Pulsar Modular P450/P455 MDN Plugin Bundle

[SV1080]

Pointless

Why is it “pointless”. Congratulations on your 11 months old, 1st post profile on KVR Feel free to share your conflict of interest story with us.

Because most of you seem convinced it's terrible and you have not even demoed it.
So it seems like pitching water to a well...

Some of the responses of those who have demoed it seem very strange and totally at odds with my experience. 100% negative reviews just also seem odd. (So are 100% glowing ones tbf) Even lowly Cubase plugins can have redeeming features but P455 that was developed for over a year is just 100% no good?

I'm just finding this thread a bit disheartening and strange, like many threads of many plugins.

Anyway for me personally I'm demoing it and rather enjoying it so far. It's most likely not intended for the sort of music I do but I find it very pleasing. I am firstly using it a little bit 'wrong' according to MDN it is more designed to be mixed into from the beginning. Putting it on a finished mix results can vary a lot due to the spacial / sense of space / dimension P455 can add... So far I loved it on 2 out of 3 premasters I was trying to improve, using just P450 (if needed) and P455.
The 2 I liked it on were better mixes to begin with and P455 has just added an extra 5-10% or so. Some of this is down to just plain EQ but to my ears using VSX I feel there is an incredible sense of space / dimension which was not there before. It's playing with the bias, converters and 2 or 8 track options that give this. Now those tracks are super engaging and flow beautifully out the speakers I also tested on.

The 3rd track I did not love it as much, the mix isn't as good and perhaps needs a little more work. Still the EQ was nice to use and did improve things. It was nice actually not using tons of different plugins and squeezing as much as I could out of P455. The sense of space in the 3rd one is there but it is not anywhere as nice as the other 2. This could mean the mix needs improvement first or I tweak P455 more, or P455 isn't right for that track.

I'm looking forward to using it 'wrong' again in a mix or 2 and seeing whether those options in P455 are good at making single tracks sit better or contrast other things. Finally I might get around to testing it actually mixing into it if demo time permits.
I am not totally sure of the compressor, I think I like it but need to test it out more. Leaning towards it's better on than off but it's hard to hear it for me. I think it's because the attack / release on P455 is auto. Adjusting those parameters isn't the same as adjusting them directly.. so it might take a longer to get to grips with that compressor for me.

I think if you are already satisfied with your work or go for a wall of sound type of mix, then this plugin won't be for you..
For me it looks promising, it may help me get that illussive spacey feel I was after, so things are not so flat and can breathe.

[planet_b]

I don't think the general opinion here would be that it's "terrible". I believe many here (secretly) admit there's some good sauces in it. But perhaps the $189 intro price is such premium range that it'd need to be super useful in your own workflow, to be justified. In Gearspace there are guys who said it was an insta-buy without even demoing, it's a different crowd there. KVR folk tend to consider more carefully, that's why I feel more at home here.

[Kappa_Beta_Hi-Phi]

I agree nobody has said it's terrible. Some have said it's overhyped, not worth it and there are alternatives. Hardly news.

Then there are people like me who are questioning the whole community mania built up around the dev. Don't conflate the two things.

There are others still questioning some ethical issues (include myself in that group).

[jens]

Demoed. Nothing special. One-trick pony, narrow sweetspot, thins out most sources. Compressor useless, eq sounds nothing like API (not like my hardware at least).

Overhyped. Overpriced.

Hard pass.

Well well well.. what have we got here? Hyperbolic language! Could it be truth, or could the motivation be some much needed anti-hype?

So, as so many here have asked for "proof" in form of audio examples when there is hyperbolic language used (which I did and literally nobody commented on them or even tried to match the results with any other plugins or hardware) may we have some examples of the compressor being totally useless and how the plugin is only a one-trick pony and has a narrow sweetspot? Please also make sure you post the raw audio files so we can compare to make it fair (like I did).

I have to try it with different material (only tested on the drum-bus so far) but tbh I have to pretty much agree with dioneoid's assessment so far. I didn't manange to come up with a setting where it didn't sound much better (opening up, kind of as if I lifted a veil and removed a rigid clamp) whenever I switched the compressor off.
(Something I very rarely experience normally; these days there's imo very few really bad-sounding compressors and (at least in my use case) this is one of them.)

Disclaimer: Of course I don't consider my verdict to be universally valid. I rather assume the compressor's possible sweet-spot is so narrow and so specifc that it only applies under certain conditions which I did not meet.

I now looked into it again and it seems to me that the release-curve might be what I don't like...
I'm not really sure, because I typically have no clue what I'm talking about but I think especially for shorter release settings it's too... flabby? With longer settings ca. 1.40+ it's not such a big deal... if I'm not talking complete nonsense here that might explain different verdicts regarding the compressor's sound/usefullness...

[stillenacht]

I don't understand why you are demanding to know the internal workings of Pulsar Modular's development process? That seems unreasonable to me.

I have worked closely with developers for all of my professional career. They all come at it from different angles. Some re-use libraries and frameworks from many many sources, others pride themselves on developing from scratch. Some have more of the vision and less of the pure coding, some are stronger on the design and UX. Some are really great business analysts and excel at communicating with the customer or other teams even if their coding is a bit weaker.

You are using scraps of publicly available information to piece together the internal workings of the Pulsar Modular business team without knowing what other conversations have taken place, who else is on the team, etc.

I don't understand why you would want to do this? I don't know this information about any other development team unless I work directly with them. It just seems really negative and obsessive to me.

Most indie devs are happy to talk about what they are doing, what they don't give away is there internal tweaks and mods, there's not much point being shy about basic techniques as there is only a limited number anyway.

Not in my experience either in business or in music plugin or app development. It is quite unusual for a developer to share internal code processes publicly unless they are open source advocates or have a passion for teaching others. And I don’t think we have any right to demand it. Just judge on the end product and service, etc.

All this equivocating and hand wringing is a bit much, some of the same people in this thread were there when Acoustica was being hounded for what he was using in his plugins (volterra series) or when there was uproar that Acoustica may have sampled Abyss, one guy even put all his Acoustica plugins up for sale over a preset name being similar for heavens sake. Many good plugins were lost in the Pulsar Modular-Acoustica wars.

P900 is also economical with the truth about his company name. Pulsar Audio set up in 2017 with their 'P' logo and released an echo plugin early 2019. Pulsar Modular existed before this but when P900 bought the IP late 2019 he didn't have to go with the name and in fact he didn't, he originally chose the similarly confusing Pulsar Novation with his own 'P' logo and set up a different website, only later did he come back to the Pulsar Modular site using a web template from Plugin Alliance, at one point people thought he was Plugin Alliance because he had left some of their text on the template. Then there was a guy in the P42 thread who started out pretending he had not heard of either Pulsar company, had a miraculous conversion and then turned out to be one of his beta testers all along.

[planet_b]

Acoustica has anything to do with such, you surely mean Acustica Audio?

[Uncle E]

I now looked into it again and it seems to me that the release-curve might be what I don't like...
I'm not really sure, because I typically have no clue what I'm talking about but I think especially for shorter release settings it's too... flabby? With longer settings ca. 1.40+ it's not such a big deal... if I'm not talking complete nonsense here that might explain different verdicts regarding the compressor's sound/usefullness...

Yes, release curves are where a lot of bus compressors go wrong. The ones that do it well have high pass filtering on their detection circuits. SSL and API, for example, and my suspicion is that others do it without telling us. And you're also spot-on about longer release times, that's how you fix an unstable bus compressor.

[midi sentinel]

Pointless

Why is it “pointless”. Congratulations on your 11 months old, 1st post profile on KVR Feel free to share your conflict of interest story with us.

Because most of you seem convinced it's terrible and you have not even demoed it.
So it seems like pitching water to a well...

Some of the responses of those who have demoed it seem very strange and totally at odds with my experience. 100% negative reviews just also seem odd. (So are 100% glowing ones tbf) Even lowly Cubase plugins can have redeeming features but P455 that was developed for over a year is just 100% no good?

You have somehow missed the $189 part of the equation, but it's ok, it can happen to anyone.

Considering the amount of "game changing" plug-ins and "unique EQ curve" generators being released every month, I am not quite sure anymore what game is it we (well, plug-in developers, rather) are playing nor whether we will have any available unique curves left soon.

This whole thing reminds me of a guy convincing me how he could hear a difference in sound depending on whether he was using Monster ethernet cable, or "generic" one. Never mind that I've spent 30+ years in networking, nothing I would say was stronger than belief in Monster marketing material.

So, as long as people "hear mojo" and "feel unique curves", there is nothing anyone can tell them.

So, maybe it's for the best to just let them feel special and enjoy it

[audenso]

So, as long as people "hear mojo" and "feel unique curves", there is nothing anyone can tell them.

Absolutely, I agree. It's unfortunate that some individuals are driven by financial incentives to believe in the "mojo" and "unique curves" narrative. It's disheartening to see genuinely excellent, albeit expensive, plugins being overshadowed by the allure of such snake oil marketing tactics.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Acoustica has anything to do with such, you surely mean Acustica Audio?

Yes, just another friendly reminder for this thread:

It's Pulsar Modular that makes the P450/P455 MDN plugins we're talking and not Pulsar Audio, who make the Mu, Massive, 8200 plugins (as well as some Arturia development). Very different companies. Too similar names. Easy to get tripped up when writing forum posts. Even bmanic incorrectly called them Pulsar Audio a few times and I know he knows the difference and they were just typos.

And yes, the other one is Acoustica, which makes Mixcract, who is different than Acustica Audio (no "o" in Acoustica) that make the plugins named after colors with the "Volterra Kernel" technology or whatnot.

I really wish both Pulsar Modular and Acustica Audio would come up with better company names, that weren't so close to others, but hey, that's just me. Please buy my new softdrink in a red can, Cocal Cola.

Just my own personal editorializing, but if you're a plugin maker with a less than stellar reputation, having a name that's easily confused for another company in the industry with a better reputation isn't going to help you. It just makes me think you're trying to trade off and benefit from the confusion. Which makes me think even less of your company.

[Niowiad]

Acoustica has anything to do with such, you surely mean Acustica Audio?

Please buy my new softdrink in a red can, Cocal Cola.

Just a quick note about Acustica.
That's the italian technical term for "acoustics", and they're an italian company.
But yeah those are quite easy to confuse.

[GusGranite]

I don't understand why you are demanding to know the internal workings of Pulsar Modular's development process? That seems unreasonable to me.

I have worked closely with developers for all of my professional career. They all come at it from different angles. Some re-use libraries and frameworks from many many sources, others pride themselves on developing from scratch. Some have more of the vision and less of the pure coding, some are stronger on the design and UX. Some are really great business analysts and excel at communicating with the customer or other teams even if their coding is a bit weaker.

You are using scraps of publicly available information to piece together the internal workings of the Pulsar Modular business team without knowing what other conversations have taken place, who else is on the team, etc.

I don't understand why you would want to do this? I don't know this information about any other development team unless I work directly with them. It just seems really negative and obsessive to me.

Most indie devs are happy to talk about what they are doing, what they don't give away is there internal tweaks and mods, there's not much point being shy about basic techniques as there is only a limited number anyway.

Not in my experience either in business or in music plugin or app development. It is quite unusual for a developer to share internal code processes publicly unless they are open source advocates or have a passion for teaching others. And I don’t think we have any right to demand it. Just judge on the end product and service, etc.

All this equivocating and hand wringing is a bit much, some of the same people in this thread were there when Acoustica was being hounded for what he was using in his plugins (volterra series) or when there was uproar that Acoustica may have sampled Abyss, one guy even put all his Acoustica plugins up for sale over a preset name being similar for heavens sake. Many good plugins were lost in the Pulsar Modular-Acoustica wars.

P900 is also economical with the truth about his company name. Pulsar Audio set up in 2017 with their 'P' logo and released an echo plugin early 2019. Pulsar Modular existed before this but when P900 bought the IP late 2019 he didn't have to go with the name and in fact he didn't, he originally chose the similarly confusing Pulsar Novation with his own 'P' logo and set up a different website, only later did he come back to the Pulsar Modular site using a web template from Plugin Alliance, at one point people thought he was Plugin Alliance because he had left some of their text on the template. Then there was a guy in the P42 thread who started out pretending he had not heard of either Pulsar company, had a miraculous conversion and then turned out to be one of his beta testers all along.

You’re like a private investigator!

[idoru97214]

I don't understand why you are demanding to know the internal workings of Pulsar Modular's development process? That seems unreasonable to me.

I have worked closely with developers for all of my professional career. They all come at it from different angles. Some re-use libraries and frameworks from many many sources, others pride themselves on developing from scratch. Some have more of the vision and less of the pure coding, some are stronger on the design and UX. Some are really great business analysts and excel at communicating with the customer or other teams even if their coding is a bit weaker.

You are using scraps of publicly available information to piece together the internal workings of the Pulsar Modular business team without knowing what other conversations have taken place, who else is on the team, etc.

I don't understand why you would want to do this? I don't know this information about any other development team unless I work directly with them. It just seems really negative and obsessive to me.

Most indie devs are happy to talk about what they are doing, what they don't give away is there internal tweaks and mods, there's not much point being shy about basic techniques as there is only a limited number anyway.

Not in my experience either in business or in music plugin or app development. It is quite unusual for a developer to share internal code processes publicly unless they are open source advocates or have a passion for teaching others. And I don’t think we have any right to demand it. Just judge on the end product and service, etc.

All this equivocating and hand wringing is a bit much, some of the same people in this thread were there when Acoustica was being hounded for what he was using in his plugins (volterra series) or when there was uproar that Acoustica may have sampled Abyss, one guy even put all his Acoustica plugins up for sale over a preset name being similar for heavens sake. Many good plugins were lost in the Pulsar Modular-Acoustica wars.

P900 is also economical with the truth about his company name. Pulsar Audio set up in 2017 with their 'P' logo and released an echo plugin early 2019. Pulsar Modular existed before this but when P900 bought the IP late 2019 he didn't have to go with the name and in fact he didn't, he originally chose the similarly confusing Pulsar Novation with his own 'P' logo and set up a different website, only later did he come back to the Pulsar Modular site using a web template from Plugin Alliance, at one point people thought he was Plugin Alliance because he had left some of their text on the template. Then there was a guy in the P42 thread who started out pretending he had not heard of either Pulsar company, had a miraculous conversion and then turned out to be one of his beta testers all along.

You’re like a private investigator!

See?! That's why I was suggesting to him to do a documentary. He could cash in on all this important classified information he has. Also, not nearly as many people will see this on KVR as they would on Netflix. And, let's face it, the world needs to know. This shit is important.

[P900]

You’re like a private investigator!

More like Inspector Gadget.
As mentioned in Wikipedia, Gadget is powerful, lovable, caring and protective, and loyal to his career as a lawman, but he is also dim-witted, silly, clueless, incompetent and gullible.

[Uncle E]

More like Inspector Gadget.
As mentioned in Wikipedia, Gadget is powerful, lovable, caring and protective, and loyal to his career as a lawman, but he is also dim-witted, silly, clueless, incompetent and gullible.