Toneboosters 3.x!

[Hermetech Mastering]

My main dither now!

[sinkmusic]

My main dither now!

I would be curious to know what you think about the ToneBoosters BusComp (and comp v3) : i find them very transparent, and low cpu. And the Buscomp features some interesting transient handling parameters.

[Hermetech Mastering]

I'm all sorted for comps, hardware and software, and too busy to try new ones right now, but will do at some stage! TB stuff is great and very well priced.

[kmonkey]

I use only Reelbus and Barricade (already have everything else covered but these two can't be replaced and yes i have VTM and Nebula) but their other stuff is top notch! Highly recommended!!

[lacandon]

Would love a bit more tweaks on the Barricade since ver.3 loosing way more lowend and sounds bit more squashed! Ver.2 was nice and roundy !

[kmonkey]

Would love a bit more tweaks on the Barricade since ver.3 loosing way more lowend and sounds bit more squashed! Ver.2 was nice and roundy !

Liked earlier reelbus as well. Newer have different sound (reported and confirmed) which i can't replicate not even with legacy switch..But anyway great tools..

[lacandon]

Would love a bit more tweaks on the Barricade since ver.3 loosing way more lowend and sounds bit more squashed! Ver.2 was nice and roundy !

Liked earlier reelbus as well. Newer have different sound (reported and confirmed) which i can't replicate not even with legacy switch..But anyway great tools..

Yep they do but he works so much on them they was already nice plugins,i ve noticed soem difference in the Reelbus too but still its the most close to the Uad Ampex witch for me its the holy grail tape emu yet to date.

Do you use as well the surgical eq?Its looks very underrated but its well featured and had this sharp filters witch i love in the oldie Cambridge eq.

[darsho]

Hmm, I bought the Bundle for Toneboosters 2, today I installed the 3.x Versions.
Together with the T-Racks Deluxe they haven been my Go-To plugins for years now.

However, I have so many old projects using the 2.x versions and totally hate to have plugins installed twice.
After checking the plugins I use from the suite (ReelBus, DeEsser, EZ-Q, TB-Module, Barricade) I don't think the 3.x version were noticably better to my half-deaf ears.

And btw, I really find it odd that they lose some plugins with each version upgrade, where is EZ-Q in the 3.x ?
Sch a great little helper, I use it all the time.

I also still use jb_Red Phatt Pro for all my drum inserts, a plugin that never even made it to the Toeboosters series from back when Jeroen still released them under his own name.
Also jb_Smash Pro never got 'toneboostered'. Thankfully Reaper has no problem with 32 bit plugins, but I am still hoping to see 64 bit builds of those two...

I must say I deleted the 3.x versions and will keep on using the 2.x plugins along with Red Phatt pro and Smash pro from 'back then'.
It's great I can use my old keyfiles for the 3.x versions but I am a little underwhelmed that the new plugins don't just replace the old ones in my plugin folder, which I try to keep free of unnecessarily installed plugins.

[Compyfox]

However, I have so many old projects using the 2.x versions and totally hate to have plugins installed twice.

Jeroen mentioned that the new engine is incompatible to the v2 Plugins/presets. So if you want to transition to the v3 engine, you need to install in parallel.

After checking the plugins I use from the suite (ReelBus, DeEsser, EZ-Q, TB-Module, Barricade) I don't think the 3.x version were noticably better to my half-deaf ears.

Then please check your ears again.
Barricade alone got a massive update with the look ahead and "multiband" mode, which works different than in v2 with the Lookahead and OS mode. ReelBus also dramatically changed in terms of sound - especially if overdriven on purpose.

And btw, I really find it odd that they lose some plugins with each version upgrade, where is EZ-Q in the 3.x ?
Sch a great little helper, I use it all the time.

I also still use jb_Red Phatt Pro for all my drum inserts, a plugin that never even made it to the Toeboosters series from back when Jeroen still released them under his own name.
Also jb_Smash Pro never got 'toneboostered'. Thankfully Reaper has no problem with 32 bit plugins, but I am still hoping to see 64 bit builds of those two...

First and foremost, ToneBoosters is still(!) Jeroen Breebaart. Only that he separated his plugin range from his personal homepage.

Furthermore, some plugins got caved due to lack of interest (I miss the X/Y plugin as well - could have been so much more) - others were being revived after there was enough interest (Module comes to mind). If it's still working for you, stick with the plugins. Maybe some day we will see a revival, but don't be sad if it won't happen.

It's great I can use my old keyfiles for the 3.x versions but I am a little underwhelmed that the new plugins don't just replace the old ones in my plugin folder, which I try to keep free of unnecessarily installed plugins.

Again different engine, plugin compatibility and total recall is not possible.

[djscorb]

I own quite a few TB plugins but the sound and parameters have changed enough over various versions that many of my older projects are essentially broken.

This is a real shame and prevents me from wanting to use them in any current or future projects.

Having to uninstall 2.x and reinstall 2.y to see if the sound returns to where it was when the project was saved is too much of a pain for me to consider using them anymore. This gets worse when you realise that another project you want to work on the same week uses a different version. A crazy situation and really not good enough for professional use.

Maintaining compatibility should be a devs number one priority when releasing updates and it seems that nobody told Jeroen this.

Perhaps when changing something that breaks projects, it would have been ok had he given the plugin ID a change as well (2.5 for instance). Audio Damage are good for this, letting you run Dubstation 1 and Dubstation 1.5 simultaneously.

With updates within the 2.x cycle changing their sound and parameters and also with plugins removed from the bundle and 3.x sounding considerably different, it's just too much of a minefield to navigate for me.

Cheers

Scorb

[mabian]

Perhaps when changing something that breaks projects, it would have been ok had he given the plugin ID a change as well (2.5 for instance). Audio Damage are good for this, letting you run Dubstation 1 and Dubstation 1.5 simultaneously.

With updates within the 2.x cycle changing their sound and parameters and also with plugins removed from the bundle and 3.x sounding considerably different, it's just too much of a minefield to navigate for me.

Scorb

Totally agreed on 2.x vs 2.y sound compatibility, BUT.... v3 plugins must be considered different plugins at all that totally coexist with v2, just like Dubstation 1 and 1.5 you mentioned.

Just my peaceful 2 cents for the sake of fairness...

- Mario

[mabian]

... and, in the meantime, v3.0.9 is now available with a strong overhaul to Bus Compressor v3, which makes it probably not completely backward compatible sonically... ouch.

- Mario

[aMUSEd]

Do they all have that sexy black number yet?

[sinkmusic]

v3 plugins [...] totally coexist with v2[...]
Just my peaceful 2 cents for the sake of fairness...

+1 with Mario

v3.0.9 is now available with a strong overhaul to Bus Compressor v3

... And i like it very much !

Some great features to help fine-tuning the sound

[Compyfox]

I own quite a few TB plugins but the sound and parameters have changed enough over various versions that many of my older projects are essentially broken.

...

Having to uninstall 2.x and reinstall 2.y to see if the sound returns to where it was when the project was saved is too much of a pain for me to consider using them anymore. This gets worse when you realise that another project you want to work on the same week uses a different version. A crazy situation and really not good enough for professional use.

Maintaining compatibility should be a devs number one priority when releasing updates and it seems that nobody told Jeroen this.

Actually, this is also happening with bigger companies. A lot actually as well. And in defence for Jeroen, he did announce that that the sound might change and that backwards compatibility might not be guaranteed. Hence v3 for the more recent ones.

Then again, I've seen various companies updating their tools, and changing the sound of the same drastically during development. SKnote comes to mind, also Slate Digital comes to mind with improvements here and there. Theoretically also U-HE if they add/change a mode with their VST/VSTi.

Perhaps when changing something that breaks projects, it would have been ok had he given the plugin ID a change as well (2.5 for instance). Audio Damage are good for this, letting you run Dubstation 1 and Dubstation 1.5 simultaneously.

Well, it is rare that developers do this. Especially if a plugin sounds dramatically different, or if the features are not backwards compatible anymore. But most of the time, people are like "yay, this is sounding so much better - thanks for the update, I can't imagine how I lived with that crap sound before!".

It's a two edged blade, really.

With updates within the 2.x cycle changing their sound and parameters and also with plugins removed from the bundle and 3.x sounding considerably different, it's just too much of a minefield to navigate for me.

Well, I don#t remember that plugins within the 2.0 cycle were being dropped. Other than the move from Jeroen Breebaart to ToneBoosters, which also introduced new GUI's. And then again with v2 to v3. I do understand that this is frustrating.

But again, this isn't the only company/developer where this happened.


YMMV of course.