Saturation, Analog Warmth, etc. plugins

[adam79]

I have $80 to burn on a plugin. I don't have a dedicated saturation, analog warmth or reel to reel tape emulator plugs, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to grab one. I'm not that familiar with what's out there. I've read multiple articles that claim the Sound Toys Decapitator is the best one, but I already missed the boat on that sale. Any suggestions?

I was also thinking of grabbing a harmonic enhancer, either the Waves Cobalt ot Vitamin or Cobalt. Anyone tried both and really liked one?

I know this post is a bit all over the place, but I want to buy the plugin tonight just incase the sale prices vanish by tomorrow. I want to demo them all, but I'm really busy tonight and only have 20-30min to try all four out. This definitely isn't enough time, hence me asking you guys your opinions.. although I'd be curious what you have to say even if I had all day to try these out.
Thanks.

[albee1952]

Waves Vitamin has a lot to offer. Decapitator is a bit of an oddity to me, but I have friends that love it(I do own the entire Soundtoys package). I also like some console emulations and use Slate's VMR and either VCC or the Neve 1073(part of the Virtual Mic system, but works fine on anything). One big plus(for me) with the Slate VMR is zero latency(I love plugins I can use while tracking).

[amagras]

I use and recommend Little Radiator. You can also try the 3 Omega Transformers from Kush Audio or even check out the free Slate Revival which is supposed to be a mix of all the process you mentioned.

Not a good idea buying plugins in a rush.

[deanrichard]

Klanghelm SDRR is inexpensive and quite good as a saturation plugin. It's so inexpensive you can use the rest of your money to buy Toneboosters Reelbus, which is a nice tape emulation. Don't judge them by their price, they are both excellent.

Originally Posted by adam79

I have $80 to burn on a plugin. I don't have a dedicated saturation, analog warmth or reel to reel tape emulator plugs, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to grab one. I'm not that familiar with what's out there. I've read multiple articles that claim the Sound Toys Decapitator is the best one, but I already missed the boat on that sale. Any suggestions?

I was also thinking of grabbing a harmonic enhancer, either the Waves Cobalt ot Vitamin or Cobalt. Anyone tried both and really liked one?

I know this post is a bit all over the place, but I want to buy the plugin tonight just incase the sale prices vanish by tomorrow. I want to demo them all, but I'm really busy tonight and only have 20-30min to try all four out. This definitely isn't enough time, hence me asking you guys your opinions.. although I'd be curious what you have to say even if I had all day to try these out.
Thanks.

[adam79]

What about McDSP Analog Channel, anyone use and like that? It's also on sale, Native is $49 and HD is $99. Are they the same exact plugin except that the HD version supports AAX DSP? Is that the one you need to run with PT? If so, I thought this type of thing went out the window with PT LE. Anyways, I've heard a lot of good things about this plugin. Also plan on downloading this demo. Some people talk about using it on literally every channel of their mix.

[Raoul23]

I use AC 1 on every track when I mix even auxes and aim for about 1db gain reduction so the yellow light is just bouncing on and off. I'm using the legacy version only because I like that GUI better. I'd love to get my hands on decapitator but I need the TDM version as I'm still on ProTools 10 HD


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[adam79]

Originally Posted by Raoul23

I use AC 1 on every track when I mix even auxes and aim for about 1db gain reduction so the yellow light is just bouncing on and off. I'm using the legacy version only because I like that GUI better. I'd love to get my hands on decapitator but I need the TDM version as I'm still on ProTools 10 HD


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So of I'm using PT 12.4 can I run the Native ver of AC?

[dtmprod]

Originally Posted by adam79

What about McDSP Analog Channel, anyone use and like that? It's also on sale, Native is $49 and HD is $99. Are they the same exact plugin except that the HD version supports AAX DSP? Is that the one you need to run with PT? If so, I thought this type of thing went out the window with PT LE. Anyways, I've heard a lot of good things about this plugin. Also plan on downloading this demo. Some people talk about using it on literally every channel of their mix.

Just to clarify, native is only AAX, whereas HD is both DSP & native. But yes, they're supposed to be the same sound. Used it a lot when it first came out. But with other options available now, mix & match with other plugins, especially Slate stuff.
A couple others I like & use are Dave Hill's Phoenix II tape plugin and Plugin-alliance Twintube. Can adjust both low & higher freq.'s. The hi freq has 4 settings: 2, 3, 6 & 10k. That way you can emphasize a certain portion of the tone.

[Andy Gone]

I like Waves J37 as reel-to-reel emulation. Nice warmth, plus you can tweak it in many ways, and it has tape delay on board. Vitamin is good multiband enhancer too.

[Raoul23]

Originally Posted by adam79

So of I'm using PT 12.4 can I run the Native ver of AC?

Yes you sure can


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