Reverb & Compression bundle for Pro Tools LE

[nuemes]

Reverb & Compression bundle for Pro Tools LE

So, I need as high quality software reverb and compression I can afford for Pro Tools LE. Budget is absolutely no more than $500. This is for use at mixdown. This is for a G5 Mac, fully up to date.

I’ve found 3 bundles that combine reverb and compression:

1. Pro Tools Music Production Toolkit: $495, includes TL Space convolution reverb and Smack compressor (plus MP3 option and 48 tracks)
2. McDSP Project Studio Pack: $495, includes “light control versions” of Revolver LE Reverb, CompressorBank LE (Plus Analog Channel LE, Chrome Tone LE, FilterBank LE, ML4000 LE limiter, Synthesizer One LE)
3. Waves Renaissance Maxx Native Bundle: $449 includes IR-L Convolution Reverb ‘Light’, Renaissance Reverberator, Renaissance Compressor (plus Renaissance Channel, Renaissance Equalizer, Renaissance Vox, Renaissance Bass, Renaissance DeEsser)

I have not used any of these before and have no idea which is a higher quality reverb or compressor than the other. If you’ve used any of these please advise your experience.

To give you an idea, my current software reverb is the generic one that comes with Pro Tools LE. Outboard reverb is a Yamaha REV500. For compression I have the PTLE generic compressors (version III) and the Bomb Factory freebies (which are entirely unimpressive compared to my outboard RNC & Joe Meek MC2).

If you have any other recommendations outside of these packages I’m all ears. Note again, I really just need a good quality (read: it does not muddy the sound as crummy software plugs can do) software reverb and compressor, under $500 combined.

[inmyheartx]

I bought the Waves Renaissance pack and I love it. Great Verb, great compressor. =]

[jonnyc]

I think you can download a 15 day demo of the mcdsp stuff, you should definately do that. My short experience with mcdsp plugs made me really wish I had the cash to throw down on the entire bundle.

[scrouch]

Download demos for McDSP and Waves RenMaxx. I like the waves stuff more than the LE versions of the McDSP plugins. RenEQ and DeEsser are also really good to have. I was going to pick up RenMaxx but ended up getting Gold instead. I was a big fan of the Ren Reverb but am also starting to like IR-L a lot. Waves has a ton of impulse responese you can download or order free on DVD when you pick up the RenMaxx bundle (or other bundles with IR-L in it). There is a good variety as well as emulations of classic hardware reverbs. All these plugins are fine on a G5. I'm just using an iMac 2Ghz G5 with Pro Tools M-Powered and don't have any issues.

[scrouch]

Also, I think the Production Toolkit is a ripoff for what you get. Unless you need the extra tracks, and your computer can handle it (Pro Tools will still only let you get to 85% CPU in LE with the production tool kit), it's really not worth it. For $50, 7.3 is a better upgrade and comes with the MP3 option if you need it.

[foreverain4]

fwiw, i bought the music production toolkit only for the extra tracks. i found it for $399 at altomusic.com. i told guitar center and they matched the price. i did not know much about the other plugins that came with it, but tlspace and smack le are now staples in my pro tools le diet.. i really love smack, it is extremely versatile. it can be used on anything. i also love tlspace. you can get anything from natural room reverbs to hairy springs. i think $500 is maybe a bit too much for the MPT, but $400 is not bad at all for this bundle. plus you get the extra tracks as a bonus, and hybrid, which i have also ended up useing quite a bit....

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by scrouch

Also, I think the Production Toolkit is a ripoff for what you get. Unless you need the extra tracks, and your computer can handle it (Pro Tools will still only let you get to 85% CPU in LE with the production tool kit), it's really not worth it. For $50, 7.3 is a better upgrade and comes with the MP3 option if you need it.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this one.
You get 5 plugins, all which total well over 500 (DINR LE is 500 by itself!), the MP3 option, extra tracks and multitrack BD. I think it's a great deal if you really plan on using all those items.
And since when did 7.3 start shipping with the MP3 option?

[scrouch]

Ahh, you're right, I picked up the MP3 option from Digidesign the same day I got 7.3. Think it was $19.95. Sorry about that.

I'm not a huge fan of the plugins it comes with, at least for the price. Digidesign lists crazy prices for it's individual plugins on it's site but they really aren't worth that if you look around. For example, Maxim is listed at $445, but it comes included in the $99 Producer Factory Bundle. DINR is listed at $495 on digidesign's site but that doesn't mean it's worth it or that it's $400 better than even Soundsoap. I guess it depends on what people are using the software for and what their system is like. With the 85% cpu cutoff in pro-tools LE and M-powered I don't think most people can make use of the extra tracks so I don't see it as being a big advantage. I was thinking of buying it but took at look at what it could really add to my setup compared to what I needed and what the cost of similar products were and didn't think it was worthwhile. Unless you really need noise reduction and a drum replacer I find bundles like RenMaxx to be a better deal overal.

[scrouch]

I forgot to mention this, it won't help you with the reverb but it's worth checking out. Have a look at Massey Plugins. The basic versions are free and the upgraded ones are pretty cheap. At least worth downloading the basic versions to check out.

[SonicAlbert]

Right, the Steve Massey plugins are incredible. They just sound right and work extremely well in a mix. They are inexpensive, too. My favorites are Tape Head, the L2007 limiter, CT4 compressor, and VT3 eq. Okay, four out of his five plugins are my favorites!

You could pick up a few of those plus the WaveArts Masterverb5 and be on your way in style.

Don't feel that you have to buy all the plugins in a bundle. I prefer to cherry pick my favorite plugins from various different developers.

Two other plugins I find pretty essential are PSP Audioware's Vintage Warmer 2, and their MasterQ. But I use the Massey stuff a lot more at this point.

[scrouch]

I've heard a lot of people talking about the Vintage Warmer but have never used it. Think I'll download the demo to try out. Good point on not needing to get full bundles as well. Ren Reverb is $200 from Waves so you could get that for reverb and find a compressor you like, possibly from Massey or PSP. Final cost would be well under your budget.

Another thing you could check out if you're just looking for reverb and compression is izotope Ozone 3. It has some other features as well. I actually haven't used the reverb in it much so I can't really say how good that section of it is. But it also has equalizing, multiband compression and limiting. There should be a demo you can download from the izotope website to see if it'll do what you need. The price is listed at I think $250usd but I got it bundled with Trash and Spectron for around $300. Ozone is a little processor hungry but works fine on a G5.

[scrouch]

Speaking of PSP plugins, have you used PSP Neon much? I'm thinking of picking up a linear phase EQ.

[nuemes]

Originally Posted by SonicAlbert

Right, the Steve Massey plugins are incredible. They just sound right and work extremely well in a mix. They are inexpensive, too. My favorites are Tape Head, the L2007 limiter, CT4 compressor, and VT3 eq. Okay, four out of his five plugins are my favorites!

You could pick up a few of those plus the WaveArts Masterverb5 and be on your way in style.

Don't feel that you have to buy all the plugins in a bundle. I prefer to cherry pick my favorite plugins from various different developers.

Two other plugins I find pretty essential are PSP Audioware's Vintage Warmer 2, and their MasterQ. But I use the Massey stuff a lot more at this point.

The Massey plugs appear to be very reasonable. How often do you guys use them compared to other compressors/limiters/eq's you have? Any muddiness from them or sound degredation such as on the free PT plugs?

[noisewreck]

Can't stand the Renaissance Reverb, too grainy and metallic for my tastes, but the Renaissance Compressor is pretty decent. Neither is worth the money.

[nuemes]

Originally Posted by noisewreck

Can't stand the Renaissance Reverb, too grainy and metallic for my tastes, but the Renaissance Compressor is pretty decent. Neither is worth the money.

This is what I'm concerned about; someone is recommending a reverb that someone else finds "too grainy and metallic" - that is exactly what the ProTools free reverb is like and exactly what I do not want. I don't care about being under budget - I care about as much sound quality as I can afford (in this case for reverb about $400). If it's less than that, great, but it's got to sound as excellent as $400 will get. I basically just need a very good sounding room reverb for vocals and drums for retro rock & jazz: no cathedrales, reverse reverbs, special effects, etc.


I'm going to check out the Massey stuff tonight; it seems as though most people are on the same page about the Massey plugs. Not so sure about the reverb though.

The IK multimedia reverb (CSR) is looking good from what I've read here and elsewhere; priced at $400 it's also more reasonable than Altiverb, which appears to set the standard for PTLE reverbs. Anybody else jump in regarding ProTools Mac reverb at $400 or less?

[noisewreck]

Let me put it this way. I've tried a bunch of software reverbs (including convolution ones). And you know what I do? I still shuttle audio through my K2600's KDFX reverbs when I want reverb, specially ones with long tails on percussive sounds (this is where pretty much all software reverbs fall on their backs and croak as far as I am concerned).

The convolution reverbs that I've heard are: Waves IR-1, Voxengo Pristine Space, SIR. Of these Pristine Space is probably the better sounding, plus you can load up to 8 (I think) Impluse Responces and run your audio through them in series or parallel, plus it's got those envelopes that allow you to do some funky stuff if you like that sort of thing. Waves IR-1 is probably the worst sounding of them all. For the money, I'd say download SIR and get some damn good Impulse Responces and see what you think. SIR is free.

However, the convolution reverb that's part of Native Instruments' Kontakt 2 sampler kills the above three (yep, they all sound different on the same exact IRs). The Kontakt 2 Convolution reverb has a velvety smooth sound where the others sound like tin cans in comparison.

However, I still find myself using the K2600 reverbs a heck of a lot more than any of the convolution stuff.

[SonicAlbert]

I still use hardware reverbs as well. Don't even have a reverb plugin, as I've never been completely satisfied by them. The hardware reverbs I use are: TC M3000, Lexicon PCM-91, Eventide Princeton 2016, Kurzweil KSP8, Klark-Teknik DN780, and Roland SRV-2000.

As far as the Massey plugins, I haven't found much of anything to complain about. They sound great, make it easy to mix, and I find myself using them all the time. Tape Head is fantastic!

[giraffe]

i use massey plugs a lot as well.

and as for waves stuff (which i like) i'd say get the native power pack rather then the rennesance.

IMO and all that.

[charger]

McDSP is the best overall compression tool I've found. There are some nice things about the URS 1970, 1975, and 1980 compressor plugins, but not IMO enough to justify their costs. For reverb, get the fxpansion VST-to-RTAS adapter ($99) and use Ambience (free). Best reverb around that is decent on CPU and highly configurable.

[Raw-Tracks]

I'd skip the Waves bundle, the RenVerb isn't that great, in my opinion. I do have both the Digi Music Production Kit and the McDSP Project pack. I would recommend the McDSP pack for you. You're looking for good reverb and good compression, the McDSP pack has both and then some. The TL space reverb is excellent, I love it. Butm Smack is not what I would consider a good all around compressor. It will be great on some things, and not so great on others. I the the McDSP comp will be more versatile for you. You'll also get some excellent EQ.

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by Raw-Tracks

I'd skip the Waves bundle, the RenVerb isn't that great,

true verb is the better of the 2 by far.

(though i'd rather have a pcm 91)

[Foo-bu]

i just bought the DV toolkit bundle for pro tools and I've gotta say that the TL space reverb is wicked. plus having the extra tracks available to you is killer. it has saved me so many times already. and smack is a killer compresser too. for the price of the MP toolkit, i dont think you can beat it.

Originally Posted by giraffe

i use massey plugs a lot as well.

and as for waves stuff (which i like) i'd say get the native power pack rather then the rennesance.

IMO and all that.

Just curious why you'd choose the native over the renaissance? I use their renaissance reverb and I love it. It's good for making things just sound good or for simulating a real acoustic space.

GlaceVerb is another good reverb plugin, it's free. Stands above all the other free ones by a mile in my opinion. Makes things sound better but isn't quite as good at simulating a real room as the Waves reverb, although it does it pretty well. It just doesn't sound as realistic.

[cello_pudding]

i've never used PT le, ...if it takes RTAS, vst, directx, audiosuite, mas...

http://vintageking.com/New-Brands/Wa...4Pa38Ta38Lahv0

it has the L1, the C1, a de-esser, 10band para, and trueverb. these are all waves plugins, of course

$375

[BRIEFCASEMANX]

Bro, forget all the rest and get Classik Studio Reverb. It's RTAS. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. IR's sound stupid IMO and take up a huge amount of cpu. Demo this one out before anything else. Do not even THINK about buying a waves reverb before this. That crap sucks, IMO, except trueverb which I found a use for with adding early reflection/ambience. The only reverb that compares to this that I've been able to try(many) is the UAD-1 plate 140 which I have, but you need a UAD-1 card for that, and it's not as versatile as it only gives you plate verb. You'll have a little extra after this and maybe those massey plugs, which I haven't tried but they are supposed to be radicool.

Do what tastes right, bro.