I know several members here on RO use them... and I can absolutely see ( hear) why.
I had downloaded a trial version of their EQ last year, and I was knocked out by how "clean" it was.
I don't know exactly how else to describe it, really, other than it allowed me to EQ tracks without them sounding like they had been EQ'd.
Yesterday, just for fun, I downloaded the demos of both their compressor and their de-esser.
Both are awesome. I loved the De-esser; and some members here know of my general dislike of de-esser plugs in general, because - while they do "work" - I always get the aural sense that there are other frequencies being taken away at the same time... pleasing frequencies that I don't want to lose.
Fabfilter's De-Esser is the best I've ever heard, hands down. I don't know how they have managed to come up with an "intelligent" de-esser that attenuates only those frequencies that are problematic, and without also attenuating the pleasing frequencies at the same time, but they've done it. I have no idea if this is based on a look ahead structure, or if it's centered in the coding... I don't know, but it works great.
As far as digital compressors go, one of my old favorites was ( and still is) the Waves R-Channel. I've mentioned this here on RO before, how when I want a very transparent type of gain reduction, that one of my main go-to's has always been the Waves R-Channel. Well, Fabfilter's compressor is even better.
Actually, it's outstanding. Incredibly transparent, a pristine sort of compression that is, much like their EQ, able to compress audio without it sounding as if it has been compressed. ( I'm sure we could all get it to sound "that" way if we wanted, through extreme settings ) - but as an easy over compressor, or even with more extreme settings, it sounds and reacts wonderfully.
There are certainly times when I do like and want the sound and vibe of something more vintage, like an 1176, or an LA2 or Focusrite Red 7 Opto, (or as with EQ, certain types such as Pultec), but those processors do what we expect them to do when we use them, which is to color the sound, the degree of which is determined by how hard we push them.
But... if you are looking for that sort of character, then don't choose the Fabfilter. It's so clean and pristine that you can't really tell that it's doing what it's doing, yet it does it flawlessly.
I won't be buying these anytime soon, they're just too far out of my reach financially right now, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to have them.
I strongly suggest that you check out their plugs; download the fully functioning demos and take them for a spin on your own DAW... but you're gonna be pretty bummed out if you don't have the money to buy them when the trial period lapses. ;)
http://www.fabfilter.com/download/
IMHO of course.
-d
Comments
Fabfilter and Samplitude together is complete. Pro L was a game
Fabfilter and Samplitude together is complete. Pro L was a game changer for me. Pro L on DAW2 convinced me that I did not need any more Dangerous Music mastering gear. Good trade. Bought the ProL and sold thousands of $ in mixing, summing and master hardware lol ;)
I'm told Fabfilter and Reaper is a very stable, a top DAW combination.
I'm knocked out by the de-esser. My current method for de-essin
I'm knocked out by the de-esser. My current method for de-essing - which is similar to Chris's method, is to use the "Comparasonics" Coloration in Object Editing mode in Samplitude, to zoom in on the hard S's, and to attenuate or EQ just those sections, and, it works very well... But FF's de-esser plug is better ( and faster) and is fantastic in the way it works; and as I mentioned before, I can't say exactly how it works, but there's some kind of "intelligence" or look-ahead feature in the processing, which senses those parts, and will move around the frequency range accordingly... so it's not always attenuating and EQ'ing just a 6-7k range... sometimes it's working at 4, or 8k... it's like it "knows"... LOL.
About Pro DS, you can activate lookahead but I don't think it do
About Pro DS, you can activate lookahead but I don't think it does it by itself. I think it's more like a multiband compressor with a very fast attack.
The split band option is what makes it special. It will lower only the frequencies higher than the thresold.
It opens up the possibilities when applied to the complete mix.
Fabfilter code is amazing. De ess plug ins in general are amazin
Fabfilter code is amazing.
De ess plug ins in general are amazing, especially for faster results. But, (in my 2015 choices of technology) when I need to get closer into the audio spectrum, a plug-in still doesn't do it like the manual touch.
With automation, there always seem to be some freq either too much or not enough (and that goes for the entire spectrum, not just esses). At that point the fast and easy method starts to become a time consuming erk for me... , "is really worth it to use this".
What comes to mind is how difficult it is to do the compromising dance between a room reflection ess vs the actual ess in a track (where you hear the ess reflecting back). Even more so when its a combination of hi hats /room reflections, headphone bleed and/or other various freq together that contribute (compound) creating that ugly phasing in/ out ess. Plug-ins don't differentiate as well there. Yes, I get those kind of tracks.
In those incidences, spectral editing or the standard pin, notch and pull is hard to beat for me. But I use Sequoia which could be easier, I don't know.
I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more code using spectral to learn and get deeper in so we need less and less manual editing. Maybe Pro DS is the closest to it now.
For those who have never used or seen a spectra editing session, check this out
You guys have good taste, looks like I'm going to have to add fa
You guys have good taste, looks like I'm going to have to add fabfilter to the list on the new rig. Think I'm gonna run native with low buffers instead of going the external dsp route. It's nice to dial it in and be done, not having to worry about additional 'mixer interfaces' which I find clumsy and confusing.
I ignored spectral editing when I used to use Adobe audition, but SAMs looks intuitive on the SOS tutorials.
pcrecord marco do you find them cpu intensive?
spectral editing, audio manipulation through spectra technology
spectral editing, audio manipulation through spectra technology has my full attention. Example, sample a room, isolate the unwanted reflections, tell the editor to remove it, reapply a Bricasti and its all good.
Right now we are crushing transients but if we could dig deeper into colour... wow... millions of possibility to refine or remove or augment.
The majority of problems I hear in audio (not talking song or performance) are centered around bad rooms, bad acoustics. If we could analyze a room before we used it, then told the spectral editing code to delete the unwanted in it, we could record anywhere and not be held hostage over the room acoustics. It would all be left to the performance and song. Which is really why we are doing all this in the first place. Who needs the shit room acoustics in anything today. I want to be able to produce whats inside my mind which is a lot bigger than a studio room.
I've wasted more time in my life around bad acoustics than anything. From playing live to mixing songs people gave me. If not for the terrible room in it all ... life would have been sweet. I mean, here I was, a young man with songs , hopes and dreams spending most of my life trying to to save up to record in a place I could never afford. Pretty sad for those who have talent but no way to make it shine.
Granted, a good song is a good song, but, from the sound POV, room acoustics are a serious distraction.
After owning a few Bricasti's, I'm sitting waiting for spectra editing to take the next leap. Bricasti makes everything better. Bricasti shows me where acoustics are going.
audiokid, post: 434087, member: 1 wrote: the Fabfilter Pro L is
audiokid, post: 434087, member: 1 wrote: the Fabfilter Pro L is amazing . Have you tried it Donny? I'll probably buy the EQ when I have a chance. I bet you love it eh Marco?
.
Not yet. But I'm gonna. ;)
I'm on Pro X 1, so I don't have the spectral editing processing that PX2 and Sequoia does, although I've seen those videos and it is amazing.
So far, FF makes the best EQ and Compression plugs I've ever heard - and I've already stated my opinion of their de-esser. I don't generally use a multi-band compressor much, but now I'm curious about FF's MBC, and I'll probably give it a go as well.
The downside to all of this is that I'm not going to be able to purchase any of these for quite sometime - money is just way too tight right now - so when these trials lapse, I'm gonna be bummed out. LOL
audiokid, post: 434091, member: 1 wrote: spectral editing, audio
audiokid, post: 434091, member: 1 wrote: spectral editing, audio manipulation through spectra technology has my full attention. Example, sample a room, isolate the unwanted reflections, tell the editor to remove it, reapply a Bricasti and its all good.
Right now we are crushing transients but if we could dig deeper into colour... wow... millions of possibility to refine or remove or augment.
The majority of problems I hear in audio (not talking song or performance) are centered around bad rooms, bad acoustics. If we could analyze a room before we used it, then told the spectral editing code to delete the unwanted in it, we could record anywhere and not be held hostage over the room acoustics. It would all be left to the performance and song. Which is really why we are doing all this in the first place. Who needs the $*^t room acoustics in anything today. I want to be able to produce whats inside my mind which is a lot bigger than a studio room.I've wasted more time in my life around bad acoustics than anything. From playing live to mixing songs people gave me. If not for the terrible room in it all ... life would have been sweet. I mean, here I was, a young man with songs , hopes and dreams spending most of my life trying to to save up to record in a place I could never afford. Pretty sad for those who have talent but no way to make it shine.
Granted, a good song is a good song, but, from the sound POV, room acoustics are a serious distraction.
After owning a few Bricasti's, I'm sitting waiting for spectra editing to take the next leap. Bricasti makes everything better. Bricasti shows me where acoustics are going.
Your killing me w the bricasti lol. I've heard yours, once on a snippy of a sample mix I gave to you years ago. Before I even knew what you did to it or what you used, I knew it wasn't attainable any other way. Theirs skill and tools. If you use both its pure domination! It's to me the difference between reverb and room simulation.
If you guys keep uncovering these secrets I'll be driving a beater and sleeping on a couch the rest of my life.
If you ask me to mix with only one plugin suite, Fabfilter would
If you ask me to mix with only one plugin suite, Fabfilter would be my choice hands down !
You should try the Pro L (limiter) and timeless2 (delays) they are also a blast !
Pro MB (multiband comp and expander) and Saturn (saturation) also get used often here.
If only they could make an equal quality reverb, it would be a complete amazing suite.
Ok the Pack is 1k.. but Worth it !