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Post by seawell on May 2, 2022 18:31:34 GMT -6
Acoustic Guitar | Bass | Vocal
See what you think...
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Post by Ward on May 3, 2022 7:18:54 GMT -6
I could live with the Retro on everything. I can't say the same for the plug-in, but it was great on acoustic guitar!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2022 10:44:48 GMT -6
Acoustic Guitar | Bass | Vocal See what you think... Hi seawell, would you mind putting MJUC mk II on HQ mode in too? That’s inspired by the Retro 176. HQ doesn’t just clean up the action, it changes the entire algorithm. |
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Post by seawell on May 3, 2022 12:52:32 GMT -6
Acoustic Guitar | Bass | Vocal See what you think... Hi seawell, would you mind putting MJUC mk II on HQ mode in too? That’s inspired by the Retro 176. HQ doesn’t just clean up the action, it changes the entire algorithm. Hey Dan, I'll try to work that in sometime soon! |
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Post by seawell on May 3, 2022 12:55:08 GMT -6
Acoustic Guitar | Bass | Vocal See what you think... Hi seawell, would you mind putting MJUC mk II on HQ mode in too? That’s inspired by the Retro 176. HQ doesn’t just clean up the action, it changes the entire algorithm. Also...do you know what each version of MJUC is emulating? Is MKIII a Sta Level? How about MK1? Thanks. |
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2022 13:58:38 GMT -6
Hi seawell, would you mind putting MJUC mk II on HQ mode in too? That’s inspired by the Retro 176. HQ doesn’t just clean up the action, it changes the entire algorithm. Also...do you know what each version of MJUC is emulating? Is MKIII a Sta Level? How about MK1? Thanks. mk I is inspired by a Fairchild. mk II is inspired by the Retro 176. mk III is Tony's own way way cleaner take on a Manley meets an SSL bus despite looking like a Retro 176. |
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Post by seawell on May 3, 2022 14:08:32 GMT -6
Also...do you know what each version of MJUC is emulating? Is MKIII a Sta Level? How about MK1? Thanks. mk I is inspired by a Fairchild. mk II is inspired by the Retro 176. mk III is Tony's own way way cleaner take on a Manley meets an SSL bus despite looking like a Retro 176. Awesome, thanks! |
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 3, 2022 17:19:02 GMT -6
Jeez that 176 sounds good. It does add a little oomph in the low end though. I wonder if that was on a bunch of tracks if it would get cloudy..
Take a listen here, I chose the CL1B first, and the Retro 176 second.
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Post by seawell on May 3, 2022 18:47:32 GMT -6
Jeez that 176 sounds good. It does add a little oomph in the low end though. I wonder if that was on a bunch of tracks if it would get cloudy.. Take a listen here, I chose the CL1B first, and the Retro 176 second. For what it's worth, having previously owned a CL1A and CL1B, I'd take the 176. |
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2022 21:11:45 GMT -6
The Retro is way better in terms of action and tone.
Acoustic guitar: Retro. UAD sounds bright with digititus.
Bass: Huge issues with the UAD. The Retro 50ms attack gives a nice, consistent emphasized pick and then releases to let the note bloom. The UAD obviously has an issue with the slow attack releasing quickly. It can't seem to do it and pumps.
Vocals: UAD simply can't stomp down on the alveolar consonant transients and is very annoying on the falsetto. It can't color it or smash down the rise in volume.
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Post by Martin John Butler on May 3, 2022 22:26:44 GMT -6
What Dan said, because I'm sure he's right, but I'd never heard of "alveolar"!
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Post by chessparov on May 4, 2022 1:06:17 GMT -6
I had it tonight, as a matter of fact.
At my "Taco Tuesday" dinner. It's that other green stuff, for the chips.
Chris
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Post by spindrift on May 4, 2022 9:43:31 GMT -6
⬆️  |
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Post by tahoebrian5 on May 4, 2022 9:52:53 GMT -6
Hardware sounds great on the vocals
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Post by craigmorris74 on May 4, 2022 11:19:19 GMT -6
Hi Josh,
Thanks for putting in the hard work to do these tests and share your results with us. I'm jealous of your Vari-mu collection!
One suggestion I have is possibly posting the files for blind testing here a few days before the YouTube video was posted (you might have done this before). I think that would eliminate a lot of the bias that I'm sure is influencing the conversations we're having.
That said, I thought the hardware handled the transients more eloquently in each test, and the plugin added more distortion to the bass track.
Thanks again,
Craig
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Post by seawell on May 4, 2022 11:57:21 GMT -6
Hi Josh, Thanks for putting in the hard work to do these tests and share your results with us. I'm jealous of your Vari-mu collection! One suggestion I have is possibly posting the files for blind testing here a few days before the YouTube video was posted (you might have done this before). I think that would eliminate a lot of the bias that I'm sure is influencing the conversations we're having. That said, I thought the hardware handled the transients more eloquently in each test, and the plugin added more distortion to the bass track. Thanks again, Craig Thanks Craig! I do have quite the addiction to vari mu comps 😂. I really appreciate the feedback! I have done a few of these shootouts blind(the U87 and Pultec shootouts come to mind). This 176 shootout and the upcoming RS124 shootout aren't blind but I could add a link in the video description for anyone that would like to download them and do blind shootout/further explore them. How does that sound? My main concern is keeping the videos from being too long but I'm sure I can find a sweet spot somewhere in between. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and for sharing your thoughts 👍🏼 |
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Post by craigmorris74 on May 4, 2022 15:23:30 GMT -6
Thanks Craig! I do have quite the addiction to vari mu comps 😂. I really appreciate the feedback! I have done a few of these shootouts blind(the U87 and Pultec shootouts come to mind). This 176 shootout and the upcoming RS124 shootout aren't blind but I could add a link in the video description for anyone that would like to download them and do blind shootout/further explore them. How does that sound? My main concern is keeping the videos from being too long but I'm sure I can find a sweet spot somewhere in between. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and for sharing your thoughts 👍🏼 I especially found the 87 shootout interesting because at first it was totally blind, and only one person picked the Neumann as their favorite, and the Warm and Serrano were popular. When the results were revealed, several picked the Neumann, and made comments about how it stood out. I did a similar shootout with 1176s, and got a similar result. |
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Post by seawell on May 4, 2022 15:44:16 GMT -6
Thanks Craig! I do have quite the addiction to vari mu comps 😂. I really appreciate the feedback! I have done a few of these shootouts blind(the U87 and Pultec shootouts come to mind). This 176 shootout and the upcoming RS124 shootout aren't blind but I could add a link in the video description for anyone that would like to download them and do blind shootout/further explore them. How does that sound? My main concern is keeping the videos from being too long but I'm sure I can find a sweet spot somewhere in between. Thanks for taking the time to check it out and for sharing your thoughts 👍🏼 I especially found the 87 shootout interesting because at first it was totally blind, and only one person picked the Neumann as their favorite, and the Warm and Serrano were popular. When the results were revealed, several picked the Neumann, and made comments about how it stood out. I did a similar shootout with 1176s, and got a similar result. It's funny how that works huh?  Honestly, on this particular shootout...not to influence anyone else, but I didn't really find the plug in close at all so that factored into the decision of not doing a blind shootout this time around. Just my 2 cents. |
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Post by craigmorris74 on May 4, 2022 15:59:27 GMT -6
I especially found the 87 shootout interesting because at first it was totally blind, and only one person picked the Neumann as their favorite, and the Warm and Serrano were popular. When the results were revealed, several picked the Neumann, and made comments about how it stood out. I did a similar shootout with 1176s, and got a similar result. It's funny how that works huh? Honestly, on this particular shootout...not to influence anyone else, but I didn't really find the plug in close at all so that factored into the decision of not doing a blind shootout this time around. Just my 2 cents. I agree. The two were pretty different. It would be interesting to shoot the UAD against a vintage unit. |
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Post by seawell on May 4, 2022 16:17:49 GMT -6
It's funny how that works huh? Honestly, on this particular shootout...not to influence anyone else, but I didn't really find the plug in close at all so that factored into the decision of not doing a blind shootout this time around. Just my 2 cents. I agree. The two were pretty different. It would be interesting to shoot the UAD against a vintage unit. I agree, I think some of the things I prefer about the Retro are probably improvements Phil made over the original. Also wanted to ask, do you think alternating the order of the files like I did in this video helps at all with confirmation bias or does seeing the name on the screen override it no matter if the order changes? |
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Post by craigmorris74 on May 4, 2022 16:47:13 GMT -6
I agree. The two were pretty different. It would be interesting to shoot the UAD against a vintage unit. I agree, I think some of the things I prefer about the Retro are probably improvements Phil made over the original. Also wanted to ask, do you think alternating the order of the files like I did in this video helps at all with confirmation bias or does seeing the name on the screen override it no matter if the order changes? Alternating is good because I often have bias for the first clip presented. I couldn’t remember what order your samples were in, so when I watched the first time, I closed my eyes when listening the next few times. I could still pick out differences on this test. I don’t think the UAD sounds bad, I just thought the Retro sounded better in this case. Only got to use the UA original once, and wasn’t wowed by it. Not bad, but not as rich as the hardware examples you posted. |
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Post by tkaitkai on May 4, 2022 17:39:40 GMT -6
Retro ALL the way here.
I have to admit I'm heavily biased in favor of anything Retro, but yeah, the HW just knocks it out of the park. Maybe not night and day, but it's just so much more pleasing than the UAD (which doesn't sound bad or anything!).
I've been dying to get a Powerstrip or a Sta-Level over here. One day.
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Post by seawell on May 4, 2022 17:44:09 GMT -6
Retro ALL the way here. I have to admit I'm heavily biased in favor of anything Retro, but yeah, the HW just knocks it out of the park. Maybe not night and day, but it's just so much more pleasing than the UAD (which doesn't sound bad or anything!). I've been dying to get a Powerstrip or a Sta-Level over here. One day. Retro Sta level is sooooo good! I’d love to check out the powerstrip and the revolver eventually too. |
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mjau
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Post by mjau on May 22, 2022 13:51:43 GMT -6
Love the UA 175/176 plugs to death on all things drums, but maaaan, the Retro hardware is nice!
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Post by matt on May 22, 2022 14:31:27 GMT -6
I just obtained a Retro Revolver, and it is a beautiful thing in parallel on guitars. Or vocals. Or bass. Or drums. It does that vibey, thickening, fattening thing that turns me on. Everything Retro kicks ass.
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Honestly, on this particular shootout...not to influence anyone else, but I didn't really find the plug in close at all so that factored into the decision of not doing a blind shootout this time around. Just my 2 cents. 
