overall 'best' software Exciter/Enhancer?

[JoeSchmoe]

Well, I actually tried a bunch of exciters these past few weeks, and I owned Spectralive up until 2 weeks ago.

My goal was to slighly enhance the sound of my DJ mixes done in Abeton Live (as such, always working from pre-produced,mixed and mastered commercial tracks), and to kindo of "level them", since these tracks come from so many different sources, and I finally settled on WWAYM's NWMaxx.

It's really easy to use, and I love the neat touches like the "30Hz cut" button. Used very sparingly (as is always the case with these tools), it turned out to be the one I liked the most, by some distance.

[OMU]

Logic's own exciter.

[fandango]

I like the Crysonic Spectralive.

What I don't like so much is the 'black box' (e.g, algorithms A-E) that don't give me so much information on WHY a particular preset sounds so good.

Doesn't stop me using it though. But only after I'm happy that I've got as good a mix as possible before adding it in.

[smart]

I really like 4Front Auxiter and Sandbrush. Both are useful tools for polishing things up.

[Lagrange]

Theres a lot of omitted 1z.. Heres my list..

Arboretum Raygun
Arboretum Hyperprism
Prosoniq MixCiter
Algorithmix Sound Laundry
Quantum FX exciter
Acon Media Studio Rebirth
Virtos Band Extrapolator
Prosoniq Dynasone
Prosoniq Mixciter
AIPL WarmTone

[Lagrange]

Oh shoot what about all the DelayDots plugins??!!

[Teksonik]

RGC'S Hi and Lo Frequency Stimulators? I've had some good results with them. Although I voted BBE because I've had a hardware version for many years and the plugin brings that spank back to my guitar. Can be a bit harsh if overused however.

[bduffy]

Man, maybe before the next "Best Gear" poll, the post starter might want to canvass the public first. We always miss so much!

@Kingston: thanks for the exciter bg info. Very insteresting, and yeah, Vintage Warmer should totally be up there...

@Lagrange: you listed MixCiter twice! You really like that one?

[JumpingJackFlash]

Man, maybe before the next "Best Gear" poll, the post starter might want to canvass the public first. We always miss so much!

@Kingston: thanks for the exciter bg info. Very insteresting, and yeah, Vintage Warmer should totally be up there...

@Lagrange: you listed MixCiter twice! You really like that one?

Well, I did research some of the old threads about exciters/enhancers to get a gauge for what people like, but unfortunately it's never going to be possible to include absolutely everything in a poll like this. Firstly, the main problem is there is no clear definition of what exactly constitutes an exciter or an enhancer. - Some are more an EQ or distortion plug-in for example, and there are hybrids of many sorts. Please feel free to mention any exciter/enhancer you really like that isn't mentioned in the poll.

Also, I noticed the list of exciters/enhancers here on KVR seems quite small and omits many that people seem to like.

Vintage Warmer is primarily a compressor, which also introduces 'analogue warmth' (another vague term). In my opinion, it doesn't really fit into the category of exciter/enhancer, even though I know it can improve the perceptible sound of a mix.

Oh, and MixCiter was and is included in the poll!

[bduffy]

Man, maybe before the next "Best Gear" poll, the post starter might want to canvass the public first. We always miss so much!

@Kingston: thanks for the exciter bg info. Very insteresting, and yeah, Vintage Warmer should totally be up there...

@Lagrange: you listed MixCiter twice! You really like that one?

Well, I did research some of the old threads about exciters/enhancers to get a gauge for what people like, but unfortunately it's never going to be possible to include absolutely everything in a poll like this. Firstly, the main problem is there is no clear definition of what exactly constitutes an exciter or an enhancer. - Some are more an EQ or distortion plug-in for example, and there are hybrids of many sorts. Please feel free to mention any exciter/enhancer you really like that isn't mentioned in the poll.

Also, I noticed the list of exciters/enhancers here on KVR seems quite small and omits many that people seem to like.

Vintage Warmer is primarily a compressor, which also introduces 'analogue warmth' (another vague term). In my opinion, it doesn't really fit into the category of exciter/enhancer, even though I know it can improve the perceptible sound of a mix.

Oh, and MixCiter was and is included in the poll!

Yeah, I was thinking out loud there...didn't mean it to sound critical, just wondering if it would be possible to include all possibilities. Probably not!

AS for Vintage Warmer, I'll take Kingston's word for it, he knows his shiz. If BBE uses compression and harmonic distortion, then VW could be able to be considered an ecxiter, or at least used as such. Whereas Crysonic go out of their way to say SPECTRALVE is not an exciter, but it's considered one.

[bobby yarrow]

I personally wouldn't slap any kind of exciter on the master buss, but almost by way of confession I'll say that I've found crysonic useful on the occasional snare, bass, or guitar track.

[deaf dunderkwac]

I personally wouldn't slap any kind of exciter on the master buss, but almost by way of confession I'll say that I've found crysonic useful on the occasional snare, bass, or guitar track.

me 2 though I have used it on a whole track to see if it will add to the party. Works good on some guitars and drums and somewhat sloppy voice-tracks.

I mainly try it when I need to hype the HF without increasing the noise or getting things too brittle sounding.

Afraid I have several favorites for these types of chores.

[filkertom]

I like the Crysonic Spectralive.

What I don't like so much is the 'black box' (e.g, algorithms A-E) that don't give me so much information on WHY a particular preset sounds so good.

Doesn't stop me using it though. But only after I'm happy that I've got as good a mix as possible before adding it in.

I agree. They don't just change the internals randomly -- they must have had something specific in mind, and I don't know why they don't just share at least the philosophical basis for a preset with us. A name, an artist, a producer, a clue....

[Teksonik]

I like the Crysonic Spectralive.

What I don't like so much is the 'black box' (e.g, algorithms A-E) that don't give me so much information on WHY a particular preset sounds so good.

Doesn't stop me using it though. But only after I'm happy that I've got as good a mix as possible before adding it in.

I agree. They don't just change the internals randomly -- they must have had something specific in mind, and I don't know why they don't just share at least the philosophical basis for a preset with us. A name, an artist, a producer, a clue....

That's because Spectralive is cobbled together in Synth Edit and hyped beyond the the abilty of Crysonics to "explain" what the plugin is doing.

Just tried CLAS and must say it is very nice indeed. As advertised it is along the lines of the BBE but not quite so "in your face". Think I'll use it on guitar from now on. Thanks for the heads up on the plugin and thanks to the Dev for making it free!

[michu]

to add to the already long list:
Digitalfishphones Dominion can work pretty well as an exciter