SONY vs. URS plugins?

[pk_hat]

I surrendered and got an iLok yesterday. I will be dowloading - first - the URS plugs, followed by the SONY bundle. I won't do them together as I have a string of projects to mix and remix, so I need to milk the demo periods for as long as I can. I know they'll both be great but it will be difficult to say which to buy, since I won't be doing direct comparisons from a mixing stanpoint.

To thos who may own, or have tried both, which would you go for first.

- Sony LE Bundle for $660 (EQ, COMP, INFLATOR)
- URS bundle for about $1K, or to be fair, the A and N setries for about the same price as the Sony, the drawback here is it's only eq.

No need to mention Sonaksis, I'm getting them tomorrow, as they're just gorgeous as well. Other than the Inspector Analyzer, I'm not too keen on Elemental's stuff, sorry. I'll give MCDSP a go as well. Wow, I can count on nearly a couple of months of quality processing before making a decision!

[mindnoise]

hi pk,

well that depends on on what you have already.

If you got no great Comp (that is: only BF and the likes) I´d say get the Sony Bundle.
While Inflator is no real Loudness tool as Waves L it´can produce a real in-the-face sound and keeping the mix open while making it louder (by harmonic distortion)

and the Sony EQ is great, but as it is there is only 1 EQ and URS has the selection of characters.
Where the Sony is the "ghostwriter" to your mix, URS is the "slam-poet" (you get the intention) both have their own strength and right.

The McDSP I see somewhere inbetween them and is the most versatile, as the Filterbank gives you ALL the classics and the musical sound.

so the you could could get the Filterbank and Compressor bank for $700 at www.altomusic.com.
thats a deal, too and will take you a long way.

So far with my experience.

so take you´re extensive testride and choose

regs

[JFreak]

i'd say buy URS A and N series for eq first and mcdsp analog channel for a secret weapon against overly sterile digital sound. then mcdsp mc2000 for a multiband comp, and if you still have budget left, buy the sony reverb

i'd suggest skip the oxford eq if you can, it's just overly hyped and overpriced. urs eq's are the nicest, IMHO.

[GORILLA]

Those URS A and N series A10/N12 EQ's are the shizzy. Along with the Sonalksis bundle your set. You already have the Vintage Warmer right? Oh yeah McDsp is Great I bought ALL my McDsp stuff from Big Jon at Alto. By the way....PSP's Mix Pack is pretty awesome too! The Sony Dynamic plug-in, I think it's called, is cool.
I see UAD now has a Ultra Pack too!

I went for Audio Eases Altiverb 4. Just a pinch of a good IR verb on a mix makes a WORLD of difference between sounding like a box or sounding bad ass!


Ahhh, the never ending vicious circle of plug-ins.

[Eric Spaceship]

I own the Sony pack, and McDSP filterbank. Just finished the URS demo...

Sony vs. URS is comparing apples to pears. The Sony EQ is very sterile and surgical, a little cold to my ears, but clean. The URS stuff is all wbout character, at the cost of versatility (with the A & N).

Fwiw, I bought Filterbank on a whim, just because I got a great deal on it and figured I could resell it if I didn't use it. But damn, after a week and a half, I'm wondering how I lived without it. It just works. The filters have a very pleasant musical character (and can be tweaked in their characteristics), so where if you like to additively EQ a bit, you get something sonically pleasant, as opposed to a phasey-sounding mess. This is a big plus over, e.g. Waves RenEQ, which imo is pretty usable for subtractive EQ'ing, but I wouldn't boost with it if you put a gun to my head.

I really dug the 'tone' of the URS plugs, and was able to serviceably EQ some pretty unforgiving sources. I will be buying the Console EQs when I get the scratch, but just as a palette option. Even with the parametrics, you're limited.

Upshot: McDSP is my swiss-army knife eq, Sony is the surgical go-to for lead vox, etc. If you haven't bought an EQ yet, McDSP is *definitely* worth a look. I have become a *big* fan in a week and a half (using on ~3 projects of different styles).

I just forked over for CompressorBank (again, good deal) almost entirely b/c I am so damn happy with Filterbank. analog Channel is on the list, too! (see scratch run!)

Oh, one more thought on the Sony plugs: The Dynamics section is, for lack of a better term, bomb. The 'Sony Buss' preset has, to my ears, a very SSL Quad Bus flavor. Poof! It sounds like a record! Great for agressive bus comp'ing and drum subs/ohs. Huge processor hog. The warmth/inflator thing is kind of mysterious, but I find great on bass.