Audio Plug Ins talk...

[Hitman]

I was having a cool discussion with Dylan yesterday about Waves Plug ins, so I thought I'd start a thread to continue with said discussion.

The SSL 4000 Collection is a plug in pack that has been getting a big work out in my mixes lately. I highly recommend it to any aspiring audio engineers out there.

First up is the "swiss army knife" channel strip, which is easily my number one go to plug in:

SSL E-Channel



EQ, Compression, Gating...all in one convenient plug in. Particularly great for drums and vocals...

The G EQ I use a lot less...but it is really cool if you're after a smoother EQ, as the E Channel EQ can be a little harsh on some things...

SSL G-Equalizer



Dylan, below is the Bus Compressor I was talking to you about:

G-Master Buss Compressor



Like I said to you Dylan, I don't usually mix with a compressor over the stereo bus, but I've been trying this out and have liked the results. Really seems to help glue together an entire mix...

The below G Channel is a new addition to the collection, so I am yet to try it out...

SSL G-Channel



From what I've heard it's pretty sweet...

Oh, and Dylan, note the Analog switch/button on ALL the plug ins there...

[Hitman]

Next up is the awesome API Collection.

Definitely up there with the SSL Collection. My main gripe is that it would be cool if they combined the EQ and Compressor into a channel like strip...for convenience sake...

API 2500



Great sounding compressor...which comes close to topping the list as my favourite software compressor...

API 550A



Nice and simple punchy EQ, with an awesome sound, that is also one of my faves...



A little more versatile than the 550A...

API 560



Really cool sounding graphic EQ...

[Hitman]

Onto the V-Series.

If you're after that classic vintage Neve sound, then these are the plug ins for you:

V-Comp



Modeled on the Neve 2254

V-EQ3



Combines the Neve 1066 and 1073

V-EQ4



Modeled on the Neve 1081

I don't use these on everything, but for certain applications they sound great...in particular I've had great success using them with piano sounds...

[Hitman]

The JJP Collection.

These are kind of new, and I haven't been able to get my hands on them...but they look awesome...

Puigchild 670



Modeled on the Fairchild 670 compressor

PuigTec EQP-1A



Modeled on the famous Pultec EQP-1A. I am particularly excited about this due to the fond memories of using the hardware version whilst mixing Shanghai's Esoterica, with fantastic results...

PuigTec MEQ-5



Modeled on the Pultec MEQ-5

[Dylan]

awesome awesome awesome..

as i mentionedi have only just started using the SSL channel over the last month or so. I dont beleive i have the entire collection - the E-Channel looks familiar and the G-Bus comp does also, but i'm unsure if that is exactly what mine is called. Perhaps i have an earlier version... i'll check it out tonight.

The API and the V-comp stuff looks cool, would be keen on seeing hwo they go. I used Neve 1066 pre's on a couple of stem mix/master sesssions i did at a mix studio i did some work experience at a couple of years ago. Breathed some life into the tracks.

Thanks for the info, dude. Much appreciated

[Dylan]

I managed to get a hold of the API series plug-ins.. pretty cool. But not the whole Mercury bundle yet, so i havent tried the JPP or V-series plug-ins.

However, something i did discover along the way was Nomad Plug-ins. Check it out http://www.nomadfactory.com/

I managed to get quite a collection of these, and i'm currently sifting through them to check them out.

The Liquid Series effects are awesome, lush delays, chorus, phasers etc.

Tube emulations seem pretty cool too.

Worth checking out.

[Hitman]

Yeah man, I was going to mention these!

Probably not quite up there with Waves quality, but still pretty good.

I'm particularly fond of the "Blue Tubes Series" and the "BLUEVERB". Been finding myself using these more and more...especially the analog effects...

[Hitman]

Oh, and have you checked out the Sonic Maximiser?:



This one distributed by Nomad factory is not bad...but I prefer the older one which I've been using for years:



Really cool for mastering I've found...