bushwick wrote on Wed, 01 October 2008 13:54 |
So, nothing like Phoenix? |
wwittman wrote on Wed, 01 October 2008 21:35 |
really nice to know. I too ignored it because of the VST thing |
Quote: |
Class A Tube Mic Pre Amplifier - MotorCity This algorithm digitally recreates American tube mic pre amplifier saturation that was popular in recording studios during the 1960s Motown era. Setting the drive control higher will add desired harmonics and tube soft clipping for a much more pronounced effect. Class A Tube Mic Pre Amplifier - German This algorithm digitally recreates German tube mic pre amplifier saturation that was popular in European recording studios during early 1960s Beatles era. This type of tube pre amplifier is coveted for it's unique distortion, presence and authority in the treble ranges. Class A Discrete Mic Pre Amplifier - British This algorithm digitally recreates classic British console all discrete mic pre amplifier saturation. This vintage amplifier saturation was also present in the console's summing buss amplifiers. The added harmonics create the edge that is desired in both Rock and R&B music. Class A Discrete JFet Mic Pre Amplifier - Modern This algorithm digitally recreates modern JFet mic pre amplifier saturation. This type of saturation comes the closest of any discrete device to tube saturation. Although similar to a tube it has its own unique harmonic structure and sound. Class A Tube Mic Pre – 1951 Digitally recreates American Tube Mic Pre amplifier saturation. The original Mic Pre were made by the same company that became famous for their Program Equalizers and were popular from the early 1950’s through the 1960s. The original Tube Mic Pres are coveted for their warm sound. Class A Tube Mic Pre – Tape Deck Digitally recreates Tube Mic Pre stauration included in early American Mono Analog Tape Recorders similar to those used by Elvis. The original Mic Pre amplifiers were popular from the early 1950s through the 1960s and are still popular today. Today the original Tape Machine transports are trashed only to keep the Tube Mic Pre electronics. Tape Head Saturation – 15ips and 30ips Digitally recreates classic Tape Machine Tape Head saturation. This type of non linear saturation particularly affects higher frequency transients and is most noticeable on drums and percussive instruments. Transformer Core Saturation The Transformer American algorithm digitally recreates Vintage American transformer saturation found in high end recording consoles, tape machines and outboard gear. Try the Transformer American algorithm as a transient tamer. A great tool to fix poorly recorded clicky Bass and Snare Drums |
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Post by: Ross Hogarth on October 10, 2008, 01:18:14 PM Motorcity = MOTOWN Post by: Tomas Danko on October 10, 2008, 01:25:12 PM
Ah yes, sorry for my mistake. Putnam/UREI... that was Chicago of course. So, Motown... Quad-Eight, Electrodyne or what? Post by: Bob Olhsson on October 10, 2008, 03:34:16 PM His 1953 sounds like a description of what was used by most American studios between 1953 and the first transistor stuff came out in the mid '60s. Post by: jchristopherhughes on October 21, 2008, 05:03:19 PM
i have found the same thing ross. i am new to mixing totally in the box...and have been searching for plugs that can give me the gunk that i get on a desk. like the mcdsp analog channel....massey tape head...and the crane song phoenix...all do cool things. this urs things does stuff nothing short of a tape, or good analog gear does. i have been loving the plug on damn near everything. always have it on my stereo buss of late. REALLY like what it can do to a vocal track....love the mix control....i just dial in the amount of saturation that sounds cool...and play with the mix control until the vocal pops out in a cool way. this thing is also insane for distortion on drums, guitars...etc. if i want something really extreme, i will use a sans amp, my culture vulture...or even a pair of overdriven daking modules...but overall...this plug is knocking me out. i have not had any power problems...using it rtas on a digi le rig. mac g5 computer...but then again...i dont use alot of plugs. last mix was 32 channels....had 14 tracks of drums all with a urs saturation on em...as well as 3 drum busses, guitar buss, bass buss, ld vocal, bup vocal buss, and the main mix buss. its a great plug....hate to say it...and pardon the lame use of the word...but its VERY ANALOG sounding. really. just my 2 cents. best, jchristopherhughes Post by: Ross Hogarth on October 21, 2008, 07:34:56 PM just wondering which ones you seem to gravitate to I seem to be using the motorcity on vocals primarily Post by: jchristopherhughes on October 21, 2008, 08:31:53 PM been loving the 15ips tape on mix buss..a project i am mixing right now has a 70's vibe...lovin the low end bump and squash the 15 is giving me. finally getting a bit of that low end and top end i have been missing since goin itb mostly. i also like the saturation that i can get out of the american trannie deal. does some cool stuff to the top end on brite cymbals...etc. have you used the urs eq's ? i'm workin with waves rens and filter bank right now...have thought about the waves api pack...really like the top end on it. have never tried the urs eqs. best, jchristopherhughes Post by: Bryson on October 21, 2008, 10:59:54 PM
Western Electric? Post by: jchristopherhughes on October 23, 2008, 12:54:57 PM american classic.... holy dsp batman !! i hear ya ross...i have a g5 as well....about 5 instances of urs sat using that program....and my cpu is maxin. when i first got the plug, i suppose i was not using that particular setting. i still lean to the tape stuff...but the american transformer thing sounds really good. damn....it sounds so good. overall still happy with the urs overall....enough that i bought the api-type eq....it sounds really nice too. great plugins. hope to pick up the waves api bundle soon as well so i can "kinda" have a few 560's for drums. cheers, jchristopherhughes Post by: jchristopherhughes on October 25, 2008, 01:32:10 PM the band i am mixing tracked the record at their practice spot...to a digi002...very minimal...in a fairly nice sounding room. basic mic preamps...nothing spectacular. what they would like is for the record to sound like flying burrito brothers or old graham parsons....or a more modern reference...like some of ryan adam's work. in a perfect world...they would have tracked to 16tk 2" and really slammed the meters particularly on drums and vocals...they could not afford to do that. i have made extensive use of the saturation plug on nearly every track...and the main stereo buss. usually using the 15 ips tape setting on drums and bass...and the 30 ips on the main buss. a bit of the british setting on some guitars.... upon first listen, they asked if i had transfered it all to 2". just a bit of grind on every track really helped pull this project closer to the intended sound. the difference when i bypass all the saturation plugs is incredible. what a great plug. best, jchristopherhughes Post by: JGauthier on October 25, 2008, 02:29:37 PM And Bryson and Ross Hogarth- off topic but I was raised in Woodland Hills down the street from El Camino high school! It just always trips me out to see so many people from specifically Woodland Hills! I still remember when they made the movie "Valley Girl" and somebody went down Valley Circle Blvd and changed ALL the signs for MILES from "Valley Cir" to "Valley Girl"... ahhh memories Sorry guys back to the topic! Post by: jchristopherhughes on October 25, 2008, 03:03:38 PM
hi j, its a cool plugin. i like the crane song phoenix for subtle coloring, and the mcdsp analog channel when i really want some dirt....but this urs thing can do alot of the same...and more. as a guy who still yearns for the old days of a 16 track 2", mci or trident desk and who has a complete disregard for METERS on tape machines......this thing can get some of that vibe i often miss these days. cheers, jchristopherhughes Post by: JGauthier on October 25, 2008, 05:17:02 PM
Thats exactly how I feel about tape. I miss it. I transferred a crap load of 4 track tapes from when I was young about 5 years ago just for my own archives (sadly a little too late as some of the tapes had seriously degraded) and it was wierd to actually hear a lot of things I LIKED about those terrible recordings (and they were terrible). Not that a crappy cassette is the same as 2 inch but that tape compression and color is just very very cool- EVEN on crappy cassette. Plus we just did a bunch of 2 inch transfers that I mastered afterwards and mastering tape VS digital is F'ING WRONG...So much better and EASIER. Ive been looking for something to cure that but I have yet to find anything that REALLY works most of the time. I have not tried the Phoenix. The URS is appealing cause I really liked their API and Neve eqs- which when not compared to the originals sound good and are surprisingly usefull. Its been a few years since I looked at saturation plugs and Ive grown quite curious again seeing posts like these and people like JJ finding them usefull ( considering he seems to have good ears and discerning tastes ). Im moving the studio to a new location this week though so Im gonna have some BS to do before I can even try it! The carpet goes in Monday then I move the 55 gallon reef tank... Ugh... I'd much rather shoot out plug ins! Post by: Ross Hogarth on October 25, 2008, 07:10:43 PM
i live very close to el camino actually on the same street just not next to it it will prolly be the high school the kids go to i grew up in nyc so as far as home, woodland hills is where i live, where i'll live and ny is home Post by: maarvold on November 05, 2008, 06:39:37 PM Post by: Ross Hogarth on November 10, 2008, 01:12:51 PM smoother response I totally gig this plugin Post by: recall on November 16, 2008, 05:45:47 PM Currently I'm just using the 30ips presets for each channel. Doing this has a great effect. I'm just dipping my toes into it really. Looking forward to using the 15ips on each channel when the material warrants it. Post by: JGauthier on November 17, 2008, 07:40:57 AM I just stopped... Am I missing something or is it a wrapper only app in rtas? No TDM? It was about 4 in the morning so Im definitely groggy! Man, I think I need to reread this thread! Im sure its already been discussed! Post by: Greg Dixon on November 17, 2008, 05:08:12 PM Post by: jchristopherhughes on November 17, 2008, 06:32:51 PM
i've found the same thing...though i often use the 30 ips setting on the stereo buss as well. on a record i just mixes...i used the 30ips setting on every channel, with additional use of the motown preset on vocals....and drum rooms got VERY saturated with the german setting. what a great plugin. my first tool for "vibing" up in the box mixes. great job urs !! best, jchristopherhughes Post by: JGauthier on November 30, 2008, 08:40:31 PM
Thanks! Now Ill need to try it! On the site it seemed confusing so I downloaded cranesong Phoenix instead since it gets such rave reviews. I bought it and I don't buy many plug ins. Its great. Now I need to try the URS. The one thing I don't like about phoenix is the top end isn't as happening as the bottom and tape does sweeten the top IMHO. Is the URS better on top? Post by: jonathan jetter on December 19, 2008, 02:07:29 AM this is the one category of plugin (saturation/distortion) where i am happy to buy as many different ones as possible. every flavor is different. Post by: Red Tape on December 19, 2008, 07:01:00 AM Post by: cameron_k on December 22, 2008, 07:54:17 PM Post by: organica on January 06, 2009, 08:27:25 AM
bump ? anything new on this report - broken code sounding issue ? really looking forward to trying the plug soon . Post by: recall on January 14, 2009, 04:18:39 PM Post by: Greg Dixon on January 14, 2009, 05:26:52 PM Post by: imdrecordings on January 17, 2009, 01:24:54 PM So far I really like the American Transformer. Using this (Post EQ) works brilliantly for the mix bus and individual tracks. I love the way it focuses the low-end. The Tape Machine Preamp seems to be broken. It crashes Samplitude V10.2 when I try and use it. Other than that, I'm happy! Post by: Deuce 225 on January 18, 2009, 01:44:32 PM Guitar and Bass. Definitely had a subtle softening impact on this on the tracks in a good way. Ross or J Christopher care to comment? Thanks, Tim Cochran Post by: imdrecordings on January 19, 2009, 12:45:26 AM Just a quick mix of a band I play in. Mixed it on my headphones as a test. Live recording made at "The Groove Room" in San Rafael, California and is pretty musch straight forward rock music. One has the URS Saturation enabled and the other disabled. I applied the saturation just as the website/PDF manual suggests. I applied the saturation until the instrument/voice starts to stick out a little, to your liking, in the mix. "Vibey" is truly the best word to describe what it can add. I'm curious to see if anyone can here a big difference. Song 1: No Saturation (16bit 256k MP3) http://www.esnips.com/doc/9f82df92-3e2e-4f48-97e6-16f187d723 ac/Red-Bennies-Hey-Baby-No-URS-Staturation Song 2: With Saturation Enabled (16bit 256k MP3) http://www.esnips.com/doc/948b2fab-51a7-45d6-ac08-0729991753 a4/Red-Bennies-Hey-Baby-With-URS-Staturation The trusty MySpace page has them as well.. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewpro file&friendID=446766728 I have to say, I love the way this plug works on Vocals. To me, the URS plug gives things life. I don't think one song sounds better than the other. One is open, smooth and some what dull. While the other has an edge and cuts more. Post by: Ross Hogarth on January 19, 2009, 12:55:05 PM but i have used it on the front usually on the backend tho Post by: maarvold on January 21, 2009, 10:56:54 AM Post by: mattrussell on January 21, 2009, 10:02:11 PM Post by: Kris on January 22, 2009, 09:40:41 AM
Definately a noticeable difference and I agree with your assessment. A combination of the two mixes would rock as well! Post by: charlie francis on April 12, 2009, 08:56:10 AM I find it increasingly hard to get excited about plugins in general but this really feels like it brings something useful to the party. Thanks for the heads up Post by: organica on April 22, 2009, 04:47:02 PM I'm now concerned with having lost some objectivity somehow and may in fact be using too much too often . I'm hearing more harmonics and some mixes seem brighter in different ways than in the past generally . I've had this happen before ( a tendency to over use ) , especially with plugins when they're new . I too would love know more of how some of you use it and as interesting , when you're NOT using it . Thanks . Post by: wwittman on April 22, 2009, 10:17:26 PM When I record something, I get the sound I want BEFORE it gets recorded. So no saturation added later. when I get other people's tracks, sometimes things are harsh or thin or just don't sit together well (you know, like they used 12 different preamps to record things ) THEN I might be tempted to try saturation like the URS or Massey Tapehead in the mix. I have NOT been happy with it on the stereo bus, where sometimes Analogue Channel works well (McDSP) but usually i use no saturation. Post by: thechrisl on May 05, 2009, 12:50:53 PM Post by: Nizzle on May 19, 2009, 01:08:26 PM I'm just sayin'.... -t Post by: scott_s on January 27, 2010, 01:38:01 PM To get a better handle on what it is doing, I looped a sine wave and inserted it, you can hear different harmonics being introduced for the different models. And what it does to a 20-20k sweep is interesting also.... Post by: jchristopherhughes on January 28, 2010, 10:04:38 AM i've been using the urs stuff for over a year now on all of my in the box mixes. still really liking it a lot. i find that the culminative effect of having it on most tracks and busses works for me. whatever harmonic distortion it adds...sounds pretty cool to me. like anything else...i just turn the knobs till it sounds good. another plug to check out..(i think they still have a beta demo) is the sound toys decapitator. it is hands down the coolest "distortion/dirt" plugin i have used thus far...it can be much more extreme than the urs saturation. its scary how close i can get it to what my culture vulture does...definitely not the SAME...but CLOSE...and still COOL in its own way. really getting scary what can be done with plugs these days. i'm consistently amazed at the stuff i can do now in the box..(that is...as long as i have nicely recorded tracks). i've been mostly working on radar this last year with my pm2k desk and outboard, but, because of the now common budget and time restraints...do most of my mixing in cubase, pt, or samplitude...which i find all to sound a bit different from each other. the one constant has been the urs saturation plug on most tracks, and on my busses. i actually really like the crane song phoenix...but that only runs on TDM...really hope dave decides to make a native version of that someday. for now, the urs saturation keeps me from wanting to throw the keyboard across the room everytime i play back a mix. (ps...how the heck are you scott ? hit me back sometime at email.) peace, jch Post by: wavdoctor on March 11, 2010, 10:09:19 AM
Post by: adoucette on May 10, 2010, 11:46:47 PM Post by: eloheim on May 29, 2010, 05:37:51 PM I've been using URS Saturation on my mixes for a few months now and have found some definite algo preferences for certain sources, and I was wondering if anyone else has their own. I have a gain-compensated setup in Ableton Live I use to blindly compare the different saturation models on each source, and I've found a few choices that pop up over and over again. Keep in mind the music leans toward 90's-ish east-coasty hip hop. Snare - MotorCity Pre Hat/Cymbal - JFet Pre Vocals - MotorCity Pre I've also found I like the 15ips Tape better than the 30ips on pretty much everything. As far as the transformer algo's I usually end up with the American Transformer for mid range-heavy sources (like vocals/snare) and the British Transformer on stuff with important high's/low's (like kick/bass/hat). I really think (especially as far as the preamp models go) that the MotorCity Pre is their best model. I find myself using it the most often and in the biggest variety of situations compared to any of the others. (And it's NOT just because it's more 'gainy' than the other cause I pick it even when all the algo's are leveled to the ear!) One more thing on how I use the different TYPES of models. If I use one of the preamp algo's I like it as the track's first plugin, whereas I tend to use the tape algo's last. The transformer ones I use on busses sometimes. Anyone else that owns this plug have certain preferences of their own (in addition to the ones already mentioned in this thread)? Post by: Chromatic Paste on September 09, 2010, 10:30:59 PM Post by: Nick Sevilla on September 12, 2010, 01:38:04 PM Useful plug in. Cheers Post by: Nicky D on September 24, 2010, 04:52:11 PM Post by: adoucette on October 05, 2010, 01:37:48 AM I really dig the "motor city preamp" mode too, adds all sorts of fun character to a track. I've used it to distort bass, crush room mics, or even "vintage" up a drum mix. Over the mix buss I like it, but am always a bit cautious about throwing it on and dialing it a tape setting. I don't much like the idea of driving my clear mix hard to a tape saturator, so i'll put on a setting like... 55% drive, 75% mix on 30ips setting.. This gives me enough of what I love while still preserving a little of the "bounce" in the mix. My clients ears perk up and they get huge smiles when I A/B the plugin on and off. "Magic" they say. Killer saturation plugin and well worth the investment. I have the crane song phoenix as well as the digi tape suite. I should do an A/B comparison and post. Get it! |