Hey, Zaphod, I know you are really busy with Aquarius, AES, customer service, Lemon release, etc., etc., but care to share any info about a release timeline for Azure? I'm just extremely excited about this EQ. The unit has to be one of the finest pieces of hardware ever made.

I agree...on thin or harsh material it compliments it well. My recordings tend to be on the dull side so dull + dull = mud. It makes me wonder how the real hardware mic preamps sound!

I confirm, it's possible to get the same results with other plugins. BUT to get the same result I need several algorithmic plugins and spend time to compare and make extreme setup sometimes.
In fact, without the AA reference, you never think to setup your plugs in this way.

For me, what is really different with AA plugins is the first setup. When I move a button, increase low or hight frequencies, the result make me smile because I am listen to a so lovely sound.
It's what happen when I did a test with Lemon and the Deck Tape delay. I play a funky line with Rhodes sound and add Ping pong delay. It was so nice to play with the delay that I decide to compare with others. And first, I thought that all other was broken, dead, without any life.

Few weeks ago, I bought Ebony. And I use the compressor on a keyboard track. After one minute i forgot that I insert a compressor because the sound I very natural and I try to get the same result with all the other compressor I own. I never reach it.

I never use only AA EQ because, AA EQ as all vintage EQ are more interesting to add a color than delete very precise unwanted frequencies.

Working with digital DAW is a dream nowadays because we have so many tools to control the sound and get a very professional sound for a very light budget.

Have you tried Sand and Ivory3? Both are good at clean precise cuts. Although like yourself I usually reach for a normal algo EQ for cuts just for CPU/RAM savings.

Lime has very gentle eq`s, smooth non aggressive, it wont fit for everything

but it beats the best algo UAD 88rs with its eq`s
and it gives you even 2 choices of eq`s

the uad sound more like an vr(eq A in Lime) than a rs, so when i choose eq B for Lime(88r)
no other plugin match it when we are talking about the same gear modeled

its the 88r(s) sound i like when i reach for this kind of plug
so i don't know how UAD ended up sounding more like an VR

only nebula can compete,
MFQ sounds even better than Lime eq B
but you also hear strong similarities between EQ B and MFQ

but that nebula MFQ is sounding better to me vs Lime eq B is not the point

the point is
its hard to beat this tech with an algo based on same gear
if you are after a certain character/color from a specific HW

most in here know this , thats why we are here

algo vs Acqua/Nebula testing should be done properly

apple against an apple
not a bag of potato's against a cup of coffee

vs

Totally agreed. Lime can be sublime in the right situation

those pics was perfect hahaha

How would you describe Amethyst vs Lime? I own Amethyst and its EQ is great for a smooooooooth sound. But I've only tested Lime a bit and from what I recall it sounded a bit more subtle and gentle vs Amethyst, which seems a bit more creamy and smooth and definitely Neve-ish but not as fat and weighty as the 1073-era units.

This is my question as well. I just moved from the mainland US so most of my gear, including monitors/headphones, are still a few weeks away from arriving by ship.

I just activated an Amethyst trial and I *do* like what I'm hearing, but again this is thru two tinny little MBP speakers.

Most of my stuff is ambient/post-rock that leans orchestral (I guess), with occasional bouts of noise and rock and whatnot. Not opposed to color or character but would love flexibility as well. One of the reasons why I'm now looking at Amethyst vs Lime, versus the Gold that was previously on my wishlist.

I produce similar music. I have N4, MFC, and MFQ, so I figured I didn't really need Lime and went with Amethyst for a bit of a different flavour and its excellent price. I thought about Gold but couldn't justify it since I already have N14, Blue 1102, Gyrator, R33, and Henry Olonga's packs (which include many Neve pres). Now with L-Bus, I have a stellar bus compressor. Plus I just don't really mind the workflow of Nebula EQs as a lot of others do.

What I'm really waiting for is Azure and the flexibility and sound of it as an EQ with Core 11 tech. I'm hoping it's sampled really well and reaches the sound quality of some N4 libraries. The hardware unit uses fantastic components and those amazing Lundahl transformers. G and co. posted pics on Instagram way back in late July with some "soon" hashtags ... so I'm hoping it's next on the release list. AA's tech and sound continues to improve, so I have big hopes for this one!

Amethyst is very smooth Rupert Neve Focusrite ISA/Amek in tone while Lime is newer AMS Neve with a bit more modern 90's edge in tone.

I just noticed the D.W. Fearn Ruby thread in the AES sub. Well now I've got something else to look forward to.

Nice to meet you rosewood, thanks for the info. I have the AYCE by HO and the U76 by TimP. The Blue 1102 is definitely on my radar as well as the dual tech and J37.

My problem is skin management... I'm finally getting a handle on nebula setups. It looks like the unlicensed version will at least allow me to save skin setups, so today was the first time I really had a go at running different libraries without tearing my hair out. Since I love a lot of HO and TimP stuff, this may help me save some money.

What is Azure and what is it based on? I'm not seeing anything here or on Acustica's site.

Thank you Will! I also read your report in the AES/Ruby thread and I've gotta say, I may just hold off on any purchase until Ruby is released. Now that I'm getting a handle on setups, I may forgo Lime/Amethyst/Gold altogether and simply go with a HO pre + Ruby combo.

Nice to meet you too. I'm on N4 so no setups I believe .... I'm just brute forcing with single instances, but I don't really mind. It's really quick to get good results rather than spending a ton of time trying to tweak algos and never having them sound as good. Anyway, best to take most advice from Will The Weirdo, RJHollins, bmanic, and a few others. They have years of experience with hardware and software, and they helped me along with Nebula and Acqua recommendations. I like to cautiously chime in now and then, but they are the ones who know best.

Am I allowed to say exactly what Azure is based on? I will say that it looks like it's based on a very flexible passive EQ made by an engineer team who keep their topologies as simple as possible but use the highest quality components money can buy. Their gear is very highly rated and if I had $50,000 dollars to drop on outboard gear, I'd buy their catalogue (and maybe after that some Undertone Audio stuff and some Horch microphones ). Anyway, if you go to Giancarlo's Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/giancarloacustica/ and scroll down just past the EMI consoles and orange Vertigo photos, you'll see a giant octopus drawing having its way with an Azure EQ.

Ahhhh... that looks *exactly* like the UAD plugin that I **LOVED** but never bought because I didn't have enough DSP!

I don't want to disclose any info I'm not supposed to, so here's a thread where G gives it away. • View topic - Product to be released in 2017 Down at the bottom, he says what it'll be and that it's a collaboration with Analog In The Box.

Oh, I was thinking the octopus was wrapped around a Massive Passive... but that thread G seems to suggest it's a Fairchild? Either way, I'd buy it.

As I understand it, he was responding to the person underneath .... The one who said, Knif! Check out Knif's website and you'll find the EQ.

By the way, AlexB and AITB have some awesome Massive Passive libraries.

I say demo them all for 30 days when Ruby is released and see what works best for you, you may be surprised at what inspires you but at least your ears will be making your decisions for you.

Try Magenta.

Sorry BUY Magenta !

Sorry to jump back to this but I’m having a sample rate crisis at the moment and have been doing extensive tests at 96khz and 44.1khz using Acqua/Nebula/Algo plug-ins.

@ zaphod , you say there shouldn’t be much difference between the different sample rates but it’s not what I’m experiencing!

I’ve been trying out Sand EQ4 again (which I own) and there is no comparison in sound quality when boosting high frequencies at 96k v 44.1k. The boosts at 96k are so much smoother - it’s a night and day difference. I’m using an Apogee Symphony I/O. Should this be the case?

Is there something wrong with my installation of the Acqua sample rates? If I work at 44.1, everything seems harsh in the high end - I could actually cry about the differences because my system is struggling at 44.1, never mind 96.

Cannot believe how much smoother Sand EQ is (even without preamps) over my Console 1 EQs and BX E & G.

Help!!

+1, being new to audio and coming from a digital background, I knew *nothing* about hardware or its history and sound evolution.

Getting AA (and then Nebula) has forced me to learn it, which has been wonderful. It's nice to actually understand the different properties, sounds and uses of various compressors, preamps and Eqs.

Big thanks to all that advise in this (and Nebula) thread, and especially Will, who has been a huge catalyst and teacher for me personally.

It's either the Knif Soma or the super ultra rare Fairchild 627. As cool as the 627 may be, the Soma is the more versatile EQ.

Once Azure is released that will bring the count of mastering equalizers quite high. For those keeping score at home (these are all unofficial):

Magenta - Manley Massive Passive
Ivory - Maselec MEA-2
Green - GML 8200
Purple - Pultec EQP-1a (vintage tube)
White - Basically a modern solid state Pultec EQP-1a.
Scarlet - Homebrew Sontec 432
Coral - SPL PQ (incomplete)
Emerald - Klein & Hummel UE1000

Amazing!

(newest updates are Crimson, Ivory, Lemon, Ruby and Azure)

Numbers in parenthesis indicate their Core engine version. For those aquas without version numbers, assume Core6 or below.

Amber (7) - Avalon AD2055 equalizer
Amethyst (10) - EQ A: Amek clone EQ, EQ B: Amek 9098r + Amek 9098 compressor + Amek 2500 & 9098 preamp options. Rupert Neve designed gear. 9098 has a smooth RND - 33609'ish flavor. (thanks @ Will The Weirdo )
Aquamarine (8) - Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor (formerly the Murano)
Azure - (not released yet) Knif Soma Mastering EQ
Blue - Chandler Germanium Tone Control

Cobalt (10) -Acustica's first dynamic equalizer. Dynamic function is switchable. Officially endorsed by the hardware maker, Luca Martegani. LM 9736 equalizer (improvement upon the Pultec EQP-1a) and the LM 9804 Compressor (Altec Lansing Feedback Compressor improvement).
Coral (9) - A hybrid mastering strip featuring an elliptical filter, transparent equalizer and a soft clipping compressor. SPL Iron mastering compressor and SPL PQ mastering equalizer inspired.
Crimson (11) - Vertigo Sound VSM-2 harmonics generator. Also Vertigo Sound VSC-2 compressor with added Asym (even harmonics) feature. This is Acustica's first featured dynamic saturation/distortion plugin.
Diamond (9 with Ultramatch & Ultrasync) - Endorsed by Luca Pretolesi. Based on a CharterOak PEQ-1 and some other hardware. (thanks @ Viking4 )

Ebony (10) - Elektromesstecknik (EMT) 140 Plate Reverb.
• E111 equalizer: EMT 111 console EQ
• E411 equalizer: EMT 411 console EQ
• E82 equalizer: Eela broadcast 82 console EQ
• D112: EMT 111 console compressor (emulation of the compressor module included in a rare mixing console built in ‘70 by German company. The original design of the desk was simple (in a good way), making it easier to maintain / modify.)
• D277: EMT compressor/limiter 277 (a rare compressor, fairly transparent sound of many ‘70s and early ‘80s records.It’s characterized by a good line preamp inside.)
• D473: Neumann U473 or U473a compressor.
• D82: Eela broadcast 82 console EQ (Compressor module emulation of a rare/vintage Dutch “heavy duty” mixing desk.The company founded in 1975 is recognized as one of the companies who has been dedicated to developing, manufacturing and supplying professional audio products to the Radio Broadcast Industry.)
• Filters E118 are recreated and modeled after EMT filters 118
• Preamps: E111, E411, D112, D277, D82/S (stereo), D473/S Thank you Will the Weirdo for filling in the Ebony gaps...this one was tough!

Emerald (7) - Custom built hardware, loosely inspired by the Klein & Hummel UE 1000 equalizer. The curves practically have the same unique slope as the UE-1000, but the center frequencies are different and the active part of the circuit is more modern/cleaner
Gold (9 with Ultramatch/sync) - 4 Neve equalizers (1066, 33122, a homebrew DIY 1073 clone and an EMI-Neve 1093 which is a 1081 with Marinair transformers) and 2 Neve compressors (2252 and 2254). Neve console inputs/outputs. Plus a variety of tube preamps. The 8254 pre emulation includes a Neve 1272 line amp. 1960s/early 70s era hardware.

Green (7)- George Massenburg Labs Model 8200 equalizer aka GML8200
Honey (7) - 1970s era Harrison 32C equalizer + Harrison console preamp
Ivory (10) - Maselec MEA-2 equalizer (IAE2, year 2017 model), Maselec MLA-4 (Mac-3, multiband compressor/limiter), COMP 1B is a single band derivative of the MLA-4, DynEQ is a dynamic eq derived from MEA-2 & Comp 1B and DynEQ Stereo is a dynamic eq derived from IVORY3 STEREO and
Comp 1B.
Lemon (11) - The first Acqua delay. Features a huge collection of saturation flavors including Eventide Orville,
Lexicon PCM 70, Electro Harmonix Memory Man, Nagra 4.2,
Echoplex and Roland Space Echo 201. (thanks @ SameOh , more listed at https://www.gearslutz.com/board/12904103-post9304.html). It is the first Acqua to use Core 11 technology.
Lime (9 with Ultrasync/match) - A combination of modern AMS Neve gear. A = VR B = 88RS. C/D = 8051 5.1 Surround Compressor/Limiter E = FJ V Series Channel Strip Preamp F is a Neve 1073.

Magenta (7) - Manley Labs Massive Passive equalizer
Murano - Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor (now called Aquamarine)
Navy (7) - 2000s era Neve 1073 reissue preamp. Neve 1081 EQ reissue circuit. Unknown Neve console line outputs.
Ochre - Free Acustica Audio homebrew equalizer, inspired by the Scientific Audio Electronics (SAE) 2800 equalizer. Features a bridged-T topology (like a Sontec 432), modern opamps and a Sowter output transformer.
Orange - Orban 672A

Pearl (9 with Ultramatch/sync)- Siemens ELA 75-15 Universal Equalizer and Auso-Siemens ELA 75-16 Compressor/Limiter. Just like the hardware, sales for this plugin are limited. The closest plugin to this that is for sale without limitation is the Emerald, as this was Siemens' response to the UE100/UE1000 mastering equalizers.
Pink (8) - API 512c preamp. modified API 550A/550B equalizers with API 2500 compressor (no Thrust [pink female gender button] variables)
Pink 2412 and 7236 (8) - The 2412 is a API 2500 compressor with modifications. 7236 is a triple Pink Multiband Compressor. Various crossover filters from TubeTech SMC 2B, Masalec MLA-3/4 and a custom filter by Acustica.
Purple P-1 (8) - Pultec EQP-1A
Purple M-5 (8) - Pultec MEQ-5

Red - Free plugin. Joemeek VC5 Meequalizer
Ruby (11) - (not released yet) Officially licensed D. W. Fearn VT-4 and VT-5 equalizers.
Sand (9 with Ultrasync) - Solid State Logic 4000 G+ (Ea, black knob) and 5000 (Eb, brown knob) equalizer + SSL G Series Master Buss compressors (2 flavors)
Scarlet MHE-400 (8) - Homebrew Sontec 432 inspired (close to the original, cleaner sounding)
Tan (8) - IGS Audio Multicore Compressor (one band)

Titanium (9 with Ultramatch)- Tube-Tech SMC 2B Multiband Compressor
Ultramarine (9) - Fairchild 670
Versatile - A hybrid between Amber and Green
White (8) - White Sound Mastering WSM PEQ-2.0 (solid state equalizer inspired by the Pultec EQP-1A)



Found at Prime Studio(R) - Plug-ins (before sure to switch the language to English on the top right side)

(thanks @ Avgatzeblouz for the following information)

Black Series
Black EQ - Apparently a mixture of several devices (guesses : Neve 2068 and/or Neve 1077)
Black Comp - Again, could be a mixture, but smells a lot like a Neve 32264a or Neve 83065, with the addon of different attack times if it is the 32264a, and the lack of 3 release times (100ms and Auto 1&2)
- Black limiter : The limiter section of the 32264a or 83065, or a mixture of both.

Caribou Series - Elements from the Neve 8016 console (previously owned by Caribou ranch):
- Caribou Mix : Neve 1064 input + output stage + Eq
- Caribou Filter : Hi pass + Low pass filters + Input stage (preamp) of the Caribou Mix
- Caribou comp : Neve 2254/A pair of compressors from the same console.

Charly - Tube-Tech SSA 2B Stereo summing amplifier (thanks @ BearOnGuitar )

Hubbard Squash - Possibly a GML Nova Research Series 7000 Preamp / EQ Module. Very hard to figure out.

Sparkle Series - All elements from an EMI TG 12345 Mark IV/Q console :
- Prime Curve : Eq
- Prime Comp : Compressor
- Prime Mix : input + output stage of 6 different channels (includes Hipass filter and bass Eq)




Core7: First released with Navy in October 2015. Major CPU and RAM usage enhancements. Zero latency plugins made possible.

Core8: First released with Amethyst and Pink in April 2016. Further computer performance enhancement and major compressor behavior progress. ShMod feature introduced with Pink2412.

Core9: First released with Sand in September 2016. Introduced Ultrasync technology for the equalizers (error minimization) along with internal routing controls. AAX performance enhancements. Since Titanium2's December 2016 release, compressors have Ultramatch technology. Ultramatch minimizes digital compression curves errors

Core10 (aka Core X): Cobalt was the first to officially receive the Core X engine. It provides faster compression timings for more accurate hardware emulation. A multi-input system. CPU savings with a blending algorithm that reduces the number of instances. The plug-in signal no longer exceeds +3 dB.
There's also a new hard clipping algorithm.

Core11: - Introduction of new Delay and Pre-delay modules.
- Implementation of High Efficiency Symmetric & Asymmetric Saturation Modeling (SASM), a high performance saturation algorithm/harmonic distortion modeling characterized by a significantly smaller number of digital artifacts.

Giancarlo's post has more technical details about the Core engines: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/12119768-post18.html


I probably made a few mistakes. Feel free to copy/paste and correct! The vast majority of these are user speculation and have never officially been verified by Acustica Audio.

Thanks for the kind words guys, I was blessed to learn from some very talented people in some of the top studios, and I'm just attempting to pay it forward when I can.

Doom, you're awesome -- bookmarked this... thank you!!!

That Prime/Sparkle EMI console is mighty tempting... anyone try it yet? Didn't know we had 3rd party Acqua plugs!

I think Acustica makes them and Prime sells them. Please correct me if I am wrong, Giancarlo!