Members TBush Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 I downloaded a copy of their "Vibe" EQ yesterday and it actually did what they said it would- wide gentle slopes of, dare I say, 'old-fashioned' EQ. Not quite vintage, but it sounded cool strapped across the guitar buss and even on kick/snare. I had never heard of this company, but saw a few posts on gearslutz. Anyone here have any experience with this company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 I've used a bunch of their stuff. Olga, event horizon, bad buss mojo, transient monster. Pretty average stuff but occasionally helpful/usable. PSP/Voxengo do better in the same price range as far as I can hear -- but I may be mistaken. Sometimes the Stillwell stuff seems to sound good and then later you bypass it and realize it didn't. Sometimes their stuff seems to affect detail in a non-glamorous manner. To be fair I've never done a "formal" listening/comparison test though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ieso Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 Sure, I use Stillwell plugs...they're pretty good. I'd put them in the same company as voxengo...I use some of that stuff too. I've not found much use for the bad bus mojo but the rest of it is pretty good the vibe eq is by far their best and is very good. I use it quite a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 They have a good trial policy - non-crippled, non-expiring (although technically after 30 days you have to either delete it or purchase it in order to comply with the license), so anyone who's interested can check them out for themselves. http://www.stillwellaudio.com/ I hadn't heard of them until you mentioned them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Switch Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 I REALLY like quite a few of their plugins. I find myself using the 1973 eq a fair bit, vibe is also quite nice, more character tho. The Bitter plug is insanely handy, depending on your daw/plugins, you can't always see if one plugins output is clipping the input of the next, and Bitter can tell you. I'm quite a fan of their stuff, and Olga is just crazy cool, as is Oligarc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I might D/L some of their modulation stuff and give it a try. I've got comp and EQ plug-ins out the wazoo, pretty killer reverb plug-ins (TL Space, Revibe, Princeton Digital, Eventide) and some very cool modulation stuff (Eventide), but I'm always looking for options in the modulation department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 Please post your observations Phil. Consensus here seems to be they sound pretty average, occasionally bad -- but never spectacular. Reading your observations on the sound of these plugs would be of assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TBush Posted August 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 Sure, I use Stillwell plugs...they're pretty good. I'd put them in the same company as voxengo...I use some of that stuff too. PSP/Voxengo do better in the same price range as far as I can hear -- but I may be mistaken. I'm a real bit Voxengo fan (go Aleksey!) and also I like the PSP MixSaturator. The Voxengo Voxformer is probably the best value around in a channel strip- it's really versatile and sounds just great. I think I'll try out the Stillwell 1973 out as well- always looking for different options for EQ and Comp. I'm also considering a pair of Fatheads for my room mics. Currently I use a pair of ADK-51's in an X/Y pattern. They sound good- very good, but I'd like to free them up for guitar cabinet use while tracking drums. It looks like the Fatheads are a really good deal for the cash, and I heard that they sound good if used in conjunction with a decent mic pre. We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 17, 2008 Members Share Posted August 17, 2008 I'm a real bit Voxengo fan (go Aleksey!) and also I like the PSP MixSaturator. The Voxengo Voxformer is probably the best value around in a channel strip- it's really versatile and sounds just great. PSP and Voxengo both provide some of the best "value for dollar" plugins on the market. I bought Varisaturator when it first came out for like $50. Hee. Not perfect for everything, but for that price *such* a great value that it doesn't make sense not to have it. Love Voxengo's dedication, creativity and support too -- great little company... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ieso Posted August 18, 2008 Members Share Posted August 18, 2008 Please post your observations Phil. Consensus here seems to be they sound pretty average, occasionally bad -- but never spectacular. Reading your observations on the sound of these plugs would be of assistance. It would be of assistance? Why? Can't think for yourself? Need somebody else to tell you what's good, bad, and ugly? {censored}, man, if it works for you it works and if it doesn't work then it doesn't. Internet consensus I can't stand lap dogs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 I would also suggest trying them out yourself too (I believe I already made that point earlier in the thread )... but I am not crazy about seeing someone called a "lap dog" on this forum. It might be possible that he has limited experience with a variety of plug-ins and that he is seeking the opinion of someone who has tried a wider variety of plug-ins. IOW, he might think they're good, or bad, or just OK, but not have much background to compare them to... Asking for advice and opinions from others doesn't make you a lap dog. But OTOH, I do agree with your basic point - at the end of the day, each one of you has to decide what works for YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 18, 2008 Members Share Posted August 18, 2008 It would be of assistance? Why? Can't think for yourself? Need somebody else to tell you what's good, bad, and ugly? {censored}, man, if it works for you it works and if it doesn't work then it doesn't. Internet consensus I can't stand lap dogs I have a pretty strong opinion on the Stillwell gear as you can see in this thread... The reason I'm interested in what Phil thinks is because Phil is an insightful cat. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TBush Posted August 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2008 but I am not crazy about seeing someone called a "lap dog" on this forum. How about 'lackey'? Or 'stooge'? Even insinuationg that one is a 'water carrier'? I usually joke about the fact that lap dogs (breeds like toy poodles or schi-tzu's) resemble real dogs, only smaller. Bad joke... I was goofing around with the Vibe EQ last night and it still sounds pretty cool to my ears- again, not a precisicion surgical type of thing, but nice for adding a wide db or so to help something sit in the mix properly and still be distinct. I gave their Event Horizon peak limiter a try (used it on a troublesome bass guitar part) and it tamed it just enough to where it was more present in the mix without taking over. Subtle, but just right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I downloaded everything and briefly played with it in Pro Tools just to see if they would work via a wrapper. They seem to - except the knobs on the Vibe EQ are a bit quirky and don't "turn" smoothly... Quick impressions (subject to change as I try using them more) the 1973 is pretty nice. I like the high frequencies, even when boosted. Not a ton of range, but what's there sounds good to me. The verb seemed a bit "grainy" to me, but I only tried it for a few seconds. The Event Horizon seems like it might have its uses, and so did a few of their other plugs. Definitely at least worth the time to D/L and try to see what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 The idea behind Transient Monster is awesome, it's identical in a sense to Schaak Transient Shaper -- but the sound isn't that great yet. If Stillwell puts a little of the time they spend on GUIs and marketing into smoothing out the audio performance of Transient Monster that will be an extremely useful plugin for a lot of people, especially home recordists who are trying to shape homemade tracks. I firmly believe "transient shaping devices" are the next big thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pipelineaudio Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 Yeah, all that marketing stillwell plasters all over mixmag and eq and EM and all those other magazines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 19, 2008 Members Share Posted August 19, 2008 Yeah, all that marketing stillwell plasters all over mixmag and eq and EM and all those other magazines To be fair I wasn't referring to any of that, I'm unaware of that stuff. I would never purchase any of that ad-bloated garbage. I was referring to the balance of design/marketing vis-a-vis product quality, i.e. the Stillwell plugs have fancy GUIs with average sound unlike the Oxford plugs for example which have crap GUIs but sound incredible. I don't care for "cool looking" gear in general. I just want tools that work quickly and effectively. I don't mind historically accurate gear-based GUIs like the Waves stuff but other than that I'd prefer the company put all their cash into improving the sound and performance of their plug-ins. Fancy GUIs are a waste of time and money IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sstillwell Posted August 20, 2008 Members Share Posted August 20, 2008 except the knobs on the Vibe EQ are a bit quirky and don't "turn" smoothly Phil, I posted over on your thread on our forums about that problem...please let me know what you find. If there's a problem (I haven't noticed one), then I need to fix it pronto. http://www.stillwellaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=198#p862 Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TBush Posted August 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 20, 2008 Phil,I posted over on your thread on our forums about that problem...please let me know what you find. If there's a problem (I haven't noticed one), then I need to fix it pronto.http://www.stillwellaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=198#p862Scott Hi Scott! I am buying the 'Vibe'- it's pretty cool, sounds great, and it's just what the Dr. ordered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted August 20, 2008 Members Share Posted August 20, 2008 If there's a problem (I haven't noticed one), then I need to fix it pronto. +1 on the support. Nice to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Hi Scott - I replied over on your forum too. I have only tried your plug-ins briefly, and it could have been user error on my part - as I said, I'll try again later this afternoon / evening and confirm either way and will report back to you. Thanks again for getting back to me on this - as others have said: +1 on the excellent customer service / support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sstillwell Posted August 25, 2008 Members Share Posted August 25, 2008 Phil, No hurry, but was wondering if you'd had a chance to revisit this... Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Not as much as I wanted to Scott - we've been dealing with some rather serious forum access issues. I have some editing and mixing sessions later this week and should be able to check things out more then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sstillwell Posted August 26, 2008 Members Share Posted August 26, 2008 Sure...absolutely no problem. Just wanted to make sure that I stayed on top of this. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I appreciate it - very nice of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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