SSL Duende native vs Waves SSL

petermaher

I'm demoing both the SSL Duende native bundle and the Waves SSL bundle at the minute. Just wondering if anyone else here has done the same and what conclusion you reached?:)

drumdrum

petermaher wrote: »

I'm demoing both the SSL Duende native bundle and the Waves SSL bundle at the minute. Just wondering if anyone else here has done the same and what conclusion you reached?:)

I've used the Waves, and also a real SSL desk before.

Let me tell you now, SSL emulators do NOT sound like the real think. They are a GUI representation of the SSL channel strip on the desk...nothing more. Not to say that they sound bad, they dont, they sound different. But they dont have that analog warmth that the real deal has.

I like the Waves SSL bundle. But I think that people often get carried away and figure that it will give the same sound of a SSL desk without needing a real SSL desk.

As I said, it can sound good for certain things. I like it on vocals myself...depending on the singer of course!

petermaher

drumdrum wrote: »

I've used the Waves, and also a real SSL desk before.

Let me tell you now, SSL emulators do NOT sound like the real think. They are a GUI representation of the SSL channel strip on the desk...nothing more. Not to say that they sound bad, they dont, they sound different. But they dont have that analog warmth that the real deal has.

I like the Waves SSL bundle. But I think that people often get carried away and figure that it will give the same sound of a SSL desk without needing a real SSL desk.

As I said, it can sound good for certain things. I like it on vocals myself...depending on the singer of course!

I have an SSL desk and various outboard. No the plugins don't sound the same as the real thing but I was just wondering if anyone compared the SSl bundle to the Waves bundle?

Sacred_git

save your money and buy hardware, more expensive yes but at least they don't have a no longer supported date on em!!!!

petermaher

Sacred_git wrote: »

save your money and buy hardware, more expensive yes but at least they don't have a no longer supported date on em!!!!

Again, has anyone compared the two plugin bundles? I never asked was hardware better.
It's just with the bread and butter stuff I record there isn't the time for recalling all the outboard settings. A lot of the time an "artist" will want to look at different parts of an album in a few hours so I'm constantly changing from song to song so plugins are the only option.:)

DamagedTrax

ive demoed the duende native and i didnt think the SSL emulations gave me anything i couldnt get out of the waves ssl bundle (the "X" plugins are a differant story, i'd buy them right now if i had the cash). anyway, they're both slightly differant sounds but besides the g-comp they're mods of differant hardware anyway. waves is G & E series and duende is 9k if im not mistaken?

PaulBrewer

Peter,you're so ungrateful, it's traditional to answer a question you didn't ask, but if you did - you'd have the answer, so, the question to ask yourself is -

" Have I asked the right question"

... And everyone knows that Hardware is Better than Software - that's until the person has to spend their own money, then Software is better. :rolleyes:

TelePaul

PaulBrewer wrote: »

... And everyone knows that Hardware is Better than Software - that's until the person has to spend their own money, then Software is better. :rolleyes:

What are you talking about, software is free!!!

:pac:

PaulBrewer

TelePaul wrote: »

What are you talking about, software is free!!!

:pac:

Tuttut ...

Sacred_git

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Peter,you're so ungrateful, it's traditional to answer a question you didn't ask, but if you did - you'd have the answer, so, the question to ask yourself is -

" Have I asked the right question"

... And everyone knows that Hardware is Better than Software - that's until the person has to spend their own money, then Software is better. :rolleyes:

Ill be enjoying my hardware long after you have shelled out for more plugs, its not about what's better, either they bring out some cross platform technology that all plugs(including legacy ones) run on or they can shove their vsts up their ass!!! Many vsts are no longer supported anymore, NI Kore being the latest, i give most of em 5 years max and then of course theres the special upgrade price!! bargain - not

PaulBrewer

I think we're talking TDM and RTAS here ...

Sacred_git

PaulBrewer wrote: »

I think we're talking TDM and RTAS here ...

no not really, how long before that goes to the wall too?? there is no answer to it, basically software will be let to go legacy and unsupported in order to generate income for the companies in question i.e. releasing new products, unless your a studio or a producer that does well(if not very well), its not worth it in the long run, even 5 years might be generous these days the way things are going. People will slowly begin to wake up to this fact though and will revert to outboard gear, outboard is the future for the small to medium sized producer!!

PaulBrewer

Sacred_git wrote: »

no not really, how long before that goes to the wall too?? there is no answer to it, basically software will be let to go legacy and unsupported in order to generate income for the companies in question i.e. releasing new products, unless your a studio or a producer that does well(if not very well), its not worth it in the long run, even 5 years might be generous these days the way things are going. People will slowly begin to wake up to this fact though and will revert to outboard gear, outboard is the future for the small to medium sized producer!!

I'm saying Peter's question is in relation to Protools HD i.e. TDM and RTAS

drumdrum

Sacred_git wrote: »

People will slowly begin to wake up to this fact though and will revert to outboard gear, outboard is the future for the small to medium sized producer!!

I think the problem with this is that the price of outboard gear is still very high relative to what you actually get. A lot of the time, you pay for the "prestige" of using such a sound. I mean, do you actually thing it costs Universal Audio nearly €2000 to make a 1176?
Heck no, but supply and demand have dictated that they can charge this much and people will pay for it as it is a quality piece of hardware. Still, it costs the best part of €2000 which is far outside the budgets of most small - medium size producers.

Dont get me wrong, some outboard gear sounds amazing! But its really only a viable option if you are able to make money from your purchase. In that case then outboard gear is certainly a good option to consider for sonic quality.

I find that with the very high quality achievable with todays ITB software and plugins, the sound you get is much more engineer based than every before. I think that there is defintely a big of an old-skool snobbery towards OTB vs ITB, but I think that whatever works for you is the best option for you. ITB works best for me. I've used consoles and they are great, but for my own personal situation ITB allows me portability, control and the potential to get a professional sound from my computer and interface alone.
Personally, I find that using consoles make me feel more creative and like a "proper" engineer, but I dont make my living from engineering so spending €2000+ on a somewhat decent console is a purchase I could never properly warrant. Besides I can get the sound that I want with my ITB setup.....it just that the journey getting to that sound is different.

Now knowing how to achieve that "great" sound is the fun part!