I'm looking to grab some dedicated FX units, and I was wondering if a popular multi-FX plugin like CamelSpace rivals the quality of getting separate units generally dedicated to one effect (I.e. Tone2 Filterbank, Altiverb, etc). Should I instead invest in dedicated FX units one by one in the interest of quality?

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i wonder i about this too, but i dont think it matters cuz they both get the job done

Depends what you mean by "quality", and what in particular you're looking to do.

Every effect unit will have it's particular sound to it. The one you choose will be the one that sounds the best for what you're doing.

A guitarist could spend $1000 on a rack space distortion unit which is technically superior, but maybe their $50 Boss distortion pedal gives them exactly the sound they want.

Try the Tone2 Warmverb demo. Don't let its name confuse you, it's not a dedicated reverb, but a very powerful multi-fx plugin with a ton of effects modules, routing capabilities, etc. It's not primarily a filter effect like CamelSpace, FilterBank, etc., but it complements them very well. And, it's cheap ($79).

http://www.tone2.com/html/warmverb_...ct_synthes.html

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I mainly want a really good filter, and a really good reverb - ones that I can find good use for in all of my tracks. Go-to plugins, if you will. The reason I consider a "multi-FX" unit is because of all the extra things you could do with it, and especially all the mangled effects you can get out of it

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quote:

Originally posted by cl0ckw3rk I mainly want a really good filter, and a really good reverb - ones that I can find good use for in all of my tracks. Go-to plugins, if you will. The reason I consider a "multi-FX" unit is because of all the extra things you could do with it, and especially all the mangled effects you can get out of it

IME, the better multi-FX don't have the best filters, and vice-versa. Warmverb is a good example - it's got great FX, but average filter capabilities compared to a dedicated filter. It's still a beast for mangling sounds or adding huge atmospheres, delays, vocoder/talkbox, intimate reverbs, lo-fi/bit-reduction fx, etc. It makes a great go-to plugin for those FX and has a really rich/lush reverb, but it really needs to be complemented by a killer filter plugin, like FilterBank, etc. IMO. Conversely, most filters have either no or pretty poor implementation of other FX IMO. CamelSpace may be the exception.

Others to consider for sound mangling:

- FabFilter (Timeless 2, Volcano 2)
- U-he MFM2
- OhmForce (Frohmage, OhmBoyz)
- NI Reaktor (a modular synth/effects plugin)

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Thanks for the advice, I'm gonna go ahead and demo the Tone2 plugins tonight and check out the other ones tomorrow

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If you do decide to go with the Tone2 products which I can't recommended enough you can get B Filter, Filterbank 3 - fx & synth version & Warmverb for $169 as one of their product bundles.

Should cover exacly what your looking for.

Regards

Serious question: Can someone explain to me the purpose of effects? I know what you use compression and EQ for, but why filters? Is it just to make your sounds move more? Why don't you just automate the filter on your synth with an LFO?

Considering most synths have on board effects (flangers, chorus, filters, distortion) I can't see why you need an external VST except for reverb, comp and EQ..?

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camelspace is seriously awesome... the filter, reverb and delay are really really good, distortion adds some nice tone to stuff as well dude... i would highly highly recomend it!

other than CS i pretty much use the individual logic fx plugs though, so not sure about other multi-fx units...

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quote:

Originally posted by kitphillips Serious question: Can someone explain to me the purpose of effects? I know what you use compression and EQ for, but why filters? Is it just to make your sounds move more? Why don't you just automate the filter on your synth with an LFO? Considering most synths have on board effects (flangers, chorus, filters, distortion) I can't see why you need an external VST except for reverb, comp and EQ..?

i think it comes down to having the choice and more better fx compared to the inbuilt stuff thoe i only use the shit with the synths 90% of the time its good to know you have other tools to hand.

quote:

Originally posted by owien i think it comes down to having the choice and more better fx compared to the inbuilt stuff thoe i only use the shit with the synths 90% of the time its good to know you have other tools to hand.

Yeah, that and plugin FX are good for audio tracks. TBH, I tend to rely mostly on the onboard FX of most synths, but I work with a lot of audio and need plugins for those tracks.

Sometimes you want to filter, gate, etc. the whole song or a group of sounds within a song (e.g., drums, synths). Yeah, you could possibly do that by applying the same effect to each sound individually using each synth's onboard FX (assuming they all have the same effect), but that's very time consuming and probably won't be as effective as routing them all to one bus and applying the effect to all of them simultaneously using a plugin.

Also, a lot of hardware synths come with no, or a very limited selection, of onboard FX (e.g., Moogs, Dave Smith, Nord, etc.), so you either need a good hardware FX unit or plugins.

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