Is the Trident A-Range worth it?

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Skullture
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31 Aug 2016

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I haven't seen people mentioning this rack extension a lot on this board. But when I'm browsing the store, this pops up sometimes and I'm very curious. I was wondering who's using this EQ here. I kinda like EQ with coloration like the Kuassa MP5 ,which has been a go to since i bought it. It's easier to buy and try the Kuassa stuff since it's a lot cheaper. So even in case I wouldn't end up using the MP5, I wouldn't have regret it that much. I'm about to hit the try button for the Trident to find out myself, but any impressions would definitely help out.

Anyway, so this question goes out to the owners/people who tried it. What do you think of the Trident? Is it worth getting/the price? (especially now it's the moment of sales)

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Loque
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31 Aug 2016

The Trident aims vocals and instruments, not like MP5 is for mastering. You can improve a sound or vocal pretty fast with Trident to make it more clear, dark, soft or whatever. The saturation is also great, but it may be similar to Saturation Knob.

If you record vocals, instruments like guitars you should give it a try.

Also note, that it simulates the real device, that means it creates additional frequency changes on some slider changes and frequency selections.

For EQ correction its not the first one to go, than rather check GQ7.
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Skullture
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31 Aug 2016

Loque wrote:The Trident aims vocals and instruments, not like MP5 is for mastering. You can improve a sound or vocal pretty fast with Trident to make it more clear, dark, soft or whatever. The saturation is also great, but it may be similar to Saturation Knob.

If you record vocals, instruments like guitars you should give it a try.

Also note, that it simulates the real device, that means it creates additional frequency changes on some slider changes and frequency selections.

For EQ correction its not the first one to go, than rather check GQ7.
I didn't know it wasn't targeted for the master bus. Because that's the impression I got first.

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O1B
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31 Aug 2016

I just received an email informing me SofTube's Console 1 ships in late September. Wish I had it yesterday, but I can hang.
I may have to get the VST version of SofTube's plugs so I can control them there, but in Reason, SofTube's REs are easy to map.

About Trident. After careful gain staging, the the power of this EQ is apparent. Without it, you'll think it "Harsh."
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The poly-HP and LP filters makes for some tight bass; and, there's no better EQ, IMO when it comes to soulful deep VOX. It's hard to get more "analog" sounding in a digital EQ… and the AIR (8, 10, 12, and/or 15kHZ**) it adds is pretty nice.

In my experience : if your digital recording (vox/etc) or synth is resonating all over the place or is already sounding shrill, it won't react well to Trident unless it's treated first (Selig De-esser, 31 band EQ, Tilt, - or a Trident! in series)


btw, Softube is Solid. You should have their full package by now. …don't forget… CV control when then time comes.
The A-Range plug-in from Softube is the first and only native plug-in that has been fully endorsed by original designer Malcolm Toft and Trident Audio.
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tobypearce
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31 Aug 2016

I do think this is a truly excellent EQ. It's different from a lot of the other ones in that the different bands interact a lot with each other, so you can end up with something very musical.

It has been my go to EQ for the past year since I bought it in the last sale. It was more expensive that others but I don't regret it at all.
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dana
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31 Aug 2016

This is the EQ that you hear all over those old Elton John records, its a very natural-sounding warm eq though you can push it quite far and extreme if you want to.

The saturation knob has the effect of over driving the analog mixer channel on the trident desk (without having to worry about the gain), and is the most famous part about it.

The high and lowpass filters are very warm to my ears.

I have used this in the past on my mastering chain to add presence and remove mud from a mix.

All in all its a creative mixing tool, its one of those ones where you use your ears to see what sounds better to you.

As said above, this is not a surgical EQ like the GQ-7 where you can notch off multiple resonances.

I would buy the mixing and mastering rig, this is included with a load of other useful plugins.. if you can afford it.

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selig
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31 Aug 2016

dana wrote:This is the EQ that you hear all over those old Elton John records, its a very natural-sounding warm eq though you can push it quite far and extreme if you want to.

The saturation knob has the effect of over driving the analog mixer channel on the trident desk (without having to worry about the gain), and is the most famous part about it.

The high and lowpass filters are very warm to my ears.

I have used this in the past on my mastering chain to add presence and remove mud from a mix.

All in all its a creative mixing tool, its one of those ones where you use your ears to see what sounds better to you.

As said above, this is not a surgical EQ like the GQ-7 where you can notch off multiple resonances.

I would buy the mixing and mastering rig, this is included with a load of other useful plugins.. if you can afford it.
You can push this EQ as much as any other digital EQ! Saturation aside its as warm an EQ as any others, assuming similar shapes. Just saying there's no magic going on here to make this EQ warmer or more natural sounding than any other with similar curves.


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jfrichards
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31 Aug 2016

selig wrote:...there's no magic going on here...
Hey Giles, guess who?

There's magic in this one. Awesome for grand piano and any orchestral instruments. Bump up the 3K for electric guitar solos - wow. So quick for demudification by lowering the 500 Hz. I don't use the saturation, for me it takes away the broad curve sparkle. I use it on my master and with any complex toned channel. Use it with a Leveler on an acoustic guitar with melodic/chordal picking and it will be ready for an album.

Neosaki
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31 Aug 2016

O1B wrote: About Trident. After careful gain staging, the the power of this EQ is apparent. Without it, you'll think it "Harsh."
Mind giving any tips in this area? How you tend to handle the signal before it reaches the Trident? I'm all about getting the most out of this device.

And yes, to the OP, I would definitely say the device is worth it. At the very least it's the coolest looking EQ in my rack :P

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selig
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31 Aug 2016

jfrichards wrote:
selig wrote:...there's no magic going on here...
Hey Giles, guess who?

There's magic in this one. Awesome for grand piano and any orchestral instruments. Bump up the 3K for electric guitar solos - wow. So quick for demudification by lowering the 500 Hz. I don't use the saturation, for me it takes away the broad curve sparkle. I use it on my master and with any complex toned channel. Use it with a Leveler on an acoustic guitar with melodic/chordal picking and it will be ready for an album.
I just mean to point out that the curves you arrive at are repeatable with other EQs. The "magic" comes from well selected center frequencies and Qs. ;)


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selig
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31 Aug 2016

Neosaki wrote:
O1B wrote: About Trident. After careful gain staging, the the power of this EQ is apparent. Without it, you'll think it "Harsh."
Mind giving any tips in this area? How you tend to handle the signal before it reaches the Trident? I'm all about getting the most out of this device.

And yes, to the OP, I would definitely say the device is worth it. At the very least it's the coolest looking EQ in my rack :P
He has to be referring to using saturation, as All EQ is "linear" with regards to level, meaning that it sounds the same with any input level.

But even then, if you're hitting it too hard you can simply lower the saturation level. :)


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O1B
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01 Sep 2016

Too much LF rolloff leaves many VOX recordings with excessive high frequency content, IMO.
And, that kind of "cut" is the norm today. While Selig is right about EQs being "volume independent," the intensities/resonances at each frequency (20Hz-20kHZ) in the recording goes a long way in effecting how Trident's bands affect the actual sound, I believe. And, yes, easy on the Saturation.

(1) Monitor the high/low Freq content (AudioLeak, Nugen VisLM, InspectorXL, etc) . Something to get used to.
(2) Flatten the room/speaker/ear response first (ex. DEQ2496 - Great sound mgmt all-in-one):
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Consider getting hands-on with a proper real world EQ. Don't sleep on 18volt Rails. (6Band +/-18dB EQ is 9v)
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or, for some information on feedback/high rez areas, or setting the "Drop" on Rob Pappen's PUNCH just Right:
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Neosaki wrote:
O1B wrote: About Trident. After careful gain staging, the the power of this EQ is apparent. Without it, you'll think it "Harsh."
Mind giving any tips in this area? How you tend to handle the signal before it reaches the Trident? I'm all about getting the most out of this device.

And yes, to the OP, I would definitely say the device is worth it. At the very least it's the coolest looking EQ in my rack :P

EdGrip
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01 Sep 2016

dana wrote: I would buy the mixing and mastering rig, this is included with a load of other useful plugins.. if you can afford it.
If you mean the Trident A-Range, it's not included in the M&M Rig.

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mbfrancis
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04 Sep 2016

jfrichards wrote:
selig wrote:...there's no magic going on here...
Hey Giles, guess who?

There's magic in this one. Awesome for grand piano and any orchestral instruments. Bump up the 3K for electric guitar solos - wow. So quick for demudification by lowering the 500 Hz. I don't use the saturation, for me it takes away the broad curve sparkle. I use it on my master and with any complex toned channel. Use it with a Leveler on an acoustic guitar with melodic/chordal picking and it will be ready for an album.
^ This. I love Trident for grand piano and electric guitar. I stopped using it on the Mixbus after this discussion: http://www.reasontalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7492089 - which revealed that the bands effected each other in unpredictable ways. I've since got the MP5 which has a really nice high end. The other controls scare me lol. Selig is right that there's no magic, it's just easier to get to musical results with the bands a Q settings.
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ionly
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05 Sep 2016

I slap it on EVERYTHING. Pull the trigger - your ears will love you

estuary
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12 Feb 2021

so... 5 years later, is the Trident A-Range worth it ?

I could see it's on sale : USD 87 instead of USD 199, interesting...!

chaosroyale
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12 Feb 2021

It's literally just an EQ with saturation. If you love the particular feel of its saturation (demo it!!!!!), and really get on with the GUI and default EQ curve settings, helping you to work fast and smoothly, then it is worth the money.

Personally, I think softube overprice all their plugins to an absolutely laughable degree. Try A/B-ing it with Selig's saturating EQ, or even, say, the free PTEq-X "pultec" type EQ from ignite amps, and see which ones make a difference in your workflow.

Never forget that Fabfilter Pro-Q3 (one of, if not the, de facto standard professional EQ) list price is about 180 bucks at plugin boutique - lower than the list price of the Softube - and I abso-fucking-lutely guarantee that you can dial in the same EQ curves on the fabfilter in a matter of seconds thanks to its great interface. And any other kind of curves you like. Here is the thing with Fabfilter; you also get dynamic EQ, as many bands as you like, any kind of filter shape you can think of, and an amazing vizualizer.

I am always very suspicious of "magic" EQ plugins being sold for a lot of money. If they really have a very distinct "character", then they are not a general-purpose EQ - and that is fine, but think about how much you will use a special-case EQ, and think about the other channel strips, preamps or overdrives you have already that might do a similar job. If they don't have a distinct character, then they are just another EQ, and should have the kind of usability and feature set of Fabfilter and similar modern pro EQs.
estuary wrote:
12 Feb 2021
so... 5 years later, is the Trident A-Range worth it ?

I could see it's on sale : USD 87 instead of USD 199, interesting...!

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