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More VST Plug-ins and Pro Tools Last month we looked at how the VST to RTAS Adapter, a wicked little $99 application from FXpansion, gives Pro Tools users unprecedented access to plug-ins created for the popular VST format. Since there's really not much to say about the new adapter ("It works, it's easy, buy it" pretty much covers it), we devoted most of last month's space to surveying some VST plug-ins available as free- and donation-ware. This time around, we'll check out some of the wicked goods available to those with a few bucks to blow. And I emphasize the word "few," because VST plug-ins often sell for surprisingly low prices. But first, a few general words about the products profiled here. In order to be included, a product had to:
I've omitted some VST plug-ins I love, as their manufacturers promise imminent RTAS versions. This category includes PSP Audioware's Vintage Warmer (a nifty tube-simulating preamp, EQ, and limiter) and PSP84 (a sweet-sounding, full-featured delay based on their earlier Lexicon PCM42 clone). The same goes for products that have now appeared in RTAS form after long waits (Native Instruments' Absynth synthesizer, for example, or Yellow Tools' Culture percussion sample-playback module), as well as those that exist as Mac OS 9 RTAS versions, but so far only as VST plugs on OS X. This list includes OhmForce's OhmBoys, Mobilohm, QuadFrohmage, Hematohm, and Predatohm effects, a fantastical collection of delay, modulation, filter, and distortion effects that has been described as both mind-expanding and brain-damaging. I've worked happily with VST-to-RTAS conversions of all the above, but the following profiles focus on true VST-only plug-ins. Here they are in ascending order of price. Brace yourself. In Defense of Bestiality
Who and where: ReFX (www.refx.net) How much: $29.99 Why: Tired of pussyfooting around with floaty, textural, ambient stuff? Drive your point home with this loud, simple, mono synth. Beast is a four-oscillator incarnation of the single-oscillator Claw, a highlight of last month's freebie VST fest. With its brutally effective filters, bloodthirsty distortion, and bulk-generating panning options, Beast excels at bass and lead tones that slice through a mix like smilodon fangs. It's better than monophonic " it's moronophonic! One Hump or Two?
Who and where: Camel Audio (www.camelaudio.com) How much: $49.99 Why: Because nothing throws your beat in the garbage can faster than this vicious little multi-effect. The Camel boasts two kinds of distortion, several flavors of filter, and simple compression, flange, and EQ controls, but they all conspire in one task: making stuff sound crappier. And such crap, judiciously applied, is exactly what you need to bring certain humdrum files to screaming life. A great "instant attitude" box for hip-hop, rock, and dance music. (Besides, don't you wish every plug-in had a knob called "Magic EQ?") beatloop.dry.mp3 One Word: PlastiCZ
What: PlastiCZ (DCW synth) SID Vicious
Who and where: ReFX (www.refx.net) How much: $59.99 Why: Because somewhere out there is someone who'll think the Beast is too tame and PlastiCZ is too sophisticated. QuadraSID replicates the fabled SID chip from the Jurassic-era Commodore 64 computer " or rather four SIDs, hence the name. There are other refinements: arpeggiation, wavetables, various LFO options. But the main point is that QuadraSID's tones are rude, primitive, and, depending on the patch, either hilarious or scary. Need the sounds of a game arcade, dental torture, or renegade home appliances? Your search ends here. Seriously: I can't count the number of times this synth has coughed up the perfect sound when its upscale "betters" came up short. Tron & Beyond
Who and where: GMedia (www.gmediamusic.com) How much: $59.99 for plug-in and basic library; $59.99 for each of three additional "tape banks" Why: Because tape-playback keyboards are eternally cool. Through some weird twist of fate, I am a veteran of four bands with real Mellotrons and/or Chamberlins, and I can vouch that no samples or simulations I've encountered come as close to the real deals as M-Tron. The tones aren't overly tuned or polished. You get lots of authentic wobble, wheeze, and tonal inconsistency — everything but the heavy wooden cabinets and staggering repair bills. Another plus: a set of synth-style attack and release controls. The basic plug-in includes the most famous Tron tones, while the supplemental volumes assemble just about every scrap of Mellotron/Chamberlin arcana ever recorded, plus genuinely cool and usable updates and hybrids. If ever a plug-in was a labor of love, this is it. The only downside: If you put on the flute sound and play the opening chords of "Strawberry Fields," I'm gonna have to come over there and break your damn fingers. Mentally Guitarded
Who and where: ReFX (www.refx.net) How much: $89.99 Why: Slayer 2 may be the most hilarious guitar emulator ever, but it's no joke. This ambitious instrument combines a string modeler (think Tassman) with a solid amp simulator (think Amp Farm and AmpliTube) and a trunk full of stompbox-style effects (think Guitar Center). The modeling section mimics the vibrations of plucked strings as shaped by such variables as pick location, pickup configuration, string type, and body material, while a set of articulation controls imitates various types of picking and strumming. The amp and cabinet emulations are simple but effective, as are the pre- and post-effects, which you engage by dragging stompbox icons onto a virtual pedalboard. The realism factor is variable. The clean, acoustic-like sounds never quite sound like a real guitar, but when you pour on the gain, feedback, and effects, it all congeals into the moral equivalent of a swaggering, volume-crazed ax-murderer. More exciting than Slayer 2's straightforward guitar simulations are the many new, string-like timbres you can coax from the effect: acid clavichords, heavy metal banjos, freakbeat dulcimers, and worse. Museum of Modern Arp
Who and where: GMedia (www.gmediamusic.com) How much: $179.99 Why: The Oddity is a stellar recreation of that '70s synth workhorse, the Arp Odyssey. Like GMedia's M-Tron, the Oddity is a stunningly accurate, warts-and-all clone. While the Odyssey's contemporary, the Minimoog, came to be revered for is warm, musical sounding filters, the Odyssey's forte is face-slapping impact. Its noise-based sounds are particularly potent. There are also a few cool departures from the original spec, like the option of velocity-sensitive patches and the ability to morph between two tones. Not for wusses. Brit Flop?
Who and where: GMedia (www.gmediamusic.com) How much: $179.99 Why: One of the coolest cult synths is even cooler as a software clone. The original OSCar was a good instrument at a bad time. After debuting in the early '80s and being embraced by such artists as Ultravox and Asia, the monophonic OSCar was soon swept aside by mid-decade polyphonic models. Yet it's remained a favorite of synth aficionados, thanks to a number of unique features: subtractive and additive synthesis capability, a tone-sculpting filter "separation" control, and a butt-kicking overdrive circuit. So while the ImpOSCar can get as strident as some of the bad-attitude synths profiled above, it's also more nuanced, warm, rich, and in a word, musical. ImpOSCar sweetens the pot with full polyphonic performance, chorus and delay controls, and many other extras. It's a beautifully realized instrument, deep and inspiring.
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