Aphex Aural Exciter?

[Bob L]

Originally Posted by WorldStudios

I use the exciter and have been using it on literally every mix/master I have done the past 15 years or so, since I got it. The waves one I never used on a full mix. Waves is way too pointy and does one frequency only. The Apex has tons of control and a 10-20 percent mix on my masters brings out a little sparkle and freshness that my customers like and expect. It works in AAX 64 native and DSP with the very latest ProTools on the latest supported MacOs. I run it that way. Buy with confidence!

Thanks for sharing, Johan!

I fear you have contributed to my burgeoning "plugaholicism". That's right, if there isn't a word for something, I'm not afraid to make one up!

[Bob L]

Originally Posted by JFreak

I wouldn't use it on master anymore, but instead have an aux which I blend in.

My understanding is that Val Garay came to the same conclusion. That's how I'd assume I'd use it if I had it.

[amagras]

Originally Posted by Bob L

Taken the other way, it would be like paying $70 for Big Bottom alone rather than $466 for Big Bottom alone!

And really the meat of the question is whether the $29 Waves plug provides the same benefit as the $99/$495(!) Avid/Aphex offer.

For what I can read here they might have been modelled from two completely different units so you might want to have only one of them or both. Only thing I can debate you is that Waves is really $299 when not on sale (although that probably won't happen anymore).

[64GTOBOY]

Originally Posted by WorldStudios

I use the exciter and have been using it on literally every mix/master I have done the past 15 years or so, since I got it. The waves one I never used on a full mix. Waves is way too pointy and does one frequency only. The Apex has tons of control and a 10-20 percent mix on my masters brings out a little sparkle and freshness that my customers like and expect. It works in AAX 64 native and DSP with the very latest ProTools on the latest supported MacOs. I run it that way. Buy with confidence!

'Kay, i'm sold.

[64GTOBOY]

If I can digress a little I have received the 149 usd for PT Pro Bundle which I currently have as free add from last years upgrade sub. I have used most of them but none has been a "go to " necessity. So does anyone have opinions on buying these outright at this price?

[Bob L]

If it isn't one already, I proclaim "Virtual Gear Acquisition Syndrome (VGAS)" to be a thing.

A couple days ago, I flipped a coin and it came up heads ("Buy!"). Not wishing to be hasty, I went "two out of three" and heads came up again. Needing to convince myself that The Universe really wanted me to be a buyer, I went for "three out of five" and it came up three. So I threw down....

Things I know now that I didn't before -
The Plug-Ins Guide under Help actually lists these; I hadn't thought to look there before. Doh!

These plugs are modeled after Version III hardware. I have not, and probably won't buy the Waves Version I Tube modeled plug, as for me this category is an extravagance.

There's a lot to digest operationally with both The Exciter ("AX") and Big Bottom ("BB"). AX is either "very tweaky" or "very flexible" depending on your POV. Certainly moreso than the Waves plug based on the YouTubeage. BB is a bit less complicated, as one would expect.

I haven't spent enough time with AX yet to convince myself that I'm really getting it, but so far when following the theory that one shouldn't stray too far from the default setting, I've been impressed. I have been using it inline rather than bussed so far, but I'll get to that.

BB being easier to grasp has become one of my new best friends. I have gone parallel with it set to Solo and I think it's very cool.

Do I have buyer's remorse? No.

Do I wish they cost less than $99? Yes (to Albee's point). $50 would be about right given the functionality. I can justify the doubling of that for the licensing, I guess...

Do I believe, based on limited experience with AX and only watching other people's YouTubeage of Waves, that the Avid plug sounds better than Waves'? A qualified "Yes". For the record, I thought the Waves AX made a remarkable difference when demonstrated properly. The Avid AX advantage lies in the variable frequency ability.

Would I ever part with $495 for these? Hell, no.

If you are in the Exciter and Big Bottom market, I suggest a Buy Now before the offer dies.

(I am not affiliated with Avid or Aphex [now owned by Rodes!])

[TOM@METRO]

I've used both of these for years. They are very different beasts. I've found when one of them is just right, the other isn't.

[simon.a.billington]

I’ve only used the Waves version myself. I quite liked it. Haven’t used it for a while though, the latest toy in that respect is the Blackbox.

I remember using them back in my days in the high end studios. No two were alike, I never realised why that was at the time. I thought the board or the pitch may might have been experiencing issues. It was because of its analog design and the tubes, of course.

If you put one against the other you can tell a difference most of the time. The more abused they were the more noticeable it was.

So naturally plugin emulations don’t sound exactly alike because the devs modeled different boxes. Of course the only one I’m familiar with is the Waves version, but I was speaking more generally about all modelled equipment.

[Will Russell]

I own both the Avid and Waves versions. Never made friends with the Waves version, didn't like the sound or implementation. I use the Avid version frequently. Yesterday it saved a poorly recorded snare drum.

[Andy Gone]

I've only used (and using) the Waves version. Find it useful on dull snares, dull kicks (the click) and dull vocals.