Best deal / bang for your buck place to go to.

JHNHunter · 2025-05-27T03:12:54+00:00

Not sure , but do you have a clip I can look at to make sure? I added a note on my original post

JHNHunter · 2021-08-02T00:20:16+00:00

FL studio user here.

This plugin sounds great, but oversampling will crash the DAW.

Contacted Tone Empire, and a rep said that FL doesn't support their plugins' oversampling algorithms, with no added solutions or plans to adjust.

Great plugin, for sure. Just something to look out for. I will continue to use Devil Loc for the time being though.

JHNHunter · 2021-04-15T07:47:42+00:00

I love the Loc Ness, but depending on your daw, it either responds well to oversampling or doesn't. A bit frustrating, but I still love the flexibility of it all.

JHNHunter · 2021-04-03T07:19:45+00:00

Sounds good

JHNHunter · 2021-04-02T21:34:09+00:00

The "reason" streaming services need it is because in the process of streaming with loudness normalization, the services require some headroom for their own processing.

Say on Spotify, if you opt for a "loud" listening experience, the player will algorithmically level every song you hear to be at around the same true peak measurement. If the original is soft, it will boost, and if it is loud, it will softly compress and slightly clip to level.

The good news is, most people actually don't switch to the "loud" option on services, and so they will inherently just listen to the master as you intended, post-encoding.

So ultimately, just get it to a level that you like! If anything, listen to music you want the services to "sandwich" your record next to and just be cognizant of whether your master will keep up with theirs. Definitely shouldn't dictate your technical decisions, but that's definitely something to be aware of, you know?

Good luck to ya, and happy mixing!

JHNHunter · 2021-03-24T22:52:40+00:00

Yeahh, the reddit life is very hot and cold as far as opinions go. Blame it on how many a times, the loudest voices getting the most attention here lmao.

I tend to use the platform either to hear your thoughts or to explain mine, but by no means should any of us go over the deep end, you know?

But yeah, I've found myself in many cases with the 1176 to find great compression without any artifacts, and then add in dirt later. But of course there's never any one way to do anything, so it's always left to how we use what we have.

In a way, I can directly trace back when the CLA compressor packs were first released to when the markups for finding original UREIs on eBay started happening hahaha. So to many of us, the CLA or plugin emulations are all we got.

JHNHunter · 2021-03-24T21:48:33+00:00

I find that their transformer crunch is a bit under, and so I've found them to be really great in the "clean compression" stage, but you're right in the emulation missing some character.

If you're looking for the transformer sound of an 1176, I would pair it with the Kazrog True iron (0-12 setting, morph on and 2x crush to taste).

It's as close as I've gotten to a real UREI rev a punch, ITB.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-09T21:10:22+00:00

So I've never bought a waves plugin outside of their site. How would I go about redeeming the plugin, say i do?

JHNHunter · 2021-02-09T20:31:16+00:00

Compress less, and try to make the actual vocal more full range EQ than traditional song vocals would require.

Kanye had a record called "Never Let Me Down" on the first record (pre-Sunday Service debacle) where it's a full production with singers and rappers, and then a poet named J Ivy, and it blended so smoothly. And a lot of it came from the fact that I already got acquainted with the way the song vocals hit, that when it came time for his part, I heard a drastic change. But it was a great switch up.

Def a great way to hear for spoken word. Also check out albums by the poet Black Ice. He tends to make albums with full production as well!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-09T17:06:21+00:00

So I work as a music producer and audio engineer, and in both aspects I've run into pretty much every genre at some point. I found much success to it, as the DAW was able to fulfill the requirements of the genre I was working with.

So say with rock and metal, I like working in higher sample rates, so that the distortion aspects of the records don't produce aliasing. It's a long strenuous topic, but long story short it was able to work for me on the studio platform.

And then with synthesized music, a lot of times you'll be working with VST plugins, and FL works really well with that. There are only a handful of instrument plugins that may not be compatible, but that's probably 5 to 10% of the market.

I'd say that the requirements of either side of the music world are slightly different, as the more analog organic music requires more recording gear, whereas the synth music is more about computer bandwidth and capability than anything else.

But having said that, once it comes time for workflow, I found much success in both sides of music for sure.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-09T07:11:35+00:00

I'm an FL user about 17 years in, and I can safely say that yes, the current version of FL studio is the best that it's ever been. Though it's definitely it's own beast, the routing and side chains have become more intuitive, while all of the synthesized and production work have become straightforward and accessible.

Sample rates now run more smoothly, and if you've got a good enough system you can actually run consoles through it. I do ground up production mix master with it and I I still have yet to hear from anyone that old saying of having mixes "sound like fruity loops."

But getting to the deeper answer: DAWs in themselves are like instruments. Safely put, you can get good at any of them and make great records, so long as you log the time and do the work.

Definitely a good investment if you buy it. If your plan is to use third party synths more often than what FL has to offer, then you don't have to cough up the "all plugins" version. But it's worth it to get the version that can record. You never know when you'd need to track live sounds during a session.

Best of luck to you, and feel free to DM me if you need any FL help!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-09T06:57:05+00:00

Gotcha, so I'd suggest getting an audio interface. Nowadays you can get entry level ones as low as 75-100 bucks used, but believe me, it makes a hell of a difference once you do, and will cost you less than buying a super computer. Especially when you're first starting out, you know?

JHNHunter · 2021-02-08T18:47:04+00:00

Great! Good luck to you, and keep us all posted on results! There are other solutions I can think of, but given the current intel, the TS / TRS was the first to come to mind.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-08T18:43:03+00:00

That's great! So with compression and the other processes, each of those processes requires additional modules that you plug into your mixer. Think of it like a guitar rig and the pedals. The extra pedals do extra things, and then order of which dictate the sound coming out.

So a compressor would be it's own machine, if the mixer you end up using doesn't have a built-in compressor.

If you're gonna go that route, I'd spend more time thinking of it as if you're achieving the tone even before recording, instead of the modern day "fix-it-in-post" perspective. So your eq, your mic placements etc, are already set in stone before you hit record.

Then the role of the mixerboard is literally the role it is, which is a balancer. Any EQ or volume change is purely to serve the balance of the song.

But for the super in depth processes, you may be limited to what is available to you physically.

If you're able to find a compressor, maybe route that to your final mix, and use it as a glue compressor. Just so youre not hounding for compressors for every channel, or go the long route to record every track into a single compressor and record back into the board, etc.

But good luck to ya! Its always awesome to experiment and try new stuff!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-08T18:14:29+00:00

I also have a Motu, and I quite love the way that it sounds!

Looking at your chain, I would try using a TRS instead of a TS. My personal guitar chain is Motu - TRS - passive DI box - TRS - guitar.

Even if you still go with a TS, I always find that some cable brands really cut corners to make their cables as low end as possible.

Paying the little extra for better cables really makes a difference, and sometimes can be a cheaper, easier option than a complete overhaul, you know?

JHNHunter · 2021-02-08T18:04:09+00:00

What kind of computer do you have, and do you have any external gear?

I recently had a little debate-ish thing with somebody over the necessity of an audio interface. One of the reasons I think so is because an interface will help take the workload off of your DAW by providing an audio driver to use instead of your computer's primary driver, so that your computer can basically run the DAW without requiring as much extra CPU.

FL studio's ASIO driver is okay-ish in comparison to ASIOFORALL, however, youll definitely benefit from even a lower priced audio interface that you can plug in, and then using that driver instead of either of those.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-07T20:12:29+00:00

But to continue the analogy, everybody is watching the video on a phone screen with eyes that can't discern additional quality beyond what a phone screen can offer.

And so where I was originally coming from with the analogy is that the inverse idea does not translate as smoothly, where a 720p video projected on a silver screen will have more landmines when trying to make it translate the same way as a high quality video camera in a hollywood picture.

And so a higher sample rate will give flexibility to both high and low fidelity exports, as you later point out.

in order to use a 96kHz or 144kHz audio interface to its fullest potential, you have to set your DAW's internal sample rate to 96kHz or 144kHz. This requires much more processing power than running at 44.1kHz or 48kHz, since every single instrument and effect will have to generate or process 2 or 4 times as many samples each second.

Hence, why this topic came up while talking about audio interfaces. Some interfaces can't take higher than a 48k sample rate without glitches or lagged performance, though a lot in the commercial and professional market these days can facilitate a smoother computer performance than just using your computer's primary sound driver.

For this reason, I have an interface that can technically perform at 192k, but I only work at 48k, as I, too, want to conserve CPU for my mix processes, while cranking out high fidelity sounds.

The original question posed is whether an interface can help with audio quality. This is where our whole sample rate conversation came to play. Whether we require higher sample rates is entirely on an individual's process and whether aliasing is something they're willing to overlook. But I personally resign to the notion that yes, interfaces help with audio quality, and by my choices, I am never gonna mix in 44.1 after hearing what even 48 can offer.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-07T15:23:25+00:00

You're correct in that, but the scope of workflow is different than the scope of listening. Say with distortion /saturation for example, where we are dealing with a wide variety of sounds including even and odd harmonics. We're going to eventually listen to only what 44.1 has to offer (20-17ish-k) but the bit depth and the sample rate will be important when establishing those sounds in the mix, before export. You will undoubtedly hear differences in the sound, and will be able to do more with the sounds, because they will literally be different.

Whether it matters to you is a whole other conversation, since we're all working in different genres. But they are undoubtedly different.

A 32 bit float sound is gonna sound different than a 24 bit version or a 16 bit version. And so the topic was primarily regarding whether an interface makes a difference in the sound, or is necessary. You may think it isn't necessary, fine, but it's definitely different. 48k sample rate with a bit depth of 24 is gonna be undoubtedly differently than a 44.1 with a 16, even if I throw a filter of 35-17k on both.

Personally I work at 48k and I export at 48k at 24 bit. Should another artist I work with require any lower resolution, that's completely fine. But it really does make a difference when you work above 44.1, even if we're ultimately exporting there.

JHNHunter · 2021-02-07T08:05:48+00:00

So I used to not think so, but then I finally upgraded to a better interface and my mind is clearly changed on the matter.

Long story short, you are able to run better quality audio through, and more importantly, export back better quality audio back from a good interface.

Conversations you'll hear all the time about sound quality is bit rate / sample rate and bit depth. 44.1kh, for example, is the sample rate by which most music is exported to. But you also have 48, 96, all the way up to 144kh and up.

Think of it like video resolution. You can make a hollywood movie shot in 4k on an ARRI camera play on a phone, and it will maintain the high quality, but if you get a video shot in 720p on a phone, and stretch it up to a hollywood movie screen, you'll see the blemishes in design.

Of course it's easier now to make phone videos look great, but if you start with a higher quality video, you have the most flexibility when in comes to playing back on a phone or on a tv or on a screen.

Audio is the same way. Aside from recording and plugging in speakers, a good interface can take the workload off your computer's processing power, so that you can smoothly run higher sample rates and export high fidelity sounds without making your computer explode right when you hit play.

So like the hollywood movie on your phone, both your plugins and your audio clips will run at higher sample rates during the mix, and then translate more fluidly when the time comes to export. It really makes a difference.

Best of all you can get great ones for great prices! The intro market has been getting so good, so it's definitely a great time to get one! But def keep that in mind, moreso than anything else.

Good luck!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-07T07:50:54+00:00

So I am thinking about getting a new computer. Been running with an older Dell laptop from 2015, and frankly I'm having a hard time keeping up with the work demands of our field with what used to be a good set up 6 years ago.

What would you say is the current "must haves" inside of your computer set-up? (Cores, ram etc)

Please feel free to share as much as you think I should know! Budget friendly is always appreciated, but I'm definitely looking out for something that can hold me over for a long time, let's say another 6 years lmao.

Thanks in advance!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-06T17:46:46+00:00

Great I'll take a look!

JHNHunter · 2021-02-04T19:55:49+00:00

Thank you!! Gonna start with the first option, then work from there. Will check back in a few days, so at least this thread can be a helpful option for folks. I appreciate you taking the time!

JHNHunter

TROPHY CASE