Free TC electronic M 30 reverb (3days limited offer)

[mhschmieder]

In this regard, Powercore has something different to offer over native processing, which UAD doesn't, and that is the unique architecture of its DSP. I got a kick at the AES Show in SF last year after visiting both booths and hearing their spiels about why one approach is 1000% superior over the other.

At any rate, I have yet to hear a native version of a plug-in that is available for Powercore, that has sounded anywhere near as good to me. That made me nervous in ditching my Powercore, but I instead went for different plugs that were designed as native plugs to start with, and which are as good but in a different way so not 100% replacements.

TC had already been doing something interesting the past few years by packaging "little" versions of some of their Powercore plug-ins with their audio interfaces. I think they were testing the waters.

I got an email from Universal Audio the other day which I wish I had kept, as I could have sworn it said something about native processing somewhere in the message. I was too deadline-focused to read it carefully, and figured there would be follow-up that I could read later.

Still, it would surprise me if they went native, as they are all about the hardware. They make hardware emulations of many of the plug-ins, and have new partners all the time. I don't know if any of these are out yet, but at AES 2008 they showed early implementations of VI hosting on the UAD card, such as Native Instruments Pro-53 and B4 II, IIRC.

[KEVORKIAN]

At any rate, I have yet to hear a native version of a plug-in that is available for Powercore, that has sounded anywhere near as good to me. That made me nervous in ditching my Powercore, but I instead went for different plugs that were designed as native plugs to start with, and which are as good but in a different way so not 100% replacements.

Are there more available than just the Tube-tech and the Sonnox plugs?

Did the Sonnox plugins sound worse on a native system?

[KEVORKIAN]

Over the long term, systems like Powercore and UAD won't be able to keep up with native processing...

There will ALWAYS be a need for powered plugs because not everyone has an 8 core machine or the latest and greatest. Plus, it's doing double duty as a dongle. Sure the systems will get faster but having the headroom for the processors to work really makes a huge difference in the overall responsiveness of the DAW so powered plugins will be here for a while.
My Duende uses hybrid processing in which the card and the computer work together as a whole and I can see more of that going on but these developers have way too much interest in keeping these plugs safe from the cracking POS ... so do I as a user.

I think that the basic powered plugin idea is a strong one but if you look at how overpowered the processors are getting I would imagine that it would be harder and harder for a company to justify spending money developing PCI processing hardware...

There are unused processors on graphics cards these days even.

I have been wanting to jump into UAD for a while now for a few plugins, but it's hard to justify for me as I don't appear to need the processing boost. My Mac Pro just keeps adding plugins to sessions like a champ and mine is an older model than yours!

[mhschmieder]

I unfortunately couldn't compare many of them side-to-side in real use, so had to use cached files from test projects and legacy projects and re-render with native versions and/or Powercore versions, depending on which demo licenses I had at hand at the time.

Vintage Amp Room native doesn't sound good to me at all, but the PoCo version did. And those I did compare side-by-side at the same time, both in real-time, and just in case my underspecced computer was at fault, using background rendering. The PoCo version is smoother and has way more depth to the sound stage, at identical settings.

I'm not sure about the Sonnox plugs as I don't care much for them anyway except for the EQ, and I like MOTU's better as it has more fine-grained control than the rather fidgety and coarse Sonnox version. SOund-wise the Sonnox PoCo version of Oxford EQ seemed more transparent in the upper-most frequencies, but the MOTU one has never bothered me as not being usable in a pro project. The difference is quite subtle.

The biggest difference was between the native and PoCo versions of the Novation V-Station soft synth. I went ahead and bought the native version anyway, because I found it for $39 and feel it is likely to be updated as it is quite popular. The PoCo version doesn't exhibit anti-aliasing characteristics and also has additional functionality, more waveforms or LFO's or whatever (I forget).

There were a couple of others that had native versions at one point but might not anymore. I think a couple started native and went PoCo later. So my biggest gripe is the Softube native plugs don't sound as pure to me as the PoCo versions, and the same for the Novation soft synth.

[mhschmieder]

Our posts collided, but your new one is aligned with why I have made a final decision not to get a MacPro as my next computer.

I love what Universal Audio have done hardware-wise and software-wise, but I simply can't justify the expense of the prerequisites when those same prerequisites are required for fewer and fewer aspects of making pro-level music.

[KEVORKIAN]

There were a couple of others that had native versions at one point but might not anymore. I think a couple started native and went PoCo later. So my biggest gripe is the Softube native plugs don't sound as pure to me as the PoCo versions, and the same for the Novation soft synth.

People have said this (on GS a bunch so grain of salt there)... I believe that it probably sounds somewhat different but Softtube appears to spend so much time cloning the hardware and refining their plugins that I would imagine they are significantly optimized for Powercore.
(I haven't liked their amp room plugins, btw).

[KEVORKIAN]

Our posts collided, but your new one is aligned with why I have made a final decision not to get a MacPro as my next computer.

I love what Universal Audio have done hardware-wise and software-wise, but I simply can't justify the expense of the prerequisites when those same prerequisites are required for fewer and fewer aspects of making pro-level music.

Yup... I was ready to jump into UAD but the Quad is like 2K and I don't need the extra horses. Duo is still expensive and Solo seems like a bit of a waste of a slot.

Honestly, the Fatso is calling me a bit and if they come out with a Distressor I may cave but I sure wish they were available on an iLok...

Your head is really gonna spin when you get a Mac Pro coming from a G4... I can't believe how much I can push this thing.

[mhschmieder]

And that reminds me: PoCo plug-ins don't get updated much -- especially for sound and/or features.

They pretty much hold them back until they're really ready to roll.

Native plug-ins, including native versions of PoCo plug-ins, might roll out prematurely and be under constant development and updates.

Both approaches have their benefits and pitfalls for the consumer.

But the main point is that the Softube native plug-ins have more hope of improving beyond where they are today, than the PoCo versions. At least, sound-wise (they did fix some bugs and niggles in the PoCo versions recently).

[funkyfreddy]

Thanks for posting the link! It's working well in DP7 for me and I like the sound of this FREE reverb!

[wheever]

Dammit. I just went to install it and the .dmg is corrupt. Some screw up in the dl. And now the free period is long over. That'll teach me to procrastinate.

[KEVORKIAN]

Dammit. I just went to install it and the .dmg is corrupt. Some screw up in the dl. And now the free period is long over. That'll teach me to procrastinate.

do a search on TC's site for it. I think the link is still up