saemskin
8 November 2005
Does anyone here own this plugin ? I've tried the demo briefly. The thing has a ton of control, and gives a much better sound than the MX5 I currently use.
Is it worth a thousand dollars though? If I ask at the powercore forum they'll say yes, if I ask at the UAD forum they'll say wait for the multiband limiter and multiband compressor. IMO powercore plugins on the whole seem vastly overpriced.
I need un-biased opinons.
Comments
I have purchased the MD3. I was able to find it for $750. Powerc
I have purchased the MD3. I was able to find it for $750.
Powercore plugins over priced? IMHO, in many cases you get what you pay for. TC Electronic quality is typically higher than the average.
The standard plugins that come with the powercore are acceptable. I hear some people state the powercore is just OK because they are comparing the free powercore plugins to other plugins. This can be comparing apples and oranges. The purchased plugins for the powercore CAN BE a step above anything you can get on the typical VST/DX market. That is not saying that ALL the purchased plugins are stellar, but some are IMHO.
Example:
I have the complete Sony Oxford Dynamics package for tracking/mixing. Again, not a cheap package.
I use the MD3 for mastering.
I am not saying that the same person should do mixing and mastering, lets not go down that path, because I agree, but when you have a customer that wants it mastered now, and fast, the MD3 has some fantastic default settings to give the customer a quick master.
TC Electronic Mastering 6000 is also for real professional mastering, IMHO the MD3 is a step above anything else that you can get on the typical VST/DX market. The MD3 algorithms are pulled directly from the the TC Electronic Mastering 6000. I called TC Electronic who confirmed that the algorithms are the same.
The TC Electronic Mastering 6000 has moved to the MD4 algorithms. The MD3 was then released to VST/DX. TC has to keep someone purchasing the extremely expensive TC Electronic Mastering 6000 somehow. Do a price check and you will see.
To determine the level of quality, do a search on the TC Electronic Mastering 6000. See the serious professional studios that are using the TC Electronic Mastering 6000, even when it was the MD3 algorithms. You will find that many of the top notch studios are using the TC Electronic Mastering 6000. IMHO this pretty much tells the story.
This level of quality is really only optimized when the entire chain is top notch from beginning to end. The learning curve is higher though. The real question comes down to is it worth the price for your application? In my case I am trying to be top notch within my view/opinion of being reasonable.
So in summary, is the MD3 worth it? IMHO yes. Ditto on the Oxford Dynamics too. With both of these packages and 4 powercores, the system is awesome IMHO.
Peace!
Greg Alcorn
Alcorn Studios.