A free plugin from Apogee (How to use it)

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[Mio-fusr]

Very nice, it's my first contact with apogee, pretty serious stuff, thanx, u have my subscription and a like

[joinslayer]

I don't need another clipper but i'll help you out. Subscribed :)

[dayzrustream]

That sound so well! Thanks for the video!

[RemyRAD]

This is all very cool and all that from Apogee. However.

Having been an expert, analog tape and former, Quality Control Manager. For the legendary, Scully, studio recorders. Back in the late 70s. And then I went to work. As a maintenance engineer, drooling to be recording engineer. At the same studio. In New York City. The legendary and now-defunct, Media Sound Studios. And there were these guys, , Bob Clearmountain, Michael DeLugg, Tony Bon Jiovi, Michael Brauner and others.

So one day I'm talking to Bob. When I discussed with him. How I used to tweak the recorders at Media Sound. Between each recording session. Which was house procedure. In this, , 4 control rooms and 4 studios, facility.

We talked about, the saturation at, 7.5 IPS and 15 IPS up to 30 IPS tape speeds. When he revealed to me. He never really much liked the sound of tape. And generally prefers. The Apogee Digital, sound. From the company his wife owns and founded.

So I'm not quite sure what this says about this, Apogee, plug-in? After all it is free. Maybe because Bob doesn't dig it himself? And wants to sell his own plug-ins! He is no dummy! To me. He is one of the world's greatest, music recording and mixing engineers. Hands down. There are other grades I also know and highly respect.

Where Beatles engineer, Geoff Emerick. Changed all of our lives. And taught us how to make great recordings on 4 track recorders. Andrew Swedien who along with Quincy Jones. Brought us Michael Jackson. And one of the most influential. Would be that of, Earth Wind & Fire, engineer, George Massenburg. Who popularized, notch cut EQ, mixing. Via a, Parametric Filter Equalizer. Of his own concept which he popularized. Though did not invent. Let me be clear about that. He likes taking credit for the invention of it. I guess he hasn't had enough gold, platinum records and accolades? Not enough. And well, I've known George since I was 15 when he was 23. So a bit older than I. And had been, in his studio, many times. Both during and after his ownership. And there's a whole, 'nother Story. That goes with the loss, of George Massenburg's, , studio. I won't go into, here.

But the synopsis is. Steve Boone, bassist for the, Lovin' Spoonful. In John Sebastian's band. Purchased the equipment from George's studio. And then accidentally sank it. Into the Baltimore Harbor. On a barge converted to a recording studio. When they turned off the bilge pump. To record very soft female vocalist. Because they could hear the bilge pump running in the background. And forgot to turn it on. After they went home. Oh whoops. And no insurance.

Yes that was tragically funny. Steve had named his studios, Blue Seas. And it sank. And all the equipment, killed! Though some was refurbished like the Frankenstein Monster. And came back like a Phoenix. But that was the end of Steve Boone's, George Massenburg, control room. From George's ITI Studios. Where it all began.

It might be interesting to note. It's basically, George's mixing technique with a parametric equalizer. That many engineers follow.. If you have a parametric equalizer? And well… The old-fashioned wonky way we originally did. From which all digital effects today are emulated from. And could get, complicated. With all the past cards and tape recorders and rooms with speakers in them. Just to cop a vibe.

And so Bob Clearmountain still dreams. About the original, acoustic reverb chamber. Tony and him had set up at the, Power Station later Avalon now will Power Station, Berklee College of Music.. As it's not the same anymore. Not even close, apparently. And appears to be in sonic agony, not having it anymore. Quite that way. And while they have tried to re-create, the original. Only the originals are the originals. And others never seem to quite stack up. Because it reprograms your brain.. To accept nothing else. And well, hell! Especially if it made you a Scad, of gold and platinum records and a millionaire. I'd miss it too. Hell! I still miss both of my personal, Plate Reverbs. And always will. If during my retirement now. I get so bored. I'll have fun building one of my own design. As I've owned 2 and have serviced others. There's just nothing like them. No digital can touch that spacious density. And do those sound like a real room? Well yes and no. Yes if your room exists. In a science fiction movie. No in real life. And where most folks don't know and don't care about the difference. Because it is real. Real reverb. From a tensioned piece of, cold rolled or stainless steel. Tensioned within a, metal bed frame. Inside the larger, wood boxspring like enclosure. And weighing in at, about 225 pounds. Was 8 feet long and 5 feet high and about 9 inches wide. And they were awesome! Also very susceptible to outside noises. Although not portable. Where any real studio would have one or more. I think Abby Road has five. And of course the older vacuum tube ones not the newer transistor ones. And everyone sounds different from the next. No 2 sound quite alike. And never could. Due to the variables within, physics, as we know it, itself.

It's all relative now.
RemyRAD

[johnisrael]

This sounds good...but on masterbus...I just shot it out agatnst
Acustica Audio ASH
and Nebula Retro STA Clipper
The Retro STA Clipper sounded better than both others....
Analog gives your more rounded smoother distortion with Transients are in Limiting....an Analog Based Clipper is going to always beat a Digital One...because once the Digital Distorts...it automacally shaves at least 20% of your Mastering Quality off the Song...now....IK Media Stealth Limiter does this alot less...if I just had to go Digital on my Limiting on Masterbus...it would have the to the Stealth Limiter..with Light LImiting....now youve only Damaged your master about 5% not that noticable to the Public

[O.DIAZ-XIII]

Roger, My Respects! what headphones are you using?

[davidcollins]

It's great but doesn't seem to save the setting when PC powered off? Anyone else found this?

[privateprivacy]

Darn, I'm a few months too late.

[RemyRAD]

Okay okay I'll go a bit further than my comments that follow below. In the preceding post.

Here's the deal with that soft limiter. That, yes. Rounds off the, sharp edgy sound. Which is more advantageous, now. To the home recording enthusiast wannabes. Whose microphone output. Preamp input and output. USB audio interface. Have no huge amounts. Input and output transformers. Going in and out. A couple of dozen times! In any of their equipment. And it gets pretty harsh sounding. All this crispy crunchy sound of, transformer less, wonderment. And sometimes. You need to make the electrons run the distance. Or try to emulate that with a soft limiter in software. To prevent your sound. From sounding like. You just cut your finger badly. Opening up a can of cat food. And Kitty loved the additional gravy. Red in color. But hurts like hell. When you try to move a fader or play guitar. And so don't do that. I never did. I'm just saying… You know how real Audio Engineers are? Lieut. Montgomery Scott says you need to use the right tools!

So that's the other side of the coin. As to why this can be a, decent virtual, , backup. To not having your audio go through, dozens and dozens of transformers. Onto mushy sounding, analog tape. You don't got that no more. I mean some of us do. And we are hybrid folks. Me in more than one way. In the way I approach, recording and mixing. Our in trying to remix someone else's, shitty overgrowth distorted, lead vocal track. Because they wanted that 60s feel. It sounded like the 50s by an eight-year-old. And I deemed not usable. And have to tell them to recut it on their laptop in their bedroom! Because I guess they thought.. Everybody in the 60s. Listened to everything with totally blown out distortion through tubes. No. We got transistors in the 1950s! And some folks started using them. So that by the 1960s. They figured out how not to make their rock 'n' roll recordings all that distorted.

And so if there was going to be any distortion at all. And there would be. I would be generating it.. My way. Not this kind of slop!!! And so you have to add the right kind. And they didn't achieve that abomination with software. They just turned the wrong things up on the wrong equipment.

So most presets are useless. And all the kids slather on, way too much stuff. Some even like the sound of scratchy records and 64-year-old cassettes! I mean give me a break! PCM digital. It is far from perfect. And it doesn't matter... What bit depth, 16-24-32. The analog equipment. Used for the microphone preamps. Only represents a bit depth of approximately, 12 or 14. And they can't deliver anymore. They are good for about, 18 db, tops! Like between, 100 and 110 Dessie Balls I mean Bells. Not the 140 you get digitally. From 24-bit depth. So that's really only for amateurs. Amateurs who cannot tweak their levels and gain trims. Accurately nor adequately.

And your resolution comes with, sample rate. But no matter what. I'll have to have a high-frequency cut off filter, somewhere. In the signal chain.

But DSD, , digital does not. It's the cleanest sounding. Of any digital that ever was. As it's not PCM. And doesn't sound horrid. When you compare it to PCM! It sounds like dog shit. Compared to DSD. And since I know what I'm talking about. I know what I'm talking about. I was there when Sony and Philips, Introduced it. In numerous, double-blind listening tests. For top professional engineers like me. And oh my goodness the difference. Night and day!

So I don't care if your digital is 16-bit at 44.1 kHz. Or, 32-bit at, 348 kHz. It's still going to sound like, PCM. And not the sound was coming out of your audio console! Like DSD, does. But nobody's really embracing it. And everybody is an audio hypocrite. They do want the best. The only want the most fun. And the snappy is looking software interfaces. Every little kid will love! That's between, , 12 and 85. And I guess nobody has figured out how to make fun real-time audio processing in, , DSD? With these slow and limited computers we have. With only, 4 through 90 cores. Running fast enough to fry eggs. And I guess the mathematical concepts are too large? And appears, hideously, autistic. And a, savant.t That one day. Locks themselves in their room. With the piss bottle and funnel. And emerges three months later. With revolutionary audio software.


And so, we wait.
RemyRAD

[RemyRAD]

Hello there, again. In my previous diatribe which you will read next. I forgot something important, to say.

I watch and listen to a lot of videos like this. Made by supposedly, bad ass, software fondling, wannabes. Here to bring you folks at home. Up to speed. On how to achieve, great sound!

And hardly a single one of these, simple minds (not the group Clearmountain engineered also) stupid happy puppies. Sitting behind their, SM-7. Oh but the better, B version. Which only means it's been a little more, RF shielded.. Then the original. There's no difference in the capsule or the sound. At least I haven't heard? I have an old one. I've used the new ones elsewhere. No difference. To give a F, about. But I digress.

This is one of the few, Audio Engineers. That practices what he preaches. As his spoken vocal track here. Has been expertly, remixed and post produced. Like a true pro. It sounds, , Fabulous! Thank you thank you thank you! Somebody that knows how to record spoken word. Almost identically like I do. PROFESSIONALLY!


No honestly I think. Too many naïve, music recording wannabes. Thinks that natural sound. On a recording. Means plugging in a beautiful microphone. Into a beautiful preamp. Through a beautiful converter. And you will make an award-winning recording. That sounds natural. WRONG! NOT! NOPE! DOPE!


No the art of engineering. Is, aggressive, EQ and psycho stages of, dynamic range, limiting, compression and expansion. Not to mention, gating. And everybody is convinced. You remixed, Humpty Dumpty! My God! It's a miracle! From scrambled back into Sunnyside up! And everybody thinks it sounds so, natural. Yeah but there is not one thing that's natural about it. It's highly processed.


And so good engineers, fool you the listeners. Into you thinking. Our drug-induced heavy-handed, alcohol enhanced, pizza Fart mix. Sounds so wonderfully natural. When there is nothing natural about it anymore, at all.


Maybe I'll figure it out one day? And after making history and 4 Major Music Awards, nominations. And working my day job at, NBC-TV, Washington, DC. I wasted 20 years of my life. Not recording music as much. As much. And having to work with, Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush. And a host of other elected officials of the USA. And others from around the world. Yes. As it was very strange one day. When, you're at work. Super early. On a Sunday morning. After a huge, , Friday, Saturday, rock 'n' roll blowout! And you need a little, hair of the dog. To get restarted. In a very different gear.

And so one beer and one joint later. I'm getting ready to engineer the audio for, , MEET THE PRESS. And I'm in my control room, early. Certainly not totally sober. But who is on a Sunday morning? After you have been rocking and rolling? And have now. Played with the hair. From your dog. And suddenly… The door on the video control room opens. As I am awaiting my, union engineer, , colleague brothers. But this is not them....???


It was one of our, upstairs, NBC Executives. And they are leading around. What appears to be a retired couple. Pointing out in describing things in the video control room. He then walks them to me. In my audio control room. I just used some, eyedrops. And the guy looks familiar. As I'm introduced to, Mikhail Gorbachev.. Standing in my control room. Shaking my hand. And his lovely now late wife. Then the first lady of Russia. The new Russia. Not this thing now.

But I really wasn't certain? Had I just had a little too much? I didn't take any of that drug? How could I be shaking the hand. Of the Russian president who just called an end to communism? Who the hell am I!? He's in my control room. Oh my God! I'm not hallucinating after all! I can smoke another one! Before the show rolls live coast-to-coast. And I'm up on the satellite. With tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of people. Listening to my audio FUCK up's. So you don't make any. Because you're not supposed to. You supposed to be working for the best in the world because you are the best in the world. And well… I am.

Yes some people call me braggadocio's. But hey. I was only a bona fide high school dropout with the GED.. And some technical training seminars here and there. And whose hand my shaking? In my control room? Holy moly. I'm sure he's used to meeting people that are all juiced up on, vodka. And a good thing I had extra cologne. Or maybe I smelled like potato soup?

Nothing matters anymore. It's the end of the year.. And you are too late for everything.
RemyRAD