Premier Rock Forum

Kniferide wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 11:25 am

cakes wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:48 am I need another preamp like I need a hole in my head...

But seriously, the Avalon is cool. I have a few preamps that are my go-tos. I really like preamps that just do saturation and limited EQ. I use FrontDaw when I wanna blast something out, or TUBA from Analog Obsession for some low/high pass filtering and subtle saturation. I just downloaded the AO BriPre to try, but I also have a Helios Pre that I need to start using.

I do need a good clipper, though. Their free clipper looks interesting.

I've been trying to fly with that Avalon and nothing else on my mix bus for a bit and so far it's doing well. Very subtle compressor. Very subtle EQ. Good to mix into without having to babysit it. Kazrogs does subtle saturation better than anyone in my book.

I'm excited to try the True Iron out where I generally use the SPL Iron. The SPL I have through the PA Mega, and I've been trying to decide what to spend my free codes on. At first, I thought the Iron would be a great choice, but it sort of suffers from the same problems as the Shadow Hills compressor. Lots of options and stuff, I felt myself wanting it more simplified, but I liked the subtle sounds it produced. The True Iron is exactly what I was looking for!

cakes wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:20 pmLots of options

That what I really like about the True Iron. I turn the strength all the way up and click through the 6 types to see which one goes best with the source, then I add however much saturation I want and I'm done. Quick bypass to make sure it want it and Im done.

Kniferide wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2024 9:49 am

cakes wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:20 pmLots of options

That what I really like about the True Iron. I turn the strength all the way up and click through the 6 types to see which one goes best with the source, then I add however much saturation I want and I'm done. Quick bypass to make sure it want it and Im done.

True Iron has enough options, but very simplified interface. That's what I like about it.

Here's a list of passive EQs I've been comparing. All of these are multiband EQs with Mid/Side and Left/Right control options and oversampling.

Amek EQ 200/250

Five band EQ with HP and LP filters. This seems like a really clean EQ, but I noticed that it affects the stereo width in some way, even with the stereo width option turned off. With all the knobs flat, it just adds something I can't say what for sure and I don't exactly like. I also can't tell the difference between the 200 and 250.

Pros: Solo switch for automatic soloing when finding a frequency. Solo for mid and side. Global grain scale knob. Each band has a switch for changing the peak between 7 and 15 db.

Cons: Adds something strange when turned on and all settings flat.

Knif Soma

Four band EQ with HP and LP filters. Despite its interface, this is a really simple and effective EQ. Provides a headroom knob if you want to add a little quirky saturation. Doesn't color much and the controls are really precise. Maybe it isn't as utilitarian as the Pulsar (see below), but I liked using it places over the 8200 because it had less going on and was really easy to get what I wanted out of it.

Pros: Really easy to get going. Low and Hi pass filters have a few ranges. Multiple frequency ranges for HP and LP filters. Notched frequencies! Solo switch for automatic soloing when finding a frequency and the Q. Solo for mid and side. Versatile!

Cons: Can't really think of any.

Harris Doyle Natalus DSCEQ

Five band EQ with one band being Low cut and the HF able to be a bell or shelf style Q. This is a really unique kind of EQ and I liked using it immediately, but I found myself replacing it with the Knif for no other reason than I thought if I had to have one between the two of them, I would choose the Knif. This EQ is based off of magnets to replicate tape, so it does color with some warmth. It has headroom knob, where you can saturate those magnets like a tape machine. The values are really small, so you are encouraged to really push the knobs. It's all very subtle, but nice. It has some of the better in and out signal controls to saturate the magnets to your liking.

Pros: Interesting color. Knobs can be pushed without having severe affect on the sound.

Cons: Switches to change the attenuators from a positive to negative shift, rather than L/R sides with 0 down the middle. Maybe not that versatile. You can get magnetic tape saturation from other sources. (I don't think I like having saturation knobs in my EQs. Everything has saturation knobs these days!)

Kiive M5133

Four band EQ with HP and LP filters, with bell and shelf Qs for the low and high. This one just dropped earlier this week, exciting because Kiive makes some great plugins. The M5133 sounded great immediately and was easy to use, despite being little overwhelming at first: the location of the bands are in weird spots. It has discreet saturation, with three options: tape, transistor and tube. It sounds great, if you are looking to add some extra color. Overall, I was able to get really warm-sounding EQ without much effort (and wasn't using the saturation knobs).

Pros: The solo button is really handy and I like that its a discreet button. You can dial in the right frequency at extremes, set to zero, turn off the solo and dial the right amount in. Saturation with two harmonic knobs is fun, even if unnecessary.

Cons: Really hard to get exact values, though you can hold down the cmd key to do fine grain tuning, but still very hard to get an exact number. I haven't found a way to type in a value, either. Maybe only good for more broad EQing. If you double-click a knob, it will reset to zero, which sometimes is helpful, but sometimes not. I would really like an on/off switch per band (all the other EQs here have this option).

Pulsar 8200

Five band EQ with HP and LP filters, plus some. I liked everything about the interface here, there's a lot of choices between vintage and modern controls and a spectral graph to boot. It's real easy to dial in tones and it's very transparent, doesn't add much in the way of color. I would say that this EQ is more precise or clean sounding. It works just as good on a mix as it does on single tracks. I think it really shines on vocals and I found it to be more useful than the Mäag EQ4. It also includes air band, Pultec-style low end boost, and tilt. And just when you think it couldn't do more, it has a built-in de-esser!

Pros: - You can rename each band, which comes in handy if you want to go with feel over frequency range. Lots of options when using shift, cmd, opt, and ctrl to fine-tune. Multiple UI for your viewing pleasure. The

Cons: - Might not be the best EQ for everything, if your looking for a colorful EQ. Sometimes the extra controls can be overwhelming to remember.

I recently came across this console and it seems really solid and only $20.

https://www.voosteq.com/model-n-channel/

My favorite VST EQ for adding something other than just EQ (some sort of character/saturation) is the basic as shit TDR Slick EQ that is free as hell. The "Gentleman's Edition" version gives you a few more controls, like a tilt filter and a GUI if the signal coming and going, which is nice but the free version is great if you just want to EQ something and not look at it all day. Almost every other EQ i've ever tried sounds like I could get the same result with Fab Filter or maybe even the Reaper stock EQ but I do keep going back to that free TDR Slick EQ, especially for guitars and synth. I'll also add that the Analog Obsessions Trident eq "sounds" like something to me and good. I'm not convinced that most EQ plugins aren't just a basic generic filter algorithm wrapped in fancy pants GUI.

Kniferide wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 2:49 pm Almost every other EQ i've ever tried sounds like I could get the same result with Fab Filter

You could just get yourself a FabFilter bundle and be done with it. You can do everything with their plugins. It would probably be cheaper, too!

But, I think it depends on your personal preferences. Like, I don't like plugins that can do everything. I thought I would like that, but I found it to have the same affect as having too many plugins. It's options fatigue. Maybe that's just my inexperience, but nonetheless, I find it overwhelming. I like really simple interfaces that do one thing really well and I can understand easily. Whatever gets you to your results faster and easier is what matters. I have to admit, I also like the idea of having a few different compressors and a few different EQ for different things. It adds to the fun factor, which cannot be overstated.

Kniferide wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 2:49 pm I'm not convinced that most EQ plugins aren't just a basic generic filter algorithm wrapped in fancy pants GUI.

I think there is some truth to this. There are a lot of digital remakes of popular analog gear. They vary a little bit, sure, but they all basically do the thing that the original gear does. So, to your point, the algorithms are there for those things, be it analog or digital and yes, with a fancy GUI slapped on top.

What was interesting about testing those EQs was figuring out how they were different. They are different, some more than others, even though they can achieve the same results. Some were fun to use, while others weren't.

I do like plugins that take old ideas to another level. I can't justify another VCA compressor, but the bx_glue looks super cool because it does some interesting and new things on top of what you would expect from a VCA compressor.

cakes wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 4:27 pm

Kniferide wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 2:49 pm Almost every other EQ i've ever tried sounds like I could get the same result with Fab Filter

I can't justify another VCA compressor,

Preaching to the choir. Especially "OPTO". I have so many "LA2A" and "LA3A" compressor plugins, and I almost never use a single one. At work we have a bunch of Allen Heath D Live mixers and everyone keeps changing out the usual fully functioning stock compressor with the fake LA2A and it drives me nuts. It's just a more limited compressor algorithm with less contorls over attack and release, but people seem to mix with their eyes first in digital land. Any fully featured Compressor plugin can easily do both a fast FET thing and a mushy Opto thing just fine. Izotope, Fab, anything like that can do it all. The only real thing I listen for in Comp plugins is what they do with the make up gain and how non linear that is. It's really the only thing that matters to me. If its totally clean, who cares? I want them to be obvious or get out of the way.

cakes wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 12:53 pm I recently came across this console and it seems really solid and only $20.

https://www.voosteq.com/model-n-channel/

I tried this on a mix and really love d it, now I use it on all my mixes where a console is needed. It's the only console you'd need, lots of flavor options, yet very simple.

What the hell is going on with Izotope? Product manager doesn’t work anymore, the new manager for windows won’t install. I know Native took over Izotope, but wtf!