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helterbelter said:
Been reading more and more about Cubase vs Reaper, and I've already decided that going to add it to my daw computer for a thorough comparison. Have to finish the project I'm working on first, this will take a few months.

Though, I do hope my Midi needs are supported in reaper. Especially the drum editor is a necessity for me, and the reaper manual didn't tell me something similar is present in Reaper. That would mean I have to use both, and that's not the way I want to work.

Cubase 4 does crash on a regular basis, and I'm tired of this. I once spoke to a sales person about this, and his reply was : "maybe you should upgrade to Cubase 6". That's not the reply I'm expecting when I spent so many euros on a daw. Especially because this update costs another 200 euro, and the update from SX3 to cubase 4 was a waste of money already. Maybe I'd better go back to Cubase SX3. Better sounding standard plugins, and the GUI was also better IMO.

FWIW, I have been a long time cubase user, right from the first cubase VST.
I do have sympathy for you, cubase did used to crash a lot, although ti was largely dependant upon the PC setup and combination or system components, audio card drivers and OS.
I would like to say this though, I have been using cubase studio 5 for a while now, with windows 7 and & RME HSDPE AIO PCIe (RME are renowned for having rock solid drivers) and I have to say. IT NEVER CRASHES!
I know this sounds like an exaggeration, but really I am not, I have no reason to. I lieterally cannot remember a single occasion where a session was interupted by cubase problems.
I'm not an anti Mac, PC guy either, I have had 2 macs in the stuido, I just have to to point out that my personal experience of the last 2 years with windows 7, cubase studio 5 and the RME (I had a MOTU 24io for part of this as well). CUBASE HAS NEVER CRASHED.

oh on the topic of plugins.
I was so impressed with the fab filter PRO-L limiter I got the rest of them, and PRO-c compressor is now my go to compressor, very versatile, transparent, excellent side chaining options, and the well thought out display really lets you have a better idea of how it is working.
 
UAD's new Pultec Collection plugin vs UAD's old Pultec Pro plugin.

Is it really better ?

I have a 32 bit system, so I can't install the latest UAD version software , so, I can't compare it.

I'm curious for the opinions here though.
 
Guys,

I'm pretty sure some of you are already aware of this, but I'd like to bring this to your attention anyway :

From a promotional email from Don't Crack that I received the beginning of december :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today we are sad to announce that our friend Bernie Torelli has been admitted in a hospital in Los-Angeles for a serious spine disease due to a cancer he was diagnosed with over two years ago.

Although it is very serious at this time, there are chances that Bernie will make a full recovery, if all the necessary care is done. But the medical costs have already devastated Bernie’s family financial situation, making any chance of necessary surgery nearly impossible !

We have therefore decided to help him out by raising funds by promoting and donating the receipts of Nomad Factory’s best selling products :

• MAGNETIC II, ECHOES and COSMOS at the no brainer cost of ONLY $19.
• The Magnetics Bundle II that contains ALL three plug-ins is actually dropped at ONLY $49!
• And all other Nomad Factory products are sold at up to 75% discount !
• Direct Donations may be adressed via Paypal at : [email protected]

It is needless to say that 90% of the income provided through this promotion will be directly sent to Bernie’s wife for her to manage the mounting health costs but also continue to pay Nomad Factory’s employees that have been continuously working on product development and customer support during Bernie’s illness.

That is certainly the most important reason for Bernie to fight for his life as all of his time has loyally been devoted to his work, his employees, his friends and most of all, his family… Great new products are almost ready to launch…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday I got this in my mailbox :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Paul,

Today I am very pleased to announce that Bernie has had his long-awaited spine surgery yesterday and it appears to have been very successful. He wrote a short message to let all of us know that the surgery removed most of the terrible pain he was enduring these past months due to numerous tumours and fractured vertebras in his lumbar spine...

It is also with great pleasure that I am able to announce that we have already collected and sent over $100 000 to Bernie's family ! But that is unfortunately still far from the necessary funds needed to cover Bernie's growing medical costs...

We will therefore keep the "Raising Funds" promotion going until January 10, 2013.
So please use any of the links below to spread the good word as far and loud as you possibly can...

• Please share our "Raising Funds" post on your FACEBOOK page.
• You may also want to RT (re-tweet) our announcement on TWITTER

On behalf of Bernie and his family, I want to thank ALL of you for your great support and your kind generosity.

This has also been a great opportunity for all of you to demo and purchase Nomad Factory software at a very attractive price. It is simply amazing to read the incredible user testimonials posted here in our forums as well as on KVR Audio, Gearslutz, Motunation, Cakewalk and so many other great boards.


We at DontCrack want to wish you a very Merry Xmas and a healthy New Year !

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So........
Just so you know, you can help Mr. Bernie Torelli by buying a few of his plugs for really cheap ! Or just donate of course.

a few links :
http://www.dontcrack.com/news/2013/12/funds-for-nomad/
http://store.dontcrack.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=39

I think this post will suit the brewery section as well.




 
Slate Digital versus Cubase 64 bit. Experiences here ?

I'm having trouble to keep VCC stable. Jbridge doesn't seem like a perfect solution either. Sent an email to Slate, haven't got a response yet.

I'd like to buy the VTM plugin as well, and the drumsampler/player looks great for me as well. But not if it doesn't work well.

So,
I'm curious if others here have similar problems.
 
helterbelter said:
Slate Digital versus Cubase 64 bit. Experiences here ?

I'm having trouble to keep VCC stable. Jbridge doesn't seem like a perfect solution either. Sent an email to Slate, haven't got a response yet.

I'd like to buy the VTM plugin as well, and the drumsampler/player looks great for me as well. But not if it doesn't work well.

So,
I'm curious if others here have similar problems.

I own VCC, VTM and SSD. Never experienced any problems so far on cubase (windows 7 x64). VTM is awesome and the drums sound really great

sr1200 said:
Hey just wanted to know if anyone has used VCC (slate digital).  An engineer at a big studio i frequent now swears by this and has gone as far as to say that when mixing ITB with it, its almost indistinguishable from the mixes hes running through the SSL4K at the studio.  Im on the fence right now, the examples i've seen sound nice and it's definitely doing something "different" to the sound.

Yes, sometimes it's doing very subtle changes, in some settings you hear it very clearly. It is a mixture of noise, harmonic distortions and eq. Great thing.
 
Hi Weiss,

thanks. btw, have you received my email about the PSU enclosure ?

I kinda discovered that the GUI of the VCC is the problem (well, actually Cubase itself is the problem.) Just close the VCC plugin windows, and there's not a problem. Or use the generic view, although the link function seems to be lost for some reason in generic view. (Jbridge also doesn't support the grouping/link function).

But it was quite a disappointment the plugin crashed at first. I have a modern computer (I7 with 8 gigs RAM), I would expect that running this problem should be no problem.

I'm going to have a proper look at the VTM. Maybe even A/B it with my tapemachine.
 
helterbelter said:
Hi Weiss,

thanks. btw, have you received my email about the PSU enclosure ?

I kinda discovered that the GUI of the VCC is the problem (well, actually Cubase itself is the problem.) Just close the VCC plugin windows, and there's not a problem. Or use the generic view, although the link function seems to be lost for some reason in generic view. (Jbridge also doesn't support the grouping/link function).

But it was quite a disappointment the plugin crashed at first. I have a modern computer (I7 with 8 gigs RAM), I would expect that running this problem should be no problem.

I'm going to have a proper look at the VTM. Maybe even A/B it with my tapemachine.

No, i sent you the dimensions of the pcb but i received nothing yet. ;)
I don't use jBridge because of it's bugs. Never had problems with cubase bridge. But i think these plugins consume much CPU. I use 16g RAM and i7-3 CPU
 
Hmm,
I've sent you multiple emails , that explains why I didn't get a response from you. I found another enclosure at work, a used one. I've made a few pics with my phone, I'll email you them later today once more.

Anyway, on topic again.
VCC's sound (when driven hard) is pretty convincing. Maybe I'm going to switch to ITB summing.... 
That's quite a blasphemous remark, isn't it ?
 
helterbelter said:
Hmm,
I've sent you multiple emails , that explains why I didn't get a response from you. I found another enclosure at work, a used one. I've made a few pics with my phone, I'll email you them later today once more.

Anyway, on topic again.
VCC's sound (when driven hard) is pretty convincing. Maybe I'm going to switch to ITB summing.... 
That's quite a blasphemous remark, isn't it ?

ah nice ! i wrote you a message ;)
well indeed, if it is driven hard, you can hear the harmonics and distortion. But i don't know if it can replace outboard summing. I think it is a matter of taste ;)
 
helterbelter said:
VCC's sound (when driven hard) is pretty convincing. Maybe I'm going to switch to ITB summing.... 
That's quite a blasphemous remark, isn't it ?

I'm taking that back, at least for now. Yesterday I (quickly)  compared the VCC in SSL 4k mode against my small SSL console (5000 series) , the mids of the console sound much better. However, it could be that the difference is caused by the different consoles : The 4K is a different console than the 5k.
But I must say that the VCC sounds very, very good, and it's definately a step up for ITB mixing. The difference between VCC/ analog summing, is much smaller than VCC Bypassed/analog summing. I'd say it's about 80% closer to analog summing than normal ITB summing.  To make a proper comparison I guess I'd have to redo the full mix with the VCC engaged from the start, and then run it through the console....

Without doubt,  it's very cool stuff.

Another plugin that I really like, is the Waves V-EQ4 (it's a Neve 1081 emulation). I don't know the original, but running metal rhythm guitars through this plugin (with the gains close to 0dB), really enhances the stereo image and adds a high/midhigh shine on it. It's awesome.
 
helterbelter said:
Another plugin that I really like, is the Waves V-EQ4 (it's a Neve 1081 emulation). I don't know the original, but running metal rhythm guitars through this plugin (with the gains close to 0dB), really enhances the stereo image and adds a high/midhigh shine on it. It's awesome.
That's true, i tested it once on a mixbus and i was stunned, how a change of 0,5 db with this eq can change the whole mix..
 
I'm really liking Nugen mono filter.  It makes a very clear bass from stereo loops.  Really centers the low end which is exactly what it does. 

I also like the sound of  ISL true peak limiter.  This stuff started for me with my post work and need for broadcast standards but is spilling over into music production for me. 

iTunes radio,  Spotify and Windows 8  all use a level standard like TV's " True-peak level as defined in ITU-R B.S. 1770 (or by the Apple afclip variant) gives a more accurate representation of the levels in the signal than traditional sample-peak metering. Mixing to a level of -1dBTP (or -3dBTP for mp3), helps avoid introducing downstream distortion when compression codecs are employed". 

We might see a day where crunched mp3's are all a thing of the past. 
 
Not your typical suggestion, but I wanted to give props to jBridge: http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/.

I recently upgraded to 64bit Windows 8.1 with Ableton Live 9 and some of my old 32bit VST plug-ins won't work in that setup.
Since Live doesn't have an inbuilt 32-64bit bridge for the plug-in hosting, I gave jBridge a try and ended up buying it.

The two minor niggles were jBridge requires Live to be run with Administrator privileges, and if you then want to access externally mounted drives, you have to mount them as your normal user, and then also additionally as Administrator again to access them in Live. But that wasn't particularly difficult to figure out, and doesn't create any issues in use.

At approx $22AUD it's a life-saver.

I use http://bram.smartelectronix.com/plugins.php?id=4 and http://mdsp.smartelectronix.com/freakoscope/ as mix tools probably more than any other plug-ins I own (and they are free!) so to be able to have them back to assist me whilst mixing is fantastic.

It also means I'll be able to use the TG Mastering Pack and TG12413 Compressor plug-ins, which is good news as I use them a LOT.
 
i can't tell the same here.. i only had problems using the jbridge..  cubase bridge is much more reliable in my opinion!
but  luckily: i have no need anymore to bridge ;)
 
weiss said:
i can't tell the same here.. i only had problems using the jbridge..  cubase bridge is much more reliable in my opinion!
but  luckily: i have no need anymore to bridge ;)

I only tried it in Ableton Live, so I can't speak for the stability of it in Cubase.

Last night I managed to re-install all of the old 32bit plug-ins that the vendors never updated to 64bit and they all work perfectly.
Only one issue with OP-X Pro II by Sonic Projects which has GUI hang-ups, by about 20 other plug-ins work error-free.

The main trick is to run the host as an Administrator. Pity you had issues with it in Cubase, but definitely, if the DAW has an in-built bridge, then use that. It's just a shame that Live doesn't.
 
Over the years I have got a bit disinterested with plug ins, constantly relying on my old favourites for my post mix work.

But recently I have had my eyes opened and have found 2 sets of plugs that I really like.

iZotope Rx3 is an absolute revelation. I use it mainly for time stretching 5.1 mixes from 25fps to 24fps and it is very good, but the other functions are also superb.

The FabFilter comp, limiter and EQ are really friggin awesome.

Loving my mixes again.....
 
peterc said:
Over the years I have got a bit disinterested with plug ins, constantly relying on my old favourites for my post mix work.

But recently I have had my eyes opened and have found 2 sets of plugs that I really like.

iZotope Rx3 is an absolute revelation. I use it mainly for time stretching 5.1 mixes from 25fps to 24fps and it is very good, but the other functions are also superb.

The FabFilter comp, limiter and EQ are really friggin awesome.

Loving my mixes again.....

Indeed! I like the fabfilter eq a lot and use it for mixing purposes all the time, very flexible and good sounding eq. The de-esser is also not bad. I never tried izotope plugins though. And what are your old favourites? I will tell you mine..

EQ: Sonnox, Fabfilter, Flux
Reverb: I am totally pleased with the Audiodamage Adverb and Lexicon LXP
Comp: Softube CL1B on vocals and bass guitars, The Glue as bus compressor
Distortion: VCC, VTM (on mastering chain), URS Saturator (great tool for mixing!)
 
peterc said:
Over the years I have got a bit disinterested with plug ins, constantly relying on my old favourites for my post mix work.

But recently I have had my eyes opened and have found 2 sets of plugs that I really like.

iZotope Rx3 is an absolute revelation. I use it mainly for time stretching 5.1 mixes from 25fps to 24fps and it is very good, but the other functions are also superb.

The FabFilter comp, limiter and EQ are really friggin awesome.

Loving my mixes again.....

Totally agree with you. I too haven't been that interested in plugins the way I used to be in hardware back when I did more music. I used to like choosing this hardware compressor over that one, this mic pre over the other, but now in post there's usually so little time that what interests me in a plugin is effectiveness and efficiency.

RX is awesome. I got RX4 and while there's some workflow issues (RX connect) in Nuendo the EQ- and Ambience-match are actually very useful. I've also tried the leveler which works pretty well on some content, like VO narration, but not other, for instance dialog with a lot of background sound.

I find myself relying a lot on Nuendo's built-in processing actually. I use the Studio (four-band) EQ, the compressor and the brickwall limiter. They seem to do fine for the content I'm mixing (reality/lifestyle/commercials  mainly, not so much scripted) in my home studio.

The only plugs I'm interested in now is Zynaptic's Unfilter and Unchirp. Seems they could be very useful in post. (Unveil is essentially similar to DeReverb from iZotope, though I hear the former is better).
 
And what are your old favourites? I will tell you mine..

My default templates have channels set up for voice, music and SFX and typically the voice starts with a Digi limiter, Focusrite Red compressor or Fabfilter G Comp, Focus Red EQ, Digi EQ3 and Digi De-esser 3. I like the Fabfilter parallel compression on voice overs.

My delays are Digi delays, reverb is Revibe, I use the Digi limiter and Maxim on my master. The limiter really softens the Maxim tone, which I really did not like before putting the limiter inline. Setting the Maxim release time to 100ms or so also helps the tone. Serious dynamics crusher would not use it on music though.....
 
My favourites are definitely:

Voxengo Elephant Limiter set to clip mode for master limiting.
PSP Audioware Xenon Limiter for something that's a bit squishier and smoother and less harsh, depending on the music.

The Glue as my Master Bus compressor, though occasionally PSP Audioware MasterComp.

Sonalksis SV-315 MkII Compressor for channel compression, along with the Fabfilter Pro-C, or PSP Audioware oldTimerME or VintageWarmer2

For EQ for wide tone manipulation, Abbey Road TG Mastering Pack (great shapes in the high-freq ranges) and Sonalksis SV-517 MkII EQ (which I always use for high pass for removing rumble).

For effects I love the d16 Silverline and the SoundToys Native v4.
 

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