Crane Song Phoenix Radiant

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.