OffsetGuitars.com

Not sure if anyone has ever used these before, but if not, take a look into them. Some years ago I wanted to play around with shimmer reverb and the Valhalla Shimmer certainly was a lot cheaper than a Blue Sky, different form factor of course but it worked for me.

https://valhalladsp.com

I came to notice over time how good sounding the shimmer reverb was, I mean if you don't like that effect don't get it, but my point is that it's just a very good sounding plug in. I fairly recently got the delay, also excellent, and might pick up the other reverbs also. They sell them at a flat $50 apiece, and they have a great, usable and functional design aesthetic on top of being simply very, very good sounding plug ins.

Also I had been watching some of those Paul Davids videos that people are talking about on here, he's a great resource and he features the Valhalla Vintage Verb on his videos as his quick go-to reverb. And I think I'll follow suit.

Anyway, just a heads up.

They're very good yes. I have the basic Room (now I use Softube). But their minimalistic interfaces, I just can't get over them.

Thanks for that Larry. They look good, and I see they have a few free plug ins too (of slightly more out there effects perhaps..?)

Nick and the Noise wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:36 am

They're very good yes. I have the basic Room (now I use Softube). But their minimalistic interfaces, I just can't get over them.

Softube is also good, a good company as well. They sent out a survey and I took it, then reached out directly with some thoughts I had for their Amp Room (a very good product). Someone fairly high up in the company responded to me directly which I certainly appreciated. I am planning to get some more of their stuff as well.

Regarding Valhalla, I like their interfaces, it's easy to see that they are going for a less is more concept and I appreciate that they aren't trying to make it look like some kind of 60's era hardware interface. I can imagine it's not for everyone, but I do appreciate that they consider how quickly you will be able to dial in the sound you are looking for with their interfaces.

Bradley-Jazz wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:41 am

Thanks for that Larry. They look good, and I see they have a few free plug ins too (of slightly more out there effects perhaps..?)

Yeah, they have a few of their plug ins for free, probably some of the more esoteric offerings that might be fun creatively but won't be a go-to product for mixing on a day to day basis. No reason not to give them a try, though- that Super Massive looks like it could be fun.

Valhalla makes some great stuff and their pricing model is amazing.

I'm happy to see Softube mentioned though- boy, do they ever make some nice stuff. I have a Console 1 and can't say enough good things about that company. The industry would be in a better place if there were more companies like them.

mbene085 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 8:28 am

Valhalla makes some great stuff and their pricing model is amazing.

I'm happy to see Softube mentioned though- boy, do they ever make some nice stuff. I have a Console 1 and can't say enough good things about that company. The industry would be in a better place if there were more companies like them.

I’ve wanted this setup for some time, now.

Telliot wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:08 pm

I’ve wanted this setup for some time, now.

That's the setup I've got, minus that particular wooden holder. Still getting to know it but already super happy with it.

I'm currently designing my new studio, and haven't picked/built a desk yet, so I didn't want to commit to having them one above the other. I'm kinda liking them side by side but that obviously takes up more surface area of the desk.

The whole marriage of a software/hardware ecosystem at a reasonable price point and that isn't tied to a single DAW is the kind of thing that feels like someone should have already thought of. I wish it had deeper integration with Logic, but my understanding is that the issue lies on Apple's end, not Softube's. It inspired me to check out Studio One, which does allow full integration.

mbene085 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:29 pm

I wish it had deeper integration with Logic, but my understanding is that the issue lies on Apple's end, not Softube's. It inspired me to check out Studio One, which does allow full integration.

This was going to be my next question. All these seem either completely dedicated to Pro Tools or to none at all, which is what's kept me from taking the plunge so far. To be honest, I'm doing fine working ITB, but it would be nice to have a more tangible relationship with my sessions.

Telliot wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:39 pm

This was going to be my next question. All these seem either completely dedicated to Pro Tools or to none at all, which is what's kept me from taking the plunge so far. To be honest, I'm doing fine working ITB, but it would be nice to have a more tangible relationship with my sessions.

Studio One, Ableton, Cubase and Reaper have full integration, meaning that fader or output knob movements correlate 1:1 to the DAW faders, selecting a track on the hardware highlights and selects it in the DAW, naming a track in the DAW applies that name to the track in the C1 plugin's view, etc.

In Logic, changing output on Console 1 changes the output of the plugin, not the actual fader, so you can totally mess up a mix if you add a plugin downstream of it and then try to change the track level, etc, and it doesn't auto-name all your tracks in the C1 plugin to match your names in the DAW track window. PT is the same way, but with even more bugs like that.

I have been a Logic user for ages but trying out the C1 made me want to use it to its full potential. I always wanted to try out Studio One and this was my incentive to finally do so. I can understand why Avid refuses to let them fully integrate it (have to keep selling those high-priced S-series controllers), but it's weird that Apple won't let them do it, since they don't make any competing hardware.

I've been all in on studio one since it came out, basically. It's as good as anything out there, and it's more intuitive for a lot of people than other programs. I have the original faderport controller that presonus made, and I gotta say, it's refreshing to just plug your controller in and have it just work. I'd been fighting with various DAWs and mapping things with it, and when Studio One came out, that all went away. At some point, I'm sure I'll get the souped up version with more faders, because that would obviously be pretty nice.

And I'll chime in about softube as well. I have their FET compressor and the A range EQ, and I love them both. The funny thing about the EQ is how easy it is to dial in a good sound with it, which is good and bad. When I first got it and was playing around, it became immediately clear that you can do something totally weird, backwards, and wrong with your EQing decisions and somehow, it still sounds good even when all logic, history, and expert opinion says it should sound like farts. So it's a great EQ if you want to just make an odd sounding, heavily effected "character" instrument in your mix. But if you're learning to mix, you're liable to develop some weird mixing habits with it, I would think. Anyway, it's hard to get a bad sound with it, and that's pretty neat.

Studio One is very good... I had a license up until version 2, then I let it lapse. Not through any fault of Studio One but only because I kind of crystalized around Logic, the workflow of which I am very fast and good at.

I should look into more Softube stuff... I only have that feedback plug in of theirs, which is OK.

Larry Mal wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:14 am

Studio One is very good... I had a license up until version 2, then I let it lapse. Not through any fault of Studio One but only because I kind of crystalized around Logic, the workflow of which I am very fast and good at.

I should look into more Softube stuff... I only have that feedback plug in of theirs, which is OK.

If you only buy a single one of their plugins, make it Harmonics. It goes on sale for 60-70% off every now and then, and it's probably the easiest to use and best sounding analog-emulated saturation plugin I've ever heard.

They have a generous demo policy. Give it a try for a couple of weeks and buy it on sale. It's killer.

Well, I'm still using version 2 of Studio One, so. I'm at a point where everything is plenty good enough, and the added features in subsequent versions don't really mean much because I'm just not that sophisticated a user. It's not like software didn't sound good a few years ago, or that they somehow don't still sound good now. I guess I've become one of those people who still run their business on the same Mac classic and software they've had for 30 years. And it's fine. If I can't make things sound good with Studio One and older versions of plugins, it's not the software's fault.

I've been on an Eventide reverb package a while now. (ultrareverb, blackhole, sp2016). Unexpectedly i mostly use the sp2016. Given i've not really explored what verbs are around (other than a stock melda convolution loader) I probably should soon, only getting these as 'easier than hooking up an eventide pedal'. that said they are good and not actually that expensive on the rental.

Was getting interesting in Kush and Kazrog True Iron, the latter i've got and seems quite magical saturation that can't really be dialed wrong. The former, another thing i noticed a full rental subscription was very cheap, and i like his videos (that skip to the non-technical, emotional point of mixing) - comparable saturation flavours.