PSP Vintage Warmer
Since a few days, I?ve been testing the PSP Vintage Warmer plug-in. I will try and describe it to you.
PSP Vintage Warmer offers digital quality simulation of an analog multi-band compressor. It combines the heat of analog devices with an interface that reminds of vintage machines with big knobs and two level-meters. Even if it is mainly conceived for mixing and mastering uses, it can be used as an "insert" device for any instrument. Furthermore, it includes about thirty quite effective presets. In "single-band" mode, there's a knob that is used to set the frequencies of the bass and treble "shelf filters". In "multi-band" mode, this same knob becomes a crossover limiting the active frequencies for the bass and treble settings. One can choose between stereo or mono mode, which could be very useful in certain situations.
Many usual parameters for a compressor are present: Knee, Speed (attack), Release. There's a "celling" knob too that allows PSP Vintage Warmer to operate at a maximum level different from 0 dB.
I've counted a total of 31 knobs, allowing access to such parameters as the response speed of the level-meters, or the desired distortion level. By clicking on the "PSP Vintage Warmer" logo, you get to the rear panel of the machine where you have access to more adjustments.
PSP Vintage Warmer is the type of tool that becomes essential as soon as you start using it. The analog color is very successful and very flexible. It is by far the best analog sound simulator that I came across till now. The only snag is that it is very greedy in resources. "One cannot get everything for nothing" (French proverb).
A fully functional demo version can be downloaded from the PSP-AudioWare WebSite.The demo version stops processing every 30 seconds.