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  • MPX Waves

    Hi,

    Has anyone used the tape saturation software MPX waves on a sub mix bus in VEPro 5? If so, does it really smooth out the digital edge and give an analog audio result like  the classical recordings of the 1940-50?

    Regards,

    Stephen W. Beatty 


  • Hi Stephen,

    I assume you mean this, don't you? -> http://www.waves.com/lp/mpx/index.html?ref=adwords&campaign=mpx2&adgroup=video&ad=1

    Personally I haven't used Kramer MPX a lot (I don't own it myself, I used it for mixing in other studios), and I didn't have the chance to try it in a pure orchestral context up to now. But from what I've heard I can say that Krwamer MPX has a nice, rounded sound which tends to remain on the subtle side of things as long as you don't push it really, really hard. It won't be the "single button vintage-izer plugin", but I'm sure that it will help a bit in achieving that sound.

    That said, there are quite a few "virtual tape machines" available nowadays which might be similar efficient, like CraneSong's "Phoenix", UAD's "Studer" and "Ampex" simulations, Sound Toy's "Decapitator", and others.

    HTH,


    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
  • Thanks Dietz, 

    Actually this is in reference to an earlier post on this subject. I am leaning toward the Ampec ATR-102 by UAD. After I try it for a while I will post my impression. I am actually looking for a software that will tame some the harsh elements/artifacts that seem to creep into the mix. The VEPRO  compressors do an excellent job, but its all about the pursuit of that certain mix.

    Regards,

    Stephen  


  •  If you are looking to remove "the harsh elements/artifacts that creep into the mix..." then perhaps EQ would be a better solution than a tape emulation.

    I would use tape emulation to enhance a good mix, and perhaps not to try to correct a problem with the mix.


  • Well - all good tape-emulations will do something in the frequency domain, too. Apart from that, the often-quoted digital "harshness" is also a result of the lightning-fast transients which wouldn't (couldn't!) occur on case of analogue tape. Saturation - which is what "tape" is mostly about - is a phenomenon that has a non-linear effect on a signal, thus it will change its dynamics as well as its spectral components.

    You're absolutely right that tape (or its emulations) won't "correct" a problem inherent to a mix itself, but it can be the answer to some of our aesthetic expectations.


    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library