rewatching this, a few things: -FLUX is focused on post-production, Alchemist was intended to be a dynamics swiss-army knife for that purpose. -the envelope controls are per band, while the compressor controls are per processor (module) -the middle section contains their Transient Designer code from BitterSweet, which can be used in pre-and-post settings. -there's a cool little clipper
it's the multiband version of their one time famous Solera compressor plugin. Anyone that familiar with that should be comfortable with it right away but new user it's a little confusing at first with close to 20 types of dynamic processing per band. The good part of the Solera's comp algo is one can find any sort of dynamic manipulation they could think of within the plugin, and in multiband version the possibility is endless. Up until now only Tone Project Unisum managed to make it even more complicated by making the sidechain going full multiband. That saying, can you please take a look at DMG Multiplicity, the better version of this thing.
This thing is good for pre-rendered loops of things like drum machines where the kick is too loud and the snare is -10db under the kick and then the hats are out of balance. But that is a rare thing in the modern world. Now Hip-hop artists will buy 2 tracks from producers who refuse to give them multitrack stems and their balances can be so out of whack its scary so I could see it being used in that world. But for Drums Fuse Audio Labs has DrumsSSX which separates acoustic drum recordings into their components, so they can be remixed individually whenever there are no multitrack signals available and its Really good. We took a Master Tape from 35 years ago and separated it with Logic Pro's stem separation tool then took DrumSSX and separated the Drums into parts and got a decent mix of a 1994 2-track 1/2 inch mixdown that beat the original
Yes it is old, I think from 2011. It was intended as a one stop solution for mastering with a price tag around $800. Now it is often on sale for around $50. Very powerful with great sound.
@@StudioLife101It was reviewed in SOS in 2011. Price then listed €569. It can handle up to 16 tracks for immersive audio mastering but what I think sets it apart from others is the ability to control the fundamental characteristics of the dynamics processing. A real surgical tool for real mastering engineers with great room and speakers, not for home DIY mastering.
Yeah IDK WTFlux you Fluxers are on this time. But you just sent me down a rabbit hole and you're coming with.... 1st, I've never seen this plugin before, and it looks immediately intuitive to me. It's just a Multiband Dynamics Processor with a ton of control. And it actually looks pretty sweet! Just because it gives you 5-Bands and a billion parameters doesn't mean you have to use em'. You Can just use 1-band and basic Threshold, Ratio, Attack, and Release just like any compressor. But then have everything else you might want right there in front of you when you need it. There's obviously a learning curve, as with Everything else, but I think your final statement was the most telling: "I don't know why it exists!" But does you not knowing, make It Shit? Lets take a basic 3-tier mix structure: Individual Channels --> Group Busses --> 2-Bus And lets add your SSL (UC1) Channel Strip plugins to all the Channels, Then add the SSL (UC1) Bus Compressor plugins to all the Groups (Up to 8 in SSL360), And maybe another SSL Bus Compressor plugin on the 2-Bus. Pretty standard, and amazing, and all that gear behind you was built for it. Process Channels, Glue the Busses, Glue the Mix....Done. Already, the Virtual SSL workflow improves upon an actual SSL workflow, not only in multiple choices of Channel Strips, but by adding Glue comps to the Sub-Busses in addition to and before the Master-Bus Comp (if you even Need a 2-bus comp for glue anymore?), you can avoid the nightmare of everything hitting the 2-Bus compressor all at one. Many engineers, as I know you know, fought this for decades, most famously (and most elaborately) Michael Brauer, who developed his "Multi-Bus" technique aka "Brauerizing". But most engineers made due by simply adding a Low-Cut HPF to the sidechain of the comp, allowing us to control what it responds to, namely the bottom end energy. Now that's pretty much standard issue on Every Compressor and plugin. (The next step here is a full-blown EQ on the sidechain allowing total detector shaping.) Then there's moving the bus compressors down a tier to the Group Busses. Brauer does it in his unique way, everyone else uses Instrument Groups, allowing you to hit the Glue in smaller sections rendering more control over the results. Combined with HPF Sidechains, You're in business. (Add a Mix knob to blend back in the Dry signal, what else do you need?) So SSL themselves responded by Adding these Mods as Features to all of their hardware and software offerings. Life is complete. Except another strategy was Multi-Band Processing, where say the Lows and Highs can be treated differently, on basically separate bus compressors. Or Five. (Or Seven...) Now like the HPF Sidechain the lows don't kill the highs, but you can control even more aspects. More on that below... To do this with hardware you'd need to spend a lot of money. With Plugins...you already spent the money, just add another one. Except now you need a Crossover! Enter BlueCat MB7. (for me and well over a decade ago) Essentially it takes your stereo signal, splits it into 2,3,4,5,6,7-bands, allows you to place Any plugins you want on those bands, and joins it back together. So imagine your SSL session above: SSL Channel Strips --> 8-Stereo Group Busses --> Master Bus Then place BC MB7s on all the Busses. Use just say 3-Bands: Lows / Mid / Highs. And stick SSL Bus Compressors in ALL the slots. Now you went from 1- single SSL Stereo (Quad) Bus Compressor on an actual console. To 8- Sub-Group SSL Stereo Bus Compressors (w/HPFs and Mix knobs) , feeding that Master Bus. To now, 8- Three-Band SSL Stereo Bus Compressors, feeding the Mix. Unnecessary? Well SSL themselves in addition to the Bus Compressor 2 plugin, also now have the G3 MultiBusComp plugin. Which is almost exactly what we just built in MB7, but in one simple interface, directly from SSL. Why does that exist? **** Stopping here, but I went on forever and didn't finish my thoughts. Part 2 will have to wait......
@@StudioLife101 Yeahhhh it's not so much a comment as a stream of consciousness. If it's an ad, it's an ad for sh1t you already own! Unfortunately, that's about 1/2 of what I wrote. Stay tuned.....
which they deny, among a number of other things: crashes, stutters, GUI fluttering, and features that haven't worked properly for over a couple years.. and their sales / pricing scheme doesn't make sense at times. all of which is a shame since they make wonderful software and have generally good customer support (i've had great interactions anyway)
😂 Dan on fire with the witty comments today. As far as Flux goes, they’ve been around for a long time. Always overpriced. I never got along with their plugins. They do weird things to audio I feel. Phase issues? As far as their multiband goes, audition against Pro-MB and you’ll hear what I’m talking about. So. In conclusion, I feel like you’re fluxing right on with your observations and conclusions 😉. lol!
rewatching this, a few things:
-FLUX is focused on post-production, Alchemist was intended to be a dynamics swiss-army knife for that purpose.
-the envelope controls are per band, while the compressor controls are per processor (module)
-the middle section contains their Transient Designer code from BitterSweet, which can be used in pre-and-post settings.
-there's a cool little clipper
the Two Ronnies of the VST world! you are the fluxing best...
😂😂😂
it's the multiband version of their one time famous Solera compressor plugin. Anyone that familiar with that should be comfortable with it right away but new user it's a little confusing at first with close to 20 types of dynamic processing per band. The good part of the Solera's comp algo is one can find any sort of dynamic manipulation they could think of within the plugin, and in multiband version the possibility is endless. Up until now only Tone Project Unisum managed to make it even more complicated by making the sidechain going full multiband. That saying, can you please take a look at DMG Multiplicity, the better version of this thing.
This thing is good for pre-rendered loops of things like drum machines where the kick is too loud and the snare is -10db under the kick and then the hats are out of balance. But that is a rare thing in the modern world. Now Hip-hop artists will buy 2 tracks from producers who refuse to give them multitrack stems and their balances can be so out of whack its scary so I could see it being used in that world. But for Drums Fuse Audio Labs has DrumsSSX which separates acoustic drum recordings into their components, so they can be remixed individually whenever there are no multitrack signals available and its Really good. We took a Master Tape from 35 years ago and separated it with Logic Pro's stem separation tool then took DrumSSX and separated the Drums into parts and got a decent mix of a 1994 2-track 1/2 inch mixdown that beat the original
Yes it is old, I think from 2011. It was intended as a one stop solution for mastering with a price tag around $800. Now it is often on sale for around $50. Very powerful with great sound.
2011! Wow….fair enough then 👍
@@StudioLife101It was reviewed in SOS in 2011. Price then listed €569. It can handle up to 16 tracks for immersive audio mastering but what I think sets it apart from others is the ability to control the fundamental characteristics of the dynamics processing. A real surgical tool for real mastering engineers with great room and speakers, not for home DIY mastering.
@@peterpeper4837 How does it handle 16 tracks….? I guess running 16 instances in 2011 would have been tricky….
@@StudioLife101 all the FLUX plugins do 16ch or higher, can change I/O when more channels are available
Has anyone mentioned that sick "Oh Well" intro??? First time on the channel but I never see that song referenced or brought up. Truly underrated
Love you guys. Keep up with the great and honest reviews...and the great sense of humor.
Looks like the Flux Capacitator in Doc Brown's DeLorean to me. I'm worn out just looking at it. Nice one guys
😂😂
Oh well…😅. Best plugin show on the Tube of You. It’s not sheet, just way overcomplicated …I’ll be fluxed.
Think you first gotta get your flux arround it, before you can flux away with it in any situation. The plug does look verry flux idd, nice Ep again.
Yeah IDK WTFlux you Fluxers are on this time.
But you just sent me down a rabbit hole and you're coming with....
1st, I've never seen this plugin before, and it looks immediately intuitive to me.
It's just a Multiband Dynamics Processor with a ton of control.
And it actually looks pretty sweet!
Just because it gives you 5-Bands and a billion parameters doesn't mean you have to use em'.
You Can just use 1-band and basic Threshold, Ratio, Attack, and Release just like any compressor.
But then have everything else you might want right there in front of you when you need it.
There's obviously a learning curve, as with Everything else, but I think your final statement was the most telling:
"I don't know why it exists!"
But does you not knowing, make It Shit?
Lets take a basic 3-tier mix structure:
Individual Channels --> Group Busses --> 2-Bus
And lets add your SSL (UC1) Channel Strip plugins to all the Channels,
Then add the SSL (UC1) Bus Compressor plugins to all the Groups (Up to 8 in SSL360),
And maybe another SSL Bus Compressor plugin on the 2-Bus.
Pretty standard, and amazing, and all that gear behind you was built for it.
Process Channels, Glue the Busses, Glue the Mix....Done.
Already, the Virtual SSL workflow improves upon an actual SSL workflow, not only in multiple choices of Channel Strips, but by adding Glue comps to the Sub-Busses in addition to and before the Master-Bus Comp (if you even Need a 2-bus comp for glue anymore?), you can avoid the nightmare of everything hitting the 2-Bus compressor all at one.
Many engineers, as I know you know, fought this for decades, most famously (and most elaborately) Michael Brauer, who developed his "Multi-Bus" technique aka "Brauerizing".
But most engineers made due by simply adding a Low-Cut HPF to the sidechain of the comp, allowing us to control what it responds to, namely the bottom end energy. Now that's pretty much standard issue on Every Compressor and plugin. (The next step here is a full-blown EQ on the sidechain allowing total detector shaping.)
Then there's moving the bus compressors down a tier to the Group Busses.
Brauer does it in his unique way, everyone else uses Instrument Groups, allowing you to hit the Glue in smaller sections rendering more control over the results.
Combined with HPF Sidechains, You're in business.
(Add a Mix knob to blend back in the Dry signal, what else do you need?)
So SSL themselves responded by Adding these Mods as Features to all of their hardware and software offerings. Life is complete.
Except another strategy was Multi-Band Processing, where say the Lows and Highs can be treated differently, on basically separate bus compressors. Or Five. (Or Seven...)
Now like the HPF Sidechain the lows don't kill the highs, but you can control even more aspects.
More on that below...
To do this with hardware you'd need to spend a lot of money.
With Plugins...you already spent the money, just add another one.
Except now you need a Crossover!
Enter BlueCat MB7. (for me and well over a decade ago)
Essentially it takes your stereo signal, splits it into 2,3,4,5,6,7-bands, allows you to place Any plugins you want on those bands, and joins it back together.
So imagine your SSL session above:
SSL Channel Strips --> 8-Stereo Group Busses --> Master Bus
Then place BC MB7s on all the Busses.
Use just say 3-Bands: Lows / Mid / Highs.
And stick SSL Bus Compressors in ALL the slots.
Now you went from 1- single SSL Stereo (Quad) Bus Compressor on an actual console.
To 8- Sub-Group SSL Stereo Bus Compressors (w/HPFs and Mix knobs) , feeding that Master Bus.
To now, 8- Three-Band SSL Stereo Bus Compressors, feeding the Mix.
Unnecessary?
Well SSL themselves in addition to the Bus Compressor 2 plugin, also now have the G3 MultiBusComp plugin.
Which is almost exactly what we just built in MB7, but in one simple interface, directly from SSL.
Why does that exist?
****
Stopping here, but I went on forever and didn't finish my thoughts.
Part 2 will have to wait......
Jesus….that’s a long reply. Is this an ad? 🤔😂
@@StudioLife101 Yeahhhh it's not so much a comment as a stream of consciousness.
If it's an ad, it's an ad for sh1t you already own!
Unfortunately, that's about 1/2 of what I wrote.
Stay tuned.....
@@G_handle 😂😂👍
can you do a.o.m invisible limiter next or someday?
Yes 👍
@@StudioLife101
Whoa....Dan's a poet....who'd ever thunk?
Not me 😂😂
@@StudioLife101 hehe...you guy are bunch of cards
Well, at least it's nice looking, kind of retro 80s. Makes me think of Super Breakout.
unfortunately all FLUX plugins click and artefact when changing settings
which they deny, among a number of other things: crashes, stutters, GUI fluttering, and features that haven't worked properly for over a couple years..
and their sales / pricing scheme doesn't make sense at times.
all of which is a shame since they make wonderful software and have generally good customer support (i've had great interactions anyway)
😂 Dan on fire with the witty comments today. As far as Flux goes, they’ve been around for a long time. Always overpriced. I never got along with their plugins. They do weird things to audio I feel. Phase issues? As far as their multiband goes, audition against Pro-MB and you’ll hear what I’m talking about. So. In conclusion, I feel like you’re fluxing right on with your observations and conclusions 😉. lol!
What the hell is de-comp and de-expanding anyways? lol