Pulsar Massive

In which I review the Pulsar Massive plugin, an emulation of the classic Manley Massive Passive mastering EQ.
Music: Logical Fallacio by Dan Worrall
Available in all the usual places. Bandcamp link below:
dan-worrall.bandcamp.com/track/logical-fallacio
Pulsar Massive:
pulsar.audio/massive/
How To Use References:
• How To Use References
Parallel Filter Tricks:
• Parallel Filter Tricks
The Other Type Of Parallel EQ:
• The Other Type Of Para...
WTF is a Non Linearity?
• WTF is a Non Linearity?
If you like this type of content and you want to see it more often, consider signing up for Channel Membership: / @danworrall
Or you could just buy me a coffee :)
ko-fi.com/danworrall

[@damianoakes2592]

"The beauty of a massive bottom" Confirmed: Dan is a bass man

[@user-tw5si4tr3q]

“Knob only mode”

[@lnguage8010]

(b)ass man for sure

[@liorsilverstein9802]

more like boomer man

[@ChainSideTV]

Am I the only one that wishes Dan would start a weekly/monthly (whatever suits you best Dan!) podcast? I think it would be fantastic.

[@DJeMo]

He would say that's too much saturation...

[@tobiasjone]

Not even an audio one, could be about paint drying.

[@shaihulud4515]

I'd be there, too. Even if he choses gardening, deep sea diving or wood casting.

[@alexanderstuartpetty485]

I want to see Dan create a "Mixing with Mike" type product. I'd be there for it.

[@tonal.states]

Also maybe over the shoulder live mixes or something like that? Even if hes not talking for 2 hours I'd watch that hehe

[@-303-]

I got my hearing checked by an audiologist a few days ago, and I knew from the results that I wouldn't hear any changes from your massive +20 dB boosting of the high end above 10k. It isn't lost on me that the way I used to listen to music I love has now taken away a part of that music forever. Wear hearing protection, folks. This is no joke.

[@oupahens9219]

Well, his original wave-file had anyway nothing above 12kHz in it, which could have been made louder, so his mentioning of a 20 DB boost was nonsensical anyway. The curve in the graph showed a meagre 4 DB boost at around 12 kHz, that is what was hearable.

[@johnviera3884]

no one over 50 can hear past 12K

[@DrProgNerd]

Played in loud bands for years - no hearing protection. At 55 - tinnitus. I'm basically used to it - but when I'm mixing, I can't trust my treatment of the high end completely. To the younger players - you're going to live much longer than you think. Be good to your future-self and take care of your hearing.

[@eruteriojason2954]

“Lol “ -Dan Worrall, 2022.

[@artysanmobile]

Some relevant EQ history. In the early 70s, even console EQs used inductors, with their limited range adjustment, high cost, but fine musical curves. Those dips, a serendipitous result of the attempt to narrow Q beyond what the 2nd order inductor topology would naturally permit, were - to a traditional circuit design engineer - ‘ringing’, a failure to design out, and design-it-out most of them did with not a thought to how that ringing might sound. I was a junior designer at MCI and recall a perpetual struggle in our engineering dept to distinguish our circuit from API’s by getting rid of that behavior! Our EQ would be better, more ‘accurate’! No one even considered its musical performance at MCI. Our main competitors Neve, API, Trident, had creatives at the top whose ears could could cut through considerable nonsense. The fact I was a trained musician and mix engineer who could have been very useful meant only that I was underpaid relative to those with nearly irrelevant degrees. Such was the world of sound engineering in America. It was the heyday of outboard EQ, where cost and physical space were not dealbreakers. Pultecs, Eventides and others were very common in those days. A good control room having dozens of them does not seem to have conveyed the message to console manufacturers to up their game. I don’t remember us benchmarking them ever. Parametrics were just coming into use but they did nothing to solve the musical ‘problem’. It would never occur to 70’s engineering hubris to look back to the 1950’s tube monsters for enlightenment.

[@alexanderstuartpetty485]

This story about how the 70s musical eq problem could have been solved through knowledge from the 50s provides awesome perspective. I find it a relevant tale reminding us not to forget to seek out wisdom from the past as we chart our course into the future. Thanks for sharing.

[@levondarratt787]

This would be the beginning of a book, or podcast....please keep going!

[@NikolausBrocke]

Such a great comment! A post where I learn sth. and gain insights from 1st hand.

[@RocknRollkat]

it's interesting how EQ went from damn near nonexistent in the 1950s and was used mainly to tune out line problems like allpass filters do, line losses, like a gentle H.F. restoration, etc. Then somewhere along the line somebody got the bright idea of using bass / treble controls to 'fix' "problems" that many times didn't need fixing, and we were off to the races. Knobs and switches everywhere. Sexy ! And let's face it, those huge consoles sell studio time. And that's the name of the game. Today everything needs some sort of 'fixing' with some sort of gimmicky "EQ", blah blah blah. I started recording in 1961. One mic., one mono tape machine, one basement. In those days, we knew where to place the mic to get the sound we wanted, etc. Let's face it, looking at those massive consoles, ask yourself.... "If this is what I need to sound good, maybe I should re-evaluate my artistic capabilities". Put another way, "If you need EQ you probably recorded it wrong". That's what experience sounds like.

[@artysanmobile]

@@RocknRollkat I don’t share your theory that $700k recording consoles are just decorative. The best of them have included truly excellent preamps, eq, and dynamics for a very long time. From the early 1980’s I worked almost exclusively on Neve and SSL with no use of outboard eq. SSLs console eq has been superb all along.

[@DeanClean42069]

I'm a metalhead - but I have to say Dan Worrall, I love your walkthroughs of plugins. You walk us through EVERY ASPECT of a plugin, and you expertly tell what settings do and don't do and why. I like that man, a lot of other folks who do producer tutorial videos aren't nearly as concise as this for free. God bless you man. Thanks for not charging us out the ass for these tutorials and lessons. Its really cool man. You cover the really deep production stuff that other people want to charge masterclass prices for, for free. Love ya man.

[@DanWorrall]

Awesome! But, Worrall with an a please ;)

[@DeanClean42069]

@@DanWorrall my bad, i'm new

[@mutantdog.]

The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'

[@BleuNoirProductions]

The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand

[@siriusfun]

@@BleuNoirProductions My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo...

[@samkitt]

​@@BleuNoirProductions Lmfao

[@joelybarish4618]

You know what I mean....

[@cimatico]

How can I leave this behind...

[@lostreverb9806]

Gonna watch this on my phone speakers and rewatch it in my studio because it’s a video from Dan .

[@Bthelick]

Turns out one of my UK clients had never seen Black Books series so we've been watching them in the studio when we have a food break. This week was that line where Fran asked "have you never had a nice bottom?" And he replied "there was this one girl, not sure about nice, but it was huge, which gave it this tremendous sense of value" 🤣🤣🤣

[@danielrobinsonuk]

I've been producing music since 1995 and I'm still learning new things from Dan. I really appreciate the deeper knowledge. Thanks mate 👍🏻

[@alphanumeric1529]

Exactly the same here. Except where was Dan 20, 30 years ago? We both could have REALLY used his knowledge/wisdom! But, in thinking, I gather he was earning all the knowledge he freely shares with us now. Better late than never!

[@teolarrea]

Learning is an infinite process.

[@liorsilverstein9802]

what exactly do you learrn?

[@RogerWessel]

«Don’t fear the fase shift» 🤘 Thank you, Dan !

[@timnordberg7204]

"needs more bell curve"

[@DarkSideofSynth]

It'd look great on a t-shirt, or it could become the new Don't fear the reaper, or both ;)

[@shaft9000]

_Don't Fear Reaper's Phase-Shift_

[@lostreverb9806]

Can’t wait for the “hi, and welcome back”

[@lesauskis1]

Absolutely beautiful and elegant mastering eq. And Dan does another amazing job at working through it.

[@laddieervin]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, Dan. Your videos are always top-quality and full of great information. Much appreciated.

[@BrimstoneButcher]

Awesome demo/review video Dan. Purchased Pulsar Massive shortly after it came out & have had a blast with it.

[@davidpereira4455]

This kind of honest content is superb, given the insight and experience of this guy! Sure the amazing radio voice gives the cherry on top on form of charisma

[@TheDwarfInvasion]

Dan, your videos are on a totally different level that the other info out there. Such a refreshing change to see content based on engineering instead of hype!

[@iainmackenzieUK]

Could have spent the rest of the day listening to that hypnotic track. Happy to say I am actually starting to hear the subtle differences - in part, for sure, thanks to your videos Dan Many thanks

[@Rhekluse]

This EQ sounds super warm. I got a kick out of your brain-flex regarding phase-shifting. Lovely video, Dan.

[@olbluelips]

Thanks for this, there aren't many plugin reviews/overviews of this quality, especially with this much detail or by someone with technical knowledge. I love it!

[@CarlyonProduction]

It’s actually wonderful when you do these tests with a brilliantly designed piece of software. Pulsar, in my humble opinion, are at the top of their game. Yes, this stuff is subtle…as it is with the hardware. People often think tube gear will automatically distort the crap out of their material, but it was not designed to do this. The distortion is often tiny, but the cumulative effects over a mix can prove to be very musical.

[@jakubowskij]

Always inspiring, always informative. I can't get enough Thank you 🤴

[@Swyyrl]

Mr. Dan you're a legend in this game. Hands down the absolute best and realest reviews on KZbin. Each one is an entertaining educational experience.

[@antoinearzel]

Wow, you are not only the best audio geek youtube video maker... your are our best teacher !

[@anissbenthami]

I love Pulsar plugins and I'm happy to see you talking about them. It is time they take reward for their good work so they further improve their plugins.

[@DrProgNerd]

Love these videos. I appreciate that you went back-and-forth several times when you A/B'd Pulsar and ProQ - and that you lingered in each long enough to let our ears acclimate. Very useful touch. A lot of creators give a quick A/B and I find myself having to 'rewind' frequently. Great attention to detail. You should produce music 🙃

[@erfho8y]

what a bizzare eq. never seen anything like this before. thx for sharing!!

[@delorusclaiborne3274]

Love the mix and track used in demonstration that right ear left ear rhythm on piano and guitar, great video thanks 👍

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

I've got this adds also in my mail from Pulsar, but indeed it's a subtle difference, between the pro-Q3, but the Pulsar brings something ear candy, I have no idea what, but it's pleasant to hear. Thanks for reviewing this plugin, because I get so much different adds about plugins. That you can't have them all. But this one would be great in my plugin pool.

[@murraywebster1228]

Great musical eq, and what you say about phase is absolutely right, only matters more with identical/similar signals due to phase cancellation

[@Stu.6]

Tjanks a lot for reviewing this! I did put a comment for you to do it in another video Great work thanks 👍🏽

[@chrisbroxson3124]

These videos are so amazingly helpful. Thank you. I have learned so much.

[@guglielmonigro]

All the quality of the insights apart, you are a top storyteller

[@BrooseWayniac]

i luv that investigative format! Robin (underthe) Hood Worrall

[@5T45H]

Wonderful lecture 👍. I hope the offline oversampling options becomes the new trend on plugins. 🥂

[@youfkntubez]

"It rotates like a drunken ballerina". Awesome!! Thank you for this great review. .

[@RoomieOfficial]

Great vid as always Dan! Love the sound of this plug. I really like that you can turn on, and to some extent customize, the stepping for the knobs. For tone shaping I find the contrast of stepping speeds things up for me, and you can always hold CTRL to fine tune if needed.

[@THAMNOS]

I didn't expect seeing you here lol

[@kailo1619]

Never expected to find you here lmaoo omg

[@matt_nyc_audioengineer]

Roomie, you watch Dan! I would never have thought you dove this deep into engineering!

[@stefevr]

Omg roomie say hi to Rob pls

[@CiDK]

Well this is surprising

[@ISaudio]

Those added harmonics are priceless.

[@BlackenedNL]

Incredible work Dan

[@RayhemXD]

1:57 "But holy smokes, that's a 15db boost, apparently, how can that sound so natural" Ngl i giggled a bit too much when he said this, never heard a grown man thirst over a low shelf before ahaha

[@theunconciousmind7314]

Damn i was trusting way to much on the plugin parameters!! Glad i always used fabfilter pro q 2 or 3. Thank you dan for sharing this important knowledge!

[@straypacket]

My compliments to the musician! Really liked this one - very Scofield-ish

[@pikasfed]

Not exactly what I was looking for when I searched "Dan Worrall Massive Bottom" but it will do.

[@officialdiomer]

aye yoooooo

[@zeitakulobusta9708]

Code id da dose....get well soon. Always a pleasure sir....don't fear the phase shift.

[@peepeeland]

One thing glossed over but not overtly stated as technique, is that one can get a pretty good “passive eq feel” with any parametric eq, using very wide q and being conservative with boosts and cuts. Passive eqs have a thing where q narrows as gain/attenuation gets more extreme, but the general “transparent sound” associated with passive eqs is a lot about the wide q, with harmonics to taste. And about Pulsar Massive specifically- it’s the closest thing I’ve heard to Massive Passive in plugin form, but the drive and transformer options do make it especially versatile and kind of a different tool. The visual curves aspect should be turned off, though, as they are needlessly deceptive for getting the Massive Passive sound you expect.

[@jacobsmith1877]

This quickly became my favorite plugin and an indispensable part of my mastering chain. I don't even turn the knobs most of the time, but simply turn it on with the neutral "Passive Balance" preset and run through it for some air. It makes me really want to own the real thing if I win the lottery lol.

[@squizsquires6247]

Onyaa DannzO !! My gal jus complimented you saying your her favourite and least grating of all the tech audio tomfoolery i subject her too !! Haa. Keep it up ol son !

[@ronmoes42]

I liked this review, it's an honest one and those are hard to find.

[@bradleyduer]

I can't be the only one who wants to hear how Dan would compare the Pro-Q 3 against the Kirchhoff-EQ. I like them both, but I would love to get some Worrall insight. I am so thankful that you are sharing your knowledge. Although we, most likely, will never meet, you've become a mentor to me. I hope to work together on a project someday.

[@GoldenDeathMusic]

won't comment on functionality, but I will say Kirchhoff SOUNDS better than Q3 to me. So do GSIEquity, Pulsar Massive, Izotope Neuron 4 EQ, Slate Infinity EQ, Voxengo Gliss EQ, TDR Nova, DMG Equillibrium, Softube Weiss MP, NoiseAsh Need series, and others. I've revisited Q3 multiple times after seeing how many people love it, but I just think there are many better sounding options out there.

[@andymacc]

Don’t forget SSL

[@saricubra2867]

​@@GoldenDeathMusic Kirchoff is wasted potential without the non-linear capabilities of Volcano 3.

[@RenzZob1]

Thanks for another interesting teatime entertainment, Dan. Congratulations on making 88.2k digital subscribers! I assume the next party is planned for 96k? Better make it a big one since it's a long wait after that. :) I'm still not wholly convinced you are human and not a robot, though. I note that because it is unable to store the large samples required for human sounds, the bot has been programmed to utter "lol" instead of laughing...

[@mattastic247]

Great vid! I have the mastering version of the Massive Passive and this plugin behaves and sounds very close to the hardware. I would love to see how the curves change for the air band when the 16k and 27k bands are selected. Those higher frequencies are supposed to have a similar effect to the low band, creating dips and bumps. I generally keep the frequency selected to 12k because it behaves more like a traditional shelf. The bandwidth is super unique on these EQ's and I very often will make the small changes I need to with that control since it increases (or decreases) the dB so significantly. The low and high pass filters on the hardware are incredibly powerful as well. Sometime I won't use any EQ but will just use the filters and gain to get some extra mojo into a track.

[@shane_taylor]

As always, love your vids.

[@trushreitsam5802]

I already can hear White Sea Studios screaming "AUTO-GAIN !!" nice Video and nice Plugin

[@Linguae_Music]

Oh... i saw this a few weeks ago and thought "i dont need any more EQs" But I actually want this now :P very useful quirks in this thing. Its actually unique from all my other EQs

[@mayzter8765]

The king has spoken. This baby is a beast.

[@EgoPhagist]

flawless review , thanks Dan , it would be great if you can cover the new Izotope ozone 10 , cheers mate .

[@guidosc3470]

I LOVE the UI and it is great to learn and understand how the massive passive curves work. But honestly when I compared the pulsar with the Universal Audio one UA was the clear winner for me..(soundwise)

[@gffg387]

Wrong. Pulsar is the clear winner.

[@errornosignal]

could just be my ears and laptop speakers, but you can definitely hear the sterility of pro-Q3 in the comparison. nice vid Dan 👍🏻

[@InvalidUser18]

4:40 as a young viewer it's not loud at ALL. It actually almost sounds better like that, maybe a bit much as far as sounding good but it's almost manageable.

[@brianvillage5]

I have the UAD Manley Massive Passive and it’s amazing. I have the Pulsar Smasher it’s pretty awesome.

[@meilstone]

Your videos are crafted so perfectly, it's nice to know you are actually human (a computer wouldn't develop a cold from catching a virus), get well soon! ;-)

[@SteelTone]

Great honest video, thanks !

[@mihneazoican2479]

Another day of me saying: Dan you’re spoiling us. Jokes aside, I started using Reaper again, and my mixes sound better than ever. Not because I’m using specifically the “tricks” you’re teaching but because I feel my ears have gotten a lot better thanks to your content. Thanks a lot!

[@alexanderstuartpetty485]

They is no better DAW then Reaper... and imo, the 2nd place DAW isn't even close.

[@mihneazoican2479]

@@alexanderstuartpetty485 I like StudioOne too, but it’s got some very annoying quirks. The multi instruments are very useful for sound design tho, and the MIDI programming is better than in Reaper imo

[@alexanderstuartpetty485]

@@mihneazoican2479 i think the reaper midi editor is very powerful... but, yeah, if reaper didnt exist, I'd be a cubase user.

[@EricJohnson-fh8zj]

​​​@@mihneazoican2479 Reapers midi is very powerful, as you describe, and reaper is the goat when it comes to mixing/mastering. But studio one & cubase's midi production and sound design applications are superior in the sense that they require much less effort to use than reapers. Yes, I wish Reaper would spend some time on its production applications and improve upon them in a more visual way. I have studio one now, and I'm thinking of doing all my production with it, then move the instrumental to Reaper for mixing and recording vocals. I use Maschine inside of Studio One wich unfortunately is a pain no matter wich DAW one uses. If Maschine had good linear midi timeline capabilities I'd use it stand alone for production.

[@propergander6884]

Get well soon sir.

[@TheFForces]

Very interesting! Thanks much

[@audioglenngineer]

Transformers and tubes are awesome, but for realism, it’s hard to beat a transformer-less, solid-state, passive EQ. If you haven’t tried one, it’s pretty amazing. First one I tried was on a jazz mastering project, the transformer-less version of the Langevin Mini Massive Passive EQ in the late 2000’s. First time I ever boosted the high-highs on a ride cymbal and my ears were genuinely fooled into thinking I moved closer to the kit/speakers. So good!

[@iamcookbook]

Dan Worrall is a national treasure

[@TraeEdwardsProductions]

It's very lush and comfortable even pushed... Like you said not surgical but very round.. Kinda like it

[@Ehabmxd]

thank u man .. ur channel is Best than netflex movies .. please the next video acustica audio plugin

[@BrianBiscione]

Thanks Dan!!!

[@xXValomatXx]

the ssl native x eq plug in has a "Pultec mode" too. It also has an integrated graph that displays possible pre ringing and, well, phase shifting in linear phase mode... very useful...

[@CarlyonProduction]

If I recall there is no linear phase mode. It just displays phase shift and group delay.

[@MIHAO]

great overview

[@brokko_le3]

I found out how EQ's really are not all "just the same, but with different gui's and options" like I used to believe, when I played around with a free plugin called Luftikus. Some people were praising it and I had strong doubts how a simple fixed frequency EQ could be of any use at all. Playing around with it I did like the result of some of the changes I made with it, so I assumed I could do the same with my regular EQ. I really couldn't. Blew my mind. P.S. I love the tune and especially the name of it "Logical Fallacio". That's brilliant. It gives me the feeling I'm watching a spy movie and not a plugin review.

[@faithhopelove6945]

Crazy Guy...😀😆 but in the most positive Way" Thanks for the Inspiration 👌✌🤟

[@pureventrue2357]

I NEED "don't fear the phase shift" on a t-shirt. 😆 Keep 'em coming Dan!

[@JohnGauge790]

And now you know why the more you can get good sounds in the recording process with microphones and mic placement the less you have to eq/phase shift in the mix process.

[@esahm373]

After watching this I slightly prefer the behaviour / workflow of my trusted TDR Slick EQ Mastering Edition!

[@duncanmaclennan9624]

I really like their 1178 plugin too

[@Simbosan]

In the ProQ vs Massive comparison at the end, the massive sounded wider/more open. The cymbals fellt fresher. They are probably more panned so more emphasis means a more spacious sound (or not!).

[@walterjeworski4618]

Would love to see a video of the Ruby 2 by Acustica, truly one of the best sounding plugin eq’s I’ve ever heard

[@jonathanbyrdmusic]

That's an enjoyable saturation.

[@cornoc]

You can hold right-click to fine tune the knobs instead of holding CTRL btw.

[@blehm_7403]

i wonder does changing the transformer setting increase the compression effect?

[@saricubra2867]

And yes, this thing for mixing is fantastic. Volcano 3 is right there.

[@leonidaskopilos6959]

that " lol " killed me so hard

[@lahattec]

So, I would love to see a video on you making one of these tracks you use for the videos. And mixing it.

[@ermitec]

My compliments to the chef who made this video :) One little note I would like to add: The low end knobs creates harmonics all over the spectrum, not only for low frequencies. It would have been nice if you have switched from Hammerstein to Harmonic Analysis to show this.

[@ermitec]

@@TheJohnsofDoes Not sure what you mean by amplitude modulation, the paper about Hammerstein curves by Novak et al. does not state or refer to such thing. I do understand though that the harmonics created for freqs above 250Hz shown under the Hammerstein tabs do have a roll off compared to the low freq spectrum, which is also shown on the Harmonic Analysis tab (for the Low Freq knob)

[@ermitec]

​@@TheJohnsofDoes Maybe I made a wrong assumption when I read "Those are harmonics from amplitude modulation". Anyway I said I was not sure what you meant by that which is an implicit question. I don't mind being corrected with facts or knowledge. I don't need to "lol or being condescendent" to anyone whether I am right or wrong.

[@MoreMeRecording]

Reminds me of my JLM PEQ500s. I always would tell people, " I can add +12db if 12k and it never sounds harsh. It just sounds like too much 12k" . I am quite certain I will purchase this. Very impressive demo

[@banigrisson]

Dan made it clear that it didn't add those db, that's why it didn't sound like it. And there is pretty much no harmonic content added, so it's as close to a digital EQ as it gets. I'm sorry... but did you watch the whole video? Or am I missing something?

[@DanWorrall]

It does add significant harmonic content, especially from the low shelf band. Could you not hear that in my comparison?

[@banigrisson]

@@DanWorrall I didn't mean to misrepresent your words, my apologies Sr! I meant that, in my opinion, what it does can be easily found in other plugins, not irreplaceable at all. For example, RVox adds harmonics in a way I haven't been able to replicate with anything. It's surprisingly unique. But I've seen this under-100-hz harmonic content in plenty of places, specially SSL emulations. I just didn't understand why this user seemed so keen on buying it, given those factors. Shouln't have lead with "Dan made it clear [...]". My remarks about the added dB still stands, though.

[@Freez_Izzy]

Thanks Dan. Pulsar is good so far. I often use Massive and 1178. A hope you dissect 1178 too.

[@saricubra2867]

1178 is way better than an 1176.

[@IanBeato]

I've been looking for a replacement option for my UAD Manley since it's incredibly inconvenient to carry around my Apollo. I think this might be the solution, as to my ear it sounds like it reacts similarly

[@Jaburu]

suttle diference but if you focous on the guitar on the right, the Pulsar Massive glues it to mix, or does it glue to the bass?

[@PharaohLawLess1]

I would love to see someone do a comparison between his plugin and the Acustica Audio Magenta 5

[@genejas]

I wonder if the filter ringing of parallel EQs is different to that of conventional EQs

[@hyperactivists9390]

Surprisingly good effect on the music. I did think it tightened or compressed the lows, adding more “glue” than Fab Filter, which was crystal clear but actually sort of ruined the groove of the music in comparison. The Pulsar gave your track better bounce.

[@FASTFASTmusic]

Is it reading 20dB under the entire curve or just at the node?

[@Mtaalas]

Dan, you make music that's VERY rich in texture and color. Many people are hard pressed into making a starting point before mixing to be that full so there's something to work with. There's the big thing about making good sounding music. It's the recording, it's the chosen instruments, it's the arrangement that fills the space... and then you get to sculpting all that dough with the tools like EQ, Compression etc. faders... If one has little to work with or the starting point doesn't work at all... no amount of tools helps :)

[@Limit5482]

It’s not the same as a massive passive but it’s fantastic and I use this for M/S or when I have to do masters ITB .it really helps with my workflow that way The drive and gain is what really makes this special and different then the massive passive…not better but different I won’t be selling my massive passive but I love this plugin and use both Eve Anna from Manley has stated that the tubes in the massive passive don’t add to the sound of the unit as much as people think.

[@molandsonsmotors9690]

I like MCDSP retro eq also, especially what it does to 20k boost, its just different...

[@ts4gv]

Dan, you ever use Airwindows plugins? I just tried IronOxide5 on my fretless bass and it sounds great.

[@Bigmojo75]

This seems like the kind of we that would suit me, sitting in front of Soundtheory, just gently crafting before any technical correction