SCOPE EQ & DYN. vs. CUBASE SX EQ & DYN. vs. X...

[CreamWare4Ever]

hi cw4e
have a look at DAS website ... http://www.digitalaudiosoft.com (a non "established" company), here there are plenty of eq & comps, in demo versions, they were made for this : TRY BEFORE BUY ... i you like them ... for sure !
olive

Yes I will, I guess the only way for me to find what I need is to do it 'hard way' - listen, measure and add to tracks...

[CreamWare4Ever]

I just started using a Compressor live for the first time and it really makes a big difference in my mix...Totally inspiring.

I admit that routing possibilities of Scope platform is fantastic! I remember when I went over to Scope platform that it was a whole new world opening its doors.

I have worked with several well known EQ and dynamic plugs in my host application Cubase but I have never used Scope in XTC mode. Now, I want try to find Scope compatible EQ and dynamics that on Scope board sounds equal as this expensive EQ and dynamics plugins that I have been using in Cubase, as *awes, *omad *actrory, CSR *Classic *Studio *everb etc.

What is confusing me, is that I could not find so many established developers that are doing stuff for Scope platform. And that is a big enigma to me I must admit. So I don't have a easy task here, I will appreciate your inputs.

Regards.

if you think those plugins are really great(*awes, *omad *actrory, CSR *Classic *Studio *everb etc.), then i'll bet you haven't used much of the real gear that inspired them...

i'd be glad to have a discussion over wires or face to face about it, i just can't type that much or in that much detail. pm me if it really matters..

as to major established developers, that's a sad reality and also no big deal at all. it's a sad reality because Scope devices aren't developed in the same process as a vst plugin and there are relatively few systems out there, so the major guys won't be doing much with Scope because there's not enough dollars for the extra work for them. it's no big deal because there are a number of talented guys making WORLD CLASS devices for Scope. most of the TOOLS required for an audio engineer to do his job are included or available for Scope. you can STILL use any vsts that you like, it's win, win.

the gear business is a funny one. it's all about publicity. the thing is, as i always say, is does the gear sound good? if it does, then it is NEVER obsolete.

most who will buy a computer and make music don't even know what to listen for. they have opinions, but no real knowledge of how gear works or what it's for and then they use lots of plugins and are deleriously happy. there's NOTHING wrong with that, it's all happiness, but i'd say that those who know real gear will appreciate Scope and they will find that they have real TOOLS(that word again) that an audio professional needs to do real work. if Scope plugins like compressors and eqs available currently aren't good enough, then the user needs more scholling on how to use them. jmo, backed up by gladiator's oscar for sound and two consecutive years' grammy nominations(from a time BEFORE Brainworx' and Wolf's and DAS's excellent eqs and dynamic processors).

I admit that I haven't used so much external hardware when it comes to EQ, so I can't quite say if he plugs sounds as they do.

Basically, I don't want EQ to give any extra 'color' to applied tracks, just that it does NOT add that awful harassed sound on high frequencies, and that it have a more analog like processing curve when it come to precision.

That because compressor I use tend do give that 'analogue' color, just a bit, so there is no point to do it twice. That is just a fragment of whole story (...), but yes, my intention is to try to do one complete mastering and mix with Scope (3 DPS) in XTC mode. In that way I will see if it is possible to me to go over completely on Scope based plugins, or its built in mixer...

[garyb]

well, the 3dsp card can only help you.

i mean no disrespect. i am always tempted to poke at someone who is looking for something more "analog", when they haven't used much high-end analog gear. analog can certainly be as crappy as "digital", that's for sure. the comment about the bad distorted high frequencies i understand, however. if it makes you feel better, the stock eq was used in the Fairlight Constellation, one of those 1/4mil$ consoles a few years ago. it's pretty good. eqs that color are pretty darned cool too, depending on what you're doing. "coloring" is kinda why you put a filter on it anyway, but for say just a clean low or high pass or a simple notch, the stock eq is pretty clean. Wolf's is better if you prefer something more scientificly minded(but musical still, it's nice sounding) and DAS makes both eqs that mimic older classic sounding units and more "transparent" models.

you really can't have too many eqs, but you can use too many. you'll find something that you like and use it more than the others, and that's fine, whatever you like. really though, if you need to do a lot of eqing, you'd be better off fixing the room and choosing a better mic and mic pre for the job(better, not necessarily more or less expensive). mangling a nice signal usually works better than mangling a poor one.

really analog vst compressors? no, not really. i own a dbx 165, 160 and 166 among others, and have used LA2As and 1176s. ProTools H/D and Scope have real compressors. vsts are useable, sound great, and i'm even willing to condone money paid to the developers, but unless they are very resource hungry, aren't remotely like the real thing(actually, much "analog" gear has been digital for quite some time).

[sonolive]

I guess the only way for me to find what I need is to do it 'hard way' - listen, measure and add to tracks..

yep
that's it !!! and then , tell us plz ! feedback is always interesting for us.
cheers
olive

[CreamWare4Ever]

well, the 3dsp card can only help you.

i mean no disrespect. i am always tempted to poke at someone who is looking for something more "analog", when they haven't used much high-end analog gear. analog can certainly be as crappy as "digital", that's for sure. the comment about the bad distorted high frequencies i understand, however. if it makes you feel better, the stock eq was used in the Fairlight Constellation, one of those 1/4mil$ consoles a few years ago. it's pretty good. eqs that color are pretty darned cool too, depending on what you're doing. "coloring" is kinda why you put a filter on it anyway, but for say just a clean low or high pass or a simple notch, the stock eq is pretty clean. Wolf's is better if you prefer something more scientificly minded(but musical still, it's nice sounding) and DAS makes both eqs that mimic older classic sounding units and more "transparent" models.

you really can't have too many eqs, but you can use too many. you'll find something that you like and use it more than the others, and that's fine, whatever you like. really though, if you need to do a lot of eqing, you'd be better off fixing the room and choosing a better mic and mic pre for the job(better, not necessarily more or less expensive). mangling a nice signal usually works better than mangling a poor one.

really analog vst compressors? no, not really. i own a dbx 165, 160 and 166 among others, and have used LA2As and 1176s. ProTools H/D and Scope have real compressors. vsts are useable, sound great, and i'm even willing to condone money paid to the developers, but unless they are very resource hungry, aren't remotely like the real thing(actually, much "analog" gear has been digital for quite some time).

Yes, it makes sense. I have decided what I will do as a test. I will mix and master same song twice - but with different EQ:s and compressors. In that way I can decide which flavor on the track I like more. As you said, at the end, I personal need to be satisfied with sound. But of course, some standards need to bi fulfilled to so that track can be used on different media and speakers.

Thanks!

[maky325]

For scope i like peq4 but you really cant compare it to Nomad stuff since Nomad is different and i dont like nomad at all.

I which way? Please explain.

BTW both airEQ and Nebula 3 EQ are very interesting stuff, I will try that out later.

Short tanswer is in a way they sound. Nomad stuff compared to peq4 have different eq curve so they sound different. Nomad eq range is emulation of hardware eq curve (they have more products but most of them are delivered from hardware world) but IMO bad emulation. Well not that bad overall but bad for my taste. PEQ4 is not emulating anything. It is simple bell/shelving eq desing and you can draw your own curve (to some degree) so i like it better.

I found DAS eq range for scope is doing pretty much same things like stock scope eq so to me they are really nothing special. But that does not mean they are bad all in all. They are boring to ME and ME only. You must realize that i am not specialist for eq Try them out that is your best chance. Maybe you will like them a lot!

But overall airEQ or Nebula 3 eq library is superior to most of things i tested including UAD eq plugins. airEQ is great because it is CPU friendly, no delay introduced and it does have great and musical filters.Very musical!! Really good tracking eq. Nebula 3 is monster plugin. It does eat every other software EQ like joke! But it is CPU intensive and with big delay introduced. So no real time tracking with this one. But if you are really in vintage eq and vintage signal mojo path you should try it out. Nebula 3 and airEQ is nice combo.

Man, my english is terrible so hopefully you will understand what i want to say.

[CreamWare4Ever]

For scope i like peq4 but you really cant compare it to Nomad stuff since Nomad is different and i dont like nomad at all.

I which way? Please explain.

BTW both airEQ and Nebula 3 EQ are very interesting stuff, I will try that out later.

Short tanswer is in a way they sound. Nomad stuff compared to peq4 have different eq curve so they sound different. Nomad eq range is emulation of hardware eq curve (they have more products but most of them are delivered from hardware world) but IMO bad emulation. Well not that bad overall but bad for my taste. PEQ4 is not emulating anything. It is simple bell/shelving eq desing and you can draw your own curve (to some degree) so i like it better.

I found DAS eq range for scope is doing pretty much same things like stock scope eq so to me they are really nothing special. But that does not mean they are bad all in all. They are boring to ME and ME only. You must realize that i am not specialist for eq Try them out that is your best chance. Maybe you will like them a lot!

But overall airEQ or Nebula 3 eq library is superior to most of things i tested including UAD eq plugins. airEQ is great because it is CPU friendly, no delay introduced and it does have great and musical filters.Very musical!! Really good tracking eq. Nebula 3 is monster plugin. It does eat every other software EQ like joke! But it is CPU intensive and with big delay introduced. So no real time tracking with this one. But if you are really in vintage eq and vintage signal mojo path you should try it out. Nebula 3 and airEQ is nice combo.

Man, my english is terrible so hopefully you will understand what i want to say.

Thanks, I will definitely give a shot for airEQ and Nebula 3 eq. Thus Nebula 3 seems still to be in some kind of developing stage how much I can see from post on different forums...

Thank you!

[astroman]

the Nebula thing is very interesting in it's sound character, as they use a completely different approach.
Sounds like EQ on steroids to my ears, the most cutting and 'powerful' access to 'frequencies' I ever heard.
Admittedly I'm not an EQ collector (let alone fanatic) tho - I prefer to avoid them by selecting (or preparing) the original source, but it's definetely a tool you like to have in your box.

cheers, Tom

[CreamWare4Ever]

not cheapo, but try epure

I will definitely try out Epure, but I couldn't find any info about its CPU hunger? Also, what does they mean with "it can work on 8 channels"?

[firubbi]

In Scope environment my primary use of PEQ 4M is as a insert for low cut during recording of vocals. I'm still using Scope v.3 with Luna card (3 DSP) So now comes my questions:

that's the main problem that you have 3 dsp and want better sound like me having 6dsp and waiting for xite to produce a good sound. in scope all plugings are big. so you'll need a 14dsp srb. than go for all demos that our developers have. i guess all of them sounds good.

[bill3107]

when it comes to compare native FX with scope stuff i tend to check the following points :
- what's the power available (cpu, that is native) and how much of this power will be used for sequencer tasks + VSTi ?
- before chosing the right EQ : will I have to boost or cut ? Am I looking for a certain color or not (sonnox would be my native choice for transparent effects) ?

Depending on your needs you may find good native effects but they often cost a lot and... the cpu power is not unlimited ! I personnally consider dsp hardware as an investment that will allow you to get good tools and devices at a quite cheap price and keep the cpu power for sequencer and future VSTis... DAS, SPacef and many soniccore synth are cheap and won't ask cpu power.... Once you have the dsp hardware, buying scope plugins looks better for me except for specific vsti (i bought Rmx and VSL for that reason).

[Warp69]

................. this expensive EQ and dynamics plugins that I have been using in Cubase, as *awes, *omad *actrory, CSR *Classic *Studio *everb etc.......

Now that you mentioned that reverb - There're equally impressive reverbs on this platform.

[garyb]

when it comes to compare native FX with scope stuff i tend to check the following points :
- what's the power available (cpu, that is native) and how much of this power will be used for sequencer tasks + VSTi ?
- before chosing the right EQ : will I have to boost or cut ? Am I looking for a certain color or not (sonnox would be my native choice for transparent effects) ?

Depending on your needs you may find good native effects but they often cost a lot and... the cpu power is not unlimited ! I personnally consider dsp hardware as an investment that will allow you to get good tools and devices at a quite cheap price and keep the cpu power for sequencer and future VSTis... DAS, SPacef and many soniccore synth are cheap and won't ask cpu power.... Once you have the dsp hardware, buying scope plugins looks better for me except for specific vsti (i bought Rmx and VSL for that reason).

+1