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Quiz: Desert Island FX

Starship Krupa

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Starship Krupa

Starship Krupa

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Scenario: in rehab for plug-in hoarding, you are sent to a desert island (with wi-fi for updates, of course) and given the choice of a single 3rd-party plug-in in each FX category. No suites, individual FX only. You can take individual plug-ins from your beloved iZotope suites, but not the whole suite.

Which FX do you choose? For me, versatility will be an issue, so it's going to skew toward Meldaproduction.

  • Reverb: MTurboReverb. Covers it all. Not as simple as just slapping Phoenix/Nimbus/Stratus on the reverb bus, but more versatile.
  • Track Compressor: elysia mpressor. Sounds so sweet.
  • Bus Compressor: T-Racks 670. Magic bus. Does M/S
  • Multiband Compressor: MDynamicsMB. Versatility. M/S
  • Precision EQ: T-Racks Equal. Plenty of bands and filter types.
  • Character EQ: Lindell T-100. If I have to choose just one, this one seems the most versatile.
  • Delay: MTurboDelay. See MTurboReverb. Covers it all.
  • Chorus: Acon Multiply
  • Pitch Shifter: kHs Pitch Shifter. The simplest possible, but it also works the best of any I've tried.
  • Basic Filter: Soundspot Fat 2.
  • Glitcher/Stutterer: MRhythmizer. Easier to navigate than Stutter Edit 2
  • Limiter: MLimiterX . Does the M/S
  • Stereo Imager: OzSoft Xpander (it's a freebie, do check it out)
  • Amp sim: bx_rockrack
  • Vocoder: MVocoder. After a pretty exhaustive search, this is the one
  • Saturation: Waves BB Tubes. Pretty nice freebie, I must say.
  • Restoration: ReaFIR. Criminally overlooked and underrated, I've found no single plug-in that can do what this venerable freebie does when it comes to cleaning up camcorder footage or other noisy audio
  • Clipper: T-Racks Classic Clipper

Bonus round. As time goes on, you are allowed to expand with utilities and combos:

  • Utility: Trackspacer. Edges out MAutoAlign because I won't be recording drums on the island.
  • Multieffect: Unfiltered Audio TRIAD. Covers a LOT of ground in the realm of sound design.
  • All-in-one Mastering: bx_masterdesk
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Brian Walton

Brian Walton

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

 

  • Reverb: MTurboReverb. (same)
  • Track Compressor: Toneboosters Compressor v4.  Had to pick something that can work on just about anything here.
  • Bus Compressor:  SPL Iron
  • Multiband Compressor: 
  • Precision EQ: Kirchhoff EQ
  • Character EQ: AMEK 200 (but the Lindall is in the running)
  • Delay: Audiority Echoric - isn't the most versitle but the flavor is too good to pick anything else.
  • Chorus: 
  • Pitch Shifter: Melodyne Studio
  • Basic Filter: 
  • Glitcher/Stutterer: MRhythmizerMB (why not have multi-band too)?  :)
  • Limiter: MLimiterX . Does the M/S
  • Stereo Imager: Fielder Audio Stage
  • Amp sim: ToneX (for the quality and versatility - hopefully we get more profiles though)
  • Vocoder: 
  • Saturation: Black Box M/S
  • Restoration: Izotope RX (if that counts) if not Acon Restoration noise reduction 2
  • Clipper:  

Bonus round. As time goes on, you are allowed to expand with utilities and combos:

 

Maybe the top two out of all of them in terms of single plugins (and didn't even have a catergory)

Channel Strip:   Amek 9099

Scaler 2

Quote
  • Utility: 
  • Multieffect: 
  • All-in-one Mastering: bx_masterdesk

 

Edited by Brian Walton
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bitflipper

bitflipper

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  • Reverb: ValhallaRoom, for versatility
  • Track Compressor: FETPresser
  • Bus Compressor: Fabfilter Pro-C
  • Precision EQ: Fabfilter Pro-Q
  • Character EQ: I don't use them
  • Delay: Tritik tkdelay for versatility
  • Chorus: Valhalla Ubermod, because it does other things too
  • Pitch Shifter: Don't use 'em.
  • Basic Filter: Fabfilter Volcano
  • Glitcher/Stutterer: Don't use 'em
  • Multiband Compressor: Ozone
  • Limiter: Ozone
  • Stereo Imager: Ozone
  • Amp sim: Scuffam S-Gear
  • Vocoder: Don't use 'em.
  • Saturation: Fabfilter Saturn
  • Restoration: Prefer a standalone app, e.g. Adobe Audition or RX
  • Clipper: I don't use clippers except on my nails.
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e-cue

e-cue

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Posted

I'll play.  

Reverb: Seventh Heaven Pro.  Honorable mention, Altiverb.  
Track Compressor: Arouser.  
Bus Compressor: Magnum K.  
Multiband Compressor: FabFilter Pro-Q 3 (with dynamic settings engaged).  
Precision EQ: Metric Halo Sontec.  HM: SPL PQ.  
Character EQ: Hammer DSP.  HM:  Maag Eq4 (for the Air band...  not sure if this counts)
Delay: Echofarm.  Don't care, I like it.  HM: Echoboy.
Chorus: UAD Dimension D (the best for bass width).  HM's:  TC Stereo Chorus Flanger, UAD Dytronics TriChorus (stupid good on E Pianos).  
Pitch Shifter: Serato Pitch N Time.
Basic Filter: Soundtoys FilterFreak2.  
Glitcher/Stutterer: Stutter Edit 2
Limiter: Massey L2007.  
Stereo Imager: Mathew Lane's Dr. Ms.  
Amp sim: Line 6 Helix Native.
Vocoder: Izotope VocalSynth.  
Saturation: Softube Overstayer.  HM: Phil's Cascade.  
Restoration: I'd say, Izotope suite because it depends on the type of restoring, but since we are limited to one, I'd say DeClipper.  I fix bad edits with this all the time and the oddball lip smack (which I use the vocal version for but the regular version can do wonders here as well).  
Clipper: Massey Golden Master.  


Bonus round. As time goes on, you are allowed to expand with utilities and combos:

Utility: VocAlign Ultra.  HM:  Source Element's Source Connect.  
Multieffect: Output Portal.
All-in-one Mastering: DMG Limitless 

Channel Strip:  PA SSL 9k.  HM: Lindell Audio API or Neve.  

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Fleer

Fleer

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Okay, here goes  -

Reverb: FabFilter Pro-R and Zynaptiq Adaptiverb 

Track Compressor: Arturia Comp DIODE-609

Bus Compressor: FabFilter Pro-C2

Multiband Compressor: FabFilter Pro-MB

Precision EQ: FabFilter Pro-Q3

Character EQ: Apogee EQP-1A 

Delay: FabFilter Timeless 3

Chorus: Arturia Jun-6

Pitch Shifter: Soundtoys Little AlterBoy

Basic Filter: FabFilter Volcano 3

Glitcher/Stutterer: nah

Limiter: FabFilter Pro-L 2

Stereo Imager: FabFilter Pro-Q3 (and Ozone 10 Advanced)

Amp sim: IK AmpliTube 5 (that Leslie!)

Vocoder: Arturia Vocoder V

Saturation: FabFilter Saturn 2

Restoration: iZotope RX 10

Clipper: I clip Bapuji’s nails

Bonus round.

Utility: Wavesfactory Trackspacer (indeed)

Multieffect/special: Arturia Fragments and Dist-Coldfire (lately)

All-in-one Mastering: iZotope Ozone 10 Advanced 

All-in-one Mixing / Channel Strip: Neutron 4

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Starship Krupa

Starship Krupa

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Wow, these replies are even more fascinating than I thought.

And proof of diversity of technique: some categories that I used others leave blank and some categories I omitted others find essential (so please do fill in the blanks).

I did miss Channel Strip. I sorta think of them as multi-FX, although I know that for many people, they're something you use on every track to add character. I use Cakewalk's Console Emulator. I'd probably go with the bx_Focusrite or the Lindell rack that houses their preamp, EQ, and compressor. I'd say UltraChannel, but it's really a multieffect unit. Sandwiching a bunch of FX between two transformer emulations doesn't make it a "channel strip," or does it?

Lots of love for Fabfilter and Melda so far, almost none whatsoever for Waves (man, how times have changed!), and how can I be the only one so far to mention T-Racks?

I couldn't help asking myself after I wrote out my list "okay, that's 20 FX, why do I have at least 15X that many?"

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Brian Walton

Brian Walton

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15 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

Wow, these replies are even more fascinating than I thought.

And proof of diversity of technique: some categories that I used others leave blank and some categories I omitted others find essential (so please do fill in the blanks).

I did miss Channel Strip. I sorta think of them as multi-FX, although I know that for many people, they're something you use on every track to add character. I use Cakewalk's Console Emulator. I'd probably go with the bx_Focusrite or the Lindell rack that houses their preamp, EQ, and compressor. I'd say UltraChannel, but it's really a multieffect unit. Sandwiching a bunch of FX between two transformer emulations doesn't make it a "channel strip," or does it?

Lots of love for Fabfilter and Melda so far, almost none whatsoever for Waves (man, how times have changed!), and how can I be the only one so far to mention T-Racks?

I couldn't help asking myself after I wrote out my list "okay, that's 20 FX, why do I have at least 15X that many?"

I figured I'd only put things down I've invested in.  Fabfilter would likely be my choice on a few.

I like T-Racks stuff but unless I've got a super-computer with power on this desert island a number of my favorites can be CPU hogs, some that are not - such as the 670 just not versatile enough to handle every source if limited to one option.

I'll change my limiter option if I have more CPU power too.  But the Melda one has some flexibility since it is light enough to use across tracks and can be good enough for bus/final stuff.  

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Magic Russ

Magic Russ

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Multi-effect: Guitar Rig.  This is feels like a cheat because it has the three SoftTube compressors, Mod Pack, Crush Pack, bunch of reverbs etc.

Delay:  MTurboDelay.  Like Starship Krupa said, this covers more than you would expect a delay to.

WTF MFX:  Molekular

Amp Sim: Amplitube 5

Convolution Reverb: ReMatrix

One Stop Mastering:  Lurssen

Trance Gate:  MRhythmizer

LoFi: RC-20

I'm not committing to compressors because I have a boatload and usually don't get far enough into a track to be concerned with mixing.

I'm not committing to algorithmic reverbs because I just got the Arturia FX pack and Intensity could be a contender, but MTurboReverb is pretty good too.

 

 

 

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Bajan Blue

Bajan Blue

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Reverb: Valhalla Vintage Room

Track Compressor: Arturia FET 76

Bus Compressor: The Glue  by Cytomic

Precision EQ: Toneboosters EQ

Character EQ: depends what for but Maag or Arturia EQ Sitral

Delay: Echorec by Pulsar

Chorus: UVI Thorus

Pitch Shifter: Don't use 'em.

Basic Filter: Soundtoys

Glitcher/Stutterer: Don't use 'em

Multiband Compressor: Ozone

Limiter: Barricade by Toneboosters

Stereo Imager: Ozone

Amp sim: Kuassa VVV if I had to choose just one!

Vocoder: Don't use 'em.

Saturation: Noveltech Character

Restoration: Sonnox Oxford

Clipper: I don't use clippers 

 

 

Bonus round.

Utility: Voxengo SPAN

Multieffect/special: Dimitry Sches Tantra

All-in-one Mastering: iZotope Ozone 10 Advanced 

All-in-one Mixing / Channel Strip: Neutron 4

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Xoo

Xoo

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Interesting question!

Reverb: Audiority Xenoverb.  I have it and it's good and versatile enough.  HM: Valhalla Shimmer because I love it on my guitar, even though it's a bit of a special effect.

Track Compressor: Tricky one - I tend to use the Pro Channel ones (CA-2A and PC76), but I'd be tempted by the Sonitus Compressor so it's usable in the FX bin in CbB.

Bus Compressor: I'll stick with the Pro Channel PC4K bus compressor - familiarity.

Multiband Compressor: Sony(!) Multiband Dynamics.

Precision EQ: Quite happy enough with the Pro Channel EQ in Cakewalk.

Character EQ: One of the Nomad Factory PulTech emulators (hell, go with the 5 band for flexibility).

Delay: Tricky.  Valhalla Delay probably (I've only just got it but it's pretty good).  HM: Variety of Sound NastyDLA (also does flexible modulation).

Chorus: I'd stick with the Sonitus Modulator as it's versatile.  HM: Nomad Factory Liquid Mod II

Pitch Shifter: Don't use one.

Basic Filter: Don't use one.

Glitcher/Stutterer: Don't use one, unless you count Cableguys PanCake (which one can abuse in this way) - this also does autopan which I love.

Limiter: The old Cakewalk Adaptive Limiter because I know it.

Stereo Imager: Sonitus Phase does it for me - again, it's good enough and quick to use.

Amp sim: Can I put in Overloud THU since I use quite a few different amp/cabs (I promise not to use any of the effects!)?

Vocoder: Melda MVocoder.  I've yet to find one that is really good, but this is the best of a bad bunch.

Saturation: I'd probably stick with the Tube module in the Pro Channel for simplicity.

Restoration: Pfft.  Restoration is for wimps.  That said, I've occasionally used the old Sony/Sound Forge Audio Restoration plugin so I'd go with that.

Clipper: Never use one.

Bonus round:

Utility: Cakewalk Channel Tools.

Multieffect: Valhalla Supermassive.

All-in-one Mastering: Not a clue 🙂

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Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann

Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann

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Reverb: Waves Manny Marroquin Reverb

Track Compressor: Waves Puigchild

Bus Compressor: Sonible Smart:Comp

Precision EQ: DDMF IIEQ Pro (or Hornet Total EQ or SSL X-EQ 2, I'm still deciding)

Character EQ: Something from PA, I haven't settled on one yet

Delay: Acustica Lemon (vocal) Audiority Echoes T7E (guitar)

Chorus: Arturia Chorus Dimension-D

Pitch Shifter:  Celemony Melodyne

Basic Filter: Waves Meta Filter

Glitcher/Stutterer: Melda MRhythmizer

Limiter: Nugen ISL

Stereo Imager: Fieldler Audio Stage

Amp sim: Native Instruments Guitar Rig

Vocoder: Arturia Vocoder V (I recently got the Xils vocoders, which probably will replace Arturia, but not yet)

Saturation: Waves Aphex Vintage Exciter

Restoration: iZotope Rx

Clipper: IK Multimedia T Racks Clipper

== Bonus Round ==

Utility: iZotope Neutron

All-in-one Mastering: iZotope Ozone

I tend to think about my mix differently from "basic controls", e.g., I rarely reach for a clipper, a chorus, a basic filter, or even an amp sim. I generally use instrument-focused multi-effects instead, so I'm expanding the list

Multieffect General: Eventide H3000 Factory (or PSP N2O)

Multieffect Guitar: Waves CLA Guitars

Multieffect Bass: Unfiltered Audio Bass Mint

Multieffect Vocals: iZotope Nectar

Drum Transient control: Elysia nvelope + Eventide SplitEq

== Extra ==

Monitoring/checking: Mastering the Mix Levels

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