Product Reviews by KVR Members
All reviews by irapotato
Review Something or Find Reviews
RS124 Compressor
Reviewed By irapotato [all]
November 5th, 2010
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows
Abbey Road, take me home.....
To most musicians out there, the name "Abbey Road" instantly brings up the iconic image of the Beatles walking across a crosswalk, the cover of one of the most memorable Beatles albums. The name Abbey Road also applies to Abbey Road Studios, one of the most historic recording studios in music history, where the Beatles did a ton of recording in new and innovative ways.
Most recently, Abbey Road Studios has been creating VST / AU plugin emulations of its' one-of-a-kind mastering equipment, its latest product being a supposedly perfect emulation of three of the flagship valve compressors used since the 60's. Since one-to-one comparisons are impossible, I'll be judging this plugin on sound and ease of use, as well as making a few comparisons to other vintage-style compressor plugins. I used the RS124 on an old laptop with 1GB RAM, 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, running Ableton Live 8.1.3.
The plugin requires iLok activation, which was quick and easy. After activation and installation I opened Live and inserted the plugin on an instance of XLN Audio's "Addictive Drums". The first thing that surprised me was that instead of having three separate VSTs for each compressor (or serial number, as I call them) there was just one VST named "RS124".
I strongly recommend you read the manual before using the plugin, as the GUI somehow manages to be both simple AND confusing at the same time. Very little is intuitive, even if you are accustomed to using compressors. For example, though one of the main features of this plugin is the ability to switch between three different compressor models, it's impossible to know how to do it unless you RTFM. Instead of having a built in menu to make things simple and intuitive, you click on the (tiny) serial number plate on the compressor and select which model to use on a drop-down menu.
ALOT of this plugin simply is - very little is explained in the plugin itself, and, despite its deceptively simple GUI, it requires alot of knowledge of little things. Without thoroughly reading and memorizing the manual it's very hard to know the difference between the three compressor models, and the "superfuse" setting, not found on the original compressors, has an effect I still need to consult the manual on to explain coherently.
However, none of this really matters if the plugin sounds nice, and when care is put into it, the RS124 is a very nice, if not limited, piece of work. They all have a distinctly vintage sound, and once you know how to traverse the GUI it does become simple to use and get great sounds. The release is unchangeable (with the exception of the superfuse, which makes the release time equal to the attack time), and makeup gain is notably absent - there are no options to make the final product louder, only softer, which means that you'll usually need to add a bit of gain after the plugin to make up for the lost volume.
The differences between the three compressor models are slight. The main differences (besides GUI) are the release times: according to the manual, the first and second models have slow releases, making them best for mastering, and the third model has a much faster release, making it better suited for individual track compression.
An interesting feature of the RS124 is the "Hold" setting. The compressor has a very loud "click" when it clamps down on an audio signal. In order to counter this, Abbey Road added "hold" settings to the original compressors. When the recovery time is set to "hold", the compressor never releases - meaning there is no decompression. Between every release setting is a "hold" setting, so that after priming the compressor, you can simply turn the recovery knob one click to the desired recovery setting. Related to this is the "balance" button, which is used to manually trigger a release when the recovery is set to "hold".
Overall, the compressor is great, but it has some issues stemming from one particular fact: though perfect emulations are nice, I'd much rather have an intuitive GUI than a totally perfect emulation. Too much energy was put into having everything EXACTLY THE SAME, and not enough energy was put into making a GUI that was intuitive to the point where anyone could pick it up and use it. It almost seems like the GUI was an afterthought, and it really does hurt the plugin in a major way. Sure, it sounds very very good, but I know that it's possible to make a plugin that both sounds good and is easy to use. I've seen more complicated plugins that sounded great and were easy to use, and there's no reason to put up with it. It sounds good, but its a hassle to use.
Read ReviewTo most musicians out there, the name "Abbey Road" instantly brings up the iconic image of the Beatles walking across a crosswalk, the cover of one of the most memorable Beatles albums. The name Abbey Road also applies to Abbey Road Studios, one of the most historic recording studios in music history, where the Beatles did a ton of recording in new and innovative ways.
Most recently, Abbey Road Studios has been creating VST / AU plugin emulations of its' one-of-a-kind mastering equipment, its latest product being a supposedly perfect emulation of three of the flagship valve compressors used since the 60's. Since one-to-one comparisons are impossible, I'll be judging this plugin on sound and ease of use, as well as making a few comparisons to other vintage-style compressor plugins. I used the RS124 on an old laptop with 1GB RAM, 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, running Ableton Live 8.1.3.
The plugin requires iLok activation, which was quick and easy. After activation and installation I opened Live and inserted the plugin on an instance of XLN Audio's "Addictive Drums". The first thing that surprised me was that instead of having three separate VSTs for each compressor (or serial number, as I call them) there was just one VST named "RS124".
I strongly recommend you read the manual before using the plugin, as the GUI somehow manages to be both simple AND confusing at the same time. Very little is intuitive, even if you are accustomed to using compressors. For example, though one of the main features of this plugin is the ability to switch between three different compressor models, it's impossible to know how to do it unless you RTFM. Instead of having a built in menu to make things simple and intuitive, you click on the (tiny) serial number plate on the compressor and select which model to use on a drop-down menu.
ALOT of this plugin simply is - very little is explained in the plugin itself, and, despite its deceptively simple GUI, it requires alot of knowledge of little things. Without thoroughly reading and memorizing the manual it's very hard to know the difference between the three compressor models, and the "superfuse" setting, not found on the original compressors, has an effect I still need to consult the manual on to explain coherently.
However, none of this really matters if the plugin sounds nice, and when care is put into it, the RS124 is a very nice, if not limited, piece of work. They all have a distinctly vintage sound, and once you know how to traverse the GUI it does become simple to use and get great sounds. The release is unchangeable (with the exception of the superfuse, which makes the release time equal to the attack time), and makeup gain is notably absent - there are no options to make the final product louder, only softer, which means that you'll usually need to add a bit of gain after the plugin to make up for the lost volume.
The differences between the three compressor models are slight. The main differences (besides GUI) are the release times: according to the manual, the first and second models have slow releases, making them best for mastering, and the third model has a much faster release, making it better suited for individual track compression.
An interesting feature of the RS124 is the "Hold" setting. The compressor has a very loud "click" when it clamps down on an audio signal. In order to counter this, Abbey Road added "hold" settings to the original compressors. When the recovery time is set to "hold", the compressor never releases - meaning there is no decompression. Between every release setting is a "hold" setting, so that after priming the compressor, you can simply turn the recovery knob one click to the desired recovery setting. Related to this is the "balance" button, which is used to manually trigger a release when the recovery is set to "hold".
Overall, the compressor is great, but it has some issues stemming from one particular fact: though perfect emulations are nice, I'd much rather have an intuitive GUI than a totally perfect emulation. Too much energy was put into having everything EXACTLY THE SAME, and not enough energy was put into making a GUI that was intuitive to the point where anyone could pick it up and use it. It almost seems like the GUI was an afterthought, and it really does hurt the plugin in a major way. Sure, it sounds very very good, but I know that it's possible to make a plugin that both sounds good and is easy to use. I've seen more complicated plugins that sounded great and were easy to use, and there's no reason to put up with it. It sounds good, but its a hassle to use.
Komplete 26 Standard
Reviewed By irapotato [all]
July 22nd, 2010
Version reviewed: 6 on Windows
Native Instruments' Komplete 6 is the juggernaut of the softsynth and production world: if you want to make noise, Komplete has that noise and 20 variations on it. Before I begin the review I want to say one thing: after upgrading my DAW with a 2TB hard drive I went out and bought Komplete 6. Before I upgraded I had around 100-200 VST plug-ins. After installing Komplete I now have, besides the NI VSTs, about 5 or 6. Komplete is just what the name says: complete. If you want it, you've got it, give or take a few hours of programming.
I installed Komplete 6 on a 2TB internal hard drive (my main drive, not an extra). The installation took about a day of popping a disk in, watching TV or playing piano for a bit, coming back, and popping the next disk in. Since I have such a large drive it barely even changed my space diagnostic: the entire library is something like 60-70 GB with both Kontakt and Battery installed. Though that is a lot for just seven programs, since Kontakt is 40+ GB to begin with, it's really not all that much. It's better to install on an external drive in my opinion, but since I had so much free space I decided to just put it on my main drive.
On to the programs in alphabetical order:
Absynth 5: The big, bad wolf of synthesis. 3 VCOs, any waveform you can dream up, unlimited polyphony, FM, additive. Literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of presets. Takes some time to learn, but extremely powerful once you know it. 100+ page manual covers EVERYTHING.
Battery 3: Lordy, lordy, I've seen the light! I came into Battery ready to just brush it off and go back to using XLN's excellent Addictive Drums. Then one day I sat down and played with it. Seven hours later I got up, got something to drink, and sat back down to make ONE. MORE. KIT. Battery 3 is possibly my favorite drum program I've ever used. Though Addictive Drums is still my go-to for Hip-Hop and rock, Battery is always there as my backup with its excellent sample library and super-easy GUI.
FM8: Absynth's partner in crime. FM8 is another VERY powerful softsynth that can gently rock you to sleep or rip your freakin' head off. The extremely wide range of sounds makes it good for almost any musical or atmospheric application. Though it works great as a simple plug-and-play synth, its' made specifically for long, evolving sounds. The built in arpeggiator is detailed enough to be able to create very involved sounds with little programming, and the very powerful FM synthesis options make it a nice addition to any studio.
Guitar Rig 4 Pro: The lone effect in the bunch holds its own with powerful modeling and a wealth of killer effects. Emulates a ton of guitar amps. I wish there were more bass amps but the guitar amps sound great with bass and bassy sounds as well. Surprisingly, running subbass through GR4's citrus amp with the right settings creates a very nice overdriven low-end sound. Full of surprises and hundreds of great presets.
Kontakt 4: Deep enough to be its own DAW, Kontakt is the most powerful sampler on the market. The standard library has literally thousands of instruments ranging from acoustic and electric guitars to the most obscure African, Asian, and electronic instruments. Exemplars in my opinion are the Mellotron, The Band Basses, Electronic Toys, and the analog drum machines. Learning to rout midi and audio data is a must.
Massive: Don't really use it, similar to FM8. Sounds great, good presets. Can be very bassy if programmed right. Has a nasty tendency to crash too, probably why I don't use it much. After I get a handle on Reaktor I'm looking to learn to use it better, but at this time its gathering virtual dust.
Reaktor: Powerful modular synthesis VST. I'm still learning how to use Reaktor, but I can already tell it's one of the deeper programs in the bundle. It has nearly endless synthesis capabilities. Much like Max/ MSP it seems to have a steep learning curve. I know musicians who swear by it as the benchmark for modular synthesis.
Overall the value is what really strikes me: for 560 bucks you get 7 great programs, 60+ GB of sample content, and hours upon hours of music making capabilities.
If you read nothing else read this: since I got Komplete 6 I've been writing a new song or beat every day, if not 2 or 3. I recommend you pick up XLN Audio's "Addictive Drums" as well, in my opinion I could make a song every day for the rest of my life using just Komplete and AD. A great package for people just beginning to get into production, writing, or softsynths. A must have.
Read ReviewI installed Komplete 6 on a 2TB internal hard drive (my main drive, not an extra). The installation took about a day of popping a disk in, watching TV or playing piano for a bit, coming back, and popping the next disk in. Since I have such a large drive it barely even changed my space diagnostic: the entire library is something like 60-70 GB with both Kontakt and Battery installed. Though that is a lot for just seven programs, since Kontakt is 40+ GB to begin with, it's really not all that much. It's better to install on an external drive in my opinion, but since I had so much free space I decided to just put it on my main drive.
On to the programs in alphabetical order:
Absynth 5: The big, bad wolf of synthesis. 3 VCOs, any waveform you can dream up, unlimited polyphony, FM, additive. Literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of presets. Takes some time to learn, but extremely powerful once you know it. 100+ page manual covers EVERYTHING.
Battery 3: Lordy, lordy, I've seen the light! I came into Battery ready to just brush it off and go back to using XLN's excellent Addictive Drums. Then one day I sat down and played with it. Seven hours later I got up, got something to drink, and sat back down to make ONE. MORE. KIT. Battery 3 is possibly my favorite drum program I've ever used. Though Addictive Drums is still my go-to for Hip-Hop and rock, Battery is always there as my backup with its excellent sample library and super-easy GUI.
FM8: Absynth's partner in crime. FM8 is another VERY powerful softsynth that can gently rock you to sleep or rip your freakin' head off. The extremely wide range of sounds makes it good for almost any musical or atmospheric application. Though it works great as a simple plug-and-play synth, its' made specifically for long, evolving sounds. The built in arpeggiator is detailed enough to be able to create very involved sounds with little programming, and the very powerful FM synthesis options make it a nice addition to any studio.
Guitar Rig 4 Pro: The lone effect in the bunch holds its own with powerful modeling and a wealth of killer effects. Emulates a ton of guitar amps. I wish there were more bass amps but the guitar amps sound great with bass and bassy sounds as well. Surprisingly, running subbass through GR4's citrus amp with the right settings creates a very nice overdriven low-end sound. Full of surprises and hundreds of great presets.
Kontakt 4: Deep enough to be its own DAW, Kontakt is the most powerful sampler on the market. The standard library has literally thousands of instruments ranging from acoustic and electric guitars to the most obscure African, Asian, and electronic instruments. Exemplars in my opinion are the Mellotron, The Band Basses, Electronic Toys, and the analog drum machines. Learning to rout midi and audio data is a must.
Massive: Don't really use it, similar to FM8. Sounds great, good presets. Can be very bassy if programmed right. Has a nasty tendency to crash too, probably why I don't use it much. After I get a handle on Reaktor I'm looking to learn to use it better, but at this time its gathering virtual dust.
Reaktor: Powerful modular synthesis VST. I'm still learning how to use Reaktor, but I can already tell it's one of the deeper programs in the bundle. It has nearly endless synthesis capabilities. Much like Max/ MSP it seems to have a steep learning curve. I know musicians who swear by it as the benchmark for modular synthesis.
Overall the value is what really strikes me: for 560 bucks you get 7 great programs, 60+ GB of sample content, and hours upon hours of music making capabilities.
If you read nothing else read this: since I got Komplete 6 I've been writing a new song or beat every day, if not 2 or 3. I recommend you pick up XLN Audio's "Addictive Drums" as well, in my opinion I could make a song every day for the rest of my life using just Komplete and AD. A great package for people just beginning to get into production, writing, or softsynths. A must have.
This is the first FXpansion product I've ever had the pleasure of using, and if the rest of the company's products are as interesting as Orca, I'll definitely be investing in a few of them. Orca, a free VST, AU, and RTAS plugin, is an interesting and fun monosynth. For the record, I used it in Ableton Live 8.1.1 running on a 3.2 GHz Single Core processor with 2 GB of ram with no problems with slowdown, stuttering, crashing, or anything else.
About the synth: It has 1 filter, one VCO, and 6 controls, making it simple enough to play around with the first time you fire it up. Though it is totally a personal thing, points must be awarded for the beautiful GUI: the plugin's window is the first example I can remember of animation within a plugin that doesn't take away from the programming. The whale tails (one on the left for filter cutoff, one on the right for resonance) have a cool look to them, and they look and feel nice when using a midi controller (in my case the KORG nanoKontrol).
On an unrelated note, the plugin installed to its own folder within my VST plugins folder - to me that's simply annoying. After installation I moved the contents of the folder to the main VST folder.
I was instantly able to dial up cool and interesting sounds thanks to the plugins' familiar controls. There were a few presets demonstrating things like octaving and unison, , and they were interesting without being too repetitive.
Overall the plugin is very interesting: it caters to the recent trend of super-simple plugins, while being useful in almost any genre: from screaming trance and house to hip hop basses and rock accompaniment, I can see Orca being used by pros and garage musicians alike. In my jams with it i found it sounds very nice when paired with real instruments like Kontakt's Classic Bass or Mellotron sounds.
In terms of support they do have a forum and a dedicated one at that, so I'm sure if I had any problems they'd be able to help me.
Overall an excellent free plugin with a very wide range of sounds. I'd recommend to anyone interested in trance, house, Hip Hop/ Rap and other production heavy genres.
Read ReviewAbout the synth: It has 1 filter, one VCO, and 6 controls, making it simple enough to play around with the first time you fire it up. Though it is totally a personal thing, points must be awarded for the beautiful GUI: the plugin's window is the first example I can remember of animation within a plugin that doesn't take away from the programming. The whale tails (one on the left for filter cutoff, one on the right for resonance) have a cool look to them, and they look and feel nice when using a midi controller (in my case the KORG nanoKontrol).
On an unrelated note, the plugin installed to its own folder within my VST plugins folder - to me that's simply annoying. After installation I moved the contents of the folder to the main VST folder.
I was instantly able to dial up cool and interesting sounds thanks to the plugins' familiar controls. There were a few presets demonstrating things like octaving and unison, , and they were interesting without being too repetitive.
Overall the plugin is very interesting: it caters to the recent trend of super-simple plugins, while being useful in almost any genre: from screaming trance and house to hip hop basses and rock accompaniment, I can see Orca being used by pros and garage musicians alike. In my jams with it i found it sounds very nice when paired with real instruments like Kontakt's Classic Bass or Mellotron sounds.
In terms of support they do have a forum and a dedicated one at that, so I'm sure if I had any problems they'd be able to help me.
Overall an excellent free plugin with a very wide range of sounds. I'd recommend to anyone interested in trance, house, Hip Hop/ Rap and other production heavy genres.