McDSP plug-ins

[MX582]

anyone had any experiance with these?
i was looking at the waves ssl pack but these look pretty good too

[drew]

Most people seem to love McDSP. Me? I think they are only Ok. Analog Channel works sometimes, Filterbank is NOT a very good sounding EQ IMO. Sounds grainy and strident to me. I much prefer the Massenburg for super clean and the SSL E Channel for most general use.

[dial_it_in]

Originally Posted by drew

Most people seem to love McDSP. Me? I think they are only Ok. Analog Channel works sometimes, Filterbank is NOT a very good sounding EQ IMO. Sounds grainy and strident to me. I much prefer the Massenburg for super clean and the SSL E Channel for most general use.

I have to completely disagree with this. I respect anyones opinion but I really like the mcdsp plugs. The eq's and compressors are, in my opinion, great...Extremely easy to use and versatile. The compressor bank has some great "in the box" settings which emulate all the classic compressors and do the job extremely well. Good luck with your purchase and decision.
-Rin-

[kittonian]

Absolutely. If I had to strip down to only one plug-in bundle McDSP's Emerald Pack would certainly be my choice. I loved it so much we started carrying the products. I use them on every mix I do and have showed my clients an A/B between having them in or bypassed and have watched the jaws drop.

[djui5]

Filterbank rocks, and so does Compressor bank. Channel G is horrible IMO. Never really got much out of Analog Channel either. Never used Revolver, MC2000, or the ML4000.

[Poplab Studios]

Originally Posted by MX582

anyone had any experiance with these?
i was looking at the waves ssl pack but these look pretty good too

why don´t you demo them and compare them against each other?
i love mcdsp. i use filterbank everyday.and i use the waves ssl plugs everyday.both do different things.
try them, and decide which one you love!

hope this helps

[Markus Stock]

If I had to choose just one EQ Plug and one Compressor Plug for Pro Tools it would definitely come down to Compressor and Filterbank. Great sound and super versatile. Especially Compressor Bank gives you a huge arsenal of different and great sounding compressor tones to choose from....

[hiccup]

Hi,
Im relatively new to posting in here, but i thought id step in as this is a topic i actually know a lil' bit about!
Ive been using mcdsp emerald bundle for the past couple of months and found the plugins to be excellent.
Compressor Bank has some excellent vintage emulations (urei1176, dbx165, fairchild, LA2A) etc.
Also, Revolver is defintately worth the investment, some of the M5k presets are amazing!
Also, the new ML4000 plugin is pretty interestig, although im not totally convinced by the presets which have a tendancy to make everything sound rather "bright".

In the plugin world there is nothing better than mcdsp...

[Vato]

Has anyone used the Native McDSP ? I want to know if these plugs work as good native as with Pro Tools. Obviously there are limitations with the CPU thing, but I wonder if the Sonic character is the same.
VATO

[rectifier]

Any news on McDSP AU format?

[elambo]

Originally Posted by drew

Most people seem to love McDSP. Me? I think they are only Ok.

There was a time when they sat at the top of the pile of plugin eqs, and they are still good, but quite a few other eq plugs have surfaced lately which are making Filterbank unimportant. Compressorbank still gets a bit of use but it's no longer my go-to compressor as it used to be.

I think, as a bundle, they are useful and could be all you need to get a great mix.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by djui5

Never used Revolver, MC2000

These are the two I use the most.

MC 2000 is nice. I wish it had more gain sometimes, but it sounds very nice, very cushy at the top end for a plugin if you use a long release time.

Revolver is nice, too. I've been using it for a few weeks, and I'm getting used to the ins and outs, but it's good a good amount of adjustability.

[jdjustice]

..you are getting so many differing opinions that this thread may not be useful to you. as an above poster suggested, get an iLok and do the 14-day demos. just a word of advice: only demo a few plugins at a time so you make sure you have ample time to spend with all of them.

personally out of all the McDSP plugins i could take or leave them but the one i still use is FilterBank. i have EQs that are cleaner, such as the Sony Oxford and the Waves LinEQ, and i have EQs with more character, such as the URS 'A' and 'N' series. but sometimes i still find a use for FilterBank, which is very versatile at least in its GUI and setup.

CompressorBank for me was cool at first until i got other plugins i prefer for compression (Waves SSL, Chandler/EMI). of course YMMV.



~j.d.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by Vato

Has anyone used the Native McDSP ? I want to know if these plugs work as good native as with Pro Tools.

just to clear this up.....

i believe "Native" just refers to the fact that these plugins run on your host computer, and not on a DSP card. i am not aware that McDSP's native plugins will run on any system except for Pro Tools, and i don't think this will change soon as McDSP is a Digidesign Development Partner (i think they are sticking with Digi for now).


~j.d.

[MX582]

thanks for all the replies. a friend of my mine said they kick ass and i just wanted to see what some of you guys thought of them..i forgot about that 14 day demo too..ill check it out

[Trailerman]

Just to be different ....

I think Channel G is superb (probably my most used plugin, and I have most of them), Analog Channel is great for roughing up over-clean takes, and Filter Bank is very usable (low DSP use but no Massenburg).

Chrometone is ocassionally useful, but there are better amp sims around these days.

Channel G is the Daddy for me though - the API compression sounds great, and the N and A series EQ is excellent, plus it's ultra felxible, allows side-chaining etc. I'm surprised Randy loves Filterbank and hates Channels G - I suspect some of the EQ' algorithms are the same, or certainly have the same origins - each to their own I guess.

Haven't tried the limiter or multiband, and use TL Space for convolution so haven't bothered with Revolver.

Jules

[borism]

Hi
the Mcdsp stuf is allaround solid, would I mix everything with just the ncdsp eq today? No

the Waves ssl Eq is more effective and natural in sound and use. I use it most every track.

i think that the Digi Comp III is a great allround compressor just as the Mcdsp compressor..

the Analog channel works fine on some tracks, not that great on other tracks, I use it mor on individual tracks..

but i have to tell you the new ML400 is simply great! not only as mastering bus but on vocals, guitarrs, bass. Very flexible, great sounding..
happy thanks giviing to you all

[mrufino1]

I have analog channel, and it has made a huge difference in my mixes. The key is to drive it correctly (yes, I have mix it like a record! I actually won MILAR and analog channel in their contest, and it has really made a nice difference, and is also the only thing I've ever won). Also, Charles Dye makes th epoint about using analog channel as a dual mono plug on stereo tracks and buses and that does make a difference. When I demoed it I didn't understand about driving it and felt it made no difference. As always, YMMV.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by Trailerman

I'm surprised Randy loves Filterbank and hates Channels G - I suspect some of the EQ' algorithms are the same, or certainly have the same origins - each to their own I guess.

Jules

I had a lot of problems with the gain structure of Channel G. Plus the eq in it didn't seem to sound as good as in Filterbank. The compressor in it sucks IMO. It's about as good as the virtual dynamics in the 9098i. The damm thing would peak out all the time, and just a touch of eq would throw the gain through the roof. It was crazy. I know it was the plug-in because I'd take it off and use comp bank and filter bank and everything would be fine. Maybe I got a bad download or something...who knows. All I know is that plug-in irritated the shit outta me. The sound was crappy, it peaked a lot, etc. Got my vote as the most annoying plug-in ever.

[Big Boss Man]

Originally Posted by rectifier

Any news on McDSP AU format?

Are they really considering an AU format? That would be pretty cool.