Product Reviews by KVR Members

Not worth paying for. I love BBE's Maximizer plugins, especially Harmonic Maximizer, but these pedals leave a lot to be desired. When compared to other similar virtual pedals by other developers, they rank pretty low in my book.

The best $19 you will ever spend on your mastering chain. I like this better than the $150 Perception plugin (which I also own). It's faster with a simpler intuitive UI. Further, this plugin offers groups and thus can be used throughout a mix session. It might even double as a vocal rider by putting the source plugin on a steady oscillator (with no output). Very cool plugin, giving me some interesting ideas beyond what it was made for. Don't forget to check under the hood; there is a ton of great tweaks behind the gear icon.

I'm not a fan most of the free amp sims on the market, but this is a notable exception. I heard demos of the Marshall Lead 12 amp and was really taken with it (video below). When the L12X was released, I didn't realize it was a copy of the Marshall Lead 12 or else hadn't been exposed to the real one yet. I just tested this plugin and it warmed my heart. It's dry as dirt when you load it, so of course add some room verb if you want to experience it in a room and rival the sound in the real amp demo. But the distortion quality of this amp sim, even on the default setting, impressed me immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYbIihwH1Q

This should have a 5-star rating, hands down. It is ridiculously powerful, with an intuitive and efficient interface. People I've told about this synth, who actually use it, love it... as do I.

If you are seeking a good MIDI DAW for virtual instruments, forget about it. Reaper sucks for that. Just simply looping on the grid is a nightmare. If you just need a recording DAW that is super flexible in other ways, it's more than up to the task.

I freakin' love this plugin. With so many tape plugins out these days, it's difficult to stand out. Well... Aberrant solved that problem with its trademark take on GUIs. But there is much more than meets the eye. This plugin sounds amazing, grants full control over how much or little an effect that's needed, and stands up to the competition (most of which I also own). I find myself going to this plugin again and again when I need to de-sterilize a track and throw some funk at it. It does wonders for hi-hats, synths, you name it. It just works.

Essentially a Pultec shelf EQ, but this thing sounds WAY better to me. It also has a gain-compensated saturation knob (ironically called Gain) that is well worth turning. It seems to do "that Pultec" trick better than any other plugin.

A powerful Vari-Mu limiter made even more flexible by the mix, high-pass filter, and external sidechain options.

Neat saturator offering 3 opamps and 4 tubes. Feel free to push these. Great for generating subtle realistic saturation.

A beautiful EQ, but the high-pass and low-pass filters are what really blow my mind. Some of you know how near and dear the UAD HLF plugin has been for me in stem mastering. The filters in Combox are easily as useful, offer a different texture, and are continuous instead of fixed intervals. Sometimes HLF is too heavy handed, enter Combox instead. Truly great high/low-pass filter plus EQ.