Other Effect Plug-ins

This pack works on any platform either Windows XP, Windows Seven or MAC OS without any compatibility issues. The manual included with the program is great , EQWL made a good detailed book explaining how exactly the instruments interact and how you can get the most from them. The general configuration and setup is quite fast , I haven't had any problems with it , and it took me a short amount of time to get it done. The typical functions aren't very advanced to start with , everything is quite easy to understand and straight forward. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The software works very perfect in this configuration , the program itself is made by East West Quantum Leap , so everything is as smooth as posible. The gear and software are very stable and work very good without any type of crashes or break downs. I've been using this product for about 2 years , it's a very distinct kind of pack that combines those old sounds , tribe kinda sounds to the new ones , analog based. OVERALL OPINION What like most about it is that you have something that's unique , rare and you can use it where ever you want to achieve a certain harmony or just in a solo. I like the sounds of the instruments that are samples based , the duduk and sarangi sound very distinct and good , and of course you have the chinese bong , taiko and many other cool instruments. My opinion about the value of price is great , I really do think this pack is quite unique and it deserves the money without any doubts , the role of these instruments is huge so keep that in mind. Precision and quality of the sound is 10/10 , very powerful instruments to have in your own library. Knowing what I know , I would make the same choice and buy this amazing rare instruments pack.

As always with any U-Aduio plug-in it's merely download the authorization file, click on it and start working. Genius! SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Unless you decide to get the actual Little Labs hardware this is an absolute must have for any studio. Recording guitars with multi miss has never been easier to finally get the pause right. OVERALL OPINION The Little Labs IBP Phase Alignment Tool easily eliminates the undesirable hol- low comb-filtered sound when combining out-of-phase and partially out-of-phase audio signals. Designed as a phase problem-solving device, the award-winning Little Labs IBP (“In-Between Phase”) has established itself with audio engineers as not only a “fix it” tool, but as a device for manipulating audio phase as a creative, tonal color tool as well. Whether combining direct and microphone signals, acoustic guitar and vocal mics, drum kit mics, or multiple split-guitar amps, the recorded audio signal phase can be quickly and easily controlled with the Little Labs IBP Phase Alignment Tool. Phase Adjust is the main parameter in the Little Labs IBP. It is a continuously variable control that shifts the phase of the input signal. The range of Phase Adjust is either 90° or 180°, dependent on the Phase Adjust 90°/180° switch. The Little Labs IBP hardware is an all-analog device that uses analog allpass filters to produce phase shifting. Allpass filters displace signals in time as a function of frequency (they are frequency dependent). The modeled UAD ver- sion accurately models the hardware along with all its idiosyncrasies. Therefore phase shifting using the Phase Adjust knob is not “perfect” like mathematically-manipulated signals in the digital domain. When Phase Ad- just is set to 180° on one of two identical tracks side-by-side, the signals will not cancel as you may expect. Unlike the “analog” Phase Adjust parameter, which is frequency dependent, Delay Adjust is purely “digital” and shifts all frequencies equally. Delay Ad- just accomplishes the same function as manually moving an audio region for- wards in the timeline so it plays back a little later in relation to other regions.

Massey Plugins' Slacker is one of the plug-ins that comes as part of the free Massey Tools bundle. This bundle is no longer available on Massey's site, as these were the first plug-ins made by Steve Massey a number of years back. This plug-in is unique in that it allows you to automatically back up your audio files to a separate path as you are working. That's why it's called Slacker as it's for those too lazy (joking) to back up their stuff manually! Installing the plug-in along with the rest of the Massey Tools bundle shouldn't be an issue at all as long as you have a compatible system. The interface of the plug-in isn't much as it's just a small window that shows you the path that the audio files are currently being recorded too and allows you to set the path where you'd like the automatic back up to go. No manual was made for this. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Right now I'm running the Massey Plugins Slacker on my system at home. I'm running Pro Tools 9 with a Digidesign Digi 002R audio interface and on a Mac Book Pro lap top. The computer has 4 GB of RAM and a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which has been enough for me to run full Pro Tools sessions with a lot of plug-ins without much of an issue. Slacker will literally take up almost no processing power, so no worries here. OVERALL OPINION While definitely a cool idea and an easy to use plug-in, I just don't find myself using Massey Plugins Slacker all that often. Don't get me wrong, it's everything as advertised as it works great for automatic back ups of your audio files, but for whatever reason I just find myself doing it manually. I guess I'm not much of a 'Slacker'! But for those who are, this is free and works great, so why not check it out along with the rest of the Massey Tools bundle.

Massey Plugins' "Listen" is a funny and unique plug-in that comes as part of the Massey Tools bundle. This is a free bundle of software although isn't featured on Massey's site any more. You should be able to find the Tools bundle in some places, but it was released as the first plug-ins from Steve Massey and aren't supported anymore. The good news is that if you find it, you'll also get a bunch of other free plug-ins, most of which will be more useful than this one. All that Massey Listen does is give you a full screen that says "LISTEN" on it and is designed to help you actually listen to the music rather than following things on the screen. This can actually be more helpful than you think, although the same effect can be had by simply turning off your monitor :). SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm currently running the Massey Plugins Listen plug on my system at home where I use Pro Tools 9 with a Mac Book Pro. It's pointless to really list off all of my specs here as this plug-in will literally work on every system that can run a DAW. You should not be worried at all about performance here as it's really a non issue. OVERALL OPINION As silly as it might sound, I actually find myself using Massey Plugins Listen quite often. All it does is cover up your DAW with the word "LISTEN," but when doing a listen down it is quite useful to not be distracted by your edit and mix windows, which can sometimes get in the way of your listening. Often I do find myself 'listening visually,' following the faders or waveforms on the screen, which takes you away from what you're actually hearing at time. Of course sometimes this is necessary, but there is a lot to be said for listening with a blank screen. LISTEN isn't really necessary if you turn off your screen sometimes to listen anyway, but being that it's free and you can get it with a bunch of other potentially more useful plug-ins, it's worth checking out.

I use this mainly in Ableton 8 with a Macbook Pro i7 8gb ram. I have had no compatibility issues thus far. I perused the manual when I first got it but overall you won't need it if you are familiar with the structure of a Synthesizer (i.e. LFO, Wave Forms, Oscillators, etc.....). Setup is as simple as instantiating the plugin on an audio track and then sending audio through that track. It works great on just about any audio source but I recommend guitar, drums and vocals. Mono instrument react best in my opinion as well as percussive instruments. You can get some good sounds with poly instruments too but you can easily get too much sound and mud up your sound. All the functions are located on the front of the GUI and are easily accessible. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The software works great. It eats some CPU but not too much that its a deal breaker. So far I have had nothing but good results from this plugin. No crashes and no hiccups. I give it a 10 out of 10. You need to spend some time dialing in your sound. It's quite convoluted due to the amount of parameters to mess around with. If you are not familiar with synths than its a good idea to do that before getting this plugin because you will be twisting some knobs and saying, "that didn't do anything." I have had this plug in a month and have been able to get some crazy sounds out of it relatively quickly. The presets are a good way to get you going too and also show you what this thing can do. OVERALL OPINION What I like about this plugin is the general concept. I don't know of any other plugins that do this. It's very similar to the Electro Harmonix Guitar Synth in structure but of course it's a heck of a lot cheaper. I also really like using it on drums or even whole mixes just to get some chaos. It can really help get those "noise" breakdowns that I crave. Nothing comes to mind that I dislike about it. For $29 you can't go wrong. It certainly doesn't sound as good as say my Moog Slim Phatty but the quality is certainly good enough. This is the only plugin or hardware that I have personally used that does this. Yes, I would definitely do but this again as it is one of kind (at least as far as I know).

The Massey Plugins Wet/Dry plug-in is an older Massey plug-in that was part of the Massey Tools free bundle of plug-ins. These were some of the earliest Massey Plugs and I believe you can still get them out there, although I don't remember now what formats it comes in. I don't recall having problems getting this and the other plug-ins in the Massey Tools bundle up and running and it has run smoothly for me ever since. The make up of the plug-in couldn't be simpler. Basically you put this plug-in around another plug-in to controls it's wet/dry signal. This can be useful for plug-ins that might not have this control built in like many plug-ins will. Either way, it can serve as an extra control for this when needed. All the plug-in consists of is a wet/dry knob and a predelay knob. I don't think a manual was ever made for this, nor would one be necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm currently running the Massey Plugins Wet/Dry plug on my home system, but I've used it on others as well. My computer is a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run the plug-in in Pro Tools 9 that I use with a Black Lion Audio modded Digi 002R. This plug-in takes up virtually no processing power and I can't imagine it not running smoothly on a stable system. OVERALL OPINION Massey Plugins' Wet/Dry tool is one that would be useful for any DAW user. The entire Massey Tools bundle is a great thing to have as it's got a couple of great plug-ins that are simple yet great to have. This one is quite useful for getting creative with your plug-ins. It's free so there's really no excuse! I'd get your hands on the whole Massey Tools bundle today if you don't already have it.

The Waves Enigma is a crazy hardcore modulation effect that utilizes different LFOs reverbs, filters, feedback loops and all kinds of other stuff to create some of the most unique and bizarre modulated sounds you've ever heard. The layout itself is pretty complex, and there are ton of options to choose from. The main portions you'll be dealing with are the notches, modulators and feedback sections. These are what you mainly use to get the sound you're looking for. Because this is so hardcore when it comes to its interface, I recommend trying to find some online tutorials on it and following along. It'll help explain how everything works a bit better. I've never read the Waves manuals, so I can't comment on those. I never experienced any issues when it came to setting it up since Waves plugins are very simple to install and are compatible on nearly every machine today. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Waves plugins are always rock solid. They're known for being super stable and never taking up too much memory inside your DAW. This is especially necessary when you start using multiple instances of plugins. I run a Mac Pro with OS 10.6.x, and my main DAW is Logic Pro. Everything worked fine, but these plugins are 32 bit only. While it's not a big deal with Logic thanks to their 32 bit bridge, it's still somewhat disappointing since everything is 64 bit today. Hopefully they'll fix that with the next major update. I've had the Mercury bundle for probably half a year or so, and I've always received excellent support from the guys over at Waves. OVERALL OPINION This is probably one of my heavier used plugins by Waves simply because it can do so many things. I can create everything from a simple modulated delay to some insanely bizarre sound effect that makes it sound like the earth is ending. I highly recommend checking this plugin out.

Massey Plugins' Talkback is a unique and really helpful plug-in that is seen as part of Massey's Tools collection of free plug-ins. I don't know the full scope of compatibility these plug-ins span but they're at least available for Pro Tools and I'd imagine that most DAW's will run it. What Talkback does is a really simple and helpful thing - it will mute your talkback mic while recording is happening and turn it on while it's not and communication between the live room and the control room is needed. Simply stick this on your talkback track in Pro Tools or whatever DAW your using, and it will do it's thing! There's a meter in it to show the level of your talkback mic and you can also adjust this level in the plug-in itself. Besides that, there's literally nothing else in the plug-in, so it's definitely one of the utility plug-ins that will do what it does and that's it. There's nothing to using it, so I doubt a manual was even made... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Right now I've got the Massey Plugins Talkback plug-in on my system at home. This DAW is Pro Tools 9 based and runs on a Mac Book Pro lap top with a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM, while I'm running Pro Tools with a Digi 002R audio interface. However, I rarely use the plug-in in this setting as it's not necessary for me in my small home studio. I've used it much more in larger home studios and professional studios which are running Pro Tools HD where I've never had a problem at all with it. If you're system can't handle this one, you've probably got bigger problems than running this plug-in. OVERALL OPINION Massey Plugins Talkback is one that every studio should have where a talkback microphone is being used. Without it you run the risk of having bleed from the talkback mic in the headphones of those who are playing while recording, or muting it manually yourself which can be annoying and/or you may forget to do it. With Talkback, just throw the plug-in up and have it do it for you without ever having to think about it again. It's free, so there's really no excuse for not having!

Crane Song's Phoenix Iridescent plug-in is one of five tape/analog treatment plug-ins in the Phoenix bundle. Each of the plug-ins has the same interface and serves the same function but gives you a different color when it comes to adding some 'analog tape' saturation to your digitally recorded sounds. It shouldn't be at all difficult to get this installed as you'll do so within the context of the full bundle. Learning to use the plug-in should also be a piece of cake, as it shares the same interface as the other plug-ins in the bundle, so once you understand one, you'll know the others. The make up the plug-in just has a large knob for setting the amount of the effect you'd like, while it then has three modes to choose from that give you slightly different sounds. That's everything you need to know about Iridescent and in turn the other plug-ins in the bundle. A manual shouldn't be a necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've currently got the Crane Song Phoenix Iridescent plug-in running on my system at home and in Pro Tools 9. My computer is a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I can't say that I've had any issues at all with this plug-in as my system is pretty stable in general and is able to handle almost everything I throw at it... OVERALL OPINION The Crane Song Phoenix Iridescent plug-in is one that every DAW owner should have, as the Phoenix bundle is probably the best when it comes to livening up a track to sound more realistic in a digital medium. The best way to do this is of course to use real analog gear, but as far as plug-ins go, these are the best that I've seen. Iridescent on it's own sounds awesome as it's great for adding some low end presence in there without over doing it. I like how easy the plug-in is to use as it makes it so you can pretty much throw it up and go. The others in the bundle are just as effective but offer up other colors. Phoenix is highly recommended for anyone who is working mostly inside the box.

Oli Larkin's Grain Freeze is a granular synthesis effects plug-in that is just compatible on Windows based systems that have a DAW that can support VST plug-ins. Unfortunately that's the scope of this plug-in and the other free ones that Oli Larkin has to offer, but it's definitely a cool one for those have will have access to it. You can get the plug-in as a free download straight from the Oli Larkin website, which is a process that should take less than a minute. Once it's up and installed, cracking the code of the interface will take a little longer depending on your experience with granular synthesizers. This one has four grain sections, each with parameters for length, fine, pan, volume, and a mute option. The plug also has sections for grain envelope, a panning LFO, and a master control section. Once you get the hang of using the grain sections I think you'll find it to be pretty easy to use in general if you know the basics when it comes to synthesizers. I don't believe a manual was made for this if you were looking for one... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE While I no longer have a system that will support the Oli Larkin Grain Freeze plug-in, when I did I was running it in Cubase SX 2.0 and later in 3. The computer that I was running everything on was a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8000 Notebook that had a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I also had a MOTU 896HD audio interface to run everything through. I can't recall ever having a problem with this plug-in, but I never used more than one instance of it at a time within a session... OVERALL OPINION The Oli Larkin Grain Freeze is a really cool little free plug-in. It's worth having for everyone who is able to run it, although this will be a limited amount of DAW users since this excludes Mac users and anyone that has a PC who can't run VST plug-ins. Of course you can't complain too much because it's free! It's a really cool sounding effect when used on synthesized sounds or otherwise, and it's versatile between the four grain freezers. It's definitely a unique effect as it's the kind of make up you won't find in too many places, but for me it makes it all the more valuable and impressive that it's free. Check it out for yourself to see what it's all about!

Massey Plugins' Recall Notes plug-in is one of a number of free Massey Tools plug-ins. These aren't featured on their site as their other free demo plug-ins are, but are available on the internet. There are a bunch of plug-ins included in the pack, all of which are designed as utility tools. This one, as the name obviously states, is for storing your settings and notes for your plug-ins. It goes hand in hand with the real Massey plug-ins since they are all available as free fully functional demos - they just reset every time you use them and you can't store your settings. That's where the Recall Notes plug-in comes in handy, as you can take more liberties with it than you would be able to using just the Pro Tools track space for taking notes. I downloaded this along with the other Massey Tools plug-ins and had it installed quite quickly and without issues. It's just a dpm file so you just copy it into the plug-ins folder once it's downloaded. There's no manual for this plug-in... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've currently got the Massey Plugins Recall Notes plug running on my system at home. The system is Pro Tools 9 based running on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM to work with. I run Pro Tools 9 with a Digi 002R audio interface or as a stand alone application. This plug-in and the other utility plugs in the bundle will run on just about any system as they take up the least amount of processing power possible for a plug-in. OVERALL OPINION The Massey Plugins Recall Notes plug-in is definitely one worth having. I don't use it all the time, but when I'm using the demo version of the Massey Plug-ins, it comes in really handy. A lot of times I'll just use the Pro Tools space for taking notes, but if I need something a bit more detailed, this one is great to have. You might not think you need it, but there's no harm in downloading it along with the other Massey Tools plug-ins as they could come in handy for you one unexpected day. If you don't know about Massey, do yourself a big favor and download all the demos for their plug-ins now...

The Crane Song Phoenix Radiant plug-in is one of five processors that come as part of the Phoenix bundle of analog tape saturation plug-ins. The plug-ins only come as a bundle of five, as the plug-ins are almost the same except that each has a different color to bring to the table. The process of installing the plug-in bundle is quick and easy and shouldn't take very long at all. It's not unlike the process of installing any other piece of software out there. If it's possible, learning to use the plug-in is just about as simple. All five of the Phoenix plug-ins share the same interface in terms of the controls you've got the work with, so once one is understand, you'll know them all. The interface of Radiant and the others in the bundle each have a large knob for setting the amount of the analog treatment you'd like and each also has three different modes to choose from - opal, sapphire, and gold. No manual should be necessary since the plug-in is so simple... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm running the Crane Song Phoenix Radiant plug-in and the others on my system at home without any issues at all. My home rig is made up of Pro Tools 9 and a Mac Book Pro lap top that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools with a Digi 002R audio interface and monitor with a set of Adam A7's. This system has been more than enough for me to run this plug-in and the others in the Phoenix bundle without any problems at all. They seem to each take up a very little amount of processing power... OVERALL OPINION The Crane Song Phoenix bundle in general is one that every DAW owner should have, especially if you're already doing most of your processing inside the box. These plug-ins are the cloeset I've found to 'analog' treatment inside the box and are really a must have. Radiant in particular can add a lot to your sound whether you're using it for mixing or home mastering purposes. It hits your signal pretty hard with some compression as well, so use this one if you're looking for a more aggressive form of analog treatment. Regardless of how you're planning on using the plug-in, the Phoenix bundle is an essential, so definitely check it out if you're tried of plug-ins that sound too digital.