Voxengo Crunchessor

Add me to the chorus of people singing praises about Voxengo software.  I've just recently started getting into computer audio recording (Cubase 4 on an Intel Mac), and was looking for some improvement over the stock plug-ins.  I downloaded a couple of the free Voxengo plug-ins (the Tube Amp and Overtone GEQ), and based on that, will be purchasing some others now.

Echoing what others have said, the Voxengo plug-ins sound musical (what a concept!) and are reasonably priced.  It's obvious the person who designed them has a discriminating and musical ear.  I was able to make some immediate improvements to a couple tracks with the free plug-ins.  I almost feel like I'm using analog gear, due to the warm, musical tone of this software.  Great job!  I also appreciate the modular concept of the plug-ins, how they all share a number of common parameters, which makes it easier to switch from one to the next.

The Voxengo website is well organized, making it easy to get information on the software.  It's also clear that the software is updated regularly to fix any issues that come up. (Wouldn't it be nice if all software companies did this?)

I don't write too many testimonials, but when someone does something right, it should be recognized, and Aleksey Vaneev has done just that.  Thank you for designing this software, and making it available to the public.

After a phase of trying other plugins, mostly analog emulations, by other makers, I once again have to commend Voxengo for the quality of their plugins.

If you want a compressor that can tame the peaks of a vocal while giving it a polished sheen, I highly recommend Deft Compressor.

For giving warmth to vocals?  Or a bass compressor that (in my opinion) works much better than most LA2A emulations?  Use Crunchessor.  I use the 2A preset to keep the levels of bass tracks consistent without sounding squeezed (something I often hear from LA2A plugins).

Deft Compressor going into Crunchessor is my preferred version of "1176 to LA2A", that is, a fast attack compressor going into a smoother attack compressor.

I still highly prefer CRTIV Tape Bus compared to other tape plugins I have if I want to keep an open high-end sound to the track.  It's really good at keeping the punch and transients on the master bus while improving the crest factor (push the record gain).

I have to say that Warmifier is great since unlike other saturation plugins, it's not easy to overdo the amount of saturation.  It's super subtle, and these days I find that using too much saturation has a blurring effect on tracks.

Sobor is just unbelievably good.  You have to try it.

Voxengo is just really good DSP - high quality digital - without the mask or crutch of trying to emulate old, classic analog gear.  There are a handful of small devs like that, and just like Voxengo I highly suggest you try them out.

Dear Mr.  Vaneev,

I am using Your tools for professional CD productions, broadcast an TV, too.

And it is about time to say thank You!

I am enjoying to work with all Your plugins every day.

Nowadays we have many plugins being programmed to be used by non professionals, as long as they look good and have all kind of bullshit-addons to disturb studio computers from working smooth and efficiently.

I appreciate Your way of seeing the things from the point of music professionals and sound engineers in terms of quality, pricing, and handling parameters as it should be technical wise.  The optical appearance of the tools are made for an everyday use in industrial production.  Thanx a lot.

All the Best

Yours,