Premier Rock Forum

Kniferide wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 9:48 am

zzaaff wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 8:06 am
This is on sale at $50 right now.

That's more like it. Purchased. I'll play with it and get back.

Played with it for about half an hour. It's a convolution reverb. Sounds pretty good if you tweak it just right, kinda weird when it isn't right. Doesn't in any way to me feel like a real room sound (decay curve is ALWAYS wrong on IR reverbs to my ear), I have some other stuff that sounds more "real" like the East West Studios reverb or even some of the stuff that comes with Melda. You do get a lit of controls, like a little EQ, comp. Kinda fun. It can sound really good but its def a plugin that should be $50 all the time. It is way better than the waves Abby road chambers... that thing sucks balls. If you need a convolution reverb that kinda does one thing, this is a pretty good thing. I will say if you already have a Convolution Reverb plug you like and some IR's you can get everything this thing seems to do just by putting an EQ and Comp in line with it. Interface is pretty good/easy though. Melda EZ Convolv is free and can do this sort of thing pretty well.

4/5

I still think UA is mega overrated

Kniferide wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 3:38 pm I still think UA is mega overrated

You can argue that a lot of their plugins can be found inside other plugins, like the Pultec can be found as setting in other EQ plugins, or the 1176 can be found as part of another compressor package.

I think what they do is really good. There's plenty of alternatives out there. However, if we take sound out of the equation (because the UAD stuff does sound good), what I really like from them is their interfaces. For instance, I really regret getting the Pulsar Mu, which I thought I would like, but in reality, I got more out of using the UA Fairchild when I demoed it. I have a really hard time dealing with all the options in the Mu interface and it gets in the way of getting things done.

I almost always reach for an 1176 and LA2A. They are both so simple, easy to use and sound great. The Pultecs are always on the main mix buss and one of the best colorful EQs that I often reach for. Why? Because they are easy for me to understand while also sounding good. (I feel the same way about SSL in many ways.)

Back to the Sound City plugin. There's some things I really liked about it, other things I didn't. If you're looking for room sounds, it's probably not a great choice. Seems best for re-miking or adding mics if you go in direct. I ended up playing around with the Capital Chambers plugin and found that to be crazy useful. (That being said, and the above statement, I really love the UAD plate reverb as well).

i've had sound city for a while and it's... ok? definitely better for re-micing and very content-dependent. the presets are all heavy-handed; good starting places that can then be shaved down.

agreed that the capitol chambers reverb is a joy. when i toured capitol back in 2016, i asked them if they'd ever consider doing a convolution reverb / impulse responses of the chambers. no, no, never, not in a million years. i was thrilled to see this hit shelves a few years later and like to think that i had a very small nudge in making it happen.

cakes wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 4:40 pm

Kniferide wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 3:38 pm I still think UA is mega overrated

You can argue that a lot of their plugins can be found inside other plugins,

I'd argue that none of their overpriced plugins sound "better" than cheaper alternatives. They used to be hardware locked... Something I never understood and see as a scam, and the only reason to pay for their interfaces at their cost per in/out was for the plugin exclusivity... Gross, and now that isn't a factor because of native... That rubs a lot of hardware buyers the wrong way. Add to that terrible driver support and hard limits on how much io you can have in a "system" before they make you repurchase their plugins... Huge meh from me. They literally do nothing that no one else does and you pay a premium for it. Nope! They are fine... That's it. Best drum sound I got from the reverb plug wa in strings mode. Btw

cakes wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 4:40 pm

Kniferide wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2024 3:38 pm I still think UA is mega overrated

Pulsar Mu

I have that. It's unusable and the interface is alien and needlessly complicated. I also have the islander mu and it is also unusable. The best Fairchild I've used is the waves and I refuse to use it because WAVES CAN SUCK OLD BOB! I have UA Fairchild and it's ok. I really love what waves Fairchild does to drums but nope... Waves. I've been using Kazrogs mu comps. They are not Fairchild, just not the same thing, but do sound very good and I can deal as long as I never have to use a waves plugin ever again. I get really spiteful about plugins that burn me.

Fuck waves.

Ok, between price and quality, the annual subscription from Plugin Alliance is out of this world and they have quality stuff.

cakes wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2024 2:13 pm Ok, between price and quality, the annual subscription from Plugin Alliance is out of this world and they have quality stuff.

I refuse to engage in subscription model ecosystems.

The McDSP vari-mu comp is nice, if you're looking.

Oh, also that free Klanghelm mu comp is great.

Kniferide wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2024 4:10 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2024 2:13 pm Ok, between price and quality, the annual subscription from Plugin Alliance is out of this world and they have quality stuff.

I refuse to engage in subscription model ecosystems.

Sure, but what you get is also vouchers for any plugins per subscription year... Meaning, for the price of the subscription, you get license ownership of an equivalent amount of plugins based on the price, at a sale price.

I pay $119 annually and I get to pick any 3 plugins to own, per year. That's $40 for each plugin, which is about an average, even if you consider what's available (and isn't) in their $29 sales. That's basically a nearly unlimited trial period before deciding what to own. Having used it for 6 months, I can see that I'm always reaching for 5 or 6 PA plugins, there's at least 3 I would use the voucher on. I suspect the subscription will be relevant for about 3 years.