Recording - August 2010 - 55

Next, while A-B comparison buttons are found on almost all plugins, this monster gives you A-B-C-D buttons with copy and paste! This eq also has a pair of Undo and Redo buttons; while this is a standard function in most DAWs, it usually does not include tweaks to individual plug-ins. A common eq trick to home in on and eliminate troublesome tones is the act of narrowing the Q, spiking the frequency, and sweeping it back and forth until you find the place where your ears bleed, then lowering the gain and adjusting the Q until the right amount of the offender is taken out of the mix. What if you could instantly solo a frequency band? What if, when you grabbed the Q knob, it instantly gave you that spiky gain boost to sweep around? What if it instantly narrowed to the center frequency being swept? What if you could do any combination of all three? bx_digital V2’s Auto-Listen modes do just this. Incredibly handy! In use I would classify and primarily use the bx_digital V2 as a mastering eq, and with the possible exception of the Universal Audio Precision eq, it is the first plug-in eq where I truly feel comfortable doing so. It does however work equally well on both busses and

individual tracks. It should solve almost any eq dilemma you can throw at it and more. It also makes a very unique sound design tool, especially given its ability to widen stereo bed tracks and reverb tails. Just remember to be phase conscious if you start working with fancy stereo-expansion tricks. It is also surprisingly CPU efficient. Considering all it does you can get 15–30 stereo instances running on a modest computer no problem. Sonically it is more of a tool than a vibe piece, clear and opulent with zero harshness or buildup of any kind. The bx_digital V2 is not trying to emulate or sound like anything in particular (other than, maybe, the hardware Brainworx boxes)—it just adjusts and enhances the information that is already there. Conclusions I typically prefer the fantasy and sound of eqs that emulate vintage gear, and I am usually too much of a snob to use plug-ins for serious mastering. The bx_digital V2 has definitely changed my mind about both. This is a serious piece of kit! It is unique, tweaky, sounds great, efficient and despite its 100+ knobs, it is ultra-easy to use. It is hard not to be impressed.

PSP oldTimer Plug-In Compressor
By Paul Vnuk Jr.
For many of us, the name PSP Audioware means one thing: PSP VintageWarmer! While PSP has an entire line of virtual processors, effects and more to choose from, it was VintageWarmer, a multibandstyle compressor/limiter and tube saturation plugin, that won us over nine years ago as an effective and affordable solution for adding a shot of analog tone back into the digital in-the-box world. In nine years, however, analog modeling has improved even further and we are getting shockingly close to the faux-analog brass ring. Not content to rest on its past success, PSP keeps pace with the introduction of its newest plug-in creation, the PSP oldTimer. The oldTimer is a simple no-frills vintage-style compressor. According to PSP’s web site, the goal was to “provide a simple compressor that offers an exceptionally musical sound while requiring a minimum of tweaking.” Refreshingly, the oldTimer is not a recreation, emulation or clone of anything famous. Instead the PSP team decided to research and model the actual vintage tubes and circuits that went into wellknown hardware of old, rather than any specific piece.

If you are a tweak-freak, you may find the controls a tad limited, but compared to many vintage compressors, oldTimer actually features more control than most (think LA-2A). Sound and use Now that we have established the easy-to-use part of oldTimer’s mission statement, how about the second part, musical sound? Compressor modeling has made quantum leaps in the past few years and plug-ins such as the Softube FET and CL-1B, Chandler/Abbey Road TG12413, and many of the newest offerings by Universal Audio and Waves are getting arguably as close as you can get to stuffing the real thing into your DAW. Without any apologies, the oldTimer holds its own alongside all of them. Period. It has a vintage texture that is soft and saturated, but not mushy or overbearing. In other words, kind of how valves do sound, not how we think they should sound. Disengaging the Valve circuit opens up the tone a touch, but still retains its presence, which is hi-fi, but not clinical. Unlike many vintage warhorses, the oldTimer is not source-specific. Depending on the Time setting can be used on just about every instrument or vocal type; it is comfortable on almost any buss you want it to ride.

Faceplate and functions With a GUI reminiscent of the DIY gear of decades past, the oldTimer looks like something your grandfather would have cobbled together in his garage back in 1955, right down to the fauxpot metal finish and cheesy rub-on lettering. Staying true to its vintage nature, the oldTimer’s layout is quite mod- Final thoughts est. You get four knobs, a switch and a gain reduction meter. There There really is not much else to say; if you need vintage flavor in is a 3-way switch marked Valve, Clear and Off. oldTimer gives you your mixes... heck, even if you don’t, you owe it to yourself to at least the choice of an emulated vintage tube (“valve”) circuit or a cleaner try the demo. Seriously, this little plug-in really sounds that good. solid-state one, plus a bypass mode. Next is a 7-position Ratio knob with choices ranging from 1.2:1 to 10:1 and everything in-between. Delivery: Download only direct from PSP or authorized dealer The Time knob offers a choice of ten preset attack and Copy Protection: Choice of authorization name/key or iLok USB key release times that are linked and program dependent. Formats: VST, RTAS (Windows XP SP2 or better/Mac OS X 10.4 or According to the manual, values 1–3 are extremely fast, better), AU (Mac only) 4–7 are general-purpose settings typical of vintage valve / Documentation: PDF manual opto compressors, and 8–10 are very slow and suited for Price: $99 big leveling jobs. The Compression knob is the input/threshold control, while the output knob controls makeMore from: PSP Audioware, www.pspaudioware.com. up gain (up to 30 dB).
RECORDING AUGUST 2010

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Recording - August 2010

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