Fuse Audio Labs Plugins

Some of Fuse plugs really make you work hard. The vcl-864u federal with input decked really makes you eq well. There is no getting it wrong because getting it wrong sounds like shit until you get it right.

Same with the vcl-562a but with compressor settings. Set it wrong and it’s pumpy garbage with insane overshoot. Nail it, and it’s awesome.

The same with the awesome vcl-373. If you have too much or too gross high or low end, it’s woofy tizzy garbage. It brings out all the nastiness in the top and bottom end of your recording or mix that you were tolerating unlike anything vaguely ssl bus.

I’m digging this.

An Alach modded LA4A was one of the first nice compressors I got my hands on. I bought this plugin as I was looking for a nice Opto and it feels instantly useful and extremely familiar.

I never found myself using that one a ton, mostly because I felt more familiar with the 1176 and the LA2A in that suite. Anyway, with the current half off deal this made a lot of sense for me.

I wish the VCL-4 looked as grimy as my real unit...

I believe that.  I'm looking forward to the creations he comes up with next...

I bought pretty much everything except Flywheel and the amp. Here are some quick thoughts

Pedals:
Big Sur: Sounds like a Big Muff pedal, which there are a lot of versions of digitally, but this one has a lot more useable range of tones. The mix knob is greatly appreciated.
Chorus 65: Awesome. Just the default setting you'll go "oh yeah this is what a good chorus pedal sounds like" If you've ever used an Ibanez CS-9 this nails it.
Dozer Drive: Very cool, I like the Fuzz Face section in particular, it's nice to have a "mellow" fuzz pedal option digitally. And like the Big Sur the Tube Screamer side has a lot more useable range of sounds than other versions.
El Germano: This is probably the most creative. If you've ever had a pedal with adjustable bias and voltage this nails the splatty, gated sounds you can get with those pedals. Reminds me of my EHX Germanium OD.
Gate-230: Not sure if this would replace a dedicated gate plugin, but I tried it on a noisy bass and it did the job with little effort.
Octafish: Does exactly what the Boss OC-2 pedal does. Like the real pedal a little goes a long way...just dial in enough so you feel it more than hear it and it adds a nice weight. A nice alternative to the BX Subfilter

EQs:
W2395c: Hey, it's free, and you can't beat free. I wish it was modeled after the W2395, which I used to have, and it has a glorious low end. But, when you need an EQ with a board midrange Q this is a nice option. Reminds me of a MEQ-5 in the regard...but I think this better than plugin versions of those I've tried for what I like to use them for (electric guitars)
TCS68: This is one I need to dig in a little deeper with. Last night I used it on a horn sections that was really bright and sort of fake sounding (even though they were real) and it did a great job at that. I don't think it sounds "lo-fi" but it does a nice job of killing the cheap mic/digital harshness
VQA-154: This reminds me a lot of the Harrison EQ. Awhile back I demo'd this and mixed a song with it as the only EQ and really enjoyed it. One of those EQs where you can boost a lot and it never sounds "bad". I wish when you clicked on the EQ frequency it would move to that section, because sometimes that little knob is hard to grab!
VQP-258A and 259A: Definitely the least flexible plug ins, but great sounding. The 259A is a nice way to roll off cymbal harshness, and the 258A is pretty fun on a mix if you want to add that smiley face EQ to it. Probably the best 3K shelf I've ever heard. Really cool on electric guitar.

Compressors
VCL-25A: I really like this on vocals, adds a little warmth. Does a great job of "hugging" the singer. I'm not the worlds biggest fan of the 1176 followed by a de-esser because it added a bunch of sibilance sound, this is more of what I'm looking for in a vocal compressor.
VCL-373: Another standout, this reminds me of a less dirty Devil-Loc. It can really flat line something, but it doesn't sound smashed or fucked up (unless you want it to). On drums it's great at taming the snare drum in the overheads. Hit it hard and it does that transistor overdrive thing nicely.
VCL-4: If you've used a LA-4 this is what they sound like. I think it was modeled after one with the Altatronic mods, and I have a pair that Jim Williams modified, and this is pretty close. Personally, sometimes it's a little too grabby for me on vocals. But, I'm liking it on electric guitars (I've owned this one for awhile)
VCL-515: I need to spend some more time with this one. I haven't figured out what it's attack and release characteristic work with.
VCL-864U: If you've used a real Federal, or one of the clones like the Schmidlin, you know they can be fickle beast but I found this to be immediately gratifying. Similar to the VCL-25A but with a faster attack. Another beautiful, musical release characteristic.

Saturation:
VPRE-2C: Definitely the easiest to dial in, on electric guitar it reminds me up plugin into an old Califone tube record player, or a Champ cranked up and bagging for it's life. But, can be subtle as well. I used it on a some hand claps (mix of live and samples) to even them out take the edge off. Sounded great on a bass DI to give it just a touch of grit and even out the playing (I thought the "high" setting sounded best on bass)
VPRE-376: Adds some brightness and edge to sound. I dig it on electric guitar in particular. Didn't really "do it" for me on anything else (bass, vocals, B3 *although not a bad on this*)
VPRE-31A: Probably the subtlest of them all, definitely the smoothest and doesn't really get "blown out". This actually makes it pretty useful, it got the closest on the B3 to the sound go the Leslie being too loud, and on electric guitar added some woolliness instead of grit/spit/grind.
VPRE-562A: This might be my favorite. It's got the most flexibility, and sounds great on every source. Probably a bit more "amp" sounding than "preamp" sounding, but the EQ's are amazing and in 5 seconds you can really change the sound of a source.

Oh no! After buying the VCL-25A and VCL-373 yesterday, I just couldn't resist taking advantage of this stunning Halloween special price and just bought the VCL-4 as well after trying the demo. My character compressor folder is now well and truly topped up 

Just picked up the VCL373 and VCL25A. I already have VCL4. Now I'm thinking I need more... the never ending quest for "tone". :-)

Nice to hear good things about Rays work.

The last two sells I bought preamps, the VPRE-376 and the VPRE-562A.

The 376 is a gift from God.
I am a bit on a retro 70s sound thing...
V-PRE 376 has this midrange forward thing, taming the edges a little, muffling the low end in a good way.
I have zero doubts that mixing ITB is real fun NOW.

PS:
And yeah the compressors.
I like them all for certain tasks, the LA4 can sound BIG on vocals....

It doesn't say what each section is modelled after but at the intro price, I think it's a no-brainer.

Looking forward to trying it out on some drums today. Yep, I bought it.