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AudioArtist « A very ambitious plug-in that just ends up being normal »
Published on 12/01/12 at 22:48You should have no issues installing or running this plug-in, all the controls are fairly self explanitory and laid out well, and if you are familiar with compression then you should be using Smack right away!
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I've been using Smack for 7-8 years now and it is a solid performer.
It does seem to be a bit of a CPU hog if used multiple times in a session however.
OVERALL OPINION
Smack is a very ambitious compressor for digidesign and they really deserve an A for effort with this plug-in, However, with all the bells and whistles they included Smack just seems to be really good rather than great. I often neglect this plug-in in favor of the really old Waves C-1 or Renaissance Compressor.
If you pick this up in a bundle or get really lucky like I did and score this for free then it's worth it but paying full price for this plug-in as a single item you may be disappointed.
As far as features go; you get all that you could ask for, side-chaining options, variable modes, and even the option of adding odd - even - or both harmonics to the end result. All of that should be exciting and should get great results yet Smack still kind of falls short of it's potential.
Don't get me wrong, Smack is a VERY GOOD plug-in. I mostly use it now for vocals and bass tracks. I feel that the odd/even harmonics function is really beneficial for both types of material but I've long since given up on using this for drums or guitar. Your results and opinions with probably vary, so if you can demo Smack for free I do encourage you to do so.
All in all, Smack is a great weapon to have in your plug-in arsenal. It is a fully featured compressor with excellent quality though I know that if I paid full price for my copy I would have been disappointed and perhaps even disgruntled. It competes with some of the best plug-in compressors from some of the more reputable names but it doesn't win.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I've been using Smack for 7-8 years now and it is a solid performer.
It does seem to be a bit of a CPU hog if used multiple times in a session however.
OVERALL OPINION
Smack is a very ambitious compressor for digidesign and they really deserve an A for effort with this plug-in, However, with all the bells and whistles they included Smack just seems to be really good rather than great. I often neglect this plug-in in favor of the really old Waves C-1 or Renaissance Compressor.
If you pick this up in a bundle or get really lucky like I did and score this for free then it's worth it but paying full price for this plug-in as a single item you may be disappointed.
As far as features go; you get all that you could ask for, side-chaining options, variable modes, and even the option of adding odd - even - or both harmonics to the end result. All of that should be exciting and should get great results yet Smack still kind of falls short of it's potential.
Don't get me wrong, Smack is a VERY GOOD plug-in. I mostly use it now for vocals and bass tracks. I feel that the odd/even harmonics function is really beneficial for both types of material but I've long since given up on using this for drums or guitar. Your results and opinions with probably vary, so if you can demo Smack for free I do encourage you to do so.
All in all, Smack is a great weapon to have in your plug-in arsenal. It is a fully featured compressor with excellent quality though I know that if I paid full price for my copy I would have been disappointed and perhaps even disgruntled. It competes with some of the best plug-in compressors from some of the more reputable names but it doesn't win.