What One Plugin Could You Not Live Without When Mixing? 

@fernandoboin3265 yeah I was very surprised to see that this morning. Upgraded GUI too which looks much better.

How does it sound Native? Worth it?

@GdpJapan it actually sounds different to the original. Better in some ways.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Thanks! I’m very tempted…

Surely native doesn’t sound as good at that price?

Add life, add depth, glue a mix. The list is endless.

It is now! And its only £39.99 on pluginboutique

Yes, not a huge fan of the studer though. The Ampex has always been the better tape plugin for me.

Yes I like it, first studer for nice bottom tone then the ampex for the glue , vibe and top shine

@@jiat_spacejams bargain

Thanks a million for that tip. I was hovering over the buy button on the Ampex ATR only, for £39 with the budget. But thanks to you, got the Studer 800 too for just £10 more.

@compucorder64 you can use the two together in sessions. Ampex over the mix and studer over the master. Or a blend of both in the mix. Bargain at that price. I paid £349 each for them about 10 years ago. And still to this day the Ampex is the best tape emulation plugin on the market

​@@AudioAnimalsStudio Yes, it's a bit too good an offer to pass up on, at £49. I hope they roll out Native standalone versions of the Neve & API EQs. That's one thing I don't have. They don't do Native versions, only UAD-2. But then, it's weird, if I look at Spark I _think_ that includes Neve EQ. But maybe this is the way they differentiate the products so you end up buying their hardware with DSP and/or Spark. But I don't want to buy Spark. I don't like these subscription models. And I don't need their hardware, have an equally good audio interface, and the DSP is underpowered now by modern CPU standards - you can only run maybe a 12-channel drum group with those Neve EQs and some DBX/1176/Distressor before you run out of DSP - even on the Apollo x8. As I understand it, it wouldn't run a full mix, with EQ and Studer A800 across 24+ channels, extensive vocal chain, guitar & bass amp models, Sound City, Capitol Chambers, Spring, Plate, Ampex ATR, Manley Massive Passive, API 2500 etc. But my Ryzen 7950X can do that.

Because from a mixing perspective, I would neve 100 542s minimum. I would then need to recall all 100 542s every mix revision. From a mastering perspective much better off using hardware over plugin.

Good explanation!@@AudioAnimalsStudio. I wouldn't mind hearing a mix with 100 542's, though! Could I request that? ha.

studer is great. i just finished an album with it on every bus and the mixbus. results are awesome

the oxide is okay i would use it more for saturation on drums and guitars though. the studer gets more of that “tape sound” without pushing it into the red.

Lots of people have asked this, I'm going to look at doing a video this week on it.

@@AudioAnimalsStudioThat would be great to see!

Any news on that video@@AudioAnimalsStudio

@@I.Thor27 I have it recorded. Just needs editing and uploading. Will upload ASAP.

It was revolutionary 10 years ago. To this day it's at the top of its game.

@@lorcazola absolute steal at that price

HOW ONG AGO WAS THAT? i paid like alot of money for uad . other companies like waves and PA dont dont dig as deep into my wallet

​@@rickythethirdstart frequenting pluginboutique. They have this with minimoog and a handful of other vsts for 79 in a bundle right now.

I disagree uad is better

@@444InlakeshI've been comparing all my tapes plugins this morning and ended up replacing them all with my Zynaptiq Intensity. It gives me more control, saturation and clarity.

Yes, and IK Multimedia has more flavors

Taupe is a nice plugin. Which you like to you comes down to taste. I've used the ampex for a good 10 years so know it very well.

100% agree. Soothe 2 is on every bus along with the Ampex.

​@@AudioAnimalsStudiodo you always custom-tailor it on the buses or do you have a preset you made for every group and tweak from there?

@JoeyFTL every instance of the ampex start from a preset I have created. From here I will adjust to what is required for each instance. I'm going to a video next week on how people can create their own preset to work from.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I'm sorry, I was referring to Soothe 2, I should have been more specific

@@JoeyFTL soothe 2 has its own unique setting for every instance.

@user-dv2vv1ch7u I have both and in my opinion the Ampex is far better. I get 99% use out of the Ampex against the studer.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio It’s very interesting to know your general opinion about Kush Audio plugins, if you have ever used them. And please tell me which plugins excite you as much as Ampex?

Yeah, it looks great. I will review the plugin next week. As well as comparing to hardware.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Awesome!!! I cannot wait.

​@@AudioAnimalsStudioI can think of no one better to do it

@@AudioAnimalsStudio perfect !

@@AudioAnimalsStudiocan you check out that sidecar plugin by pulsar modular?

I use the ampex at 15ips mostly. Sometimes will use 30ips for drums and strings etc. I haven't directly compared this to the crane song.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Thanks for responding Paul. Do you use/like the Phoenix?

I think this will be the last plugin to go native. They know this is the one plugin that is keeping dsp alive for them now they've gone native.

@cubaseman1487 factually untrue, as someone who has tested this theory many times. 99% of the time, the listener preferred analogue because it was more pleasing to the ear and the listener found it noticeably better. Did they know why they found one more pleasing to listen to than the other. No. But the fact remained they preferred one more than the other. Same mix one with plugin emulations the other with hardware. Nowadays plugin emulations have got worse. Most are just a GUI that mimics the hardware and doesn't emulate it. None have yet to make a 1:1 emulation. This is very clear and obvious to anyone who has compared them. I've posted quite a few videos comparing plugins to hardware. Very easy to hear a clear difference in these video. I'd advise watching those.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I've watched this type of comparison videos a lot. The differences are not serious. Assuming that AI technology develops today, it seems that analog devices will become history. I love analog too, but this is a fact. Currently, many people do not have a Hi-Fi system at home. It is like the reality of a world where there are no records and cassettes like before, but millions of music are sold in the digital world. Everything is possible with very powerful computers and powerful software.

@cubaseman1487 but the fact remains a £29 plugin can not compete with a £10,000 piece of hardware running through a high end converter. As much as I'd love for what you are saying to be true. It just isn't. But if you honestly deep down feel you are right and honestly think you achieve the best sound you possibly can using plugins, then that's for you to learn later down the line your musics full potential. I know personally through the pursuit of getting the best sound possible that plugin emulation are not there yet.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio I also say that there is no difference between 29 dollars and 10 thousand dollars in terms of sensation. There are not many people who can distinguish this, my friend, rest assured. I can hear the difference, it's different. You will hear it too, that's it. But 90 percent of people can't hear. That's why it's a passion for analog and wanting to produce the best sound. I can give many examples about this, but I do not want to extend the subject. Discussions about the analog world and the software world never end :)

@cubaseman1487 no matter who you are or how good your hearing is. When you listen to music that is analogue full of life and gives the listener a sense of warmth that resonates with them, that song becomes timeless and invokes emotion on a subconscious level. Digitally engineered music is throw away. It doesn't resonate with the listener for longer than a week. There's a huge difference between let's say plugin emulation pre amp and quality analogue pre amp. There's a huge difference between a plugin fairchild compared to a £30,000 fairchild.

@@mrmorpheus9707 I wouldn't touch the God particle with a bargepole. Great marketing, terrible plugin. The Ampex should be the first plugin in your chain.

And in my opinion the ampex is better than the studer. I fell uad will hold back the ampex for a long time. They know this is one plugin that ensures they keep selling satellites while it's exclusive to the uad dsp.

I hope so too. It's one I know they'll be holding back. As soon as it becomes native I'll be selling my uad satellites. Only uad plugin I use every session without fail.

The Ampex is always at the start of the chain. True Iton is at the end of the chain.

​@fuzzingawesomepedals7377 it takes away the midrange and overcompresses the 2bus. If you know what you're doing you don't need it. If you don't it can be a great help to a great mix.

@edvinnoren503 each bus or on the master. I prefer the sound of each bus as you can apply unique settings.

The Roger Mayer 456's I don't have anymore. I swapped them out as they were a touch noisey for mastering. When compared to the atr 102 they could be considered similar. The Royer Mayer has more of a unique sound to it. I can't say I ever directly compared the two.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Valuable info Paul thank you. Have you had any experience with the Neve 542s and if so how do you think they compare to the Roger Mayer 456?

@lukeneptune3820 I prefer the RN 542s because they are not noisy, they also sound just as good, plus you gain silk textures. I used to have 542s and swapped them out for the portico 2 which was recently replaced by the MBT as it has super silk. I wish RN would have put the 542s in the MBT instead of the compressor.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio mate. If they’d have put a tape sim in the MBT I wouldn’t have started this whole conversation 😆 Still love my MBT to death though. It makes me wonder if RND are planning on bringing out a rack version of the 452 in the future

@lukeneptune3820 I hope they do. I want to get in touch with them and tell them exactly what should be made and we as consumers want.

Yes this is on my list to do

Oh and the eq transforms from it aren't great for sub 50hz ie don't use it for edm or soundtrack work

@@iam-music something I would recommend is loading it into plugin doctor. Will help you understand it better. It's incredible for EDM and soundtracks if you understand the curves you are creating. I thought exactly like you when it first came out on DSP.

​@@AudioAnimalsStudio Hiya. Yeah thats where I first noticed it :-) I just felt it was fiddling stuff around 35hz on a track I was working on when I first demoed it. Then I opened it in PIDoc and that made it pretty clear that I wasnt hearing (I mean feeling hehe) things. I puts a 3db bump at 28hz...which is something you want to dial in with context and not slap on willy nilly. When you get that low, every db counts. Def send me some of your tracks...would love to hear it 🙂

@@snakeeyes3883 no

@@ivanendeavour815 I hope you find it as useful as I do.

Yes. From what I remember, was pretty good

Yes, every bus. For every mix.

Thank you!!! @@AudioAnimalsStudio

Every track. Not mix bus.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Thanks for the answer, is there a video adding every track tape versus just the mixbuss comparision?

Not one that I have done but it's an easy process to check yourself.

I don't find it is beneficial to add an instance to the master bus as well as each bus.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio thx:)

I find the ampex and studer to be very different. Using the ampex I've found you have more ability to change the sound.

@@AudioAnimalsStudio Well that didn’t help, I want it even more now! 🤣

No, that is a setting from a screenshot of the internet on the thumbnail. I will actually do a video on how to get the right settings.

I am looking forward to it. Thanks in advance@@AudioAnimalsStudio

But that's not the question. The question you are answering is "if you could only use one plugin to mix a track what plugin would it be?" And the answer to that is an all in one plugin like ozone 11, because it has every plugin in one. This question isn't saying you can't use other plugins.

​@@AudioAnimalsStudioI do agree that it would be a boring answer if everyone named different channel strips. The plug in you can't live without would be a desert island plug in, no?

The desert island disks format would allow you to pick 8 plugins and 2 unique plugins.

​@@AudioAnimalsStudiooh okay. Well either way I love your analogue setup, man! Your video topics are great too.

@RealHomeRecording thank you. It's a good question you ask though. If you had to choose one plugin to mix an entire song what would be it be. Or a better question would be if you could pick one plugin brand to mix an entire song with who would it be. For that I'd pick fab filter.