31 Dec 2015
If I remember right, there is also to be expected a "Bright Sale" (cant remember the actual name of it, but yes, PH do have the intention for a few sales per year, so I do not think this is "get it now or wait till next christmas". So, as these are quite expensive even with 50% off, I would recommend to get one or two at a time. In worst case, you might have to wait until early summer sale. So its all about how fast you need something.
I have not used FET in a long time since MCDSP compressors, as they are lighter on DSP. But that does not mean FET is not needed. It is great on drumbus and on lead vocals. They give an edge and fullness. Closest soundwise in the MCDSP is the Moo comp, but FET is more capable, flexible, fast, fuller and is of another level of capacity. I would hesitate to talk about sounding better or not, as it´s that you can do a lot more and push it harder, like the frog but in a more sophisticated way. Frog IMO is a better version of MClass compressor, and FET is like all MCDSP in one but with more control and a notch up in exclusiveness. Softube saturation knob has similar character in some way, so a cheap solution could be the MCDSPs in kombination with Saturation knob.
In the end its all about taste, as with Softube algoritmic reverb, it´s really versatile and clean, but it is not a must have.
For the ordinary listener, a good song is at least 40%, a good performance and sound is a at least 30%, a nice and balanced mix is like 20%, mastering 5% and rest 4% is the package and presentation. All these varies between differens peeps but just to give a perspective, I guess issue of "one plugin before the other" is in all maybe 1% of importance for the reciever of the final result. But for the mixer, producer or artist a nice plugin can inspire and ease the chain of production so that the listener gets a better experience in the end result. So it could be more important in a creative and workflow way, than in the actual final sound. But it probably wont make the difference as most can hear on their standard headphones/speakers. Still we mix it to sound as good as possible on also a high end hifi-system, exclusive headphones or bigger sound systems. Most experienced producers wont be able to pinpoint if you used Softube reverb or another, as long as you as a producer know what balance you are after. Some plugins might speed up this workflow or make us be able to control the effect better by the way they are designed, some stock devices may need more tweaking and tricks to get to the same lushness as the other.
I have thought of buying Trident but think I wait a while, as I think it is one of the devices one can live without. It seems nice to have and smooth sound and lovely design, but probably no one but myself will notice any difference with that in the rack or using other things. But if that beauty would make my mixing experience enhanced and more enjoyable, well, that can be a good thing too. But is it needed before releasing a mastered track to Spotify? No. But please, correct me if you are of another standpoint.
If one is on the top of mixing and really really good at the craft, some exclusive devices might probably make you a favour and bring a bit of new life.
Softube are mainly aimed at that sphere. Most of us hobby users do can get our mixes better with some devices, but for most part what we need is more experience, better monitoring (really accurate headphones), and none of the Softube can save us from that. That said, I still must admit that FET was one of the first RE:s I bought and as not so experienced, it did open up my eyes to the vast world of compressors. The stock MClass is functional, but FET was really inspiring to use. So, its not all for the pro, it can show a quality that one did not even think of (if not working in an bid studio with different levels of compressors). MClass is more like an Alesis standard, it does its work. FET shape the sound character in a good way. But Saturation knob might be enough for many to add that.
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2.2.4 | Ableton Live Suite 10.1| MPC Software 1.9.6 | Photoshop CC 2019 | Novation Impulse 49 | Nektar Impact LX 49
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