The Audio Animals RU-vid channel is dedicated to showcasing all things related to the Audio Animals studio. With our vast range of knowledge on equipment we have first hand user experience of, we are able to provide our viewers with honest and genuine reviews about the industry's best and most sought after equipment. Audio Animals are always looking to provide detailed tuition and educational videos that our subscribers can follow and learn from. Such information from industry professionals we feel is invaluable and very important to building the next generation of industry professionals.
I like the fusion quite a bit better than the Neve…but I mean if you’re gonna tell me that because you get a stereo widener and a different EQ then you don’t need the fusion anymore….then it’s the same situation for the NEVE.
Bitwig. I've tried and own quite a few from Ableton to logic etc. why do I use bitwig... I have no idea I use the others but I don't know it just doesn't gel with me I keep going back to bitwig. And this for people thinking I make weird sounds and modulations well I don't. I am a boring recorder of normal vocals and real guitars and basses. I own a Fantom keyboard and most of my synth pian etc sounds are straight from there. I use toon track ezdrummer 3 for drums and ezbass for bass sounds and articulations so go figure. The others even after hours of tutorials I always hit a wall cause they just don't gel with me. Yes I must be weird . I'm 67 years old and played in bands from mid 70s through mid 80s. Only synth plugin I use is cherry audio GX80 I just use mostly stock slightly tweak sounds from the Fantom 07 again nothing weird I'm more a rock singer player with nice grooves
Every respectable engineer knows that uad is snakoil, but would ve been nice to hear some quality recorded acoustical instruments examples through it though.
Unisum and Magnetic Death Eye. These are among the very, very few plugins I can mistake for the sound of hardware. Personally, I find the Shadow Hills plugin meh - almost never use it.
Vintage drive noise is noticeable if you don’t gain stage properly or have a VERY dynamic song to work with and it might be noticeable on quiet passages. Yes there is some noise but for most situations it’s completely bearable and I never had any complaints about the noise from other people.
@Strepite noise like this shouldn't be bearable or hoping people don't noise it. It shouldn't be added. No mastering engineer wants to add surface noise purposely and hope the client doesn't notice it.
I've always found the word warm doesn't quite fulfil that sound you get... I find it more vibrant with a bit of MSG added for yumminess lol. Plus warm doesn't really express the extra added 3D analogue gives. I think in generally the word doesn't encompass the entirely of the experience you get. Warm to me is just the effect of added harmonic's... Comforting I think better describes the over all effect as all that it adds it adds without over doing it... of course you can always over do it and it goes from comforting and rich to to too rich or sickly... or distorted... depending on what the overdoing it effect is
@@TheSakuraGumiLTD I prefer more pleasing to the ear. Warm to me just means dull. I guess people just associate warm to tubes being warm and that term just stuck.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio To me warm means dark.. or cloudy... the point is it's got such a vague definition when applied to sound... pleasing is probably the accurate but people will just think that is faff lol... as much as comfortable lol... I do know it came from tubes and gear that get hot in general but it still doesn't make much sense... when thing colour that term makes sense and really colour is like changing the hue in comparison, but colour also means saturation which makes sense as well a all the other adjustments with pictures... so colour is a good allrounder but that has already stuck with being referred to as tone and saturation... the thing is we are also talking about just a little bit, even when we speak of "loads of colour added" or "load of warmth" loads really would be far too much and would then reaching the term foggy lol... my most used term is to add 3D pop and smoothing and or "make this thing a bit more living" as I do find analogue to just make things sound a bit more like it's own living thing
@TheSakuraGumiLTD yeah that's why I do these honest opinions 6 months later as I'm more informed on what it is best for and how I find myself using it over a longer period of time. It's very easy to get a piece of equipment and say it's great. You're in the honeymoon period. These videos are more am I still liking it and getting the same use out of it.
@thePunkRockMix the HF compressor on the Fusion isn't bad. We use a few different units for HF compression. Maselec MLA-3, Maselec MPL-2 and various Goly Dynamic EQs.
I'm not sure.. the Carnaby is a lovely sound and it adds more space between elements to my ear, but the Neve definitely has a smoother top end and nicer boost. I'm in the market for something like this to add to my studio in the coming weeks and haven't decided yet. Somebody suggested I look at the Liftoff Silver Bullet Mk2 box as well.. I need to listen to some demos before I pull the trigger on a purchase.
Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison! Transient response and imaging/width go to the Herchild for me. Imaging could be because of a true dual-mono topology in the Herchild. The Grandchild definitely offers the signature thumbprint of it's bigger relatives. Pretty impressive all around! I'd be more than thrilled to have this "Budget 670" in my 500 rack! Nobody is going to say "Your song wasn't successful because you used the Grandchild when you should have used the Herchild" at the end of the day.
The listening function on your website is so helpful. There you can hear the difference in your own tempo. I noticed a big difference in the high frequencies on drum track 2. The Herchild is shining there.
@gwsound the time constants are the same, just probably used the wrong image of one of the unit. Human error. What's important though is what you are hearing. Not what you are seeing.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio for sure. But I was looking for a reason that could explain the differences that I'm hearing. Don't know the specs of the Grand child. Thanks a lot for the great video.
Didn‘t hear a difference on the last track and wondered why 😂 I‘m surprised I was able to tell them apart in the rest of the examples though. On the first two tracks the Relab was way closer to the hardware (which I preferred), but on the third track I thought the Relab emulation sounded weird and preferred Ivory by a mile.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio ive only got an SSL Ultraviolet EQ in the chain ... I'm after a nice warm tube sound for the vocals as am using an SM7B as the mic for vocals and acoustic guitar. was hoping the Empress's tubes would be a good match
@@JimboJones99 the silk textures are quite different. I did a video comparing these. Silk red is smoother. I did remove the MBT from this studio in favour of the HE2. I personally preferred the HE2 as I could be more precise with it.
Witch bus compressor do you recommend especially for house and techno music? I have the busplus and often end up not using it on the master Saludos and thx 🙏🏼
@marianolarocca-ionique5027 a bus comp won't always need to be used on the master. My bus comp of choice for me is the Wes Audio NG Bus Comp. I'm really impressed with the sound of this. I had the SSL bus plus in to compare with the Wes Audio NG Bus Comp and Itended up choicing the Wes Audio.
Thanks! Great examples. The Herchild notably controls the bass and kick better. More punch and resolution. The Grandchild is no slouch though, quite a loverly sound. I couldn't afford Her but that Gchild may be right up my alley.
Depends on the song, both sound amazing. For my budget I would choose the Grandchild, great sound and small footprint. Pretty amazing results from that 500 unit for 2000 bucks the thing sounds pretty darn good 👌🏼
I'm glad to hear someone explain it's use properly. It hasn't made much sense what it actually is when others have talked about it and so had in mind it was more of a EQ with extras when it's more of extras controlled by the curves of a EQ. In my mind I had always pictured it being use in the end of the chain so my intuition of what it's use would be is on point... but kind of thought it had that but with a little bit of a EQ boost also... which it doesn't, so perfect. Have you heard the differences between this unit and the 500 series version of it? Am I losing quality as well as features or just losing the features?
@TheSakuraGumiLTD I have tried the 500 series version and whilst that's a good module the HE2 is far better. You can get so much more from it. I was impressed with the 500 series version which is why I knew the HE2 was a must have without even hearing it. I mean they wouldn't make it worse only. Better.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio So if the budget couldn't stretch to the HE2 then I shouldn't feel too bad... the budget will stretch eventually and I'll have both and then the 500 will be used in mix hybrid and the HE2 in mastering... of course with the 500 it depends on how good you 500 rack is also... feature wise HE2 is incredible, and the extra money does warrant that alone, but it's good to know it it's a bit of a overall upgrade too... does then maybe make it a better deal.
I am impressed with the sustain on Herchild a little more than on a 500 series module. 500 series unit also adds more low-end harmonics, whereas Herchild stays more even and “flat”. Thanks for a comparison. Great variety of audio examples!
This is why I love your channel. You just go by ok how does it sound rather than using plugin doctors and alias meters or complaining/throwing a tantrum because a plugin has some graphics to show hardware screws and scratches .
Nice video!! How's your RHEA sounding against the Grandchild? Which one would you choose as a final compressor for a 500 series mastering chain Thnks, great content!!!
@necbot I'd personally choose the Rhea. Only because it has more functionality and digital recall. Which is why you see a Rhea in the rack behind me. That being said I'd happily have Grandchild in there too.
The herchild has a more open sound stage. The grandchild has a more closed sound stage. So for me it boils down to taste & really depends on the type of music being mixed or mastered using either one. (My 2cents)
Listening back and forth, I think I can understand the sonic differences between the two. Grandchild's compression is more apparent, whereas the Herchild sounds like it has more dynamics even though I can hear e.g. the drums more clearly, even though each part sounds discrete in their own space. Herchild sounds softer, Grandchild sounds a bit grittier, but this is maybe a 1% difference. With that said, it's not a £7000 difference and the tone is identical to my ears. I'm completely in agreement with your statement that "it captured every essence of what a Fairchild is in 500 series". Basically everyone that has a budget should go Grandchild. Maybe a studio like yours Paul, can justify the Grandchild or even Fairchild as those 1% differences add up when you're at the top.
@MarkVO also for me a real fairchild even if its 1% better or 5% better. At the end of the day it's a fairchild and it ultimately attracts clients. The Grandchild wouldn't attract clients as much. So that's also what you pay for. It's like a Ford being able to go as fast a Ferrai but everyone would prefer to go in a Ferrai for the fact that it's a Ferrai.
You have done the community a great service with this. Also, think about the expense and time it takes to replace the tubes every year (or 6 months) or so on a FC. This would be cheaper and easier
@@Rhuggins I was equally interested. I wanted to reinforce my opinion on the Grandchild being very impressive when I compared it to all the fairchilds.
@@AudioAnimalsStudioi just edited my original comment - I forgot that besides the sound, the expense and labor involved in replacing the tubes is no joke (as you know). This may be significantly less of a PITA in the long term
@@AudioAnimalsStudio just went to your webpage with the sound examples. I am so impressed by the amount of work you put into this....your passion and enthusiasm is so inspiring man. You are one hard working dude. Much appreciated <3
They sound different, not drastically, ever so slightly different. I prefer the sound of the Grandchild on all of the material played. To me the Herchild sounds slight thinner, but slightly more detailed, this is all ever so slightly.
Paul, It really sounds good. What about power issues if you have say a Wes Audio Super Carrier II full other 500 series with that Grandchild in there and what about heat issues etc...?
I have supercarrier2 10 slots out of 11 are used, no issues with grandchild, even rupert neve r6 indicatesn 800ma (last green led) when all 6 slots used. But i dont know if it gonna be ok when 2 stereo tube modules will be in rack.
@ps_shing_5590 when you consider there's a £7000 proce difference. You have a few extra features, but I think if you were to want a fairchild sound the Grandchild would be perfect.
On a few of the examples I straight up preferred the Grandchild. Has a more rounded and thick low-end while the Herchild emphasized the upper mid and highs a bit more. Could be down to how the units were gain staged
@@misery4515 I think in a blind test you wouldn't say that one sounds cheap and the other sounds more expensive. I think most people would just have a personal preference over one or the other.
I don’t think either sound cheap. They both sound great. Just that in these comparisons it seems like they have a slightly different box tone, not sure if it’s down to the units themselves or if the gain staging is slightly different. I would imagine the grandchild has slightly lower headroom being 500 series and is maybe driven more conservatively to avoid running into that ceiling?
@@misery4515 that was meant to say wouldn't say that one sounds cheap. I agree both sound great. I meant in a blind test you wouldn't be able to pick the Grandchild out clear as day and say that's the Grandchild as it sounds worse.
I find Pro-L2 changing the sound for the worse even when it's barely doing anything (it's sounding "grey" and flat so to speak) that's why I use Flatline 2 in Hybrid mode almost exclusively (it's the most transparent clipper/limiter I've found ITB) and maybe 10-15% of the time I'll use Ozone 11 because it sounds way better. What do you think of clipping instead of limiting to preserve the microdynamics and only chop off the peaks almost inaudibly?
@huberttorzewski I use the Bettermaker V2 limiter as my clipper. This is precisely what I talk about in this video. The LAAL takes the load off L2 massively. If you are using L2 for heavy limiting you will find all the above is true. However if you are using it subtle, with very small amounts of limiting because there is a LAAL and Bettermaker clipper before it. L2 is doing a very small amount of work and sounds perfect.
