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OfficialDAPT wrote:

Crimsonghost wrote:I wouldnt spent the money on Pro Q. EQuick is just as good. Or better yet, DDMF IIEQ. http://www.ddmf.eu/product.php?id=0 Much cheaper also.

Unfortunately i havnt found that magic compressor yet. I do hear really good things about The Glue though.

I've also heard good things about the Glue, I'll see next month though when I upgrade to Ableton Suite 9

When people are looking for a "Magic" compressor I always feel like they are looking for character. Check out some emulations of classic compressors.

Sharmaji wrote:

fragments wrote: Any point in buying a rack unit Aphex Exciter over the plug-in?

I use my 204 ALL the time. was like $180. so, yes!

My checking account hates you Sharm <3 <3 <3 would you recommend one with the Big Bottom feature? Also, any reason to go w/ a 204 over 104? I see the 204 is supposed to have improved circuits and something is better about the big bottom compressor?

^, yes, absolutely. i rarely use it to add sub, but it works wonders to add oomph to snares, guitars, synths, vocals-- anything really. the fact that it's tunable and runs in parallel is fantastic. also a great tool to create a sub out of something that doesn't have enough sub.

i've only owned the 204 and only ever used the 204.

to be fair, it's a cheap piece of prosumer gear-- but i know a ton of folks who''l reach for it before reaching for something that costs thousands of dollars more. great studio tool.

Sharmaji wrote:^, yes, absolutely. i rarely use it to add sub, but it works wonders to add oomph to snares, guitars, synths, vocals-- anything really. the fact that it's tunable and runs in parallel is fantastic. also a great tool to create a sub out of something that doesn't have enough sub.

i've only owned the 204 and only ever used the 204.

to be fair, it's a cheap piece of prosumer gear-- but i know a ton of folks who''l reach for it before reaching for something that costs thousands of dollars more. great studio tool.

Thanks for the info. I'll wait for a deal on a 204 then. It seems like an interesting tool. I see a lot of people poopooing it saying it's useless now with digital recording methods...but I always take gearslutz with a big grain of salt...lol

Sorry to hijack the thread but Sharm you seem on top of your shit so.... I've been looking at some hardwear gear for a while - I was thinking of getting a comp or exciter unit because I use VSTs of both sorts of units a lot. That 204 unit looks quite nice, would you recommend picking something like that up first or testing out a compressor? I know they're completely different things, but I just would like to pick up a single hardware unit to start off with to see if I can really integrate it into my workflow before buying more units, if that makes sense.

mthrfnk wrote:Sorry to hijack the thread but Sharm you seem on top of your shit so.... I've been looking at some hardwear gear for a while - I was thinking of getting a comp or exciter unit because I use VSTs of both sorts of units a lot. That 204 unit looks quite nice, would you recommend picking something like that up first or testing out a compressor? I know they're completely different things, but I just would like to pick up a single hardware unit to start off with to see if I can really integrate it into my workflow before buying more units, if that makes sense.

I know you aren't talking to me and I'm only about a year into using hardware, but you won't regret it. The few bits I have in my rack plus my patch bay are the most fun/best sounding tone shaping tools I have in my studio.

I demoed DMGAudio EQuality a little bit back and I really rate it, when playing with it i found i could boost high Q (so small bandwidth) massive amounts without that weird metallic overtone, sounded surprisingly musical. Definitely pick it up when life stops intervening.

mthrfnk wrote:Sorry to hijack the thread but Sharm you seem on top of your shit so.... I've been looking at some hardwear gear for a while - I was thinking of getting a comp or exciter unit because I use VSTs of both sorts of units a lot. That 204 unit looks quite nice, would you recommend picking something like that up first or testing out a compressor? I know they're completely different things, but I just would like to pick up a single hardware unit to start off with to see if I can really integrate it into my workflow before buying more units, if that makes sense.

1st-- what's your i/o like? No sense in getting any hardware if you have a crappy interface.

2nd-- budget?

there's a ton of cheap ways to get hardware involved in your setup. i use guitar pedals all the time for stuff.

Some nice recommendations here

My wallet doesn't like any of you.

Pro q is good but I prefer melda dynamic eq for its supurb customisation.

Compressor wise im always reaching for elysia mpressor. It kicks like a fucking mule!

Sharmaji wrote:

mthrfnk wrote:Sorry to hijack the thread but Sharm you seem on top of your shit so.... I've been looking at some hardwear gear for a while - I was thinking of getting a comp or exciter unit because I use VSTs of both sorts of units a lot. That 204 unit looks quite nice, would you recommend picking something like that up first or testing out a compressor? I know they're completely different things, but I just would like to pick up a single hardware unit to start off with to see if I can really integrate it into my workflow before buying more units, if that makes sense.

1st-- what's your i/o like? No sense in getting any hardware if you have a crappy interface.

2nd-- budget?

there's a ton of cheap ways to get hardware involved in your setup. i use guitar pedals all the time for stuff.

I have a decent enough Yamaha interface although it's only 2i2o :/

Budget looking for a single unit to start me off is probably £300 max.

Thanks

mthrfnk wrote:

Sharmaji wrote:

mthrfnk wrote:Sorry to hijack the thread but Sharm you seem on top of your shit so.... I've been looking at some hardwear gear for a while - I was thinking of getting a comp or exciter unit because I use VSTs of both sorts of units a lot. That 204 unit looks quite nice, would you recommend picking something like that up first or testing out a compressor? I know they're completely different things, but I just would like to pick up a single hardware unit to start off with to see if I can really integrate it into my workflow before buying more units, if that makes sense.

1st-- what's your i/o like? No sense in getting any hardware if you have a crappy interface.

2nd-- budget?

there's a ton of cheap ways to get hardware involved in your setup. i use guitar pedals all the time for stuff.

I have a decent enough Yamaha interface although it's only 2i2o :/

Budget looking for a single unit to start me off is probably £300 max.

Thanks

Again, I know you aren't asking me, so pardon my intrusion. But I love talking hardware and there is a dubious lack of that around here. I bought a MOTU 828 MKii (not MKiii) a while back for only 250USDs. Not only was it a massive step up in sound quality but it has 8 line level I/Os and two preamps with a send return. I combined that with a 48 slot patch bay and for 300ish USD I have all my routing needs sorted. It can also do all kinds of other shit I've never bothered with.

For a plugin, I haven't found anything I like the sound and workflow better than the Brainworx EQ. Such a flexible processor
(mid/side, de-essing, bass to mono) and the workflow is amazing. Anytime you grab a freq dial, it automatically solos a high boost, high q setting so that you can easily find and cut resonant peaks.

UAD comps are pretty great for plugins as well, but I don't really use any native comps other than the stock ableton one and occasionally rough rider, so I'm kinda out of the loop on that.

(thread hijack)
For hardware, the best EQ I've ever used is the Bettermaker eq232p. Has an inductor based passive pultec style section as well as 2 active parametric bands and a great HPF. No plugin EQ I've tried has come even close to the magic in that box.

For comps, close tie between a thermionic culture Phoenix or a rupert neve designs master bus processor. Completely different aesthetics, but both incredible at what they do.