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Post by trakworxmastering on Oct 23, 2020 8:18:18 GMT -6
I've read great things about Acustica plugins for many years but never pulled the trigger due to their seemingly cumbersome implementation.
I'm looking at their new Diamond Transient plugin and not easily seeing how their system works.
I figure it's easier to ask here than to scour their not-so-intuitive website.
How do I demo Acustica plugins?
Do I need to download their Aquarius App first?
Do all their plugins operate through a host plugin?
Why are their plugins divided between Acqua, Nebula, Modula?
Their system seems weird. Any help simplifying it would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 23, 2020 8:41:21 GMT -6
I own a few and like them, but man they bring my machine to a halt. I barely even use them because I know a few instances will bog up my mix session. Aquarius is there a license manager. Seems to work smoothly.
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Post by the other mark williams on Oct 23, 2020 18:47:51 GMT -6
I've read great things about Acustica plugins for many years but never pulled the trigger due to their seemingly cumbersome implementation. I'm looking at their new Diamond Transient plugin and not easily seeing how their system works. I figure it's easier to ask here than to scour their not-so-intuitive website. How do I demo Acustica plugins? Do I need to download their Aquarius App first? Do all their plugins operate through a host plugin? Why are their plugins divided between Acqua, Nebula, Modula? Their system seems weird. Any help simplifying it would be appreciated. Thanks! You get everything through Aquarius: the actual product, the license, etc. Aquarius is a bit quirky at times, but you get used to it. It's fine. No real complaints about it here anymore. Acqua are the easiest plugins to explain and understand: they come out of the gate looking like a typical photorealistic plugin. They are very CPU heavy. They are easy to demo through Aquarius. Nebula is the original platform Acustica created to play their dynamic impulse technology. When you buy Nebula, it comes with a bunch of "programs" (read: "impulses of famous gear"), but it also is a platform that 3rd party developers can make plugins (or "programs," in Nebula-speak) for. And these are some of the very best plugins available using the Acustica technology, IMO. Especially the developers Cupwise and Tim Petherick. Some of those are fantastic sounding, IMO. There is also "Nebula Player," which is a free version of Nebula. There are a few (like maybe 3) 3rd party developers who make plugs for Nebula Player. Most 3rd party Nebula plugins can't run in Nebula Player -- only in the full version of Nebula. Think of this like NI's Kontakt vs. Kontakt Player. Same idea. And you CANNOT have both Nebula and Nebula Player installed on your system at the same time. It will fuck everything up, so don't try it. Modula is the newest line in the Acustica party. It's their attempt to make their plugins integrate into a "mixing console" type of experience. As you are just starting out with Acustica experimentation, I would personally recommend trying a demo of a couple of Acquas, like maybe Pink (which is their API pack) and/or another flavor (If you're into Neve, you could try Navy or Gold). That would kind of show you the basic idea of what it's like to use these plugins, and thereby see if the workflow might work for you. They are strange plugins sometimes: very CPU heavy, a lot of latency, not as forgiving with gain staging on some of them, etc. But when they match up with one's workflow, they can be amazing. I remember the first time I heard an API EQ in Nebula. It sounded just like the hardware to me. It pissed me off, frankly, because I had a couple other API plugins by other developers, and they sounded plastic and fake next to the Nebula one. |
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Post by trakworxmastering on Oct 23, 2020 19:32:06 GMT -6
You get everything through Aquarius: the actual product, the license, etc. ... Thank you sir! That is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for. Have a great weekend! |
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Post by the other mark williams on Oct 23, 2020 21:00:50 GMT -6
You get everything through Aquarius: the actual product, the license, etc. ... Thank you sir! That is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for. Have a great weekend! Happy to help! I might add that given your screen name, you might be interested in checking out the following Acquas: Scarlet (Sontec), Ivory (Maselec), Magenta (Manley), or Green (GML). |
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Post by Johnkenn on Oct 23, 2020 22:47:03 GMT -6
The EQs are really great. Haven’t decided if it’s worth the trouble, though.
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Post by mrholmes on Oct 23, 2020 23:45:51 GMT -6
I own a few and like them, but man they bring my machine to a halt. I barely even use them because I know a few instances will bog up my mix session. Aquarius is there a license manager. Seems to work smoothly. Run Vienna Server on a second Mac or PC and you can run Acoustica plug ins like crazy. I like them for thier sound, but they always had the problem that my daw crashed. Haven't tried on my Vienna server... |
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Post by the other mark williams on Oct 24, 2020 0:08:43 GMT -6
The EQs are really great. Haven’t decided if it’s worth the trouble, though. A completely understandable position. If I were just mixing or mastering, I’d be more comfortable leaning into them. But lord help you if try to use them while still composing (esp. with VIs). |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 24, 2020 7:16:30 GMT -6
I own a few and like them, but man they bring my machine to a halt. I barely even use them because I know a few instances will bog up my mix session. Aquarius is there a license manager. Seems to work smoothly. Run Vienna Server on a second Mac or PC and you can run Acoustica plug ins like crazy. I like them for thier sound, but they always had the problem that my daw crashed. Haven't tried on my Vienna server... I mix all in the box for the ability to work remotely. If I'm tied to a second computer, I might as well just use the tracks of real hardware I've got. |
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