Plug-in colours

[operator_tape]

Are there any people out there who have used specific plugins out there, and noticed that they color the sound. I don't know maybe I'm crazy but does one plugin compressor actually sound different from another besides having different controls and graphics. Any thoughts?

[andyg666]

yeah they absolutely sound different. sure, plug ins are basically all math, but different plug in programmers have different ways of telling the software how to perform the neccessary calculations. some plugs try to emulate different outboard gear (bomb factory). some plugs try to be totally transparent (waves linear phase EQ). But they have subtly or drastically different sounds, just as real gear does.

[Family Hoof]

Plug-ins most certainly do sound different from one another! and why wouldn't they? Do different outboad digital effects such as reverbs sound different from one another? Of course! It's the same thing except your computer hardware is doing the calculations instead of a dedicated device. The theoretical behavior of any electrical component or circuit can be simulated mathematically with good programming.
If you're looking for some real vibey and "analog/vintage" sounding plug-ins I would suggest any plug-in by the following companies:
Bomb Factory
Waves Renaissance
MsDSP (especially analog channel)

If you want to hear some of these plug-ins at work in a low budget setup, check out these two tunes i recorded:

Song 1 (McDSP and Waves plugs, also uses cassette tape overdrive on some tracks)

Song 2 (BF plugs, all digital)

[logancircle]

What's the deal with Waves linear phase EQ? What is the linear phase part of it?

[andyg666]

by nature, EQ disrupts phase to an extent. i forgot the exact science of it all but i think most digital EQ is done using infinitessimal delays to cause frequency build-up or cancellation due to phasing. ample amounts of gain reduction or boosting can smear a stereo image or do other nasty phasy things. the linear phase EQ (part of the new masters bundle) is designed to minimize that effect. in reality--the linear phase EQ sounds transparent. if you A/B it with the rennesaice EQ plug, the same boost or cut at the same freq with the same Q sounds different. it's hard to describe the difference, just that one has a "sound" and one doesn't.

http://www.waves.com/default.asp?url=content.asp?id=137

[operator_tape]

I guess the different algorythms do sound different. Thanks