PSP Audioware

The MasterComp is the one compressor designed to bring the best out of your mixes without squashing them. I've had absolutely no compatibility issues with it ever since I've been using it. The latest update comes with a streamlines version of it called the MicroComp. The manual comes in PDF form and is very detailed and easy to understand. It explains virtually every function. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm using the MasterComp under Cubase 5 and Wavelab 7, under Windows 7 (32-bit) and I have been able to run dozens of them (virtually on every track) without a single hickup or lock up - it is very stable. I've been using the MasterComp since late 2007, and by far has been the best mastering compressor I have purchased. I cannot work without. OVERALL OPINION What I like the most about the MasterComp is the sound - it provides your mixes with that silky smooth compression that's needed to "glue" your mix together. It features both Hard and Soft Knee compression, SC Filters, which I have found them to be very useful not only in the mastering stage, but in the mixing stage as well. I have used other "mastering" compressors to master my music, but the MasterComp has been the one to win my projects over and over again. In fact, not only do I use the MasterComp on my musical projects, but I also apply it to my DJ mixes - to add that punch and smoothness, and level out the mix before I burn it to CD. It is worth every dollar.

This is a bundle of EQ plugins that will be highly functional and cover a lot of your bases. They are all based on analog EQs and console EQs, so they work more or less the same way. The names of each EQ plug-in are PSP ClassicQ , PSP ClassicQex , PSP ConsoleQ , PSP McQ , PSP preQursor and PSP RetroQ. There were no compatability issues with these guys at all for me. The manual gave me all the info I needed on setting the plug-in up which took no time at all. These all have really basic interfaces so they were really easy to use once I got going. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I have been able to run this plug-in on many tracks simultaneously with no problem. Therefore I'd say the plug-ins work great. They all have the same response in terms of taking CPU power. I've had a quick, painless performance from it. I've used them a few months now and I feel pretty comfortable with them all. They all have their unique properties which make them all worth it, and make the bundle that much more effective for engineers. OVERALL OPINION I think that these EQs are all really great for plug-ins. The fact that they have the hardware interface actually makes them easier to use than some of the newer digital ones. There's a plugin that emulates the classic early british EQs which works fantastically well overall. There are elements of Amek, SSL, Neve, and API EQs in all of these plugins. So I'd say overall it's well rounded and modeled after the best elements of great consoles, so while they are based on classics, they are unique in the sense that they combine different elements of each EQ. I've used some really good plug-in EQs and these are some of the best I've tried. They work just as well as any of the others I've used.

The Vintage Warmer is a plug-in that has become incredibly popular recently thanks to the fact that it offers musicians the ability of having a processing unit which can create an Analog sound, as well as many other warm effects. The sound of analogue has always been desired since software has become more and more popular and now devices such as the Vintage Warmer are being developed so as to create an artificial sense of warmth that resembles that of hardware. In this review I will take a look at the Vintage Warmer and will outline its main features. Features I acquired the Vintage Warmer with the hope that it would warm up my mixes and my individual sounds. It has an effect of creating a virtual analog simulation and has saturation effects when it is over driven which is similar to that of analogue. The Vintage Warmer is essentially a multi-band compressor that has a selection of features that imitate analogue devices. The thing that I first noticed about the Vintage Warmer is that it doesn't really look like a modern plug-in and has quite a good traditional visual style. It was however easy to use and I quickly started getting good results. Pros and cons I really liked this plug-in thanks to its cheap price and its effective use on a wide range of sounds. I found it to be exceptionally good on sounds such as drums, bass and vocals and began also experimenting with it on the master channel for a warmer mix. What I've found to be really nice about the Vintage Warmer was that it was a very dynamic plug-in which could be used on many different sounds for a positive effect. It can also be used on the master channel to boost a mix and add warmth. The problem that I think it will bring to many producers who use this device is that they will become reliant on in all of their mixes and will not be able to decide when to use it and when not to use it. This may become a problem because I found that sometimes the Vintage Warmer did make certain sounds more muddy and this was especially true when I used it on the whole mix for certain tracks. It is important that you use your ears when doing drastic processing like this so that you can be sure that you're not detracting from the mix rather than adding to it. Comparisons to the Vintage Warmer I found the Vintage Warmer to be in a league of its own when comparing it to other multi-band compressors. However, I found that there were several other plug-ins that are now imitating the design of the vintage warmer, but none are quite as good. One of those that was good was that of the URS saturation plug-in. This is a popular device that has a slightly more crunchy sound than that of the vintage warmer. Summary The Vintage Warmer is a brilliant plug-in that I really appreciate, thanks to its cheap price and its access to demos around the web which also allow individuals the ability to test it out before they buy. I also liked the ease-of-use and was able to add it to sounds and tweak the plug-in very quickly in order to get a good result. I think that it may get overused if the individual does not pay attention to the sound and it is important to stay vigilant with the plug-in when you do choose to use it on your mix and on certain sounds. However, if you use a sequencer which allows plug-ins, then investing in the Vintage Warmer is certainly a good idea.

PSP Audioware's PianoVerb is a free plug-in available in a variety of formats. The plug-in is available directly from PSP's website and is available for both Mac and PC operating systems. For PC you can download it as either a VST or Direct X plug-in, while it's available as a VST or MAS plug-in for Mac. I used to run this plug-in in Cubase SX on a Mac, but don't currently have it running on my system at home. Installing the plug-in is really easy, as all you need to do is go to PSP Audioware's website, download it, and follow the step by step instructions that show up on the screen. Learning how to use the plug-in should also be quite simple, as it has a straight forward and user friendly interface. The parameters included that you have to work with include knobs for decay time, damping, transpose, tune & detune, mix, output, and a button for bypassing. If you are unsure of what some of these parameters do, I'd suggest simply messing around with it for a bit until you get the hang of it. Not sure if there's a manual, and if there is I haven't seen one. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm not running this plug-in anymore, but when I was it was in Cubase SX 2.0 primarily, and later in SX 3. The computer that I ran the plug-in on was a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv 8000, consisting of a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I ran everything through a MOTU 896HD audio interface. I can't ever recall having a problem with performance with the PSP Audioware PianoVerb. It's definitely designed to be a low processing power needing plug-in, as it's free and the idea is that it will be able to run on most, if not all systems. If you're having any questions, just try it for yourself. OVERALL OPINION I'd definitely encourage anyone with a compatible to go ahead and download the PSP Audioware PianoVerb. It's free and you won't find too many free things out there these days! The best part is that this plug-in actually sounds pretty cool! It's not groundbreaking by any stretch and isn't by far the best sounding software reverb out there, but considering it's free it's pretty nice. There's really no reason for you not to be downloading it and trying it for yourself right now...

PSP's MasterQ plug-in is one that is available in any format and is a pretty in depth equalizer overall. No one should be having any issues as far as downloading and installing the plug-in goes, as once you've purchased the plug-in from PSP's site, you can download any version that you need. As long as you know what format you need the plug-in in, you should be all set. The interface of the MasterQ is a little more complicated than installing it, but not by all that much as it's pretty simple to follow if you know something about equalizers. The MasterQ is a seven band equalizer, with the five in middle consisting of parameters for frequency, gain, and Q (bandwidth), while the two bands on the outside act as low and high pass filters with parameters just for frequency and Q. There are a few other main parameters to work with, but nothing major that needs to be mentioned here. The most useful thing about this plug-in is that there is a detailed graph that shows all of the moves you're making. I've never had a need to check out the manual for this plug-in. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm no longer running the PSP MasterQ plug-in on my current Pro Tools system, although they do have an RTAS version of it. I used to run it in Cubase SX 2.0 and later on it 3 on a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8000 lap top that had 2 GB of RAM and a 3.0 Ghz processor. I never really maxed out a session with this plug-in on the aforementioned system, but I was able to run a few of them simultaneously without any hiccups. While it's called the MasterQ, you can definitely used it either as a mixing or mastering plug-in. OVERALL OPINION The PSP MasterQ is a great plug-in to have available. It has a very clean sound to it and offers up just about as much control over your sound as you could ask for. I love having the graph in there, as it seems more detailed than most EQ graphs out there. The price however would have to be the best part about this plug-in. It's definitely affordable for anyone running any system, although I guess it wouldn't necessary for those doing smaller projects who already have built in EQ in their DAW. However, if you are looking for a new in depth equalizer to mess around with at a very low price for something like this, the PSP MasterQ would be something I'd encourage you to try a demo for.

Hey all, I got the 608 MultiDelay a while back and it is definitely an interesting piece of gear. For most simple Delay tasks it's not my go-to, but for something a little more creative it is definitely a good tool. It's a powerful delay and at first glimpse is quite scary-looking. Simply put, you have an incredible amount of control with this plug-in. That's why I said it's not my go-to, because it's frankly unnecessary for a simple slap-back or stereo delay function. That being said, it can certainly do those things and the sound is quite good. It comes with a large library of presets that really show off the more complex functionality, for users who might feel overwhelmed, as I first did, with the sheer amount of options on this thing. What I particularly like about this plug-in is the tape saturation and reverb features. These can really help give some warmth and depth to your delay sound without needing to reach for any other tools. I haven't had any issues or bugs with this particular product and, although it takes up a bit more CPU than a simpler delay would, I don't normally have problems running this, even on a CPU heavy project. That being said, I don't normally have or need more than one instance of this thing open so I can't comment on it being used on many tracks simultaneously. It's a solid product and if you're a delay freak then you will likely have endless hours of fun dialing in weird and complex patterns in the eight channels, which are all separately controllable and include features like gain, stereo field width and balance, delay time, filtering and modulation. Price was decent. If you are looking for something like this, get it and go nuts! Cheers.

I run this on a Macbook Pro with Logic 9 and an RME Fireface 800 interface. So far it has worked perfectly. No crashes and no problems. I did not need the manual as this is a pretty straight forward plugin. If you have had experience with other compressors, then you should do just fine. Setup and configuration is extremely easy. Just install and instantiate in your DAW and you are ready to go. All the parameters are located on the face of the GUI (just like a real compressor) and can be easily manipulated with your mouse or midi controller. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Oldtimer ME works great in all my programs that can use Audio Units. It has been rock solid and stable the entire time. As for performance, I give it a 9 out of 10. It is very simple to use and sounds great, it only loses a point because I have been using a lot of "Wave" compressors and I find those to be a little bit more lively. I have been using this plugin for about 4 or 5 months. OVERALL OPINION What I like most about it is its simplicity. Overly complicated compressors (or plugins in general) can really squash your creativity as you get bogged down in all these little tweakable features. If I need something quick and simple and don't want to spend an hour finely tuning the subtle nuances, then I reach for this guy. For $99, this was a pretty good deal (you actually get this plugin and the older "oldtimer" plugin too) for a clean, great sounding unit. This unit handles sound pretty well. The highs are still crispy and the lows don't get overly squashed giving you a fairly balanced sound without a lot of time. I have used lots of compressors in my life (virtual and real). If you are in need of some solid compression but don't want a ton of features you probably won't end up using anyway, then this is for you. Yes, I would make the same choice again.

The PSP 84 is an in depth delay plug-in that has all sorts of filtering and other effects in addition to delay. I no longer run this plug-in within my current rig ever since I made the switch to Pro Tools. It does come in VST and RTAS formats, and I was running it a VST version of it in Cubase SX. I can't recall having any problems installing this plug-in if I did have any, but the process should be easy enough unless you are having some sort of technical issue. The interface of the plug-in is pretty in depth, and it definitely took me a couple of uses to be able to recognize everything going on here. For me it was really just about trial and error to learn all of the parameters, as this isn't your typical effects processor and it will take a minute or two to get a grasp on everything. I haven't seen the manual, but if you can get your hands on one it might be a good thing to have handy. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Until I switched over to Pro Tools a number of years ago, I was running the PSP 84 plug-in on a Hewlett Packard PC lap top that had a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I ran it as a VST plug-in in Cubase SX 2.0 mostly, and later on in 3. I never had any really bad issues running the plug-in since I used it somewhat sparingly and only in situations where I was looking for some complex delay. However, it is a plug-in that will take up a good amount of processing power, so if you don't have the quickest system in the world you probably won't be able to run too many of these at a time. OVERALL OPINION I overall feel fondly of the PSP 84, as I think it's a very powerful plug-in that has a lot to offer. It's sound is generally clean, but to a degree does sound a bit digital. This isn't too big a deal considering the type of plug-in that it is, and the PSP 84 more than makes up for this with it's versatility. I also really like the presets that it has to offer, as many times I found that some of the presets were better than what I could do with it myself, or at the very least were good starting points. This plug-in isn't too expensive, but isn't as cheap as I think it should be, which is really my only complaint about the PSP 84. Otherwise it's a very good sounding plug-in with a great design and sound bank.

PSP's Lexicon 42 is a plug-in that is modeled after a Lexicon hardware delay. The process of installation wasn't difficult. Just follow the step by step instructions that come up when you launch the installer and you should be good to go. It only took a few minutes for the whole process to be completed. The interface of the PSP Lexicon 42 is pretty simple, and it looks like it is a single space rack mountable piece of gear, just like a real piece of Lexicon gear. The interface is split into a few different sections, including those for input, delay, and VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) sweep. Each section has a good amount of parameters to work with, and there are some parameters for filtering as well. I haven't seen a manual for the PSP Lexicon 42, so I can't say anything about it. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm no longer running the PSP Lexicon 42 plug-in, but when I did run it I had it going in Cubase SX. A number of years ago I switched over to Pro Tools and never got an RTAS version of the plug-in to use with it. The computer that I was running this plug-in on was a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8000 lap top with a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I ran the plug-in in Cubase SX and a MOTU 896 HD audio interface. I don't remember having any problems in terms of performance within this configuration. OVERALL OPINION The PSP Lexicon 42 is overall a really cool and useful plug-in. It's definitely one of the plug-ins that I wish that I still had from before I switched from Cubase to Pro Tools. I believe that it comes in a variety of formats including VST and RTAS, but I just haven't had a chance or a need really to get a new one in RTAS format. There are a ton of different interesting sounds that are possible with this plug-in, ranging from traditional sounding delays to more non-traditional sounds. I love the way the interface looks as it makes it easy to use and gives you the feel of a piece of outboard gear. If you're looking for an in depth delay plug-in that goes beyond your average delay, the PSP Lexicon 42 is definitely worth checking out.

There are no compatibility issues with this plugin so far. I run a macbook with Logic 9 and Ableton 8 with a Presonus Firepod and Firebox. Yes, the PSP manuals are all very well done and easy to read. I had to reference the manual about the EQ shelving parameters and the PROC button. Yes, the general configuration and setup is simple enough. I wasn't used to seeing an EQ shelving setup but after referencing the manual, I felt more comfortable with it. Yes, all the typical functions are right in front of you and very easily accessible. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Yes, the software works correctly. So far, I have had no crashes or any lost presets, so yes it works very well. The reverb itself is pretty good. I don't find myself using this plugin much anymore as I really enjoy Logic 9's built in reverb options as well as IK multimedia CSR and audio damages Adverb. I have to say also I don't really use the EQ part that much. For me, it seems a little useless. Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10. I have had this plugin for over a year. OVERALL OPINION Its hard to say what I like most about this plugin because nothing really stands out. It has a decent sound but not amazing, the presets are decent too but overall, I never use this program now that I have Space Designer in Logic and many other options for reverb plugins. What I don't like is the PROC button. It seems useless as most daw's offer a "bypass" button. Also, if the plugin is on a single track (as opposed to a bus) if you deselect the PROC button, it cuts off signal, instead of just bypassing. Seems irrelevant to me. I don't recall exactly what I paid for this plugin but I know it was less than $100. I don't really think its worth it in my opinion. The sound is decent and usable, but there are better options out there. I give it a 7 out of 10. I have used many different reverb plugins and this one rates low in comparison. No, I would not buy this one again. If you use a MAC, get Logic 9 and you will have some of the best reverb options on the market.