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  • Outboard Gear V/S Plug ins

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    I have always used plug ins for everything that I have done in audio. Never got a chance to really work with outboard gear except a compressor or two few years back.

    Is outboard gear better than its software counterpart? I mean, is a plug in reverb worth $200 better than a $400 outboard Lexicon MX 300 for example?

    And same for things like Vienna's own exciter or PSP Vintage Warmer v/s SPL Vitalizer etc.

    Does the sound change much more dramatically going through some circuit rather than being emulated by some reverb?

    Anyone using outboard gear here? Please share your experiences with us on Outboard V/S Plug ins.

    Thanks.

    Best,

    Tanuj.
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    IMO there are certain things that can't (yet) be duplicated by software. An obvious example is that old,smooth Lexicon sound. I have a Bricasti, and have never heard anything approaching the sound with any sort of software emulation.

    Of course that isn't to say that you can't get a good sound or work with just software, but there are limitations, just as there are if you use purely outboard gear.

    DG
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    @Dietz said:

    Dear Tanuj,

    Thre must be literally thousands of sites and pages on the WWW that discuss that kind of question (... it's one of the topcis that tend to lead to endless, heated flamewars like analoge vs. digital, MAC vs. PC etc.)

     

    Ah, but those are easy to answer:

    Analougue=coloured sound

    Digital=pure sound

    Mac=Slow,32bit,overpriced

    PC=Fast,64bit,overpriced

    [<:o)]

    DG
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    Hi

    I agree with DG, I have some great plugins, including Altiverb. But for really nice smooth tail reverb, my PCM96 is awesome!! I think for general EQing, dynamics etc, in-the-box is great. But to really warm up the mix, running it through a really nice EQ, like a Manley Massive Passive really adds something extra.

    I think a good mixture of both is the way to go.
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    Altiverb is great and the backup and detail you get from the firm is first rate. They have just made it less tiresome on the CPU of your computer recently - although I never had any problems with that because I don't go in for loads of instances or tracks.

    I have a Lexicon PCM96 and that, as Simsy says, is terrific. You can't compare Altiverb with the PCM96 in my view. The PCM96 could be construed as more for an overall wash of reverb as opposed to a track by track (or section by section) in the way orchestral types use Altiverb. The PCM96 costs a lot more than Altiverb too btw - but if you are serious about reverb, it's worth all of it. It has a pretty good on screen edit tool - I'm not sure if that's available for PC's yet though.

    For outboard eq and compression for instance - I would be inclined towards those big boys from Burnley and look no further than Neve.[:$] [8-)] [:D]
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    @vibrato said:

    I have Altiverb and have been using it for 4 years now - great software - great stuff. I cant afford a high end lexicon yet. But, I was wondering if one of the smaller units are worth a look.

     

     

     Altiverb and Hardware units such as the Lexicon PCM96 do very different things. It's not either/or. It's both really.

    I rented a Lexicon PCM96 and a Bricasti and played around with them for a few days. For me the Bricasti worked much better on 95% of things. The Lexicon sounded very good, but I prefer the old "fake" sounding tails for Lexicon. I think I'm going to look around for an old unit, and try that out.

    Having said that the PCM96 is very good, although you get more for your money if you are using OSX, than if you are using Windows. Nice to be able to say that for once....!

    DG
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    Yeah, I agree. I use a mixture of altiverb, mainly for the early reflections and use my PCM96 to add very smooth tail. It gives you the best of both worlds.

    Vibrato - as far as purchasing the smaller units, I used to do that but found that I was always not satisfied and kept upgrading. My advice would be to try an wait, put aside some money each month and then buy something great - like a briscati or lexicon. If you look around on ebay long enough you can usually find one a bit cheaper. Just my two cents!

    By the way DG, I sent you a PM. 

    Thanks!