Remarkable new plugins at unbelievable prices...

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:05 pm

From Stillwell Audio...

http://www.stillwellaudio.com/

I can quite honestly say that I'm completely floored by how good some of these puppies sound - particularly the Rocket compressor and the 1973 eq.

And Scott - the developer - operates an honesty box policy much like Reaper in that the plugs aren't crippled, but you pay to lose the nag screen when you've decided that they're worth the $$.

And, believe me, you will.

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:57 pm

Kwik bump on these...for those of you still interested in making your great music sound even better in Live. For next to no money.

As opposed to spending all night being <ahem> "controversial" on the forum.

subbasshead · Post by **subbasshead** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:00 am

Stilwells Olga is a great synth too!!!!!!

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:12 am

I've demoed a few in the past.

The results were variable. I prefer Live 7's compressor for most things although stuff like Major Tom is fine for a specific purpose, being that it is trying to emulate a dbx 160, which it succeeds at fairly well, although not as good as Liquid Mix or UAD etc plugins (albeit at a far cheaper cost).

I think that even though the cost is reasonable, I don't necessarily like most of the stuff better than freeware such as Kjaerhus's Classic plugins for PC. I also think that most DAWS come with equal or better, certainly Logic, Samplitude and Sonar have some very tasty compressors, reverbs and channel strip type plugins. And the new vst3 plugins in Cubase 4 stack up too.

I think if you have Reaper Stilwell represents a good deal, given that most of Reaper's stock plugins are not exactly barnburners and that you get a discount if using them in Reaper.

Live's plugins are fine, you just need to work a bit harder with the settings. The fact that you can create all kinds of possibilities in racks too and if you look at some of the stuff puremagnetik and covert operators have done with Live's FX you can see that they are not lame at all, just some of (Live's built in) presets are !

Of course, this is all just my opinion and yours might differ. Try them out and see if they float your boat. I am a big fan of Voxengo and Audio Damage plugins, both of whom sell their plugins at reasonable prices too. You don't always need a Waves Mercury Bundle or Sonnox Bundle or UAD-1 to have some nice plugins.

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:54 pm

I think some of Live's plugs are world class - the Compressor does a fine job and the Saturator is outstanding...the eq is also pretty respectable...

They can't touch the latest Stillwell offerings though IMO. I've been A/B-ing the Rocket against some nice hardware gear and it punches way past its weight in comparison.

Also - the Vibe eq does a very good job of being the mythical 'make it better' button than any other software attempt I've heard. Not quite Neve, Avalon or even UA6176 territory, but close enough to make me very excited for what the next couple of years may bring if this quality of coding continues.

elxicano · Post by **elxicano** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:02 pm

I personally don't care for comparing Live's tools/FX because they're great for something and then sometimes I need something else.

I do love some of the products from stillwell.

I will be picking up Tinman at some point. I haven't played around with Rocket enough to give a solid opinion, but given they say it is a "Character" compressor, I don't think it'd be bad to have that around too.

+1 for Olga (the synth). It's great at what it does.

I also love the Oligarc FX suite... some great tools here. IMO they're top notch.

Mostly they produce specialty items and they should probably be thought of in that sense rather than something that would replace a built in FX from Live. Basically its just different stuff and and having something different is always great.

Superchibisan · Post by **Superchibisan** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:33 pm

i've never seen these plugs before.

i LOVE the interfaces. very well done and gorgeous and fun to look at.

the sound i will try. they compressor and the fx suite look like a lot of fun. thanks for the link!

evernaut · Post by **evernaut** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:19 pm

The GUIs are really stunning, but the sound is what ultimately counts for yourself or your clients, and the four plugs I've tested deliver in spades.

The Event Horizon limiting plug (for eg) is easily the most transparent/loudest software limiter I've ever heard - and the two categories rarely go hand in hand.

I love the whole reductionist approach too - just turn a coupla knobs and use your ears kinda thing...everything that I love about hardware in fact.

jamester · Post by **jamester** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:52 am

I'm a big fan, the new rocket compressor is phenomenal. The discount's nice as well, being a Reaper user, but they're very fairly priced regardless.

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 2:48 am

It's a personal choice thing but for example, Voxengo's plug ins have simple GUIs but most of their plugins kick ass and example 2, The Elephant Limiter is still my go to limiter, at home and even at work, where I have access to UAD-1 and Waves plugins. 80 dollars and for me it outperforms everything. Don't let shiny GUIs influence you - the only thing which counts is the sound.

I could also argue a strong case for Marquis, which is an amazing compressor, CurveEQ, R8Brain Pro, Soniformer and Pristine Space (which Sonar licenses as it's convo reverb).

I think Audio Damage's modulation FX such as Liquid and Fluid are also totally rocking, as is the Reverence plate reverb.

DJ Mike Beeds · Post by **DJ Mike Beeds** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:38 pm

What do you guys think of the Olga synth? If not Olga, what synths do you all prefer?

I do a cross between Ableton and Reason, and I like the built synths for Reason a lot, like Subtractor.

I also agree with one of the posts on here that it's a matter of adjusting presets to what you like.

IamInsane · Post by **IamInsane** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:16 am

i recently tried Stillwell plugs and was very surprised at the quality. In fact, I changed my order for a UAD2 quad to a duo as i plan on using Stillwell in place of UAD for a number of things.

Stillwells business model is a friendly as it can possibly get, the plugs are dirt cheap.

If you are interested, don't read about it, go download and try them yourself. The demos are fully functioning with only non-invasive nag messages.

IamInsane · Post by **IamInsane** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:19 am

elxicano wrote: Mostly they produce specialty items and they should probably be thought of in that sense rather than something that would replace a built in FX from Live. Basically its just different stuff and and having something different is always great.

i don't understand this comment. Stillwell plugs are centered on compression and EQ. Thats not specialty, thats foundational.

Perhaps you are referring to Schwa who also sells plugs on the stillwell site. Those are more specialty plugs.