Massey Plugins

[s0nguy]

Is it just me or has Massey done something incredible?

I just downloaded the demos of his plugins. The 2007 sounded immediately more buttery than the L2 and the Ct4 didnt crumble at extreme settings like my UALA2A. It also sounded like a thick compressor as opposed to an 1176 aggressive style comp.

Comments on the compressor or limiter?

-s0nguy

[gm5k]

CT4 rules on everything. it's not just you

[FossilTooth]

Yessir.

No arguments here.

[Whitecat]

They're the best plug-ins out there as far as bang-for-your-buck goes. Maybe even in general.

thumbsup thumbsup

[Oroz]

Massey has done something incredible indeed, besides making great plug ins he's selling them at affordable prices. "Bigger" companies ought to learn a thing or two about this.

Tapehead and L2007 owner here, I use them in every session. Going for CT4 and vt3 next.

[drBill]

I originally was looking at tapehead and loved that. Then the L2007 captured my heart. Then out of the blue, I found that CT4 is an incredible sleeper compressor. So simple, and yet it sounds so fantastic. I'm still warming to the EQ. Awesome sometimes and other times,....eh. Really nice top end though. When it works it WORKS!

Massey is a genius. There's absolutely no doubt about it. And to top it off. I absolutely LOVE his business plan.

Steve Massey for president in 2008!!!!!!!!!!!

No wait, forget that. He wouldn't have enough time to write more plugins. .

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by drBill

Awesome sometimes and other times,....eh. Really nice top end though. When it works it WORKS!
.

this is SO true. its always a hit or miss w/ this EQ, no in between for me.

in conjuction w/ a surgical EQ(AirEQ), the other day i found it did a great job of adding highend snap and "click" to a kickdrum recording. worked perfectly.

[RCM - Ronan]

I am not a plug in guy, but these are pretty much my fave plug ins, and the price can not be beat. To me, L2007 beat out L2 on blind shoot outs. The EQ is interesting. I find the low and mid controls to be pretty useless, but the high end control is the only plug in EQ high end boost I have ever heard and liked.

[AlexLakis]

I agree with the CT4 being a sleeper, I'm still warming up to it, but I find myself using it more and more.

I would also say that the vt3 is a sleeper for me as well. I've always been a fan of higher band, more surgical EQ plugins (maybe it was the URS BLT or, subconsciously, the BBE Sonic Maximizer that ruined it for me...) But, I have been using it a lot now, and I'm really digging it! I agree with rcm; The high end gets used the most here.

Ronan, the plugins I like for highs are:

Eiosis AirEQ
URS N-Series
Massey vt3

With an honorable mention to Sonalksis SV-517 because it's good at everything. Also, I seem to remember liking the highs on Voxengo's GlissEQ...

I love the L2007 too, probably the strongest overall of the bunch for me.

I've got TapeHead and THC too, although I haven't gotten around to using them a lot yet. Just from demoing on a couple mixes, the THC seems really cool. Not too sure about implimenting TapeHead yet, AC1 is doing good things for me...

[drBill]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

Not too sure about implimenting TapeHead yet,

Alex, when you have a track that just doesn't want to "sit" right in the track. Sounds bright or too "digital", try instanciating tapehead on that track. You probably won't need to move any of the controls, just use the factory default....and voila! Instant love. It is pure genius on distorted guitars and some drums!!

[Recycled_Brains]

try the THC distortion box. it's ****ing rad.

CT4/Tapehead are wonderful.

-ryan

[2012]

Originally Posted by s0nguy

Is it just me or has Massey done something incredible?

I just downloaded the demos of his plugins. The 2007 sounded immediately more buttery than the L2 and the Ct4 didnt crumble at extreme settings like my UALA2A. It also sounded like a thick compressor as opposed to an 1176 aggressive style comp.

Comments on the compressor or limiter?

-s0nguy

A little late to the Massey party, aren't we?

I have the full versions of vt3, CT4, L2007, & Tape-Head, and they are all incredible.

The EQ is interesting. I find the low and mid controls to be pretty useless, but the high end control is the only plug in EQ high end boost I have ever heard and liked.

I agree about the high end on the vt3, but I definitely find the mid control to be useful!

[Blindside]

My ears won't let me use any other plugins. I have the full Waves Diamond bundle but I just don't use it. These are BY FAR the best plugins I have used. Always useful and always sound good.

I use the Ct4 on just about everything. It is the best one IMO.

I use the L2007 all the time and is also wonderful.

The Tape Head is killer on ac. guitar, elec guitar, vocals (esp hip-hop), well everything really.

I also don't know what to think about the vt3. I only use EQ when I HAVE to, but everytime I use it, it does it's job well.

The THC (besides having a great name) is a bit strange to my ear. I haven't found it useful on anything other than vocals yet, but then again, I haven't really tried all that hard. What I did use it on was awesome, though.
I could be the poster child for Stephen Massey. I adore his plugins and he has THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!!!!

I bought all the plugins on Christmas Day and emailed him with an issue I was having. I received a reply within an hour which solved my issue and then a follow up an hour later asking if all was well. How sick is that.

[Stiff]

All the Massey plug-ins are great IMO (and pretty much everyone else opinion as well ) but lately none of them have been my first choice.

[The MPCist]

2 thumbs up for Massey plugins here! Definitely worth every dollar.

[fuzzface777]

Haven't used THC on vox yet, but on synth it is nice.

I used it on synth right in the very beginning on the song Russian Fantasy
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=516588

for an effect

[toolskid]

The vt3 is my first call for acoustic gtrs now!

Tape head is really great for gritting up polite tracks! I even ran a mix thru it the other day. Did some great mid-range grunging!

Nice one Mr. Massey!

[AlexLakis]

Thanks, Bill, I'll give it a try!

Stiff, whatchu diggin' these days?

[n8tron]

Originally Posted by Stiff

All the Massey plug-ins are great IMO (and pretty much everyone else opinion as well ) but lately none of them have been my first choice.

I'll bite too... what are you using?

I also love the fact that his plugs give you no latency, except the L2007 which is like 40samples. I tested digi's maxim and that put on 1040 samples of latency. In fact that was the first time I really experienced latency on my LE rig.

[barryjohns]

I just bought a Protools HD rig, actually got it yesterday, and these were the first plugs I bought. Sound Great! Well, they are actually the 2nd, the first one was for Revibe from Dutchmusik on eBay for 200 bucks. Great deal as well.

[peeder]

Another vote for Massey.

The other plug makers are reading this and wondering, "Why is this guy the only plugin maker that users actually feel passionate about?" like they might a boutique hardware maker.

Reasons:

- He trusted us. The plugin demos don't have time-bombs and are just slightly crippled, they don't use iloks or worse contortions in an effort to FORCE US TO PAY THE MAN. Massey obviously realized at some point that most plugins are ripped off warez boards, and his reaction was to demotivate it rather than to go all Gestapo on it. So you can use a legit version of the plugin freely, and if you decide to pay, it's very affordable. It would be shameful, not to mention mostly unnecessary, to rip the guy off.

- We know our money is going to the developer rather than a bunch of suits and their greens fees.

- The plugs got mojo, and have a certain visual identity as well that's "it".

- As ruudman pointed out before, he involves the community in the creation of the plugs, giving them a shared sense of ownership for the effort.

So it's not hard at all. Indeed, it appears all of this is done by one individual. Could a bigger company let itself do something simpler, or would that make too many of their executives irrelevant? Are they so obsessed with looking "professional" that they end up looking like amateurs?

Food for thought.

[drBill]

Originally Posted by peeder

Another vote for Massey.

The other plug makers are reading this and wondering, "Why is this guy the only plugin maker that users actually feel passionate about?" like they might a boutique hardware maker.

Reasons:

- He trusted us. The plugin demos don't have time-bombs and are just slightly crippled, they don't use iloks or worse contortions in an effort to FORCE US TO PAY THE MAN. Massey obviously realized at some point that most plugins are ripped off warez boards, and his reaction was to demotivate it rather than to go all Gestapo on it. So you can use a legit version of the plugin freely, and if you decide to pay, it's very affordable. It would be shameful, not to mention mostly unnecessary, to rip the guy off.

- We know our money is going to the developer rather than a bunch of suits and their greens fees.

- The plugs got mojo, and have a certain visual identity as well that's "it".

- As ruudman pointed out before, he involves the community in the creation of the plugs, giving them a shared sense of ownership for the effort.

So it's not hard at all. Indeed, it appears all of this is done by one individual. Could a bigger company let itself do something simpler, or would that make too many of their executives irrelevant? Are they so obsessed with looking "professional" that they end up looking like amateurs?

Food for thought.

AMEN!!!! Plug designers take note!
thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup thumbsup for massey

[E Baxter Put]

The great demo policy, the amazing customer service, and the fair pricing is icing on the cake.

None of us would be talking about these plugins if they sounded mediocre. They are high quality plugins.

[n8tron]

Originally Posted by peeder

Another vote for Massey.

The other plug makers are reading this and wondering, "Why is this guy the only plugin maker that users actually feel passionate about?" like they might a boutique hardware maker.

Reasons:

- He trusted us. The plugin demos don't have time-bombs and are just slightly crippled, they don't use iloks or worse contortions in an effort to FORCE US TO PAY THE MAN. Massey obviously realized at some point that most plugins are ripped off warez boards, and his reaction was to demotivate it rather than to go all Gestapo on it. So you can use a legit version of the plugin freely, and if you decide to pay, it's very affordable. It would be shameful, not to mention mostly unnecessary, to rip the guy off.

- We know our money is going to the developer rather than a bunch of suits and their greens fees.

- The plugs got mojo, and have a certain visual identity as well that's "it".

- As ruudman pointed out before, he involves the community in the creation of the plugs, giving them a shared sense of ownership for the effort.

So it's not hard at all. Indeed, it appears all of this is done by one individual. Could a bigger company let itself do something simpler, or would that make too many of their executives irrelevant? Are they so obsessed with looking "professional" that they end up looking like amateurs?

Food for thought.

definitely agree there.

It also seems like he has a pretty clear focus on what he is doing to. He has zero marketing and no employees to pay or manage. This also helps the cost I'm sure. Plus he keeps his plugs simple. I've mentioned this before. All of his plugs have minimal buttons and minimal knobs. This I would assume lets him program efficiently and quickly, as well as making them sound great. I have the feeling if they were littered with controls they wouldn't sound as good and they would be much more expensive. But what do I know about programming?

[zimv20]

Originally Posted by n8tron

All of his plugs have minimal buttons and minimal knobs. This I would assume lets him program efficiently and quickly

no, i wouldn't assume that. if anything, designing simplicity takes more time.

[peeder]

Originally Posted by zimv20

no, i wouldn't assume that. if anything, designing simplicity takes more time.

I wish you were the advisor to some of my clients...

[elambo]

If Massey charged $500/ plug I think we'd see a lot more people in love with them. At $1000 they'd be the best plugs ever made. But at under $100 many feel they're unable to be contenders. For those of us that know the secret, life is great.

I love these plugs.

[n8tron]

Originally Posted by zimv20

no, i wouldn't assume that. if anything, designing simplicity takes more time.

It may take more initial time because of creativity and taste to design it that way, but in the long run I would imagine bug fixes/updates to new operating systems and like would be much easier to fix. That and the fact that It would simply take less code to not have to incorporate other algorithms needed to change the sound in different ways.

believe me I'm not saying that his plugs were easy to program or take anything less from what he did, I definitely agree that you can, with work, achieve much better sound and better user ...use... with simplicity. I think its really a win win design philosophy.

In fact now that I think about it, you may be right. Compare it to composing for 1 instrument as opposed to a symphony...or for you engineers mixing... Its damn hard to compose for a solo instrument and make it sound interesting. But with more instruments/channels you can "clutter" up the crap if your having trouble. You at least have more options. anyway I digress. Massey's plugins are very well written and simple in the best possible way.

[zimv20]

Originally Posted by n8tron

It may take more initial time because of creativity and taste to design it that way, but in the long run I would imagine bug fixes/updates to new operating systems and like would be much easier to fix. That and the fact that It would simply take less code to not have to incorporate other algorithms needed to change the sound in different ways.

fwiw... my degree is in computer science, and i have > 11 years of experience as a software developer / designer / architect. i mention that so you know where i'm coming from.

there are things which take a ton of time when designing apps, and adding a controller or two to vary values isn't one of them. i expect mr massey spends a ton of time tweaking the implementation of his algorithms, and next to none writing the code to grab values from a controller. (and while designing the look 'n' feel of the plug probably takes a lot of effort, the actual coding of a slider, as i've mentioned, would be straightforward).

but hey, i've never written a plug-in, so i don't know for sure. that's just my feeling.

[Stiff]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

Stiff, whatchu diggin' these days?

Lots of stuff... For tape Digi Reel Tape Suite is unbeatable IMO. If you're looking for a tape sound it's def the way to go plug-in wise. With that said, more often than not I pick AC

Lately I've been playing around with various sound killers, again the Tape Suite (the flanger and the delay can be used for some very cool fx) and also Ohmicide. I wouldn't use it instead of any of the above mentioned, but it sounds wicked.

EQ, haven't got any one favorite, right now I'm playing around with the AirEQ that I got recently (I recall seeing you being a user of that one as well, right?) and this far I like it.

Comps, not one favorite there either and I pretty much use a different one for each session. I actually don't own the full version of the Massey but have used it some and know that it's very good.

Generally love the McDSP G Console though