Is Streaky's Colourbox SNAKE OIL???
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- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- Check Colourbox here: streakyaudio.com/products/col... (direct)
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INDEX:
00:00 Intro
00:31 What is colourbox?
00:56 Warmth, Clarity and Focus
02:15 Saturation
03:01 Who's Streaky?
04:02 Disclosure
04:47 Testing
08:00 Analysis
12:12 Confusion
13:20 Conclusion 
Хобби
Thanks of the review…you got it bang on. 🙏
It’s a simple plugin of my favourite EQ curves, when they are combined it makes new curves that become random but still sounding nice.
Pretty non tech, just turn the knob hear the change… I wanted it to be fun and less about knowing what you’re actually doing and more about using your ears.
I hope it helps people get to the result they are looking for quicker.
You know exactly what you're doing. If you just wanted it to be fun, you wouldn't put that kind of a price on it. All you're doing is squeezing the newbies for your own profit and it's disgusting.
@@Vindsvept Noobs don't pay full price for plugs, they wait for a sale. 🙂(edit) we all do ha ha
lost my respect, snake oiiiil plugin.
I'm not against a plugin like this, but I agree with you, I would rather know how to achieve it with my FF / SSL / Newfangled / Sonible plugs. I respect Streaky's expertise and have several of his courses but I think it's for some users but not for me. Tx for your insights. 😊
I like the Plugin, It should call Clarity in the eyes because people they are blind
You've been very kind with your fellow colleague
Too kind ;-)
It's ridiculous that people sell things like this when we have heroes like Analog Obsession in our space.
And Variety of Sound, Tokyo Dawn Labs, Air Windows, Yuri Semenov, etc.
Bro, the Kolins and KolinMB, based off the 50s compressor Collins 26u1. It’s so tubey and colorful, it’s great. Analog obsession is a go to, when I know certain versions don’t crash my daw but hey he’s one guy lol
None of the brands mentioned here makes plugins with the same purpose. Colourbox is a shortcut plugin for achieving results in specific ranges. We could say that Analog Obsession makes plugins with fixed frequencies as well, but it will still not be a shortcut plugin.
Yea, that's absolutely clear. One is a huge cash grab and waste of time, while the others are not. The difference in integrity is much greater than the functionality, that's the issue here.@@oh515
analog obsession kinda sucks.
The 30 minute demo with added white noise is just hilarious. :D
On his website, a user reviewed it 5 stars, saying it replaced 5 plugins on their master chain... How a plugin with 4 parameters (one being output volume) replaces 5 plugins beats me, but if it is related to using your ears to master, I guess this plugin is onto something...
€100 for basically a three band EQ. Er...no.
Would you pay €10000 for a Pultec
@@NPC_averagemale003 Absolutely NOT
@@NPC_averagemale003I paid 2k for the gainlab empress. A sort of modern pultec But its analog, has tubes (including a tube drive mode), selective frequencies. This thing is no pultec
Yeah this is so basic it ends up being stupid. This is worthy of being a free plugin.
bUt iTs mAsT3r1nG qUaLiTy
Wytse this is not just snake oil it's pure scam for $120
I enjoy trying to recreate these plugins using Ableton Live. If I can't get close, then I consider buying. In this case, I'd just open an empty effects rack, load it with 3 EQ Eights and a Saturator. Then I'd map each one to a knob to dial in the EQ curves you showed with plugin doctor. And BAM! There's my custom colourbox.
You wouldn't even need the saturator and you could do it with one instance of EQ Eight. You only need 6 bands for this. Now granted, you'd have to figure out whether it's stereo processing or there is mid-side action involved, if you want to do a really accurate job!
This is the best advice on the internet connected with any plugins. Make it using stock and macros - it will help you understand them well enough to really think about if they are adding anything particularly clever that is worth the purchase. And it also it will remind you how good stock FXs are and really how to use them
You might be Able-ton recreate this plug in
@@akagerhard True, it may require only one instance of EQ Eight. I like to start 'big' and then refine it later if it seems worth it. Good tip though.
@@Crypto2638 😉
£97? Should be free for such a simple plugin.
I will say more, they should give us 10 dollars so that we want to use this plugin)
I fr thought it was free💀..
I thought he was tryna do something nice for the upcoming artists
The plugin in itself is not snake oil, however with the 97 dollar price tag, it becomes snake oil simply because any DAW can do the same already as this plugin
If it says it saturates, but doesn't audibly saturate, that's snake oil to me.
97 ...well at least it's not 99 😅
You’re way to nice about this plug-in, this is the most snake oil plug-in I’ve ever seen!!
Sadly, there’s even worse out there. (Although within the mastering audio realm exclusively, this may take the cake)
Check out Ave Macree review of Kyle Beats “Sandbox” if you wanna see an hysterical burn on a TOTAL scam of a plugin (from a prominent YT producer). Streaky’s little eq box is a damn UAD plugin compared to Kyle’s lol
I think you are being very generous with your words and I respect that. At least there are no wild claims. I do respect that but almost $100 for some EQ curves 🤔
But Pultecs...
I agree. You were being too generous. That annoying 30 second hiss is just unnecessary on a 30 minute demo! Streaky makes great, informative videos. Unfortunately, this plugin just looks like a rather cheap money-spinner imho. It's a shame because I think he could create a much better product.
@@NPC_averagemale003this thing has three knobs. How would you even compare it to a Pultec?
It's hard to build a pultec. Plus those were invented before digital. We use pultecs now only as a luxury. They used to be necessity. @@NPC_averagemale003
Huge freaking scam 😂😂💀 Unison would be proud of this 😂 from the functionality to the pricing 🫠
I love Streaky's channel and the info he provides, but $100 is way too much for this.
100 BUCKKS?? I thought it would be like 10, i mean sorry i really like streaky too, but 100 bucks for an eq curve is just a rip-off...
@@audionerdlilcuzI wouldn’t say he’s a conman but honestly a lot of his advice is horrible and I don’t know how people can’t see it, even when he’s explaining things he’s stammering and going in circles but people are lapping it up
he doesn't provide info, it's all nonsense. if you want to get better stop following these charlatans and simply go practice.
stop watching all the clickbait youtubers that don't actually know what they are doing. If you want to learn, go pay money and get 1 on 1 lessons from established people in the industry
@@memeswillneverdie That's what I don't understand with streaky. He seems to have had a long and legitimate career as a mastering engineer but instead of being honest and helpful, he decided to throw away his name and credibility by doing "This One Secret Frequency All The Pros Use!" type videos.
Pure clean EQ but name it Color Box ? If that's not a scam dont know what that is.
LOOOOLLL for real
I can't stop laughing about you're saying "This is a really BIIIIIG plugin, look at the size of the box!" - it's absurdly funny
I think you are being very diplomatic and careful with your fellow youtuber and that's good thing cause this is how you probably would express yourself if he was in front of you. You still gave your genuine opinion about the plugin and that's also a good thing.
Streaky needs to join UNISON .. Snake oiling together!
lolol
Streaky has always been a conma-err I mean salesman.
In regards to Mid-Side analysis in Plugin Doctor - top right there is a LR button, clicking it changes to MS.
That’s not what he meant. He means that since the plugin adds some MS EQ when you drive it, he asked “what does it do?” Meaning where is it adding it
This is very close to a scam IMHO. It's amazing that we have good info from people like you, thanks!
Streaky IS a snakeoil sales man himself lol
Y'all have seen his ads, right? 😂
His one size fits all mix “tips” shorts are the bane of my existence.
I block ads. 😉
But it's no different to this channel. There's a reason this Dutch dude is in a room alone.
Yeah. Like when he emails you to congratulate you on being enrolled, and then sends another email later to say it was a mistake, but if it’s of interest you can buy the course,,, blah blah.
Hate that bait crap, and just says to me he’s not a genuine person.
@@sub40hztold him to f off and he did the same thing ("it was a mistake I sowwyyy"). ty for confirming my suspicion. gonna go waste some of his time now.
Can't help but think if it was an unknown developer out there you would have SHREDDED this in the review...you were very generous in this one.
I find it very kind and almost touching the way you cautiously speak. This is a plugin for normal people who know nothing but should quickly learn something about EQ-ing. A snake oil for rich noobs who don't want to improve their skills.
Kush makes a nice EQ with Focus and Clarity knobs on it which is pretty useful. Your SOL if you want any Warmth though. Your review is spot on.
The simple answer seems to be "Yep!"!
I always love your insights. With that, I own this plugin and I love it. Is it the end all? That's to be determined. But, I am one of those musicians that loves a one knob fix. When I'm in the heat of it all, Colorbox is really cool. I use it like I would a plugin preset. It gets me in the right starting place. Sometimes it's spot on. It has never led me astray. Worth the money? I guess it depends on how much you want to tinker with things. I don't always have to know how it works, I just need it to work. And this plugin works very well. High five to Streaky for making it and high five to you for giving us your perspective. Snake oil? I don't think so. It serves a great purpose. Keep up the great work!
Helpful video, as usual!! 🙂✌💛
I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but it sounds like three different eq curves that's being paralleled with the signal. Similar to parallel equalizing or a send return bus routing. I just tried it using the Pro-Q3 and got close to similar results. Since it's not directly on the signal, it doesn't become really harsh. The plugin is a little pricey but I am a fan of it. Good for you Streaky.
There was an older version call Smiley (I've got it) - the idea is to get a track ready for more detailed mastering, so you use it first in the processor chain and it makes life easier - Smiley has no controls at all, I imagine Colourbox to be the same but with the controls so you can tune it in a bit more - then you follow with ProQ3 and a compressor etc to do the 'fine work' - Streaky does not like much saturation at the mastering stage ;-) Now that it's available generally people might find a use for it on drums mixes, vocals, synths - I'm not going to buy it myself, but as the sound is pretty cool I wish him luck with it
Well, it was 5-10 minutes of good fun recreating it in Ableton and saving it as a "plugin". I'll try it out - those curves could actually end up being useful to try out what a track lacks if one is uncertain. It's faster than setting these curves up manually - that's for sure. But it's also a lot less flexible!
I could see it being a neat lil' plugin if it were free, like a Fresh Air or something similar...for £97.00 that's a terribly rough sell.
The UI looks nice at least.
I demoed this when it first came out. Love the look of it on my screen. When I gain matched the input and output I was thoroughly unimpressed with the result which I liked at first because of the look and the increased loudness. For $10, I might buy it. For $100, I'll never think about it again.
Thanks for telling us what we need to know in a fair manner without theatrics.
This is the HMD Rosetta EQ, but with far fewer controls for twice the price.
Also, that plugin makes it clear it’s an EQ, not pretending to have some analogue saturation “colour”.
Ok so in the comment Streaky said it's "just an EQ with some saturation no BS". And yet on the site it says "Mid/Side EQ magic", which leads one to think these knobs are kind of macro knobs doing all kinds of things under the hood. That if anything is pure BS. Also the fact that it's not even really saturating???
I like Streaky and have picked up some great tips from him, unfortunately this plugin is very disappointing, I'm shocked that he has put this out and is charging so much for it!
Maybe go back and revisit some of the "great tips" he's given you...
It's exactly the kind of thing he would put out
What I dont get with those plugins ... If you have input and output faders, why cant they put a number above or below showing the peak level... so it is easier to turn it down and dont have to A/B 3-4 Times...
Probably the reason behind this is content creators. Some people don’t want to go deep into learn how to properly use eq etc (I’ve seen people who really dislike to mix/master). Audio engineers on the other hand wants to learn and use tools however they want and they put more effort on that. Just like I really don’t like to use internet samples and therefore I purchased some synths to make my own, but some people just want to throw a loop and that’s it.
I’m learning a lot and the journey to the audio engineer is for me so interesting
hahahaha. Salt and pepper seasoning description is wild lol.
Thanks for the video and for going into everything! too many excuses and too many doubts! three-knob equalizer but the description sounds like it’s a super device. marketing and that’s all. thanks a lot for treating other people's work with respect, no matter what it is
Geez, "colorbox" with no color (saturation) and just clean EQ curves. Also claims "limitless possibilities" which it clearly cannot since it isn't even a fully functional EQ. Hard pass. Thanks for the review, saved me $100+.
I disagree, the knob indicator literally add different colors when you turn them up and there’s no limiter included so you can rightfully argue it’s limit less 🤓
I seriously did consider buying this but eventually opted for the Audio Issues EQ as it offered way more features for the same price, and still has all the useful jargon such as 'warmth' 'Mud' etc. I love you to review that plugin, as I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on it? It's a very capable and feature packed EQ with all the learning jargon built in.
There’s a plugin company called Audio Issues ? Lol
Did the warmth get wider when u turned it up or was I hearing things?
It's like a Fisher Price Pultec. Sounds ok. Looks good. Costs a lot!
I'll stick with the Variety of Sound plugins thanks.
Get a Pro Q3 and learn to use it inside out
Colour , Warmth , Clarity , why not call it what it actually is .. This plugin is obviously aimed at people that don't understand that you can do the same with a simple eq ... It would be ok if it cost like 20 pounds , But 97 pounds for a 3 band eq .. OVER PRICED
I would go for TDR SlickeqM... the meta filters and saturation
There is no real saturation there, pay attention to the scale for the harmonics, it’s well below the listening threshold (roughly 75db below the main signal, call it 100 to be more generous) it still falls well below that number.
It should really be free since your stock eq can do this, it’s not especially unique curves either
5-10$ plugin bth
THINK THIS IS PERFECT FOR SOME THAT NEED QUICK RESULTS OR DONT KNOW EQ YET, BOUT 60 QUID AND IT BE PERFECT.
What's the deal with the (non-existent) saturation?
Sounds like a grading system for underpants laundry! 😂
There are multiple grammatical errors and typos in the copy (you know what that means), the website is as plain and bare bones as it gets, the video that's playing in the background is super low res... everything checks out for a low effort cashgrab 👍
“It’s a 30 minute demo, do you really think people are gonna misuse it?”
Oh man, you have no idea what I can do in half an hour lmao
To me the only problem with this is the lack of volume compensation which is surprising as Streaky advises a lot about not being fooled into thinking something sounds better just because it’s louder. That only seems to be an issue when the ‘saturation’ button is engaged though. If you’re someone who likes to be anal about analysing frequencies etc you don’t really need this, but if you’re just using your ears and want to quickly add a little extra vibe to a drum buss or even a master this is pretty cool.
thanks
is it saturating the sides?
One more plugin scam. With all due respect, for the price, it's to take advantage of people that mix with their eyes. Most Daw's do this for free and fast
ok, so they use their eyes to - look at the colour on the (S) ? I don't understand how you can use the eyes to judge anything with this plugin, it's just three knobs with 3 primary colors
@@realraven2000 it's more to due to cognitive bias. People can believe it does more than what actually does behind the scenes. In the end can make someone spend almost 100$ on something they can be done for free and pretty fast in any daw with stock or free plugins
The Dog Particle
"Look how big the box is"🤣
You're being polite; it's pure snake oil. Scam 101.
Educating people 😊😊😊
I agree with both you and Streaky that it is what it is. Every new producer (and there are probably thousands every day) goes through the stage where they need a quick fix just to get the music out there while they're learning to hear better. This is a good plugin for that stage. Also, every producer ends up with many more plugins than they need because they purchase them while at one point of knowledge and then move to a new point of knowledge where they no longer need them. But the key here is not what it looks like on a curve but what your ears tell you. And that's what Streaky is going for. So...I guess I just defended him🙂
You know what plugin is worth it from a fellow youtuber? Argent Compressor
Please send elf boy a full version of your plugin when you ask him to review. Thank you!
Free to cheap, sure why not. If it works sometimes it works.
But, he is just taking the piss with the price alone.
I even like the dudes content.
Streaky himself is snakeoil.....
Muchas gracias
Streaky on the stroke haha, remembered this from way back when he launched it i downloaded the trial but never even bothered with it when i saw the price, what a streaky stroke indeed
I find that what it does somewhat similar to Clariphonics with only 3 knobs.
The fact that there is noise in a 30 minute demo is reason enough to not buy this even if it was 10 dollars. I’m sorry but if you’re trying to hide how your plugin sounds so much it makes me way too skeptical
I think EQ you don’t need Gain compensation because you’re equalizing the frequency ranges into place, not wanting the auto gain to change the balance with the mix.
lol what?
It'll compensate the entire sound, not just that specific range
Is only a Eq!, on a harmonic level not long ago, but its curves are soft
So there’s no saturation despite it being a major marketing point?
It may sound nice but you can basically copy the eq curves into any eq and use an additional saturator, charging 100 for this is way too overpriced for what it does... Compare it to smart eq for example, which is much cheaper and it adjusts the curves to the sound and has a lot more functions... I wonder how many sales they got for this, they could probably make a much larger total if it was 20 max...
A long time ago, there was once a company who produced a range of "One-Knob" plugins **cough** Waves **cough**
At that time, I was always against this approach. However, you're right in saying that some people will gain a lot from this kind of plugin, simply for the fact it speeds up workflow for them. They don't have to learn how to mix if something does it for them, automatically choosing nice frequencies to balance. I have a saying: _"Sit back and let it mix itself."_ This plugin helps with that philosophy.
It's akin to a 3-band equaliser on a hifi system, but for mix engineers, and it has specially tailored curves designed by someone who is experienced in the industry. Beginner mix engineers can't go wrong with that, and as they progress they can learn from what sounds good and what sounds bad until they're experienced enough to experiment themselves.
I'd say people should go for it if they think it'll help their mixes. Maybe try out the demo. If it works, it works. Although, it's personally not for me. I have my own tricks up my sleeve. :)
Thanks
I just subscribed. Have been watching a few for a few years. Snake Oil. That's Cool. Even to an old 63 year old man from Arkansas. Got a Ch. Of my own. Just started putting up content. Music I play. Everything. And then put them to video. Not professional at all. But some times there is magic. Not!! A talent givven. But I have fun in the producing of it. And new plugins do inspire me to be more creative. Like your style. Stay that way. Later
Well, where's the mid/side processing that was promised on the website? And what Streaky said and what the advertisement says are two very different things... Also, some EQ-curves and veeeery subtle saturation, which btw I doubt has anything to do with being sampled from his hardware, are not something new and valuable to be pushing the price point like that. I'd say snake oil
Not much change from £100, wow didnt expect that! 25 per knob 😂😂😂
Streaky is a salesman to the core. He sells his personality, but that’s about it. I’d gladly join him on a night out on the town, but I’d never take his music production advice, services nor his plugin.
I’ve tried his mastering services on an EDM track, out of curiosity, and the result wasn’t anywhere near a pro level at all
Any Pultec emulation with the proper settings does the same!
Audioutuber sounds good.
Try Warmth 60 Clarity 60 and Focus 25 with all saturation knobs turned on. You'll honestly hear a little improvement.
$97 NO
$0.97 Maybe
a saturation button that doesn't add saturation. hmm...whatever will they think of next?
Reminds me of the free lkjb ReFine.
i think you've been way too gentle on this one. a plugin that costs over 100€ and does exactly what you could do with the free eq that comes with any daw in one minute can doubtlessly be called snake oil.
even if you struggle with eq in general, you can make a preset with bands like these once and then only adjust the individual gain. it reminds me of the infamous midi chord packs.
the only redeeming factor is that he mentions that it's just eq curves, but as it's only in the comments and not on the website the snake oil sticker can still be applied.
When you are not a professional it is difficult to identify the processes behind a plug in (almost always eq, comp and sat) and how to achieve them even with stock plug ins, from that point of view plug ins of this style are a great help. They are clearly not aimed at experts.
It has notes of burnt bits, with highlights of vaporized software bytes.
Great review - Made me decide clearly NOT TO BUY. I had lots of questions that Streaky didn't attend to in his IN YA FACE adverts which you did. I'm NO audio engineer but I can see that with a few chained EQ's on the mix bus that I'll get much the same. Streaky is preying on many it seems to me to make a few extra sheckles.
I would consider it if it was around 25 euros
I’d literally just use a Pulteq for the same purpose - doesn’t seem to add much value at all and $100 is a lot for a fairly basic plugin
You need a gold power cable connected to your computer to unlock the saturation 😐
Seems to be like the bass and treble knobs on my stereo system 🤔
As an 'artist'... that is EXACTLY what I like about it. And... the GUI is the next thing. Specifically, I have hundreds of other plugins... thousands of parameters to get lost in. High quality, surgical, complex stuff. This plugin is 'easy'... but as you suggest, is very much like the tone controls on a well designed stereo receiver, from the old days. Those EQ's were really effective, on the higher quality receivers; simple... but easy to adjust. :)
It may be true that there is a market for this plugin, but perhaps only because unscrupulous manufacturers are happy to create one.
I used to work for a car reviewer years ago, and I noticed that there was never a bad word said about any car in the reviews. I once asked the business owner (and script writer) why. He just said there are no bad cars, just ones that aren't what you're looking for. So he only ever ended up reviewing from a target market perspective, often peppered with the phrase 'if you prioritise x, then perhaps this isn't the car for you'.
However the cynical truth behind that, is of course that if he gave a bad review he would no longer have a business as the manufacturers would not let him test the cars. And I think it is the inevitable end point of all reviewers in the end... unless they can stay truly independently from the manufacturers.
In this case however, it seems that Streaky ('Sneaky'?) being the shrewd marketer that he is, got the Colourbox to you first before you had a chance to do it independently, so that you wouldn't be able to do your usual (and much appreciated) no holes barred snake oil video about it. Having said that, I suspect most of us were reading between the lines and understood exactly what you weren't saying anyway! 👍
All the best.
clever use of the RGB concept (left to right and combination of the three on the S button)
This will be on a free plugin website one day 😂😂
Ozone Exciter instead...