OK so I'm getting HD - Plugin questions...

[voce]

OK, so y'all and the sales rep have convinced me to go ahead and not only get HD2, but HD3...I'm placing the order next week...



I'm working now to determine what plugins to buy, and I'd appreciate a bit of input on just a couple:

1) I'm not going to stick with Waves bundles...just too much money especially now that it's essentially a subscription, as I understand it. That said, I'm pretty dependent on the L2 and L1 (more on the L2) and i use the Q10 a lot...I see that the L3 and Q10 can be bought alone...will they too be under WUP if I buy it? Also, the L1 is not sold alone - can you recommend a quality limiter like it?

2) HD3 comes with Reverb One, but I've heard Revibe sounds lovely. Is it that much better sounding? I have used Megaverb quite a bit in the past...how do each compare to this?

3) Pitch & Time - have you found anything less expensive that works as well? I don't use it a lot, but when I do it works better than most...

4) One of the bundles I wanted was the Soundtoys UltraFx bundle...but I am reading here that this is one of those which are experiencing issues under 6.9...any experience with this?

That's all for now, thanks a lot!

[Andre Knecht]

4) One of the bundles I wanted was the Soundtoys UltraFx bundle...but I am reading here that this is one of those which are experiencing issues under 6.9...any experience with this? [...]

The UltraFx bundle is great. It is also very stable for me. My only complaints are that a) the bundle still only runs natively (a proper TDM version has been promised but has yet to materialize), and b) the plugs have a tendency to lose their link to the factory preset folders - which is annoying but not the end of the world.

[Kurtstudio]

These five i can't live with out;
1. URS Bundle 2, TL Space Verb 3. McDSP Bundle 4. Waves Plat. ( sorry but it's worth it) 5. Auto-tune 6. Pitch N Time Ok 7. Eventide Bundle. Remembering that you get the Digi bundle with the purchase. I'd wait on autotune, and Pitch n Time and buy the rest. Remember Waves gives you over 20 + something plugins that are all very useful and sound great. If you price it out to per plug in cost it's is with every dollar. So I gave you 7 but 1,2,3,4,7 are a must, if waves if too expensive just get 1,2,3,7. and you'll rock, especially with all the free plugs PT gives you with the upgrade. Rock On!! Or Rent before you buy! thats a very safe way to get what you need. Take a clue from the best engineers I know. First listen to the music, then and only then add a plug in if it's necessary. Happy pluggin"

[crizdee]

Hi,

Couldn't live without....

Sony oxford Dynamics & EQ Both very conservative on chip usage!!
DUY analogue bundle works magic on everything
Pulltec EQ very warm and real analogue sounding
Fairchild compressor same as above

and for effects...

Eventide anthology first and foremost!
TL space reverb

prefer pitch doctor over autotune personally, though it does have a large delay!? over the delay compensation, so be aware, but great and more natural results to my ears.


Chris

[voce]

Cool, thanks for the comments so far...some additional comments from my end:

1) I already have Autotune 4, and the full v2.6 of Melodyne...I have an old version of Pitch and Time that someone gave me like 4years ago...it works better than anything except Melodyne, but it also works on polyphonic sounds (to an extent)..I just use it relatively infrequently...so I'm on the fence as it's one of the pricier ones...I'll prolly get it...

2) Waves - all I can't live without I detailed above...the C4, S1, and Enigma would be nice, but not close to essential for me...and the WUP program is just not for me. L2 is what I really need, and looks like I can get the L3 (native - I only need 1 or 2 per session and my system can more than handle it - does anyone know if L3 is significantly hoggier than L2?) Also, are single Waves plugs doomed to the WUP?

3) In addition to these and all those in the HD3 package, I will also have the Sony Oxform EQ w/GML option, the BF Pultec Bundle, PSP Vintage Warmer, and Vocalign. Any other suggestions?

thanks again!

- Dual 2.5, 2 GB, 23" HD, 10.3.6

[Tony Shepperd]

The amount of DSP that L3 takes is staggering. It sounds great on the stereo mix... but wow!

Put the L2 on one channel and the L3 on the next channel over and look at the delay compensation values in the mix window.

Waves needs to make it more efficient. If the L3 is on the stereo master it is almost more than the channel can compensate for.

[crizdee]

Hi again,

A few things to consider! when i first bought an HD system i purchased loads of different plugs before i realised that lots of them will hog an entire chip for 1 plug!! so sony oxford/ mc dsp and duy bundle became the favourites very quickly as they have great chip usage. some still use a lot of chip, but are worth it; pulltec/fairchild/MDW.

If your after a great mastering plug, then try isotope ozone, they do a demo period. it is HTDM and uses a lot of cpu, but great for post mastering.

Personally i didn't get on with ultraFX, i found them buggy and often would distort suddenly for no reason! i'm not prepared to risk using such plugs, so they all went except for filter freak. The ultra tools i do recommend and have had no problems with any of them, and as i said earlier, pitch doctor is my favourite for vocals, it doesn't exibit so many artifacts like antares does.

Regards

Chris

[Tubz]

2) - I think Reverb One is better then revibe, but I'm no expert in tweaking verbs...
3) - In waves transformerbundle, there's a plug called soundshifter, and it whipes the a...s of pitch 'n time.

Congrats with the new system!

BR Tubz

[Lee Blaske]

2) HD3 comes with Reverb One, but I've heard Revibe sounds lovely. Is it that much better sounding?

To me, it sounds a LOT better. Since I got it, I no longer use Reverb One. Shop around, there are some internet retailers that sell it for a great deal less. I actually bought my copy used on eBay at a great price. There always seem to be a lot of plug-ins for sale on eBay, and they are functionally equivalent to new product in every way.

Lee Blaske

[brianjanthony]

Plugs I use daily: Sony Oxford EQ, Ren Channel (If I have had to give up my Waves Platinum, I'd still buy the Waves Ren line), Ren Compressor, Drumagog (better than sound replacer and has audio to MIDI capabilities in the works), NI Kontakt, Amp Farm, Amplitube LE, Guitar Rig, et al, T-Racks, Bomb Factory LA3A, TrueVerb. Just to name a few.

In all reality, the Digi stuff is just fine for so many apps. The new EQ3 is pretty good for most apps. Not too colored. Same as their compressors. They don't add "warmth" or "sheen". They just do their job. And they take practically no power compared to some.

I have Reverb One, and tried Revibe demo. In the 10 minute test, they seemed to sound very similar in general settings. I did love the Revibe "little room" settings like for vocal booths, etc. But it made me realize just how much I didn't know how to really work Reverb One. I've really been learning to tweak Reverb One for some amazing results. That being said, I have a bunch of plug verbs, and still personally think none of them sounds as good as a PCM Lex or a Yamaha verb like I'm used to (I started in the early 90's). So my next verb will probably be a harware, not software unit. Bottom line, Reverb One is a great verb, esp if its free. If you want something totally different, go with a convolution plug like Space or Altiverb.

When I got my HD3, I got like a billion plugs with it (ok, well maybe just a hundred million, ha ha). After a year and a half, I still don't think I've used all of em. It seems like I every session I find out "Wow, I had that?" Big Lesson Learned. I now only get stuff as I need it. For instance, if you're working on a session, and find out NONE of the stock EQs you have do what you need, ask around at the DUC for something that might work. Then use the demo, then buy it if you cannot live without it. (A lot of times, that new toy will help you understand how to get THE sound on something you already have).

Hope this helps. As far as non-digi stuff, I like Sound TOys Speed and use it every day for something. I dont have Auto Tune (if my clients are out, they are too far out for AutoTune). If I had the $$, I'd get all the Sony Stuff. I have Waves Plat, but mostly use the REn.

Again, I'll stop blabbing now.

brian