great delays and so on (I should look for a good chorus and phaser, but it's not for this thread). I'm looking for a good compressor, eq and gate. I like Elephant and if you say that I'm not missing anything with that I will not look for another limiter - maybe just update it to v3.
I worked with Waves plugins when I was doing some radio/tv ads mixing in the studio where I was working (I was doing it as a last resort help - I'm a video editor:)). And... I didn't liked it much. So no Waves for me.
As for Melda stuff - I think they make great plugins, but the UI kills me (and I'm a Reaper guy).
I know that I sound like a little princess choosing which cakes she wants to eat, but I'm looking for plugins that will help me restart my creative process (I had a long break in music making). Not really the best sounding or with the coolest on the market ("yep! that's what all the hipsters use now for their trap hits!"), but the ones that will make it easy for me to stay focused on the music.
Just to make it more clear - what's important for me is the GUI and the workflow (and as a third point - it should not sound like shit:) ). I like how FabFilter stuff looks - so I'm not looking for some analog emulation with a VUs, screws, wood panels on the GUI
. It should be a strong basic base for mixing - so I'm not interested in a great emulation of some esoteric legendary HW eq or compressor, just plugins that will work on any track and bus. That's why I don't need dozens of Waves compressors or eqs - I want one that will help me to shape the sound. For giving it color I will use other things. I think it's something like a "channel strip" plugins suite...I know that, I have this in the back of my head all the timedo_androids_dream wrote:It's also worth mentioning (it really is..) - It's not about the plugins - Just to throw in the philosophical..
. That's why I didn't bought FabFilter's Total Bundle when it was on 25% sale. I tried to score it on Call to Arms Charity auctions too and I failed in the last seconds . And that's why I'm on the fence really here
. It's easier to buy a new plugin than to find the time to make some music. That's the sad thing here and that's what keeping me from opening my wallet .But back to the topic - I've tried iZotope Alloy and it's fun and seems to be CPU light on my ancient Mac. I have to test the FabFilter stuff - how it will hit my CPU.
What do you guys think about DMG Audio stuff - Compassion, Expurgate and Equlibrium/Equality?
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- KVRAF
- 5641 posts since 15 Dec, 2011
Getting a custom FabFilter bundle tamed my quest for transparent sounding plugins. I was lucky to get it at their 10 years 40% off. The fact that they started to roll out new versions is also nice.
And Soundtoys 5 took care of the 'analog' part.
DMG Audio has a great reputation. In CM reviews it's always FF vs DMG. But they don't do sales and their prices are way too much for me.
And Soundtoys 5 took care of the 'analog' part.
DMG Audio has a great reputation. In CM reviews it's always FF vs DMG. But they don't do sales and their prices are way too much for me.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 853 posts since 3 Nov, 2006 from Poland
I demoed FabFilter, DMG and iZotope stuff. I loved FabFilters Pro Q 2 and I liked DMG Equlibrium very much. The customization of GUI in Equlibrium is superb.
The "problem" is that I didn't like FabFilter's Pro C 2 that much workflow wise, but DMG's Compassion was even worse in that regard. For example it's totally counterintuitive for me that with lowering the threshold the waveform is getting bigger. I know that's it's the same as the threshold line going smaller, but every time I had to think for a fraction of second "Hey... What's going on...!?". As for Pro C - the waveform display was not very readable for me. I like the waveform display of LVC-Audio ClipShifter - it's much clearer for me what's going on.
As for iZotope Alloy - I don't like that it's "one plugin doing all" and it seems like a total overkill - limiter, exciter, and so on. And the GUI is rather small on my screen and organized in a way that is not readable for me at a face value.
But in the end I calculated the prices and one thing is clear - for DMG stuff (Compassion+Equlibrium+Expurgate) it would be 550 euro, but with the winter FabFilter's sale for 400 euro I can buy Pro C 2, Pro Q 2, Pro-G, Saturn, Twin 2, Timeles 2 and Volcano 2. So - it's an easy decision I think.
I will test the CPU hit tomorrow, listen to it a little bit more and make my final decision.
I know that it's a very egocentric thread
, but I'm writing all that so maybe it will help someone else make a decision.
The "problem" is that I didn't like FabFilter's Pro C 2 that much workflow wise, but DMG's Compassion was even worse in that regard. For example it's totally counterintuitive for me that with lowering the threshold the waveform is getting bigger. I know that's it's the same as the threshold line going smaller, but every time I had to think for a fraction of second "Hey... What's going on...!?". As for Pro C - the waveform display was not very readable for me. I like the waveform display of LVC-Audio ClipShifter - it's much clearer for me what's going on.
As for iZotope Alloy - I don't like that it's "one plugin doing all" and it seems like a total overkill - limiter, exciter, and so on. And the GUI is rather small on my screen and organized in a way that is not readable for me at a face value.
But in the end I calculated the prices and one thing is clear - for DMG stuff (Compassion+Equlibrium+Expurgate) it would be 550 euro, but with the winter FabFilter's sale for 400 euro I can buy Pro C 2, Pro Q 2, Pro-G, Saturn, Twin 2, Timeles 2 and Volcano 2. So - it's an easy decision I think.
I will test the CPU hit tomorrow, listen to it a little bit more and make my final decision.
I know that it's a very egocentric thread
, but I'm writing all that so maybe it will help someone else make a decision.-
- KVRAF
- 2747 posts since 13 Feb, 2012 from Amsterdam
CPU hit on Fabfilter generally is quite low (esp. where it counts: EQ, Comp).
Surprised you didn't like the workflow of C2 though, maybe you just need a little more time with it? Anyway, I'm not talking you into liking it, surprised that's all! And, you can always turn the display off altogether. You might have liked the original Pro-C more, you could make more adjustments to the display (brightness etc).
Anyway, it's a good choice I think, top quality and they're well maintained (regular updates etc). But mostly bugfree.
Surprised you didn't like the workflow of C2 though, maybe you just need a little more time with it? Anyway, I'm not talking you into liking it, surprised that's all! And, you can always turn the display off altogether. You might have liked the original Pro-C more, you could make more adjustments to the display (brightness etc).
Anyway, it's a good choice I think, top quality and they're well maintained (regular updates etc). But mostly bugfree.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 853 posts since 3 Nov, 2006 from Poland
I checked the CPU hit and it's really low for all the plugins. So no real difference there.BDeep wrote:CPU hit on Fabfilter generally is quite low (esp. where it counts: EQ, Comp).
Surprised you didn't like the workflow of C2 though, maybe you just need a little more time with it? Anyway, I'm not talking you into liking it, surprised that's all! And, you can always turn the display off altogether. You might have liked the original Pro-C more, you could make more adjustments to the display (brightness etc).
As for C2 - it's growing on me
. I find it better every time I use itd.I was thinking about buying Volcano/Saturn/Timeless too, but after listening to the presets I'm not hearing anything I cannot do with the plugins I have already - Maul, Bloom, Etch and Rob Papen stuff (RP-Delay, RP-Distortion). So I will skip those.
I'm still interested in Twin2 - I remember doing a song for OSC some time ago with it and it was real fun. All these modulation options will make it a great pad/atmoshpere/fx machine
.https://soundcloud.com/palupalu/szalonykp-lonely-voyage
I love the bridge part in the middle (you call it a drop now I think
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- KVRAF
- 5641 posts since 15 Dec, 2011
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do_androids_dream do_androids_dream https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=164034 - KVRAF
- 2908 posts since 26 Oct, 2007 from Kent, UK
I've tried all the FF plugins - didn't like any of them - very overpriced as well.e@rs wrote:Didn't like Timeless and Volcano, but Saturn is killer.
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- KVRAF
- 5641 posts since 15 Dec, 2011
Not when you get them at a sale. Add to that the automatic discount in the account. The more plugins you buy, the bigger the discount. Overpriced? Not if you investigate a little deeper.do_androids_dream wrote:I've tried all the FF plugins - didn't like any of them - very overpriced as well.
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- KVRAF
- 2747 posts since 13 Feb, 2012 from Amsterdam
Volcano probably is my least used plugin of the suite. When I use it it's most of the time for getting some movement and width to sounds. The delay in Volcano is very useful for that.e@rs wrote:Didn't like Timeless and Volcano, but Saturn is killer.
Timeless gets a lot of use round here, albeit somewhat less since Replika.
But as it goes, it's all personal preference
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 853 posts since 3 Nov, 2006 from Poland
@ e@rs - Will look into Saturn moredo_androids_dream wrote:I've tried all the FF plugins - didn't like any of them - very overpriced as well.e@rs wrote:Didn't like Timeless and Volcano, but Saturn is killer.
@ do_androids_dream - they are not cheap. What's your alternative, what do you use?
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- KVRAF
- 26033 posts since 20 Oct, 2007 from gonesville
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 853 posts since 3 Nov, 2006 from Poland
Looks interesting, but 780 euro is outside my budgetjancivil wrote:Vienna Suite. http://www.vsl.co.at/en/Vienna_Software ... _Suite_PRO
(and it's funny that it came after do_androids_dream post)Thanks for that - I didn't know that VSL makes mixing/mastering plugins
