Advice needed : give an analog flavor to cold and digital loops coming from my DAW.

[cwar05]

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I'd like to give my cold and digital loops coming from my DAW a kind of analog flavour
and none of the plugins I tried gave me that.

As I can't afford high end preamps and compressors or boxes like The Culture Vulture which seems terrific, I'm looking
for a filter.
I'm a big fan of Daft Punk's sound (before "Human After All", Which I consider as crap) and I know that they made everything
go through hardware samplers and the Mutronics Mutator filter.

I'd like to buy the Mutator but this box is a kind of luxury for me at the moment (I've just purchased a Sherman Filterbank)

So I just want to know what would be the device that could 'mimic" the Mutator's sound the best and that would be
cheaper at the same time.

I don't care if the box isn't MIDI and if it doesn't feature any modulation capabilities, I just want A SOOUUNNDD!

At first, I've thought of buying the moogerfooger MURF but I'm kind of disappointed about moogerfooger stomp boxes because
I've got the Moogerfooger MF 103 phaser and, although it's heaven with instrument's level, this thing doesn't seem to like
line levels (I've experienced a serious lack of punch when using the MF103 with sounds coming out my DAW. Impossible for me
to increase the drive knob as well, which was always near ZERO)

.... so I won't go for the MURF unless I did something wrong, hopefully you'll tell me if I did!

I don't want those screamin' sound boxes like JOMOX resonator as I already own a Sherman.
I don't want distortion boxes
I just want to give a nice dress to my sound


I was thinking to the frostwave resonator which is a copy of Korg MS 20 filter. What do you think of this one?

Also, I could maybe be interested in those filters which are parts of modular systems but actually, there are so many
(doepfer, Cwejman etc...) that I really don't know which one could fit my needs.
Anyway, which filter, part of a modular system would be the best?
Finally, I was thinking to a relatively new one on the market : The Allen and Heath VF-1 : I don't know what is its value?
Anyone has heard it well enough to give me an advice?


Maybe I forgot some great pieces of gear : all your suggestions are welcome!



Charly



P.S : Sorry for the mistakes if I did some! ;)

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by cwar05

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I'd like to give my cold and digital loops coming from my DAW a kind of analog flavour

(1) Get a used 1/4" 2 track and run the loops through it.

(2) Run the loops into an amp and mic it.

(3) Look for a used Shure Level loc or Spectrasonics 610 and run it through that.

(4) Have somebody play live drums along with the loops through your amplifier, mic it, run it through the level loc or 610 and record it to your 1/4" 2 track that you purchased.

[Led]

Hi, I have a frostwave, and while it's a great filter (especially when you make it self oscillate) I don't think it's going to give you what you're looking for. It's great for making some frequencys resonate, like sub harmonics, but it sounds like you are looking for something more like tape. I have a revox b77 I run stuff out to, and you can pick them up for maybe a couple of hundred bucks or there abouts. Bear in mind that if your loops are shitty cold and harsh to begin with, there is still only so much tape is going to do to them.
I see the akai filter sets on ebay from time to time, have you checked those out? The Sherman is pretty cool, can you not get what you want from it? Those mo fx filter queens or whatever they are called seem to work and have midi, but I don't see them come up very often.

[Chris Modular]

If it's an analog filter you want get yourself an akai mfc42. Wicked little filter and you can find them used fairly cheap.

[frugalpole]

well ...

i would give tritone's hydratone a try. that is what i use. their colortone could also probably do the trick.

[cynic]

FATSO

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by cynic

FATSO

The guy basically in his whole posts talks about that he is almost broke. A Fatso is not an affordable solution correct?

Or do you know of a place he can buy it really cheap because if so i would be interested as well.

[MarkusColeman]

Originally Posted by cwar05

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I'd like to give my cold and digital loops coming from my DAW a kind of analog flavour
and none of the plugins I tried gave me that.

I bet you haven´t tried Nebula.
Nebula
It´s not like this is the end of hardware. But a good first step towards ending it´s dominance in music production (sound design and mixing).

You can´t compare some of the new plugs to those released a couple of years ago, because some of the algos were not available back then and/or no machine was able to execute them in "real time".

[Stitch333]

the old wooden sided DBX comps: 118, 119, 128...just make sure you recap them before you try and make them useful in the stu. I got my 118 for $3 at a yardsale...

[Chris G]

try finding an Electrix FilterFactory. its a great analog filter and you can find them for about 200 or so. they have great midi features and you can get some good "dirt" and warmth out of them. ebay is the way to find them..... Electrix went out of biz a while back. they might be in biz again but i've heard nothing of any new products.

[J Twin]

ColorTone Pro is cheap (under $100) and sounds pretty nice for an easy solution.

[Methlab]

honestly, I'd use guitar pedals, because it sounds like you want hardware, but dont want to spend a lot.


Daft punk runs shit through pedals too. It's hardware and it changes the sound. There are so many pedals that can be found at pawn shops for nothing too..and those old boutique pedals are awesome for what you are describing.

I learned about the memory man pedal when I was young and a n00b. A multiplatinum producer was kind enough to have me do some sessions for him, and he used it on all kinds of stuff....just an example.

[Kestral]

I used to use a little Sans Amp GT2 guitar stompbox. I loved it so much I ended up "upgrading" the Classic Sans Amp with all the little dip switches and the PSA-1 rackmount.

But the pure simplicity of the GT2 led me back to buying one again. You can get these easily for under a hundred bucks on eBay.

My suggestion in using it is to run the loop out into the GT2 and back into the DAW and then blend the clean and GT2 processed.

For a plugin option, I don't like Amplitube on guitar but I've found that I love it for drum loops, it gives the drums a mid range thump that I like a lot.

[zaphod]

I'm a big fan of Daft Punk's too and I'm one of the developers of Nebula... so...
Moogerfooger?
Guess what is the original sampled unit used for the "moog lowpass" program, given for free in our release. If you are looking for the "daft punk" sound you can't miss it

[MarkusColeman]

Originally Posted by zaphod

I'm a big fan of Daft Punk's too and I'm one of the developers of Nebula... so...

I just want you to know that Nebula is evil
Do you have a "release candidate" for v2 already and when will it be released?
One of these products I wished I was part of the beta team.

[cwar05]

Originally Posted by zaphod

I'm a big fan of Daft Punk's too and I'm one of the developers of Nebula... so...
Moogerfooger?
Guess what is the original sampled unit used for the "moog lowpass" program, given for free in our release. If you are looking for the "daft punk" sound you can't miss it

MF 101 or MURF?

[cwar05]

Originally Posted by zaphod

I'm a big fan of Daft Punk's too and I'm one of the developers of Nebula... so...
Moogerfooger?
Guess what is the original sampled unit used for the "moog lowpass" program, given for free in our release. If you are looking for the "daft punk" sound you can't miss it

As I told earlier, my MF 103 (phaser BTW) was weak when using it with sounds coming from my DAW, (even if it's fatastic with instruments level.
What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

I'll check Nebula 2!

[cwar05]

Originally Posted by J Twin

ColorTone Pro is cheap (under $100) and sounds pretty nice for an easy solution.

Tried it, didn't like that much even if it's good compared to most of the others

[cwar05]

[quote=Methlab;1144084]


There are so many pedals that can be found at pawn shops for nothing too..and those old boutique pedals are awesome for what you are describing.



Unfortunately, I don't live in USA and that's very expensive here, on my small island!

[Sirocco]

i can turn any of ur loops in smoky analog

i dont have any outboard

but i can see what i can do

message me on AIM

[zaphod]

Originally Posted by cwar05

MF 101 or MURF?

101! Give it a go, you'll get an analog tone immediatly, dirty, a bit unstable, solid! One of the secrets in nebula (they are many ) is that audio is never processed in the same way. It is not a randomic behaviour, it is a consequence of the sampling procedure. Really a lot of plug and digital effects (many? all of them?) are static because
1) they don't change, they are not really "time-variant"
2) if they change it is simply a randomic behaviour, or driven by lfos, not related directly with a real hardware behaviour

We discovered how important is this feature later, testing and analyzing the sampled presets.

[AUdioicon]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

The guy basically in his whole posts talks about that he is almost broke. A Fatso is not an affordable solution correct?

Or do you know of a place he can buy it really cheap because if so i would be interested as well.

I almost said the same thing, makes me laugh but you should atleast recommend a Behringer!

AI

[AUdioicon]

I understand that getting your loops warm is what you are looking for but in my opinion, I don't think that most of the people that listen to hip/hop music today knows what that means. I explained further. I go to a club called Gabby's, this club is filled with the worst characters you'll ever meet and they play all hip/hop/R&B, don't ask me why I go there , but my point is the playback system is the worst/most nasty I have ever heard. But people are dancing and going nuts! In the end, I don't think people are going to pay that much attention to technical details of your recordings.

I know this is what you want and I am not trying to discourage you. I'm deeply shocked when I hear the so-call hit music today.
I mean I go to this club, I hear the playback systems and I say to myself, I can't believe people are actually singing/dancing to this but thats the way it is.

So just focus on the groove creativity and forget about all the technical crap.
When you play your songs for the guy at the gas station, can he tell what's hot or what's cold?

Just my opinion.

AI

[zaphod]

This is true if the song is limited to the dancefloor. But dance and house are improving a lot, this kind of music is going to be broadcasted now. Think to Madonna. It is dance, but with high quality. It's for the dancefloor, but it is for networks too.

About daft punk, they are using "everything", even crappy compressors or old gear for that sound. But in general a lot of hardware machines. They make "a lot" of research, it's not simply a groove. That music breathes, and this is hard to achieve using standard plugins and audio daws!

[cwar05]

Originally Posted by zaphod

This is true if the song is limited to the dancefloor. But dance and house are improving a lot, this kind of music is going to be broadcasted now. Think to Madonna. It is dance, but with high quality. It's for the dancefloor, but it is for networks too.

About daft punk, they are using "everything", even crappy compressors or old gear for that sound. But in general a lot of hardware machines. They make "a lot" of research, it's not simply a groove. That music breathes, and this is hard to achieve using standard plugins and audio daws!

Originally Posted by AUdioicon

I don't think people are going to pay that much attention to technical details of your recordings.


So just focus on the groove creativity and forget about all the technical crap.

AI

I completely agree with zaphod!

Even if people in clubs are mostly listening and dancing on shitty tracks, I don't want to be part of that!

I'm going to release an house album, and I'm only making that because of my love for anthems like the ones of Daft Punk!
Sure that I wouldn't do so if I had only listened to craps!

I want my music to be remembered and the music I remembered when I was going to clubs ten years ago was so powerful in a good way and warm that I'd love to give my music the same special treat!

Sorry for the mistakes ;O)

And maybe the one who's right is AudioIcon, I would maybe make much more money giving people shit loads of bad records than givin' them one good!

Future will tell me what!



Cwar05

[sergioelectro]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

i can turn any of ur loops in smoky analog

i dont have any outboard

Please tell us how you do !!!!


Thanks

Sergio

[spitfire8898]

Originally Posted by AUdioicon

I understand that getting your loops warm is what you are looking for but in my opinion, I don't think that most of the people that listen to hip/hop music today knows what that means. I explained further. I go to a club called Gabby's, this club is filled with the worst characters you'll ever meet and they play all hip/hop/R&B, don't ask me why I go there , but my point is the playback system is the worst/most nasty I have ever heard. But people are dancing and going nuts! In the end, I don't think people are going to pay that much attention to technical details of your recordings.

I know this is what you want and I am not trying to discourage you. I'm deeply shocked when I hear the so-call hit music today.
I mean I go to this club, I hear the playback systems and I say to myself, I can't believe people are actually singing/dancing to this but thats the way it is.

So just focus on the groove creativity and forget about all the technical crap.
When you play your songs for the guy at the gas station, can he tell what's hot or what's cold?

Just my opinion.

AI

I don't understand what his question has to do with the club scene? In all fairness to him, just because he said he likes Daft Punk, does not necessarily mean he'll be making those awful hip hop tracks that are banging in the club and on the radio. As a person who listens to more Hip Hop than anything else AND can tell the difference between a track that was produced well and has a quality sound, I gotta say the statement you made is pretty goofy. The people you are talking about may not understand what's going on in a song, hell you may be right, they probably don't care....but that doesn't mean he should put out a crappy product. Come on now!


Just my .02 worth....