Yes, madmaxmiller, I'm not comparing the plugin to the DAW. I have no doubt that the DAW sounds good and that it's perfectly possible to drive into it and get some sweet analogue saturation going. I've been using it for years. The thing is that, mostly due to the marketing, users are expecting the same thing from the plugin. And with good reason. And the plugin does nothing of the sort. The plugin has no tape or analogue saturation or no other means of getting that pushed sound, and it should have that.It's not so much a problem of users not understanding the product correctly, but a problem with Harrisons marketing of it. Saying that this is a faithful digital recreation of a console strip is simply not accurate. The filter curves and compressor parameters might be more or less correct, but this plugin does not model every component in the circuit, at least not accurately. If it did then this plugin would behave very differently.
If what they have done is take the EQ and Copmpressor code out of 32C and put it in a plugin then that is clearly not sufficient. Having these plugins inline in the mixer strip, along with tape saturation on the busses and a great summing engine make them serve a completely different purpose. They are right there! Just grab a knob and move on! If this EQ and compressor came in the form of a traditional plugin in mixbus then I would never use them.
I have a 32CS channel strip and while it's not an actual strip from a console it's as close as Harrison has released in a 19" rack form, and it sounds AMAZING! And I can tell you that running a signal through this thing does a lot more to it then add some digital EQ-curves. The signal has to run through all those transistors and what-have-you, and it colors the sound. Running in hot adds saturation. It behaves like a channel plugin should (but without the compressor).
If what they have done is take the EQ and Copmpressor code out of 32C and put it in a plugin then that is clearly not sufficient. Having these plugins inline in the mixer strip, along with tape saturation on the busses and a great summing engine make them serve a completely different purpose. They are right there! Just grab a knob and move on! If this EQ and compressor came in the form of a traditional plugin in mixbus then I would never use them.
I have a 32CS channel strip and while it's not an actual strip from a console it's as close as Harrison has released in a 19" rack form, and it sounds AMAZING! And I can tell you that running a signal through this thing does a lot more to it then add some digital EQ-curves. The signal has to run through all those transistors and what-have-you, and it colors the sound. Running in hot adds saturation. It behaves like a channel plugin should (but without the compressor).