linuxDSP's BlackEQ covers the equalisation aspect of it very nicely, but where I'm struggling is finding a decent multiband compressor that meets my needs:
- Transparent
- Attack time: needs decent length of attack, over 100 ms
- Three band: any more overcomplicates things
- Plugin: saves a lot of faffing around if the entire signal chain and effect settings are in Ardour
- Stereo: not a huge deal, but saves a bit of routing work
- Link: ability to gang all three bands together would be very useful (this is an even bigger deal if you have to use twoinstances to achieve a stereo compressor)
- Band solo: very useful, but not a deal-breaker
The linuxDSP multiband is very nice, but it's four band and the way the crossovers work you can't use it as a three-band. Also, the maximum attack time is 10 ms, which means it's out. I've been meaning to post in the linuxDSP forum over at KVR but haven't got around to it yet.
I've just tried Jamin again and the only thing that really lets it down is the fact that it's not a plugin (and Ardour won't let me create an external send for some reason "Cannot set up new send: unable to create port: failed constructor"), which makes it a bit faffy. Also faffy having to save a Jamin session to be able to recall the full mastering session at a later date.
Calf is four band, but the way the crossovers are set up (all are full range) you can use it as a three band. The attack times are full range. Where it falls totally flat is on transparency. Maybe I'm missing something, but with all the bands set with a ratio of 1 and a threshold of 0 (i.e. not acting on the signal, right?) it is colouring the sound quite markedly. There sounds to be a bit of a bass boost and the highs are low-passed.
I find the way MDA multiband's values are numbered off-putting (if I were more skilled I'd be able to set things by ear, but I'm not, so I need stuff in Hz and ms ).
Just yesterday, thanks to the forum, I discovered the ZamAudio plugins. the ZaMultiband is a little faffy with being mono and having to route through two instances (which makes changing six lots of settings far from quick) and the maximum attack time is 80 ms which is a bit short. It also lacks band solo, which would be nice but isn't really an issue. But otherwise it's easy to use and sounds transparent to my base-metal ears I've actually achieved a very nice result with it so it will likely be my go-to MBC for the time being.
I'm not sure how, but I'd not come across the ZamAudio plugins until yesterday (there's a lesson in there about frequenting this forum more, er, frequently ). So, are there any other options that I'm blissfully unaware of? Anyone have any other thoughts on the matter?