Most tests like this should be conducted first with, lets say, a 1khz sine wave to match levels for sure.īut then that also comes down to how each one handles frequency. I am hearing a difference in ugins seem lower in level. If you have the dry files of the base I will try to match it with UAD blackface.I agree. Just my 2 cents because I think the test is unfair at it is now. So matching by ear- listening how much reduction is going on seems more logical to me. I think the waves plug ins react different as the clones and they have ben modeled form a different unit. I am saying this because I tried to match the SSL waves G EQ against a real one and to my surprise it was not possible by numbers but by ear I came very very close to the real deal. Track and mix with painstaking emulations of the legendary 1176, the most popular compressor.
I think a more fair test would be if you try to match the plug ins by ear that they come as close as possible to the hardware. The definitive collection of the worlds most famous compressors. My recent experience, although I tragically don't currently own one, is much more with the hardware 1176, hence my desire for the blind test (and inability to conduct one myself.) I'm certain I'm not stating anything here that people don't already know, but there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that, in any comparison test, people are much more likely to choose the thing they are most familiar with unless the identities of the compared things are concealed (in addition to the mountain of other individual bias possibilities here.)
I can't tell you how many times I've tweaked a band on a bypassed EQ and thought I made something sound better. I just find tests like this to be much more useful in a blind state, and my own perceptions more trustworthy. I am not in any way a hardware's advocate, more of a plugin man myself.Ĭheers!Yes, I can hear differences. If your monitoring solution isn't the best, you could use a good pair of headphones if you have one at hand. Depending on which revision mode you choose, you will have entirely different characters available in CLA-76. The plugin allows for analog hum to be added at fifty or sixty cycles if desired. The interface mirrors the controls of an analog 1176. But seriously, can you not hear the differences? Waves skipped no details and left those knobs exactly the way they were when designing this plugin.