Magnus MK3 by HoRNet: cheap LIMITER. Left me SPEECHLESS.

[@FoliaSound]

Heeey again! What do you think about my review? What do you think about HoRNet latest release? Lemme know down below, thanks!

[@dazza1000]

I think you're right Paul. : ). Btw, after watching your videos on MetaGrid Pro, I ended up buying an iPad and the software. I don't think I could live without it now. Amazing piece of kit! : )

[@FoliaSound]

Nice to know. I'll have some news for you if you're a Cubase user - my custom grids for it will be soon out and available to purchase!

[@nonprofet]

honest and no bs :) also sounds good !

[@erkamau9629]

Hi, I have the Magnus lite and many other ones by Hornet. Sometimes the same plugin crashes on a PC and not in another one (same OS and DAW), I suspect the reason is due to differenti graphics video card and libraries. About the test It would be great to compare Magnus (full) with Kclip3 by Karzorg , smartLimit by Sonible, Barricade by Tonebooster and Fire the Clip by Acustica Audio (Ash Is superiore but higher price range).

[@CamariMusic]

Thank goodness I saw your review. I bought it because it's a great value! I don't need it to be more expensive I'm happy with the price

[@HoRNetWeb]

Wow thank you very much for the nice video!! I'm happy you liked Magnus MK3 :) Than you very much for spotting the "enter" bug, for some reason on my mac it works so must be something with the windows version. Have you noticed that the mouse pointer changes in a two arrow pointer while you hover on the gain box? that means that you can drag it app and down to adjust the value, but i really forgot about the mouse wheel so i'll add it in the next update. The trick behind our "affordable" pricing model is easy: 1. we use a lot of library software, putting engineering at tis' best assembling tested and proved building blocks. 2. we make incremental updates so the plugin are released with a minimum set of working features then we usually release free updates that increase them so it's like the income of each plugin fuels it's development (this is directly mutuated from the open source development model) 3. we try to keep ui simple and most of the development time is spent there, also in that case we try to use as many pre built libraries as possible to reduce development time. That's it! :D It's like building hardware, you rarely design you own chips, usually you go with off the shelf components and you assemble them to create something unique.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, using ready libraries gives a lot of answers. Cheers!

[@stevenkish9061]

I actually like the directness of the simple UIs. (Also a big AirWindows user, which has the most simplistic UIs on Earth.) Nothing drives me more crazy than using a mouse to turn small "knobs" or "calibration screws" on skeuomorphic plugins modeled after hardware.

[@pelennorDSP]

Hornet is one of the most slept on plugin companies around along with ToneBoosters (I'm gonna have to shoot out Magnus vs Barricade because Barricade is a stellar limiter). Some of their products are a little buggy, but on the other hand I use several of them extensively (VU Meter Mk4, Multifreqs, Sybilla, HA2A, ElliptIQ)

[@simonslee73]

Hornet are definitely one of the best value for money companies out there, they’re feature packed plugins too

[@cjcurcio]

I just found your channel and after just one video am already enjoying your approach! Excellent work! Thanks! (Oh yeah: and nice monitor setup!)

[@PFLsound78]

I'm totally in love with this plugin! I use it on every mix, not only on the mix bus but also on stems and groups. Amazing!

[@gen-amb]

I started using HorNet plug-ins more than a year ago. IMHO these guys make some crazy good tools. They also make a LOT of them. You have a ton of options to look at. And I have also learned if your super-weird edge case (I’m looking at ME, me) finds some obscure bug … as long as you can send them in a ticket the reliable recipe to make that bug every time without fail they will KILL that bug so hard. Also Pawel I was very impressed with your kind of raw review. I think it’s a very good adaptation to the characteristics of KZbin videos. Also my opinion sign up for the HoRNet email list they will eventually hit you with an irresistible price for the plugin you want.

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, I saw some threads on Gearspace and I know Saverio really listens to people. This is always great!

[@yams900]

You're full of energy Paul ! Good to watch you, I've been lazy with music creation, should get back into it

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man! Will produce today, you should do the same :)

[@cone-stone]

Hola, descubrí hace un par de día tu canal y me suscribí al momento. Me gustan mucho tus videos y análisis. Felicidades y gracias por compartirlo. Yo utilizo algunos plugins de Hornet desde hace un tiempo y lo único reprochable que tienen es la interface, pero por lo demás trabajan mejor que algunos de renombre mucho más caros. Saludos desde ESPAÑA.

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you, greetings from Poland!

[@westonthefoster]

Wow!! I'm late to the party. It's 3am in the UK and i'm impressed. Well done Folia, another plugin I will buy because of you. I'll be getting this when I wake up. Perhaps the price has gone up since this video, but i'll soon find out. Gonna buy anyway. I love these little developers putting bigger companies to shame..

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man!

[@TerryWestProd]

I purchased the Magnus MK3 a couple days ago, and it's now have a modern black GUI and you can use the mouse now to change the values.

[@Stanspage]

How do you select the modern black GUI? I see a black GUI for a split second and then it switches to the white GUI.

[@Stanspage]

Turns out the light or dark mode is controlled by the Microsoft Windows settings.

[@MFWhite]

Great company you should try their ThirtyOne MK2 eq it,s outstanding. Top review thank you.

[@dazza1000]

Hi Paul, thanks for the video. : ) I have quite a few Hornet plugins, including this one. I had to stop using a couple of them because Cubase kept crashing, but I like this company and wish them well. : ) Kind regards, Darren (Wales, UK)

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, Darren! I had no issues at all with the stability of this limiter while testing, yet I'm still wondering - why are they so cheap? Lack of a proper testing team is probably one of the answers. Cheers!

[@KozmykJ]

I know what you mean about Price Credibility. I’ve had some good results with HoRNet plugins, and as you say, really surprised at their Value For Money. Since last year, I’ve been accumulating quite a collection - I started with HateFish Rhythm Generator. True I’ve had a couple of buggy versions, but small company or not, they’ve been quick to fix the few bugs I’ve encountered. My advice to anyone would be to grab as many as you can before, they decide to put their prices up. This week’s big surprise to me was the Thirty One Mk2. I had overlooked it as ‘Just a Graphic’ BUT it’s got an AUTO EQ function built in !! ‘Averages’ the EQ band’s to a target ‘Curve’. I nearly missed that one. 👍

[@citrinetowerbeats]

I bought HoRNet ThirtyOne MK2 for $2.09 and it's unbelievably good (Spectrum Analyzer + AutoEQ)

[@FoliaSound]

I have to try it soon, thanks!

[@ClaudeYoung]

Hornet is a great small company that makes really useful & affordable products! LU & VU meters are really good! Hornet Utility is really handy. Definitely worth supporting!

[@nebelform_records]

DUDE its so clear without adding ANY noticable Distortion. AMAZING i Will try it :D😀

[@FoliaSound]

You won't regret it. Cheers!

[@HoRNetWeb]

well to be hones all the modes adds intermodulation distortion except for the "Trans." (which is for transparent) that is completely distortion free (but pumps a little more)

[@shayeasy]

I bought Hornet Tape years ago and the sound still blows me away, even compared to newer and more “sophisticated” tape plugins. Each tape deck has a sound and EQ profile, but you can add high end with the bias control, and tracks almost always sound better with it on. Reminds me of Sonnox Inflator in that way. Just picked up Magnus on sale and I love that it has the same tape saturation algorithm but without the EQ profile of the machines. Great company and killer, underrated plugins.

[@Emily_M81]

I love the UIs and think they're part of the HoRNet charm :) Thanks for sharing! I went with MasterTool because I don't do music in need of savage brickwalls lol :D

[@FoliaSound]

Nice to hear that, Emily. Thanks and see you soon!

[@CharLessMajor7Music]

Thanks for the review, with this you introduced us cheaper options that has great potential. This would save a lot of money and people. Just a simple flat modern GUI and it would be perfect.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks for a good word, good to see you here, man!

[@OmarP8]

🎉 Very good information, Paul! Although I'm sure many of us would prefer the limiter used for comparison to have been the FabFilter ProL2 limiter.😅 Thanks for The video!🎉

[@IntheDAW]

It's a pretty dope plugin. I have used it on many live events now when I am given music or videos for playback that are extremely dynamic

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, it is dope, all the way!

[@IntheDAW]

@FoliaSound it's also super simple and light on cpu so it's a win. I still love my standard clip and k clip. But this is getting alot of use on my end

[@HoRNetWeb]

@@IntheDAW Thank you very much too :)

[@Barncore]

Yeah that analog algo sounded really good! Hornet have another great plugin called AnalogStage mk2. The op-amps in that thing are super nice. It's a taste thing probably, but personally i really like the sound Sometimes the Hornet GUI's can have little bugs or limitations, but the dev is obviously onto something as far as the audio side of things

[@mikelo303]

I use Analog stage everywhere. As summing mixer(ish). Now I am amazed by ThirtyOne MK2

[@matrixate]

How about KClip3 and Weiss DS1? Congratulations! He definitely is listening! Thanks for the recommendations! He raised the promo price of Magnus! WooHoo! We owe this all to you Folia. Thanks so much!

[@teddym2808]

Hornet clearly distorting more than the more expensive combo but it's close, and it's incredibly well priced, even more so on the sales. I think I just paid something like 4 euro for it.

[@mistik2595]

magnus mk3 sounds really good and limitless from dmg its give more digital characteristic.. thankyou for the comparison Folia :)

[@FoliaSound]

No probs, thank you too!

[@DJDigitalJosh]

This may sound crazy, but the old old CoolEdit has a great limiter I still use occasionally.

[@FoliaSound]

Never tried it, but I have no reason not to believe you!

[@jorgedejesustejedavaldez5283]

Did you try the Fast Bundle of focusrite? They Have something called Fast limiter that sounds really good too! I would like to compare this Plugin Magnus vs Ozone, Fabfilter Pro L and Smart limiter.

[@FoliaSound]

FAST series are basically simplified sonible plugins. I love smart:limit and pure:limit, I reviewed them both on my chan. FAST is simplified smart:limit with less profiles and tweaks. And yes, it's a sonible algo, so it sounds great!

[@reptilespantoso]

Yep. Fully agree. This limiter/clipper is a gem.

[@ritchxmusic]

Paul I have a feeling that the 16th release time makes it sound better, could that be the biggest difference between the two? Love to hear both on the same release settings to compare

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

hi paul can you educates us in a video as how to use this plug to it best what each part does and what are we looking to do to get a good result

[@FoliaSound]

You mean - limiting tutorial - sure thing, I'll do it one day!

[@philippebackprotips]

Using a lot of Hornet stuff, works well

[@Maplefoxx-vl2ew]

could you pls do a video on Hornet MBC.. I don't really understand where and when to use it.

[@FoliaSound]

Hornet plugins will be back on the chan, this is 110% certain :)

[@Maplefoxx-vl2ew]

@@FoliaSound thank you. my real weakpoint lately is EQ'ing synths in my projects . like getting a few synth or chiptune instruments to sit right. do you have any vids on anything like this maybe? your channel is great i just subbed, thanks

[@saardean4481]

Watching the intro and you say Limitless. Funny cause it is my favorite too for quite some years now. Similar taste

[@FoliaSound]

Limitless is crazy good, but I'll have to test it out against Magnus in some of my latest productions :)

[@saardean4481]

first reaction to the untreated mix. I find the kick too loud and too "attack-y" . And now I will stop talking

[@saardean4481]

@@FoliaSounddo that and of course please make an update so we know what happened. Also one thing, did not see if you used "aggressive" mode and autorelease in Limitless . I find it the best when you are pushing it hard. Also the "Weighing " feature can help. Also in some cases I prefer the internal clipper of Limitless in Knee 2 better than Standard Clip. but not always. The thing with limitless is that it has a lot of things you can try and a lot of things that can go wrong at the same time cause it's almost like a chain of effects in one device. While from what I "feel" when I saw you working with Magnus is that it is more "set and forget (on the suited material).

[@FoliaSound]

I set Limitless the way it sounded best to my ears. Release was 1/16 (136 ms), like it was with Magnus. As for the track - yes, as I stated in the vid - it's not mine, I don't like the mix and dynamics, so I thought that would be a good material to test the limiter out. There still was some room for maximization and dynamic control all the rest was unimportant, as it was just a test input material. Cheers!

[@arturpolonski6234]

Cześć ale się pozytywnie zaskoczyłem Ten dźwięk był zaskakująco pełny jak u dołu rak i ugoru do tego jakby okraszony taneczną rytmiką WoW Jestem narazie ukontentowany moim Pure Limiter oraz Smart Limiterem i tu mam zagwozdkę ale w tej cenie przekonam się sam do tego niebawem chce dokupić kolejnych kilka pluginów od Softube oj zakochałem się ….. między innymi też limiter PS. UAD sprzedaje dużo produktów od Softube u siebie i moim zdaniem brzmią lepiej jak UAD kompresory np

[@FoliaSound]

Tak, Softube i UAD współpracowali, ale Softube przestało robić wersje na UAD-a, podobnie jak Plugin Alliance. Wszystkie wtyki Softube'a kupisz też w wersji natywnej, nie UAD!

[@MarcoS-pw9px]

I would test everything against ash, cause it’s the best clipper and the best limiter from Acustica Audio. But the hornet one sounds really nice 😎 their LA2A is also very good :)

[@FoliaSound]

I've heard a lot of good about Ash, will try it one day!

[@hansvos5897]

I use a lot of their excellent plugins but not this one (yet).. You are probably right about the interface design.

[@FoliaSound]

I quickly realised this is an issue for some users :( Maybe Saverio gets inspired by this vid and discussion to level up his stuff one day!

[@hansvos5897]

@@FoliaSound Yep, and there is a big chance that he would sell more if the interfaces would be attractive and in this case more practical, even if the plugins would go up in price. People also tend to value things more if they have to pay more for them, it's stupid but that's our minds seem to work...

[@public_hell]

I use their Sybilla Pro de-esser all the time. Some years ago I was trying to find an affordable alternative to the Fabfilter Pro-DS. And since that time I use it almost in every project.

[@FoliaSound]

I'll give it a go one day, though on board Nuendo/Cubase de-esser performs really well for me!

[@HoRNetWeb]

I suggest you to try TotalEQ with a low shelf or a peak eq set in dynamic mode, i find it tends to work best than Sybilla (it uses a very similar algorithm with a relative threshold, which is basically the average level compared to the level of the dynamic band) but it only affects this frequencies while sybilla is wideband.

[@public_hell]

@@HoRNetWeb thank you, I'll try)

[@rebormg]

For me sybilla it's the best De lesser, ultra smooth and silky

[@mikelo303]

Try Analog Stage or ThirtyOne MK2. Or another small company Klanghelm and their MJUC varimu compressor. My fav plugins.

[@FoliaSound]

Thx for tips. ThirtyOne looks a bit like Teote!

[@mikelo303]

@@FoliaSound But its cheap. I got it for 2 Euro on sale few days back!

[@duel5071]

You look so speechless in the video thumb cover I just HAD to click to see what the fuss was about. Wow. Fantastic marketing. Are you over the initial shock yet? I hope you get your speech back soon.

[@dnalord77]

HoRNet plugins are fugly - the interfase is basic but functional, yet for sound processing they are insanely good. Why they are not one of the top dogs in the industry is a mystery to me.

[@FoliaSound]

I would say this is their interface. Some people say they're also not tested enough and crash in early versions a lot.

[@dinsfire8489]

they do indeed crash a lot, basically every plugin I've tested from them crash hard & quick with basic tweaks to the plugin. if their plugins didn't crash so much they'd be worth every penny

[@jamesrutherford]

Hello My friend Great show

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, James!

[@Gilwtt]

That is unexpectable... yep... Thank you ;-)

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you too!

[@Gilwtt]

@@FoliaSound I'm playing with my Kclip right now and wonder if I should not try the demo ;-) cool thankx

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Saverio, Please do NOT make them more expensive. Folia is awesome, but we do NOT all have his budget. Thanks, and PLEASE continue your amazing work at @Hornet Plugins

[@FoliaSound]

Ok, fair point :)

[@radiantjumper]

What about comparing Hornet Magnus and DMG Limitless with Sonnox Limiter?

[@elunicomaxter]

Exelente !!! #Hornet

[@FoliaSound]

Thx!

[@carlosp.1846]

That’s why we like Hornet, because of the price/quality! I don’t agree with the “change the gui to make them more expensive” We know they are good. We don’t need to pay more for fancy screws!

[@FoliaSound]

Fair point. I still believe that GUI is also important for the workflow. Greetings!

[@holygoat]

In terms of aesthetics, I agree 100%, but wrt to common keyboard/mouse commands, I think Paul's criticism is valid. As a broke-ass weekend warrior, though, I appreciate HoRNet's focus on steak over sizzle.

[@carlosp.1846]

@@holygoat agree with the basic ergonomic functionalities. Didn’t try Magnus for now but I’m surprised you can’t just drag the threshold bar and have to enter values manually.

[@HoRNetWeb]

@@carlosp.1846 nope you can drag the input gain up and down, the threshold is "fixed" (it's the output ceiling parameter in the limiter)

[@carlosp.1846]

@@HoRNetWeb ah ok I get it, thanks

[@matteonolli]

Surely for those who do not use Reaper are interesting products. After an hour of testing I did a lot of comparisons and I didn't find big differences from the stock reaper plugins (combining Js clipper + Realimit) I also made a comparison with Limitless and in the Analog mode with manual corrections of sensitivity and clipping in Swell the same result is obtained, but DMG offers much more. (lot of problem with demo installer on my AMD with Win-10)

[@cryptout]

Great tip

[@FoliaSound]

Thx!

[@MusicLover-ul5yw]

Have to disagree with the GUI part. I don't care how a computer software for processing audio looks. As long as the audio side functions good.

[@FoliaSound]

I'm fine with that approach, but accessibility and ease of use are also factors for me!

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

I really like Hornet plugins.

[@beatprocess]

you like this still

[@davemolino-hn6rp]

GUI looks nice now looks as if they listned

[@sandranoonan3141]

I can’t purchase it for anything less than 24.99 how can I get this bargain?

[@FoliaSound]

I think it was an intro price. They'll surely have more promos in the nearest future!

[@nersonangelo]

I Don't Like super complicated "analog look" GUi this type is modern simple and light to CPU I just don't like the large names below and maybe a dark mode option be great.

[@huberttorzewski]

Gain, ceiling and release controls should be controllable via knob and it would be perfectly fine then I think. Plus it should have true-peak option built-in available to turn on or turn off. Right now it's slow to use, looks horrible but it sounds amazing which is pretty uncommon combination. They should change the gui to something similar to TDR Limiter 6 GE and they can charge 50-75Eur easily

[@HoRNetWeb]

you can drag every input box up and down like know every time the mouse pointer becomes a double arrow :)

[@huberttorzewski]

@@HoRNetWeb still guys you need to rework the GUI because it looks bad

[@HoRNetWeb]

@@huberttorzewski hi thank you for your suggestion 🙂

[@PTFWWDB]

is there a plugin out there like this that allows you to alter the frequencies without having to have multiple plugins open

[@FoliaSound]

Not sure what you mean...

[@PTFWWDB]

I mean like an analyzer where you can change the frequencies while looking at it instead of putting on another plugin and doing things and waiting for the analyzer to update. like on the analyzer just click and alter frequencies@@FoliaSound

[@FoliaSound]

@@PTFWWDB if you mean an EQ with spectrum analyzer, Kirchhoff EQ or Pro-Q3 will do the job :)

[@PTFWWDB]

I have Pro Q but it doesn't seem as detailed as some of the other analyers, like the 3d Insight analyzer@@FoliaSound

[@Stanspage]

The demo sounds good but it randomly crashes Cakewalk on Windows 10.

[@Stanspage]

HoRNet Magnus MK3 1.1.0 fixed the problem with it crashing Cakewalk.

[@Juliano_DJOL]

$9 is what plug inz shld cost! Like $9-$20 for single rack FX and then $50-$100 for Instrument.vsts and $100-$200 for bundles!!!

[@FoliaSound]

This is my man. I totally agree!

[@ES60Hz]

That's because Magnus distorts more, thus sounding fuller, but it also sounds dirtier because of it.

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, I think I mentioned it in the vid - saturation happening.

[@mthomas1091]

I totally missed the $8 “for a limited time”

[@FoliaSound]

Sorry to hear that. It's still inexpensive though :)

[@ronson795]

I know you used your favorite chain against the Hornet plugin but you could also have used the clipper in Limitless. Also I think it´s not really a practical test to run both plugins with such crazy amounts of gain reduction against each other. This can of course be a short part of the comparison but real life scenarios would be more informative. On top of that it seemed that the Hornet sounded louder and if you want to compare the sound (also of limiters) you should have level matched them more accurate.

[@FoliaSound]

They ARE level matched. I'm serious about it. That's why I was so shocked. Same peaks, same dB reduction, way different sound. Magnus - more open, less squashed, yet sujbectively louder. Limitless - kind of choked in comparison. Cheers!

[@mthomas1091]

But using 2 plugins actually gives the ‘advantage’ to the 2 plugins 🤔 I mostly listened but I’m interested in CPU% comparisons too fwiw….for all comparison vids 🤷‍♂️ Still good review 👍

[@rudigerk]

It's now 8€

[@JimMoreland]

I can confirm Hornet does make some good plugins - but - as a few commentators already brought up, their plugins can cause DAW's to behave in a "glitchy" fashion and crash. Especially their Audio Unit versions. And you @FoliaSound have some juice. Hornets' website has crashed. I think you may have caused a stampede to get that Magnus MK3.

[@planetclay]

i'm done with Hornet after trying his stuff out again a after a few years pause. The Stuff is often buggy, causes crashes, then Saverio says i don't have the correct graphics card....which he neglects to state in hus system requirements. he pretends he wants to be helpful but then disappears....i enjoyed Multi Comp mk 2 back in the day and his Song Key plugins...Analog Gain Stage...a few others but i'm done throwing even small bits of money at devices which may or may not work depending on....whatever....Hornet forgot to get right. Magnus mk 3 kinda works on my system but some of the parameters freeze up and it is just butt-ugly in white....the dark verion isn't optional depending on your operating system. amazing.

[@millenniummastering]

Yeah you can hear how Limitless pushes its distortion down into the Subs, which is why I never liked it.

[@FoliaSound]

The settings are quite extreme, but you're right - it distorts more than Magnus...

[@millenniummastering]

@@FoliaSound No, even a little amount of gain reduction and Limitless starts putting ripples into the subharmonic content. Im talking 15-35hz. Very obvious on my Osborne Grand Monuments. I would never use it on a club track for that reason.

[@SenfSenferson]

And the award for the worst UIs in the Plugion World goes to..... Big Round of Applause for HoRNet!!! Sounds fine but doesnt seem inviting or userfriendly

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, that's what I also noted in my vid!

[@SenfSenferson]

@@FoliaSound I guess it's a single Developer or a smal Team. And the Guys that can write Code don't know shit about Graphics Design or can't implement more complicated Knobs/Sliders/Buttons or even a fucking Picture as Background?! Saw a Meme that describes this discrepancy quite good the other day. This feels like the bare Minimum on the Looks Departement :D But hey maybe otherwise it would maybe cost 50€

[@FoliaSound]

I'd pay 50 EUR for that easy, I also mentioned it in the vid :)

[@pelennorDSP]

@@SenfSenferson Exactly, if you're a lone developer you have to prioritise your time, and Saverio seems to prefer to put out a greater range of plugins with less polished GUIs. I can empathise with that approach. The other thing worth mentioning is these simple vector graphics based GUIs scale extremely well to different sizes and thus display configurations with basically no extra dev effort. Once you start using bitmap based graphics( like pictures as a background), you then have to spend extra time developing, and extra time testing on a variety of configurations to make sure it works properly.

[@HoRNetWeb]

@@SenfSenferson Well honestly i never liked complicated a skeuomorphic GUIs, i tend to hate the gradients too :) I always appreciated the Ableton Live aesthetics when i started using it in 2005 and I also nowadays appreciate the reaper approach to keep the UIs as "system" as possible. So in part is to keep costs down (reusing a standard toolset it's cheaper than inventing everything every time) and in part is personal preference.

[@antoniostramaglia1316]

hornet ruLe :D

[@relax-max_Alain_de_Maximy]

These claps with Hornet are horrible......