G14 vs. Massive vs. GML 8200 test

[yareck]

Here is the next test including the GML 8200:

Old links were deleted, but here is updated link with all tests done by me:
http://www.master-your-track.com/tests.zip

This test has been made using a little bit different technique, I've just tried to achieve the same results using different equalizers.
Tests No.1 & 3 clearly show the differences... while test No.2 not so much...looks like everything depends on music...I'm curious of your opinions...
Of course GML "sparkling" clip is included :-)

Next week I'll have a Maselec and probably an Avalon 2055 for testing, maybe I'll do another clips...

PS. There is an error on "test1_massive.wav" file, looks like I forgot to activate the bass eq on left channel. I can't fix it because settings were made on the fly... I know it makes this one file quite unusable, unless you focus only on the Manley's color on highs....sorry! Other files are good...

Have a fun

UPDATE: Here are Maselec files.

[deleted - see link above]

I didn't try to achieve the same sound thoroughly, just to show the upper-mid range area which sounds great IMO. Sparkle test is not present because I would have boost 2x more to have comparable results with the previous files. It doesn't go so far, however highs are nice.

[FreeDanny]

a very BIG thanks for this test! you have no idea how i wanted to hear a similar test... really... thanks so much!

Originally Posted by yareck

Next week I'll have a Maselec and probably an Avalon 2055 for testing, maybe I'll do another clips...

[Zuewi]

Oh damn! This test is amazing!! Congrats man

The GML is damn great I would say, my favorite of these 3. It kinda wins for me on nearly all examples, It enhances the sound so much i can't imagine! Tighty up the mix so well and make somehow everything clearer and fetter at the same time. On the sparkle test it's a bit hm... overused i would say, but i think on purpose

The Gyratec also shines on some tracks very pritty on the dance stuff. Well the Manley....

[Zuewi]

btw. what's that song called what starts mit Mr. Tamboline do you have feeligs... ??I really like this one, the instruments sound a bit like all is motif es but the overall song is very cool

[yareck]

Originally Posted by Zuewi

Oh damn! This test is amazing!! Congrats man

The GML is damn great I would say, my favorite of these 3. It kinda wins for me on nearly all examples, It enhances the sound so much i can't imagine! Tighty up the mix so well and make somehow everything clearer and fetter at the same time. On the sparkle test it's a bit hm... overused i would say, but i think on purpose

The Gyratec also shines on some tracks very pritty on the dance stuff. Well the Manley....

I also think that the GML is THAT thing for mix clarification
Now I can see why it's called "industry standard".
16 kHz test was too much on GML but of course it was intentional :-)

Originally Posted by Zuewi

btw. what's that song called what starts mit Mr. Tamboline do you have feeligs... ??I really like this one, the instruments sound a bit like all is motif es but the overall song is very cool

This is song called "The river of broken hopes" from one of my clients. All I could upload is that short clip. I don't know the instruments he used.... but yes it may sound like a Motif...I also have Motif (XS6) and it's a great instrument!

[matucha]

thanks alot

just for fun I took an sonnox eq and tried to emulate your results with it (the bass example) and what can I say, if you'd put that sonnox file in the package and name it "unknown box", it wouldn't sounded bad side by side with the three, just a tiny bit different ...

massive didn't win anything in this shootout imo, it is always a bit flat and I wonder if it wasn't possible to turn those knobs a bit more... I was more satisfied with what sonnox did

gml is clean and beafy in the lows, i like it there the best.

gyraf is pretty juicy and I prefer it on the hiend.

[yareck]

Originally Posted by matucha

thanks alot

massive didn't win anything in this shootout imo, it is always a bit flat and I wonder if it wasn't possible to turn those knobs a bit more... .

It's hard to tweak the highs on Massive. They sound good only in one specific position and when I try to make them louder, they start to sound bad. Maybe that's the problem with highs on Massive. It's not about they are sounding bad at all, but they only sound good with specific settings, while for example on Gyraf they always sound good, no matter how much you boost and where you are on the frequency selector.
Same with GML, however with GML highs are more crystal-aggressive, (the "diamond" top I guess), while with Gyraf they're more natural sounding, adding something like very soft saturation.

It was very hard to repeat the GML settings on Massive. To be honest it was also problematic on the Gyraf.

There is one more thing with Massive, listen to these examples carefuly and see that the stereo image is definitely thinner on Massive. Everything is more in the center. That's the thing I don't like, but I can't say Massive Passive is bad equalizer, it's good. But it has some weaknesses.

I'm curious also of the results on Sonnox... if you want, you may put it somewhere, I can add them to the zip file.

[matucha]

I tried to mimic GML, but not very hard, just to see if I can get in the ballpark. It was necessary to bring up also some highs...

The -6dB version is without limiter. Normal version (comparable to your samples directly) hits max 1dB reduction on UAD precision limiter, I had to put it there, because it would have clipped.

Have you limited your samples?


Now I'm listening through apogee minidac and that is not the finest converter I know, so your monitoring setup can tell you more.

[sexxy]

Originally Posted by matucha

thanks alot

just for fun I took an sonnox eq and tried to emulate your results ... I was more satisfied with what sonnox did

post files & screen shots!

i like more the GML

the massive sounds

the gyraf its in between more close to GML

but.........................
I still like way more:::

SonicFlavours DQ7
Sonic Flavours || reason refills, samples and loops
KVR: Sonic Flavours DQ7 Equalizer - Virtual Effect

"Hey…. where are the VST’s ?
For now it is simply not possible for us to keep up with the ever-changing Operating Systems and VST-Hosts, which require many new versions of VSTs to be made. For now we are understaffed to do this to a level we would be proud of giving a Sonic Flavours label to. We love our VST products a lot so it’s with great reluctance that our R66, the DP5 and our DQ7 will be carefully put on a shelf until we are able to give them the full attention they deserve and need. Please bear with us. In the meantime we will keep on giving support to all who purchased our VSTs. We thank you for your understanding."


will need rarsoft.com winrar to unrar to .wav & .jpg

[matucha]

;-) don't take it very seriously... I still like GML more, it has more balls

here's the screenshot

[sexxy]

Originally Posted by matucha

I tried to mimic GML, but not very hard, just to see if I can get in the ballpark. It was necessary to bring up also some highs...

The -6dB version is without limiter. Normal version (comparable to your samples directly) hits max 1dB reduction on UAD precision limiter, I had to put it there, because it would have clipped.

Have you limited your samples?


Now I'm listening through apogee minidac and that is not the finest converter I know, so your monitoring setup can tell you more.

your files are 24-bits
anyway...
I like way more my SonicFlavours DQ7 than Sonnox EQ or hardware GML / etc...

GML sounds better than Sonnox

[matucha]

AAAAArhh... EQ wars! now every .1dB counts

well in my tiny little opinion you went over with your settings and though it is off

[sexxy]

Originally Posted by matucha

AAAAArhh... EQ wars! now every .1dB counts

well in my tiny little opinion you went over with your settings and though it is off

bring it on!

#1.
every .1dB counts is false statement,
if you taked the time to do digital eq A/B tests
you should had noticed that some digital EQs trick or fool the user...
+6dB its not +6dB in Waves REQ for example

and good sounding digital EQs are analog modeled
not FFT
50Hz is not 50Hz for example in most analog modeled digital EQs

#2.
kjaerhusaudio.com GEQ-7 has more balls "harmonics" than anything,
but the highs have too much harmonics for my taste
great if you use just 1x Geq-7 but more in serial... not for me

#3.
i hope thers an eager SSL Duende EQ owner here to join the Test "EQ wars"

#4.
ive tested A/B almost all digital eqs in hardware and plugins dx/vst/rtas

other digital EQs i like:

Flux Epure
free parisEQ1.1 (with multi-CPU: off)
http://homepage.mac.com/osxlover/Par.../ParisEQ11.zip
Behringer DDX3216 EQ
Roland Vs2480
Korg MDE-X
izotope ozone eq both
sonictimeworks eq1
sonnox
focusrite saffire eq vst v2
steinberg tlaudioEQ1 & nuendo channel eq, the plugin sounds different
kjaer gac-1

dont like the 200 others!
kvraudio.com

anyways, thanks

[matucha]

Originally Posted by sexxy

bring it on!

#1.
every .1dB counts is false statement,
if you taked the time to do digital eq A/B tests
you should had noticed that some digital EQs trick or fool the user...
+6dB its not +6dB in Waves REQ for example

and good sounding digital EQs are analog modeled
not FFT
50Hz is not 50Hz for example in most analog modeled digital EQs

That's why I'm using my ears instead of numbers.

That 0.1dB statement was about the fact that loudness can fool you and just a 0.1dB can make you think one sample sounds better then the other while they are the same only one is louder a bit. This is really hard to avoid in the "tests" like this. So it needs to be taken with "grain of salt"...

[Zuewi]

That sonic flavours impresses me and the Kjehaerus too.
But I'll like the stuff of the analogue gear more
Sonnox I dones't like.

I like still the hardware examples much more, it's just nicer than the digital world... but the digital stuff doesn't sleep and gets from year to year better.

I think we drifiting away from this topic with all the stuff Topic was G14 vs Massive vs GML but it's also interesting with some software examples

[Zuewi]

ah yea the limiter question would be interesting....!

[yass]

great job!congratulations
i would say the gml is number one then the gyratec and the manley.
yhe manley is not clear enough in the low frequencies especially for electro stuffs.
great job
thank you

[yareck]

Here are Maselec files - as an addition to the previous clips:

www.masteringcafe.com/test/maselec_clips.zip

I didn't try to achieve the same sound thoroughly, just to show the upper-mid range area which sounds great IMO. Sparkle test is not present because I would have boost 2x more to have comparable results with the previous files. It doesn't go so far, however highs are nice.

[Zuewi]

pffff awsome....I really need a EQ nooowww LOL :D but a bit too expensive for me that box i think... i also have to get a new preamp first :(
Sometimes I like the GML more but mostly i prefer the Maselec.
While the GML is kinda "unforgiving" with the mix the Maselec also alters not that great mixes and give them a beautiful nice color!

So your favorite is now the Maselec?

Do you think that GML,Maselec...also work nice for tracking?

Did you also have the chance to compare also the different GMLs at the shop? Like 8200 vs 8300 vs 9500? What's the difference there?

[yareck]

Originally Posted by Zuewi

pffff awsome....I really need a EQ nooowww LOL :D but a bit too expensive for me that box i think... i also have to get a new preamp first :(
Sometimes I like the GML more but mostly i prefer the Maselec.
While the GML is kinda "unforgiving" with the mix the Maselec also alters not that great mixes and give them a beautiful nice color!

So your favorite is now the Maselec?

Do you think that GML,Maselec...also work nice for tracking?

Did you also have the chance to compare also the different GMLs at the shop? Like 8200 vs 8300 vs 9500? What's the difference there?

I don't think the favourite is Maselec. I think they're both (Maselec and the GML) are great in terms of sound... completely different, for different tasks.
For tracking, I would say the GML would be more useful... I think...

If you want something nice for tracking, Gyratec G14 is not that expensive and you certainly will find it very useful for tracking (either for mastering).

[prosodio]

Hi I´ve made my own test only with test1 file. Can I send it to anyone or I upload it to rapidshare? I´ll tell you what´s my eq later...

[prosodio]

Here is the rapidshare link: RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting Click on the free button (in the bottom of the page) follow the instructions and download. It´s no as good as GML or Masselec, but I think it´s good....

Greetings

[Fabio]

I have the Gyraf and its a great eq. I'd like to add another one...so far Manley has been the first in the list above all for mid freq...now maybe I have to consider GML too!! Really really impressive!

[yareck]

Originally Posted by Fabio

I have the Gyraf and its a great eq. I'd like to add another one...so far Manley has been the first in the list above all for mid freq...now maybe I have to consider GML too!! Really really impressive!

Gyraf works with any other EQ I know because it acts not really like an EQ... it brings some kind of "psychoacoustic" effect.

Beter not sell your Gyraf because you will find quickly that something is missing. I gave my Gyraf to my friend for few days because I've thought that I can do everything with GML + Maselec. Well it's not true, although those 2 things are much more expensive I still miss Gyraf in certain situations (bad mixes mostly).

Manley is ok, but this is not 100% for mastering IMO. It's a little bit smeary, somewhere beetween 3-8 kHz it doesn't sound good IME (especially after hearing the Maselec)... upper highs are hard to tweak.
If I would do more mixing I wouldn't sell it possibly, but I don't do.

You should not consider GML for the midrange IMO. It doesn't add anything special over there. Of course you can consider Maselec as perfect midrange eq, but it's even more expensive... I've read that Fairman TMEQ is even better for mids... and are there any better EQs at all?

[wildpark]

question too mastering cafe

fist thank you too chare your test with us i really appreciate that.

but id think id will be important too invite us

which converter was involved in your test !?


thx patrick

[wildpark]

question too matucha

are you use the gml option in your sonnox plugs !?

thx patrick

[prosodio]

Hi, has anyone listened to my example?

Greetings

[matucha]

wildpark > I've used standard (VST) version

prosodio > sorry no... maybe later

[wildpark]

jose kinda flat response with sizle distortion on your file

what gear is used for it !.

thx patrick

[wildpark]

matucha

the sonnox vst versions are well known for kinda

ssl-api-neve sounding response.


if you like a/b with a gml8200 and software the gml option will be the contender,

i still waiting for my new digi hd system in the dominikan republic,


otherwise i would give you a direkt response on my sonnox gml option.


i hope there is any gs member

how could do it before me !?

otherwise i could post here in latestly 2 weeks


thx patrick

p.s i really dig the original 8200 and gyraf

but i know a big part in reproduktion is also

made by digital converters so i would wait for a prism orpheus too see whats next industry

mobile standart.