It wasn't easy for me to understand the functions and layout at first. But once I did, It became relative to me. The stereo width is magic.

@danworral you have been summoned

Really liked this look at the compressor, it sounds so natural! This kind of music was a really good stress test of it's natural sound.

Fantastic plug-in 💯

I love dig into new ways of pluging

Sounds great. Will be using it much more. Subtle but very effective. Very musical.

I've been using Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor and it seems very clean and transparent.

First off: Great sounding track, White Sea! The double bass and piano sound wonderful. They're two of the most difficult instruments, along with voice, to record, IMHO. This is a " knock-off" of the GML compressor but with simpler controls than the new GML plug-in version. I used the analog version, back in the day; it sounded good. But like the plug-in(s) it wasn't exactly a quick setup. Good job, as usual.

I love this plug-in... my new "secret" weapon!

AMEK = Alot Mystic Enigmatic Knobs.

@abincshaji7533

Жыл бұрын

Lmao 😂

took me a week to get my head around how it works, but once you understand its like being able to reach into the mix and dynamically adjust things u can normally reach as easily, and with the right settings you compress very VERY heavily and you're like, is it even doing anything?

cool tnks

good sample for to test this plugin. take a look at how the low end works on this plugin .. hahayyy so cool !!!!

Never tested it, but in my oppinion the SPL IRON was the best sounding compressor i ever tested, really feel like home when using it, it's so soft and gentle when used right, really in love with it

@BrofUJu

Жыл бұрын

Really love it on slower material, find time it has a hard time keeping up with really fast stuff though. Prefer the Alpha (and SSL style ones) for that.

@nambams

Жыл бұрын

It was the first digital compressor I heard that didn't make me feel like I was losing bottom end.

@lesauskis1

Жыл бұрын

SPL Iron is an amazing compressor. It is the compressor I use for the end mastering chain, because of it's transparency and subtlety. Though, this AMEK compressor added something to the energy of the music that wasn't so transparent but well-rounded and full.

@sergeyleps8492

11 ай бұрын

@@lesauskis1 SPL Iron - yes, it's good. I also use it from time to time. But (as everyone has long known) SPL Iron has a lot of aliases and artifacts. Because it was badly done (not completely fixed all the problems and did not do internal high-quality re-describing of the OS). I really like the sound of the Shadow Hill red version - it gives more depth and different colors. Why they are so enthusiastic about this compressor - which is on the video, I still do not understand. We have had an overabundance of compressor plugins for a long time - but there are fewer Good ideas / Hits.

@Bluelagoonstudios

7 ай бұрын

That was the one I fell in love with right from the bat. That was one of the SPL plugins I really bought, together with the Hawkeye, transient designer. I love to use this one on female vocals. And on soft synths. I have this one as well in my bundle, but I don't use this one much. The Amek EQ's those I use on the masterbus for mastering.

I too would love to see what this thing can do in Dan Worrall's hands.

Thanks for another great video Wytse!

This plugin shocked me today.

05:13 I haven't updated since 10.13 high sierra - it works.

Great video Wytse, I liked it a lot! 😊

I was just going to check this compressor, you read my mind 😅 😶‍🌫

I love the fact that it has zero presets. Like most Bw plugins. Completely dependent on our own ears and taste. Thats how we develop our sound. Love this compressor.

@nicknadym

Жыл бұрын

Waves with their StudioVerse proved that the lack of presets in modern plugins is nonsense. What would happen if AMEK MASTERING COMPRESSOR added presets? It would make it easier for people to work with it.

@theobnoxiousweed

11 ай бұрын

I have to admit I use presets a lot half the time because I don't know how to use it properly.

This is cool, but does it have too many knobs on it? I use the Lurssen Mastering Console plugin, it does a good job but with fewer knobs. 🎼🎵🎸🎶🎹😃

I really like this compressor & yes i don't fully understand it but basically going from green slow, yellow fast, red peak then adjusting the rel hyst if i want a faster release. Did you miss the autogain?

Ludvigsson for the win! ✨

well it obviously controles peaks upward and downward from the treshhold.. timing peaks and ratio and usuall stuff plus that extra VCA thing.. and headroom is usual feat in most BX plugs controles somthing like an input like gain staging by adjusting the relative sealing to signal input ratio.

"Ambiance" knob is for monitoring the audio that is being compressed. It's very useful.

Could you please review some plugins from JST Tones like the JST Maximizer or JST EQ or even Gain Reduction? I’d be curious on your thoughts on them!

Nice saturation box by PA could also replace PSP MasterComp.Kotelnikov GE be like: Mac OS X 10.9 or above.

This could be really useful on rap vocals

I'm liking these new Plugin Alliance sales strategies, the subscription only was too prohibitive for me... And Wytse, you released the video hours before the intro pricings are gone! XD Imma have to buy it first try it later

@trevorclover

Жыл бұрын

So far so good! Overhead mics, room mics, (proto) mastering chain, on a couple Cambridge projects. The Darude Sandstorms for my students lol

@JoshWiniberg

Жыл бұрын

I really wish more companies did this rent to own model, and with every individual product. I'd 100% have bought the UAD spark bundle if it were $100 a month instead of $600 up front. They really limit their sales options in my opinion.

@alexbreyer6921

Жыл бұрын

@@JoshWiniberg What? Spark is either $20/mo or $150/year. It's not all up front if you don't want that.

@JoshWiniberg

Жыл бұрын

@@alexbreyer6921 that's rent, not rent to own.

WSS: stop putting screws on plugins! PA: OK......

Is this thing based on the AMEK 9098 compressor/limiter?

MacOSX isn't 'the AUDIO' platform anymore. Back to Windows.. loving it.

Yes, you overlook ambience setting (ambience switch right in the centre), which really do interesting stuff. It is good mastering compressor, but really hard to understand, so as you said you need to use your ears.

You're absolutely right...we don't own these plugins only the license

@helisoma

Жыл бұрын

it's a license to own a copy of the software

we're testing out a compressor on jazzy piano?

Wow. I didn’t know American Express was in the audio business.

Have you tried the Flux Evo plugins?... they look pretty nice, at least on the looks.

No doubt the look is really nice. Curious to how the "look" or "skin" of a plug in affects its perceived sound quality to the user.

@anteshell

Жыл бұрын

I would be very surprised if it doesn't.

@Rio-uv1gs

Жыл бұрын

🤣

I use this on nearly every master. It definitely takes it up a notch but you must use restraint

Hi, can you review the new channel strip from purafied?

Yes. Once you download the software and it is on a physical medium in your physical possession, it really is yours. Even if you pirated it. Especially if you can get your hands on the source code.

@fcmas

Жыл бұрын

Not true. You only own the perpetual LICENSE to its USAGE

@pupdiogenes2548

Жыл бұрын

@@fcmas if I pirate it?? You're not listening.

@fcmas

Жыл бұрын

@@pupdiogenes2548 you're not making sense. To own software is to own its coding. You've found a way to use the software, but that still doesn't mean you own the coding

@pupdiogenes2548

Жыл бұрын

@@fcmas You're projecting. It's not that I'm not making sense, it's that you don't understand. I don't believe you are working with a rationally valid concept of "property". Property is that which one has the power to exploit exchange or destroy. Like it or not, you own the illegal copies of movies you download, even if you don't own the original. You're hung up on wanting to own the original pure version of a thing. I'm satisfied with owning a copy. You say "but you don't actually own it". Where? In your mind? In my mind I do, and my ownership of the thing doesn't interact with anyone else, so what anyone else thinks is irrelevant. Literal question: Other than inside your mind, where exactly do I not own it? In God's mind? According to the government? There is no justification for your position in reason; only in the laws of men.

very similar to TDR Kotelnikov, right? Except side chain filter is easier and more advanced, the fast timings are more transparent sounding, and the layout is novel (potentially very useful too). The saturation stage sounds perfect for a full mix.

@SoundsFromSound

Жыл бұрын

The TDR sounds much better to my ears in my testing. Adding saturation separately too. 🤙

@ampersand64

Жыл бұрын

@@SoundsFromSound I suppose my experience is pretty limited here. Thanks for sharing!

@danielwetzs9317

Жыл бұрын

TDR plugins are on a professional level, whereas bx, pa or Amek plugins might be nice for beginners or did anyone hear any improvement with Amek. No effect is considered being transparent, I see lol Well, jazz is not the best genre to showcase a mastering comp anyway

what brand studio monitors do you have?

Thank you for mentioning the OS Support subject. It's already been 6 months after MacOS Ventura has been released and plugin allaince is the only company that crashes and all the plugins are unusable. They keep coming up with new products instead of fixing it. It shows about how much they care for their clients.

@farley333

Жыл бұрын

Whelp, that's the fun part about this topic, isn't it? Apple doesn't care and Apple will break stuff so only Logic and FinalCut are working at times. That's their strategy for a long time. Now who should pay for dealing with that? Apple? Why would they do it? Developer? ...paying all the manhours needed to fixing and recompiling from their own pocket? They'd go bankrupt in few years. Customer? Whelp, we all know how we feel about subscriptions. By "Take care of us!" you essentially say "Pay your programmes to fix problems Apple intentionally caused. Indefinitely. Thank you." ...you have two options. Either stop upgrading the system or switch to Windows, because as shitty as that system is, they do care for backward compatibility. During my 15 years of producing I had ONE plugin that fell off during incompatibility. One. :)

@brusecco

Жыл бұрын

no reason to bash PA for that… that's what the info on the website is for (i mean, it clearly says "Supported Operating Systems"). i've been a PA (and brainworx before) user for over a decade, and they always were very clear about the compatibility of their software.

@matdan2

Жыл бұрын

If there is one common theme over the years with audio production, it is Mac users complaining about incompatible software, OS updates, etc. I wonder how much developer time is spent trying to keep up with Apple’s software-breaking updates. And this is for a user experience based on “It just works”. Mac users, why are you constantly updating before confirming your software, you paid for, actually works?

@brusecco

Жыл бұрын

@@matdan2 that's what i meant to say… i've been a mac-only user for 20+ years now, and i can't remember any real compatibility issues with software i bought (maybe with some trial versions of software i wanted to take a look at, but only on a second system drive i configured for the purpose of messing around/up :)).

@thekeysman6760

Жыл бұрын

@@brusecco "meant to say"? Was your other comment deleted? I've also been using Logic cross-platform since the 90s, and then as an Apple product when they bought it. I don't know how you have never encountered the problems Apple have made for music makers over the last 21 years.

Honestly speaking this is not something irreplaceable for the engineers who are not only owning PA's mega bundle. IMO bw is not doing the correct marketing things, nowadays we focus on tools that can improve our workflow, Koletnikov and Unisum can do better (may be much) than this. I do recommend users who own HD system to try PA HD plugins (they are amazing) but for users who have more options this is somewhat like a tool that "try and forget".

@ignacedhont9816

Жыл бұрын

Unisum is great!

@Chipicui

Жыл бұрын

Kotelnikov GE is a monster. It is easily on par with this Amek if it not surpasses it…

@ordinarymonster1187

Жыл бұрын

@@ignacedhont9816 true. at first i saw the price i was like "so you thinking C++ coding worths this much?" then I tried and became like "it's fking charity"

@ordinarymonster1187

Жыл бұрын

@@Chipicui Kotelnikov's independent peak/rms detection is great, and the Yin/Yang make up is a great idea. Amazing for users who do not have hi-end monitoring systems, considering the price it's like king of novice villagers

@alexbreyer6921

Жыл бұрын

Dirk and his wife recently purchased their third ocean front mansion in Florida. I think the marketing pitch is working for him.

Why does it take so long for developers to resolve issues in new MacOS versions? Because they don't have early beta access because Apple is so awesome in being secretive about everything they do. Every upgrade may involve significant changes in how MacOS handles audio, which may remove previous functionalities, which may be replaced by new fancier functionalities. I love it, when vendors send out mass e-mails to say "DON'T UPGRADE YOUR MACOS!" as a Windows user.

@timsarlos6403

Жыл бұрын

So far PA is the only company that can’t get their plugins to work on the new OS… at least for me. Maybe because they have so many 😂 Apples developer beta seems to not be enough? Maybe 🤔

@Yuusou.

Жыл бұрын

@@timsarlos6403 It's not early enough, from what I've heard at least in the past (might have changed meanwhile, who knows). Specifically, if they remove functionalities and don't provide adequate replacement, developers need to come up with better solutions. Then you need to change all the references and implementation of that piece of code you had implemented. That usually costs a lot of money. That's why companies either let it slide for a long enough time or simply release a new product of the same product family to say "Look, new shiny toy, works with new shiny MacOS, too! Buy now!". Specifically, if you have a long reaching pipeline filled with new to-be-developed products, you don't calculate all the potential troubles, that a new audio driver implementation of MacOS might bring and the time a developer needs to fix it.

@timsarlos6403

Жыл бұрын

@@Yuusou. makes sense, their needs to be better communication from Apple to companies and those companies need to reach out to the users more frequently 👌

@Mansardian

Жыл бұрын

Apple is a pain in the ass for developers. So much so that Vojtech from Meldaproduction -who knows a LOT about coding - once said slightly annoyed if you want to skip issues with compatibility... switch to PC. 😜

@timsarlos6403

Жыл бұрын

@@Mansardian I use Mac but I agree 😂😂

I must have wax in my ears because I liked the uncompressed version better. Here's a radical thought: what if a great mix neither needs nor benefits from master bus compression?

@SG-4u

Жыл бұрын

It often doesn’t need compression. Nor does this song, really. Though if you’re doing pop music you didn’t mix yourself, it’s gonna help get the loudness up in a musical way.

@JoshWiniberg

Жыл бұрын

Even the most detailed mix, that would take a lot of time, wouldn't achieve the same level of glue as a master buss compressor would with just a few seconds of tweaking. Could a mixing engineer achieve this same interaction of tracks with automation or clever sidechaining? Possibly, it depends on how much glue is needed I suppose. But I would argue that it would be inefficient use of time (and therefore a waste of clients' money).

@Ivandovich

Жыл бұрын

Agreed

@lilwombat

Жыл бұрын

I don't think it's a great mix thing it's more a song thing so always think of it's actually improving it

I hate that PA are duplicating all the controls, even if you link LR. They're doing this since forever and imho it's a complete waste of screen real estate and kills usability.

@slave138

Жыл бұрын

I get wanting to make the plugins similar to the hardware they are emulating for those people who are familiar with the hardware. But it would be nice if they offered a more efficient skin option for those who aren't trying to recreate the frustrations of dealing with the limitations of a hardware interface.

I'm interested but not $149 interested. Maybe if a deal opportunity were to arise ... Historically that's the way things go with PA.

The ambiance button let you actually hear only the pure compressed signal, try that one

@trevorclover

Жыл бұрын

Ohhhh... Is that the same thing in the SSL native drum compressor? (The name escapes my memory)

@sebastianfeldhof8323

Жыл бұрын

@@trevorclover I dont have that one. Its the same as in the amek channelstrip

@sparella

Жыл бұрын

So... The delta or something different?

thank you for this review why not rateing every plugin you review (0~10)

There is another trance track called "Sandstorm" by Darude.

I would love to know who that piano player is - would like to hear him more.

I miss Dan Worral. He's only made 1 new video in the past 5 months... He needs to come back and make content regularly again

I actually rolled the tubes in mine and it improves the sound even more. That other dude lost my subscription because of his bashing of this device. It sound a great. I’m sure a real pilot c would blow it away but I would take it for what it is. It’s great

i am choosing right now. what is better in your opinion: Amek Mastering compressor or the shadow hills class a mastering compressor? i have to choose just one. wich one do you recomand?

@odhinnswrath

Ай бұрын

Just for mastering? I would go for the Amek...I own and use both though.

Bought it yesterday and no box 😔

I haven't tried this compressor but I can atleast confirm other Plugin Alliance stuff works on the latest MacOS patch.

@SagiBraitner

Жыл бұрын

Which MacOS patch are you talking about? All brainworx and a lot of other plugin allaince plugins crash on Ventura..

@cromulentcorncommander

Жыл бұрын

@@SagiBraitner whatever the current patch is. I actually bought the brainworx SSL console last week and it works.

@SagiBraitner

Жыл бұрын

@@cromulentcorncommander i don't know what macos you on or what plugins you use, im happy it works for you 😅 Still of PA Plugins crash for me and thousands of users for 6 months.

Have you done the AMEX 200 or the TOMO Lisa eq?

@juanjavaloyes

Жыл бұрын

I'm not a big fan of PA plugins, but Amek 200 is a beast. It lives on my mixbus

@lassorb4752

Жыл бұрын

@@juanjavaloyes… so you are a big fan!

Completely off topic, but I know you use Reaper. I've installed Reaper on my brand new Mac Studio and the cursor stutters/jumps really really annoying and it makes me want to delete it immediately. Does anybody know how to fix this?

Did you see the new plugin from Acustica Audio's user interface? The knob even has scratches on it!

I would accept a Dan Worrall audit [sorry, video!] on anything

@TransistorLSD

Жыл бұрын

Dan Worrall fursuit review 💯💯💯

So what is this alien mic? 🤔

Dan callout hehe

Isnt it like koletnikov by TDR?

@DaveLennonCopeland

Жыл бұрын

TDR Kotelnikov is a cool plug for wideband dynamics processing.

@Chipicui

Жыл бұрын

Kotelnikov is THE mastering compressor. Incredibly deep approach to compression.

+1 for dan

I clicked on this because of the straightforward title.

You don't own the software. You own the license to use that particular version ONLY. Unless stated otherwise in the EULA.

Unisum is very good

Darude is stressing the compressor a lot.

it is kind of hilarious that a reviewer who always bitch about gain matching doesnt use AMEK mastering compressor's gain/loss meter to do manual gain staging. I mean, the meter is right there, quite self explanatory, and very easy to use. What's the point to review a compressor if the compressed signal is 10db louder then original. PS. Amek mastering comp is my main compressor for everything now, because you can do gain matching after compression so easily

@SG-4u

Жыл бұрын

This is because he refuses to learn about these products before he demonstrates them.

It's not a philosophical question. You don't own the software, but you have the right to use it for as long as it's/you're functional.

The Audio Oracle has been summoned.... The frequency slaves across the audio realms await with anticipation...... @Dan Worrall

seems. good idk ... NOT. snake oil lol ( i know this isnt a snake oil ep ) lol

They just send you a GIANT empty box with a QR code inside for the download link

Actually, Jazz music is supposed to be dynamic and is not compressed. If it is, it's very very very little

Dan is the Don

What we buy when we buy software like this is the right to use it. So "own it" in this context means that we own the rights to use it. (comment to your philosophical question :)

you changed the timing before using the peak and fast knobs, and than after you did, the timing was very slow. too bad, I hope you'll try it on your own time.

If a manufacturer can not make good presets for their product then they just do not understand how it works. Or he just doesn't care.

Comment for da algorithm Streak count: 132

no screwss shit we need screws so our screen won't be damaged when used hardly🤣🤣🤣

Why Jazz?🤷🏾‍♂️

PA at their lowest. They cant even give credit to the man who designed this drc. George Massenburg GML 8900. Jeees has nothing to do with Amek.

@lassorb4752

Жыл бұрын

Calm your tits down… GML 8900 has 8 knobs - this plugin has almost a million 😅

@fcmas

Жыл бұрын

They mention it's based upon hardware, but aren't permissioned to say it's name

@CLdwyer

Жыл бұрын

You’ve got a point

@tekis0

Жыл бұрын

I was going to say the same.

@retepretep3014

Жыл бұрын

@@fcmas Ohh one must wonder why...uhhh

Why is “ sandstorm by darude “ the name of every song you play but yet they are all different songs. Very confusing. You’ve used songs I wanted to look up and can’t. You should link the tracks.

@Whiteseastudio

Жыл бұрын

Shazam ;-)

@genejas

Жыл бұрын

calling every song sandstorm by darude is an old meme / internet injoke

@TheRealXira

Жыл бұрын

@Splitting Time 🤣

The real Massenburg plug-in is much cleaner than this. I’ll take the MDWDRC and get my color elsewhere.

This plug just won't do. It doesn't have enough buttons and knobs on it.

@lassorb4752

Жыл бұрын

It sounded amazing what are you talking about 🤨

The interface is quite terrible ; half of it is useless in link mode and the visualization is too small, you can see he's squinting and getting close to his monitor to see what's going on. If this was made by FabFilter the graph would take 80% of the interface and would be interactive. This one looks so busy. Also no auto-gain.

@Chipicui

Жыл бұрын

Agree. The graphic of gain reduction is ridiculously small. A pity considering that they could make it WAY bigger without any hardware constraints.

@SG-4u

Жыл бұрын

You can resize it. And there is auto gain.

@Reggi_Sample

6 ай бұрын

Tell us your a fab filter fanboy without telling us. At least get your dissimissive information right 😂

@richiefamus8778

5 ай бұрын

@@SG-4uHe’s a 🤡

@jeromejamies3641

5 ай бұрын

All PA Amek products are awful

you never own the software, you just own the rights to use it in its current guise.

Uhm... That's definitely NOT Sandstorm by Darude. I know this for sure cause Sandstorm happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time. Lame!

@zdrkp

Жыл бұрын

it really is a great song

@xanderpills

Жыл бұрын

No, it's not. It's "Sandstorms Part V" by Darude Jones Quartet

@adsm6464

Жыл бұрын

😂 best version of sandstorm yet I reckon

@DJeMo

Жыл бұрын

Your obviously new around here, buckle in.... Love you

Too complicated

useless interface

Way to complicated plugin, totally unnecessary and proper snake oil. Appreciate your review 😎👍

Dude, have you ever done a complete project with that MCI tape machine behind you? And I mean (WITHOUT USING THE COMPUTER FOR ANYTHING)... This means, full multitrack tape recording and mixing (No plugins, no transfer to computer, no editing), but work completely outside of digital. Have you tried doing a "Real Recording Session" with actual punchins/punchouts on tape? - Probably not... Digital is GREAT, but we spend too much time trying to make things sound warm and analog, when analog tape does this naturally with no effort at all... Surely, analog tape recording is inconvenient, but you spend more time crafting your song rather than trying to make it sound like tape... Why not use Tape?.. $350.00 for a brand new reel for (3) songs is not too expensive... As always, learn how to maintain and calibrate the tape machine...

@Whiteseastudio

Жыл бұрын

In the current setup, its not possible to use the MCI like that

@slave138

Жыл бұрын

I believe he mostly does mastering. The "punchins/punchouts" should have happened a long time before they get to him. The tape machine is for clients that recorded and mixed their tracks to tape.

That music?

What? You need, Intelligent Compression? You haven't figured out how to twiddle the knobs and dials correctly, yet, yourself? You need your compressor to think for you? I thought you were a real engineer? I like old-fashioned compressors and limiters. Just give me those 1176 clones and LA-3 clones. And I'm a happy camper. Okay… So some vintage DBX also. As that's all anybody needs. A couple of RMS compressors and a couple of FET limiters. And a high frequency limit mod capacitor for the 1176's. With a front panel switch. And amazing, then. At what you can do. Like heavy high-frequency breathy boost EQ. On a vocalist. Without them ever getting overly sibilant. Or on brass tracks, Synthesizer tracks. String tracks, woodwind tracks. You can boost a gob of high-end EQ. Without it ever getting, screechy or strident, sounding. Oh my God it's great! And I've been doing that since 1979.. But then you also have to obtain some,, Downward Expanders a.k.a. Gates. To counteract. What the compressors and limiters, do. And they bring up all of this background noise of the room and other outside interference. That sounds awful. And so one then inserts the downward expanders. Expanding downward to a preset limit of approximately, 10-15 DB. Where you then adjust the, Threshold Level. So the downward expanders triggers on the vocalists, breaths. And so it lowers their breaths and the background room noise. And you adjust the release time. Not too fast and not too slow. So as to track the cadence of their voice. And oh my goodness! What you will get will be mind blowing. And you will have heard that sound before. Many times. You'll know it when you hear it for yourself. It's the sound of real true, Audio Engineering. That's what this means. And so everybody complements me. At how incredibly natural my vocal tracks all sound. But I have to tell them. There is nothing natural about the sound. It's highly processed. And it's the mark of a good Audio Engineer. To fool the listener. Into thinking those vocal tracks sound 100%, Natural. When there isn't anything natural about them. And so I'm really not interested in the way other companies do their compression and limiting. I want the ones that provide the artifacts everybody knows and loves. The ones that have made countless stars. Not somebody else with a better idea. Which is what we have here. Trying to make it sound like what and who? Neve? Okey-doke! I'll buy that for a dollar! (Robocop 1983) And my favorite line from that movie. It's a recurring theme. As a used car salesman commercial. That appears in the movie multiple times. In the original, Robocop. At you just can't beat the original. Of anything. So this limiter is not a hit for me. It's a miss. Like me. RamyRAD