The AMEK MASTERING COMPRESSOR.... 

It wasn't easy for me to understand the functions and layout at first. But once I did, It became relative to me. The stereo width is magic.

Really liked this look at the compressor, it sounds so natural! This kind of music was a really good stress test of it's natural sound.

took me a week to get my head around how it works, but once you understand its like being able to reach into the mix and dynamically adjust things u can normally reach as easily, and with the right settings you compress very VERY heavily and you're like, is it even doing anything?

Never tested it, but in my oppinion the SPL IRON was the best sounding compressor i ever tested, really feel like home when using it, it's so soft and gentle when used right, really in love with it

@danworral you have been summoned

I love this plug-in... my new "secret" weapon!

Fantastic plug-in 💯

AMEK = Alot Mystic Enigmatic Knobs.

I too would love to see what this thing can do in Dan Worrall's hands.

I love the fact that it has zero presets. Like most Bw plugins. Completely dependent on our own ears and taste. Thats how we develop our sound. Love this compressor.

First off: Great sounding track, White Sea! The double bass and piano sound wonderful. They're two of the most difficult instruments, along with voice, to record, IMHO. This is a " knock-off" of the GML compressor but with simpler controls than the new GML plug-in version. I used the analog version, back in the day; it sounded good. But like the plug-in(s) it wasn't exactly a quick setup. Good job, as usual.

Why does it take so long for developers to resolve issues in new MacOS versions? Because they don't have early beta access because Apple is so awesome in being secretive about everything they do. Every upgrade may involve significant changes in how MacOS handles audio, which may remove previous functionalities, which may be replaced by new fancier functionalities. I love it, when vendors send out mass e-mails to say "DON'T UPGRADE YOUR MACOS!" as a Windows user.

I love dig into new ways of pluging

Sounds great. Will be using it much more. Subtle but very effective. Very musical.

Honestly speaking this is not something irreplaceable for the engineers who are not only owning PA's mega bundle. IMO bw is not doing the correct marketing things, nowadays we focus on tools that can improve our workflow, Koletnikov and Unisum can do better (may be much) than this. I do recommend users who own HD system to try PA HD plugins (they are amazing) but for users who have more options this is somewhat like a tool that "try and forget".

WSS: stop putting screws on plugins! PA: OK......

No doubt the look is really nice. Curious to how the "look" or "skin" of a plug in affects its perceived sound quality to the user.

I must have wax in my ears because I liked the uncompressed version better. Here's a radical thought: what if a great mix neither needs nor benefits from master bus compression?

I hate that PA are duplicating all the controls, even if you link LR. They're doing this since forever and imho it's a complete waste of screen real estate and kills usability.

05:13 I haven't updated since 10.13 high sierra - it works.

Thank you for mentioning the OS Support subject. It's already been 6 months after MacOS Ventura has been released and plugin allaince is the only company that crashes and all the plugins are unusable. They keep coming up with new products instead of fixing it. It shows about how much they care for their clients.

"Ambiance" knob is for monitoring the audio that is being compressed. It's very useful.

Yes. Once you download the software and it is on a physical medium in your physical possession, it really is yours. Even if you pirated it. Especially if you can get your hands on the source code.

I've been using Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor and it seems very clean and transparent.

This is cool, but does it have too many knobs on it? I use the Lurssen Mastering Console plugin, it does a good job but with fewer knobs. 🎼🎵🎸🎶🎹😃

Wow. I didn’t know American Express was in the audio business.

I'm interested but not $149 interested. Maybe if a deal opportunity were to arise ... Historically that's the way things go with PA.

MacOSX isn't 'the AUDIO' platform anymore. Back to Windows.. loving it.

we're testing out a compressor on jazzy piano?

I actually rolled the tubes in mine and it improves the sound even more. That other dude lost my subscription because of his bashing of this device. It sound a great. I’m sure a real pilot c would blow it away but I would take it for what it is. It’s great

This plugin shocked me today.

very similar to TDR Kotelnikov, right? Except side chain filter is easier and more advanced, the fast timings are more transparent sounding, and the layout is novel (potentially very useful too). The saturation stage sounds perfect for a full mix.

Nice saturation box by PA could also replace PSP MasterComp.Kotelnikov GE be like: Mac OS X 10.9 or above.

I miss Dan Worral. He's only made 1 new video in the past 5 months... He needs to come back and make content regularly again

You're absolutely right...we don't own these plugins only the license

The ambiance button let you actually hear only the pure compressed signal, try that one

well it obviously controles peaks upward and downward from the treshhold.. timing peaks and ratio and usuall stuff plus that extra VCA thing.. and headroom is usual feat in most BX plugs controles somthing like an input like gain staging by adjusting the relative sealing to signal input ratio.

I would accept a Dan Worrall audit [sorry, video!] on anything

thank you for this review why not rateing every plugin you review (0~10)

Bought it yesterday and no box 😔

You don't own the software. You own the license to use that particular version ONLY. Unless stated otherwise in the EULA.

I'm liking these new Plugin Alliance sales strategies, the subscription only was too prohibitive for me... And Wytse, you released the video hours before the intro pricings are gone! XD Imma have to buy it first try it later

It's not a philosophical question. You don't own the software, but you have the right to use it for as long as it's/you're functional.

There is another trance track called "Sandstorm" by Darude.

i am choosing right now. what is better in your opinion: Amek Mastering compressor or the shadow hills class a mastering compressor? i have to choose just one. wich one do you recomand?

Thanks for another great video Wytse!

Great video Wytse, I liked it a lot! 😊

good sample for to test this plugin. take a look at how the low end works on this plugin .. hahayyy so cool !!!!

I was just going to check this compressor, you read my mind 😅 😶‍🌫

Ludvigsson for the win! ✨

I use this on nearly every master. It definitely takes it up a notch but you must use restraint

Could you please review some plugins from JST Tones like the JST Maximizer or JST EQ or even Gain Reduction? I’d be curious on your thoughts on them!

This could be really useful on rap vocals

I would love to know who that piano player is - would like to hear him more.

it is kind of hilarious that a reviewer who always bitch about gain matching doesnt use AMEK mastering compressor's gain/loss meter to do manual gain staging. I mean, the meter is right there, quite self explanatory, and very easy to use. What's the point to review a compressor if the compressed signal is 10db louder then original. PS. Amek mastering comp is my main compressor for everything now, because you can do gain matching after compression so easily

Is this thing based on the AMEK 9098 compressor/limiter?

Have you tried the Flux Evo plugins?... they look pretty nice, at least on the looks.

Actually, Jazz music is supposed to be dynamic and is not compressed. If it is, it's very very very little

Isnt it like koletnikov by TDR?

Yes, you overlook ambience setting (ambience switch right in the centre), which really do interesting stuff. It is good mastering compressor, but really hard to understand, so as you said you need to use your ears.

Darude is stressing the compressor a lot.

I really like this compressor & yes i don't fully understand it but basically going from green slow, yellow fast, red peak then adjusting the rel hyst if i want a faster release. Did you miss the autogain?

What we buy when we buy software like this is the right to use it. So "own it" in this context means that we own the rights to use it. (comment to your philosophical question :)

cool tnks

I clicked on this because of the straightforward title.

I haven't tried this compressor but I can atleast confirm other Plugin Alliance stuff works on the latest MacOS patch.

Hi, can you review the new channel strip from purafied?

PA at their lowest. They cant even give credit to the man who designed this drc. George Massenburg GML 8900. Jeees has nothing to do with Amek.

Dan callout hehe

what brand studio monitors do you have?

Have you done the AMEX 200 or the TOMO Lisa eq?

The Audio Oracle has been summoned.... The frequency slaves across the audio realms await with anticipation...... @Dan Worrall

Completely off topic, but I know you use Reaper. I've installed Reaper on my brand new Mac Studio and the cursor stutters/jumps really really annoying and it makes me want to delete it immediately. Does anybody know how to fix this?

Unisum is very good

So what is this alien mic? 🤔

The interface is quite terrible ; half of it is useless in link mode and the visualization is too small, you can see he's squinting and getting close to his monitor to see what's going on. If this was made by FabFilter the graph would take 80% of the interface and would be interactive. This one looks so busy. Also no auto-gain.

Dan is the Don

Did you see the new plugin from Acustica Audio's user interface? The knob even has scratches on it!

you changed the timing before using the peak and fast knobs, and than after you did, the timing was very slow. too bad, I hope you'll try it on your own time.

They just send you a GIANT empty box with a QR code inside for the download link

+1 for dan

Why is “ sandstorm by darude “ the name of every song you play but yet they are all different songs. Very confusing. You’ve used songs I wanted to look up and can’t. You should link the tracks.

If a manufacturer can not make good presets for their product then they just do not understand how it works. Or he just doesn't care.

The real Massenburg plug-in is much cleaner than this. I’ll take the MDWDRC and get my color elsewhere.

seems. good idk ... NOT. snake oil lol ( i know this isnt a snake oil ep ) lol

no screwss shit we need screws so our screen won't be damaged when used hardly🤣🤣🤣

Why Jazz?🤷🏾‍♂️

This plug just won't do. It doesn't have enough buttons and knobs on it.

Comment for da algorithm Streak count: 132

you never own the software, you just own the rights to use it in its current guise.

kind of a painful watch this tbh.. just watching someone fumble around on a plug in without any previous experience and then not really offering any substantial conclusion on it at the end.. I get that's the idea with these vids but it's essentially useless content imo

Uhm... That's definitely NOT Sandstorm by Darude. I know this for sure cause Sandstorm happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time. Lame!

Way to complicated plugin, totally unnecessary and proper snake oil. Appreciate your review 😎👍

Too complicated

useless interface

Dude, have you ever done a complete project with that MCI tape machine behind you? And I mean (WITHOUT USING THE COMPUTER FOR ANYTHING)... This means, full multitrack tape recording and mixing (No plugins, no transfer to computer, no editing), but work completely outside of digital. Have you tried doing a "Real Recording Session" with actual punchins/punchouts on tape? - Probably not... Digital is GREAT, but we spend too much time trying to make things sound warm and analog, when analog tape does this naturally with no effort at all... Surely, analog tape recording is inconvenient, but you spend more time crafting your song rather than trying to make it sound like tape... Why not use Tape?.. $350.00 for a brand new reel for (3) songs is not too expensive... As always, learn how to maintain and calibrate the tape machine...

That music?

What? You need, Intelligent Compression? You haven't figured out how to twiddle the knobs and dials correctly, yet, yourself? You need your compressor to think for you? I thought you were a real engineer? I like old-fashioned compressors and limiters. Just give me those 1176 clones and LA-3 clones. And I'm a happy camper. Okay… So some vintage DBX also. As that's all anybody needs. A couple of RMS compressors and a couple of FET limiters. And a high frequency limit mod capacitor for the 1176's. With a front panel switch. And amazing, then. At what you can do. Like heavy high-frequency breathy boost EQ. On a vocalist. Without them ever getting overly sibilant. Or on brass tracks, Synthesizer tracks. String tracks, woodwind tracks. You can boost a gob of high-end EQ. Without it ever getting, screechy or strident, sounding. Oh my God it's great! And I've been doing that since 1979.. But then you also have to obtain some,, Downward Expanders a.k.a. Gates. To counteract. What the compressors and limiters, do. And they bring up all of this background noise of the room and other outside interference. That sounds awful. And so one then inserts the downward expanders. Expanding downward to a preset limit of approximately, 10-15 DB. Where you then adjust the, Threshold Level. So the downward expanders triggers on the vocalists, breaths. And so it lowers their breaths and the background room noise. And you adjust the release time. Not too fast and not too slow. So as to track the cadence of their voice. And oh my goodness! What you will get will be mind blowing. And you will have heard that sound before. Many times. You'll know it when you hear it for yourself. It's the sound of real true, Audio Engineering. That's what this means. And so everybody complements me. At how incredibly natural my vocal tracks all sound. But I have to tell them. There is nothing natural about the sound. It's highly processed. And it's the mark of a good Audio Engineer. To fool the listener. Into thinking those vocal tracks sound 100%, Natural. When there isn't anything natural about them. And so I'm really not interested in the way other companies do their compression and limiting. I want the ones that provide the artifacts everybody knows and loves. The ones that have made countless stars. Not somebody else with a better idea. Which is what we have here. Trying to make it sound like what and who? Neve? Okey-doke! I'll buy that for a dollar! (Robocop 1983) And my favorite line from that movie. It's a recurring theme. As a used car salesman commercial. That appears in the movie multiple times. In the original, Robocop. At you just can't beat the original. Of anything. So this limiter is not a hit for me. It's a miss. Like me. RamyRAD