When to NOT Oversample! 

I very much agree with what you say. I think that sometimes we are influenced more by what we see in the analysis of audio signals, than by what we hear.

One thing can really help for those of us who hear it and liked it, and really feel the difference when it accumulates in the mix, one thing some developers have started implementing is an offline oversampling mode. Then, in a session something with non-linierarities might be set at 2X Oversampling, but set to oversample at 8x, 16x, or even 32x Oversampling for things that have the potential of more extreme Oversampling. Also, in well coded anti-aliasing plugins, internal anti-alasing filters are used to prevent extreme aliasing from folding back, even during oversampling.

I do agree but also think that having a good understanding of your tools never hurts :) I am enjoying your videos. Thank you

So true. I took a digital mix, bounced to tape but then ended up adding analog EQ. Push and pull just like a great tube amp

Thanks for the video. I heard the difference in attack when oversampling while testing your Model 5000 compressor. I agree that we should use OS when needed, if it sounds better, it doesn't matter, right? 😉

since i use reaper i digged somewhat into oversampling and i agree. i make rock music and often use oversampling for drums because it often works magic on the hihats and cymbals. but on gnarly basses for example it sometimes takes the "woof" out of it

I think the main concern is for those who can’t yet hear (to discern) the damage that aliasing often causes when accumulated within a mix, so they don’t, & likely can’t, trust their own judgment yet, at least until they develop the acuity to know and hear what it’s doing. Many years ago I had come across this exact issue (prior to the knowledge around aliasing and oversampling becoming more ubiquitous) with a mix, but even had a famous mixing engineer remix the album and not know what the problem was being caused by. So whilst the advice of “if it sounds good it is good” is salient, sapiential & good advice, what many nascent mixers actually need is an “oversampling for dummies” approach with advice so they can avoid problems that they cannot yet hear themselves.

Enjoyed this video and would have to agree…. It’s all about the music and capturing inspirational moments. If a $100 mic does it for a particular situation, just pack that $2000 name brand away and go for it! Sometimes we get a bit too caught up in technical minutiae I would say.

i always engage it depending on whether i feel it improves the sound or not - does it behave more into the direction of the hardware processors, in terms of texture, freq response, transients, etc. and i find, for most plugins that work with saturation it makes a big difference, compounded over dozens of instances. that said, some plugins don't take it well, probably because they have their own internal oversampling. usually, for low saturation, 2x works well (for a 48k sample rate). if the signal is more complex - like buses, for instance - or the amount of saturation is greater, 4x might be necessary. i've never found an improvement in 8x. but, overall, i recommend testing every plugin you work with - that generates any kind of harmonics - to see how it behaves sonicly when oversampled. and take it from there.

I always wonder what the plugin developers tune their plugins to sound as good as the emulation of the hardware they are trying to clone. Since different oversampling degrees give different sounds, what would be the one option to choose to sound like as the hardware? Is it more accurate on "no oversampling" so you should use oversampling just as a safety of digital artifacts (and you have the option just in case)? Is it more accurate the more you oversample? They never explain.

I own every Tone Empire plugins except the new LVL compressor and Nearal Q v2

For me it depends on how it affects the source! I use OS quite a bit but don’t like it on drums for example. I don’t like what it does to the transients. Otherwise I listen closely when mixing and if I think OS makes a positive difference, I use it. I try not to overthink that kind of stuff but I can totally understand why some do. I’m a professional mixing engineer and the best advice I could give anyone trying to learn the intricacies of mixing is to not take it so seriously! There are no rules to this and the only way to truly get good at mixing is to mix. Experiment and try new things. That is how you learn and grow. I feel like people put way to much thought into it. Be creative and have fun! That’s why people will ultimately want to work with you. The rest will come in time. 🙂

Hey Gaurav,my model 5000 isn't working right it starts off okay but then it quits glitchy.i re-downloaded it in my new computer not sure if that has anything to do with it.....HELP IN NEED MY MODEL 5000 IT'S MY FAVORITE PLUGIN,hehe But I love my neuralq also

Great points, well stated!! 🙂

Oversampling in 48khz sessions is essential, and is used by most good plugins to address aliasing (Even x2 oversampling is great and takes a small CPU hit). It takes away distortion and cleans up the sound. It makes it breathe more! I don't understand your theory. x2 oversampling is fine! Many plugins have x2 oversampling internally.

All plugin devs shoud give oversample when rendering (tdr plugins has that)

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I agree with you in a way. But lets take the neuralQ plugin as an example. V1 was way cleaner in a way and it used less cpu. V2 you could push it further but also had a tone of aliasing. Personally, since I absolutely loved neuralQ v1 and it really gave me the impresion of a analog piece of gear I heard something woerd when I tried neuralq 2. I had to sesech how to test to see what I hear and I saw the aliasing and the difference. I actually prefer neuralQ 1 for its smoothness and I was shocked to see v2 so gnarly( that does not mean its bad but it loses the analog feel that I heard.) Maybe I can get to the same result using way less v2 I don't know I haven't tried yet this option. I mostly used it on vocals so far because I feel like an amazing eq is great on vocal. I could make literally a video response to this because of how many things I want to say but as a conclusion, v1 one had less aliasing and it did something for me. V2 had more and I didnt like it as much. Is that the reason I don't know. I do prefer the look of v2 :( but sound is what matters the most ultimately for me.