search

Review

2007.02.01

In the digital world, the sound and  quality of your final productions are  defined to a large extent by your  choice of plug-ins and the way in  which you use them. And with  increasingly high-quality plug-ins  bundled as standard with most DAW  applications these days, mixing entirely  inside-the-box can produce truly  professional results. But if you want to  expand on the sounds and effects that  came with your DAW, there are plenty  of independent developers creating  both plug-ins and standalone software that provide additional possibilities.

McDSP is one such developer, offering, in this instance, a selection of exceptionally high-quality plug-ins for Pro Tools that address every stage of the production process. The Project Studio bundle features no fewer than seven LE (lite) versions of Pro Toolsspecific plug-ins, providing users with a range of complementary effects, sound-shaping and mastering tools in one handy package.

Tone control

The McDSP FilterBank LE is actually  three plug-ins in one: the E4, P4 and  F1. When you load any of these  plug-ins for the first time, you get to  choose whether you want to work with  knobs or sliders. If you have access to  a control surface, it makes sense to  choose the interface that most closely  resembles the controls you will be  using; if you mainly work with the  mouse, you may find that sliders are  easier to work with as they follow your  mouse movements more accurately.

For everyday sound-shaping, the  E4 and P4 are excellent tools. Both are  4-band parametric EQs, with the E4  featuring a high-pass filter, two shelving filters and a mid-band EQ with variable  Q, while P4 features four mid-band  EQs with four different variable Q  modes. The F1 is a resonant low-pass  filter with four filter strengths that’s  capable of sweet-sounding sweeps.

The three EQ plug-ins are all great  tools, and while they don’t have the  flexibility of the full-versions (which  claim to be capable of emulating every  EQ ever made) they are superb workhorse EQs. Alongside the new  EQ 3 in Pro Tools 7, they should  provide you with enough EQ options  for the majority of circumstances.

Dynamics

The Project Studio bundle features  both a compressor – in the form of  CompressorBank LE CB4 – and a  limiter – the ML4000 LE ML1. The CB4  plug-in models six vintage  compressors and one optical limiter.  Each of the six models has its own  strengths – which you will need to  discover in order to get the most out of  each model – and once you get to  grips with them you have access to six  superb analogue-sounding  compressors that will fulfil a wide  variety of compression tasks. Finally,  the ML4000 LE ML1 is a basic brickwall  limiter that is incredibly easy to  use and provides instant visual  feedback of any gain reduction.

Reverb

Revolver is a convolution reverb that  comes with a library of impulse  responses for a variety of rooms,  plates, springs and other sources and  offers limited control over some basic  reverb parameters, including predelay,  R60, attack and the 2-band EQ.  While this is fairly basic compared to  convolution reverbs such as AltiVerb  or TL Space, it remains an incredibly  powerful tool when compared to Pro  Tools’ bundled D-Verb plug-in.

The real soul of a convolution  reverb processor are the impulse  responses you use to create the  reverb. The LE version of Revolver  doesn’t enable you to create your  own impulse responses, so for now  you are restricted to the IRs included  with the plug-in. Fortunately, though,  the responses sound excellent. The  library is big enough to fulfil everyday  music needs and includes a good  collection of unusual IRs designed for  post-production needs, many of  which can be used as effects on  vocals or guitars.

Synthesis

The full version of Synthesizer One is a powerful modular wavetable synth that’s capable of generating some exciting new sounds, as well as recreating many of the classic synth sounds we’ve come to love. The LE version included with Project Studio is capable only of playing back presets from the full version, offering some basic synth parameters for controlling the voice, filter and amplitude envelopes, as well as the arpeggiator. The sounds tend to fall into the classic synth category, with cutting-edge lead patches, big brass sounds and floorshaking basses.

If you can’t program synths, the  preset player will provide you with all  the commonly used sounds you’re  likely to require. However, if you prefer  to program your own sounds, Synth  One is unlikely to cut the mustard.

Chrome Tone

Having been impressed by the quality  of the EQs and compressors in Project  Studio, we were disappointed with the  quality of the amp modelling provided  by the Chrome Tone LE Chrome Amp  plug-in – there’s a nasal quality to the  sound that’s somewhat reminiscent of  cheap solid-state practice amps. Using  the built-in EQ can reduce the nasal  quality, but the low end still seems  weak, while the overdriven sound,  although much warmer than the clean  tone, didn’t sound like any amp we  would want to use for a recording.

With a little work, though, we were eventually able to coax some reasonable sounds from Chrome Tone LE, and as long as you don’t require high-gain amp saturation, the sound is probably adequate. However, if you compare this to dedicated amp sims such as AmpliTube or Guitar Rig, it falls a long way short.

Tape emulation

The final plug-in in the Project Studio  bundle is the Analog Channel LE AC2  tape emulation plug-in. The LE version  of this plug-in has only the most basic  parameters, offering just Input and  Output knobs, a Phase Invert switch,  Auto Output switch and a selection of  six different tape types. However, even  with only these basic parameters,  Analog Channel AC2 is an excellent  plug-in that can really tighten the  sound of a drum mix when placed  across the drum buss. Alternatively, it  could be used at the start of a  mastering chain as a means of driving  the compressors.

Get plugged in

If you haven’t yet invested in a variety of plug-ins for your Pro Tools LE or M-Powered rig, the Project Studio bundle could, along with the basic plug-ins included with Pro Tools 7, provide you with everything you will need for some time to come. The real gems in this collection are the EQs and compressors, which even in their feature-limited LE versions are a match for many considerably more expensive plug-ins. The Analog Channel LE tape emulation is severely restricted when compared to the full version (which has control over playback speed, IEC 1/2 equalisation, tape bias, low-frequency rolloff and head bump), but its simplicity belies its usefulness. Digital recordings are often criticised for being too clean, but the AC2 tape emulation can provide that little bit of analogue grit and could ultimately change the way you mix.