new IK multimedia t-racks - with new 670 & pultec emus!!!

[rhythmtech]

9 module processors
5 New T-RackS processors:
NEW
Vintage Tube Compressor/Limiter model 670
This model is based on the "Holy Grail" of compressors/limiters, the Fairchild 670. With a faithful reproduction of every control, this is an incredibly accurate model that captures every nuance of one of the best Fairchild units available.

NEW
Vintage Tube Program Equalizer
This model is based on what is universally known as one of the best and most musical program EQs ever made, the Pultec EQP-1A.



NEW
Opto compressor
Optical compression has a special sonic character that audiophiles can truly appreciate.

NEW
Intelligent, multi-algorithm Brickwall limiter
Multi-algorithm Brickwall limiter that can really make your masters loud without squashing them to a lifeless sound (unless you want that!).

NEW
High precision, high definition Linear Phase Equalizer
An accurate, high definition, high precision EQ that can be trusted for delicate Mastering tasks with 6 completely identical bands that can be set to all available filter types, and that can span the whole spectrum range.


& 4 Classic T-RackS processors:
Classic T-RackS Compressor, a Classic tube stereo compressor/leveler designed for mastering.

Classic T-RackS Multi-band Limiter, a Multiband master stereo limiter.

Classic T-RackS Clipper, a soft-clipping stage to create warm, saturated mastering effects.

Classic T-RackS Equalizer, a state-of-the-art six band parametric equalizer, modeled on classic top quality analog gear.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/t-racks/.../moreinfo1.php

[loopdon]

looking good, bazz

[The_Laughing_Man]

If you are gonna use a generic, shove it through for a quickie master, program, then TRacks is the only thing I would recommend.

Not great, but better than the other poop out there.

ALthough how many Fairchild emulations do we need?
I`m waiting for fisher price to release a plugin
My first Fairchild

[rhythmtech]

just used this for the first time today.

bloody lovely to be honest. silky and smooth when you want with the opto comp and the fairchild has a lovely bite. not a perfect emulation by other accounts but i dont really care because ive never heard a 670 in the flesh and this just sounds bloody good.

it is however a total cpu hog and just 6 instances choke up nuendo when in high res mode. however, in reaper ive gotten 12 instances in high res and 35 in low latency mode before my cpu craps out! (which is pretty promising), will test it later with fxtelepot but i can see the latency being a big issue on 1mbit LAN network.

anyway even for somone with a slow cpu the emu is amazing to even slap onto your 2 buss.

especially when you look at the price! waves jjp is stoopid money and the uad2 card looks like its gonna need a monster power unit and cooling system to run it!

heres a mix ive been working on for a while (posted a rmx up a few weeks back)

re-started this morning in reaper and took off all the processing and re-processed with t-racks. have a 670 followed by the opto comp on the 2.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XMJO84EO

[The_Laughing_Man]

Tested it too.
Walked away without noticing much worth raving about.

For a start, is it worth £350 quid?
I don`t think it is really.

The Opto compressor is nice, it is fairly musical. But there is nicer stuff out there.
The Pultec Emulation (Yawn yet another) is ok, but I would say no better than the URS plug of same
The Linear Phase EQ is very nice, but no better than some of the other high end linear phase EQ vst on the market.
The metering is very nice, best thing about it I reckon.

The fairchild, well....it`s just blah really

Fairchild compressors are seriously overhyped, turgid and loose, and rubbish for dance music.
Their hype is bizarre, motown got rid of theirs, and if you read enough pro audio opinions about it, you`ll see that it is not the holy grail at all, the Fairchild serves a certain need, but overall is quite a noisey crunchy thing, and not suited to many applications.
If anything, the holy grail of mastering compressors in terms of versatility is the Focusrite Red 3. Which seems to be the compressor that most mastering engineers will rate as the one they will always need in their rack.

I`m really not sure as to the generic usefullness of a fairchild emulation for mastering duties, and it`s being hyped as some "make your stuff sound better" magic button. Which it just isn`t.

Ignor emulations in terms of do they sound like the originals, they never will, tis better to assess soft comps on their own merits.

There is far too much hype in the vst world to confound the average amateur.
Mainly because the vst market is now so commercially viable in comparison to boutique hardware.

So overall, as a mastering tool, I don`t think you`ll find anyone in the business taking it seriously, it might be useful for mixing purposes, but latency and cpu hogging are a bit of an issue.

However as an all in one learner tool standalone for mastering it might be worth a tinker (not for £350 though) and good for this purpose.
Also for a quick "cheapy" master to run your mix through for playing in the car or something, it`s ok as well, but I don`t think it`s anywhere near as good as they hype it to be.

Overall I`d mix and match better products for a mastering chain rather than use this. And frankly, for software compression, there isn`t a lot that can touch the Nebula 3 for realism when it comes to representing the "open" sound of hardware compression.

But it is very pretty.

[The_Laughing_Man]

As an asside, it doesn`t cost much more for a focusrite liquid mix, and these are worth twice what they cost.
Amazing piece of kit.
http://www.dv247.com/invt/32950/

[rhythmtech]

its more than pretty. its a damn fine channel compressor. if onyl they'd made each unit as a seperate vst. nebula has a lovely sound to it but its a nightmare on my cpu. i use the analog channel on 3free to record out. gives a nice warmth and is lovely on the tops.

i agree i cant see this being used for mastering but if you've got a decent cpu its a lot better than the more expensive competition.

as for techno, i couldnt see where it would be used. the opto though is a differant kettle of fish.

all ive tried the 670 on is that rock track above but it did the trick nicely.

[rhythmtech]

As an asside, it doesn`t cost much more for a focusrite liquid mix, and these are worth twice what they cost.
Amazing piece of kit.
http://www.dv247.com/invt/32950/

have to agree with that. liquid mix may be next on my list. also looking at the duende since they slashed their prices

[The_Laughing_Man]

its more than pretty. its a damn fine channel compressor. if onyl they'd made each unit as a seperate vst. nebula has a lovely sound to it but its a nightmare on my cpu. i use the analog channel on 3free to record out. gives a nice warmth and is lovely on the tops.

i agree i cant see this being used for mastering but if you've got a decent cpu its a lot better than the more expensive competition.

as for techno, i couldnt see where it would be used. the opto though is a differant kettle of fish.

all ive tried the 670 on is that rock track above but it did the trick nicely.

Well I agree it`s a nice channel compressor/tracking unit, but I`ve heard nothing but bad reports about cpu and latency probs.

Even my monster studio pc, which never breaks a sweat found itself working to use this system,

If they can get it to run more efficiently then it would be great, but no drag and drop system???
Horrible.

Not worth £350

[The_Laughing_Man]

have to agree with that. liquid mix may be next on my list. also looking at the duende since they slashed their prices

Duende is good.
But a lot of money for just SSL.
I hate the SSL sound, and as I never work on pop music have no use for it.
Liquid mix is a much better buy, and they are finally adding new plugs to it (although the huge bunch you get is enough, I still haven`t used all the plugs).

Yeah, the nebula is a monster for CPu, but they will get better, it`s a young product, and there is still nothing that comes close to it for realistic hardware compression emulation.
As a master compressor it`s great, but yeah, no good for channel work. Yet

[BloodStar]

tried TRacks 3 during weekend, and yeah I like it. much better than everything I've tried so far.

As I see you are talking about Nebula, I 've never managed to get the thing working. It crashes all the time,. Completely unuseable.

Liquid Mix seems to be very nice or, these days I would go for UAD2.

[rhythmtech]

tried TRacks 3 during weekend, and yeah I like it. much better than everything I've tried so far.

As I see you are talking about Nebula, I 've never managed to get the thing working. It crashes all the time,. Completely unuseable.

Liquid Mix seems to be very nice or, these days I would go for UAD2.

uad2 would be ideal but a serious power unit upgrade is needed to run the new card.

i'd personally opt for the uad1 nevena pack. its a dual card with all the neve emulations. but you can still buy the other plugs and add them to it. price is pretty decent on the uad1 cards now that the 2 is out.

[BloodStar]

problem with UAD1 is, that usually you cant run more than one instance of the plugin which makes the card unusable, or lets say not comfortable. UAD2 seems to be much much better in this way

[The_Laughing_Man]

Why are software people obsessed with emulation?
Why not just make really good plugins?
More marketing.
If it sounds like a xxxx mark xxxx
then surely it will make my music better?
What we need is technological progress, not replication of the old.

[josephjobling]

true this will always happen cos ppl will want the sound of the old with the convenience of having it as a plug in - but there is still alot of boundry pushing going on
sonnox oxford, waves, sonalksis ect........
its good to have both i recon

[rhythmtech]

Why are software people obsessed with emulation?
Why not just make really good plugins?
More marketing.
If it sounds like a xxxx mark xxxx
then surely it will make my music better?
What we need is technological progress, not replication of the old.

i think you're only looking at one side of the coin here. yes people do want emu's but they also want more modern stuff aswell. look at the likes of crane song and massey. both making beautiful stuff and almost as coveted as uad emu's are.

[jon connor]

gunna try this today me think will give a blast later , i take it is on trial ?

[rhythmtech]

bump for jon

i deleted your last thread as its already discussed here.

[jon connor]

jesus sorry man ive been really busy and forgot about this post, i still havent had chance to test it , but reading the reports dude.

[RDR]

I have to agree with steve on this score.

I didnt like t-racks 1 or 2 and dont like 3.

too much CPu and frankly technique is a better bet than emulation.