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.
I have had a 'bedroom studio' for the last few years and when it came time to look for mixing and mastering tools outside of Logic's own I did a lot of research into the different brands on the market. Voxengo's was a name consistently associated with high praise. Having bought numerous plug-ins from you I attest to the robustness, usability, elegance and effectiveness of the Voxengo tools and the audible improvements they made to my music. The price, when looking at that of the competition, seems pretty cheap.
I use Crunchessor (powerful all-purpose compressor), Drumformer (great results) and Voxformer, Varisaturator, GlissEQ and HarmoniEQ and the smaller ones, like StereoTouch (so good), Warmifier (very subtle when used correctly) and LF Max Punch (instantly rewarding). When I master I always use CurveEQ (brilliant design), Soniformer and Elephant.
As an amateur, it's hard for me to appreciate just how good these plug-ins are, because I've not tried a lot of the comparable tools from other companies, but as Voxengo always does the job in the way I want, I've no desire to look for any replacements. When I used Elephant, I knew I wouldn't need another limiter; it doesn't add any colour to the mix and it's incredibly powerful. The entire mix is simply elevated, louder, with no apparent negatives. The only one I have no idea how to use is Soniformer, but the presets are really solid, so I don't feel the need to investigate further.
The saturation, EQ and compressors in Voxformer helped me fully realise what my voice could be. I had no idea my vocals could sound so full and warm until I used it, and now my singing has matured to match that sound so well that I don't even need to dump loads of effects anymore, just any quick preset on the Voxformer and there you go: thicker, sunnier, glowing.
I'm so stoked I came across this site, and I will definitely get the Polysquasher in the sale this summer.
This last week, I upgraded one of my computers from Windows XP to Win7. I did this by completely reformatting my partition, and installing everything from scratch.
When it came time to install and authorize all my Voxengo plugs, I was delighted to find something no regular user encounters on a day to day basis - that there is a means to authorize all my licensed Voxengos in a single action. That is some very clever and very considerate programming, and greatly appreciated by someone faced with the tedious task of installing and authorizing dozens of programs and plugins.
Voxengo plugins are an integral part of my working process now, and just about everything I turn out has been touched in one way or another by your work. Thanks very much for the great sound, and the little touches that are the product of great programming.