Review: McDSP Emerald Pack 3.0 (Mac/Win)

Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Nick Peck

A VERSATILE AND POWERFUL PLUG-IN SUITE FOR PRO TOOLS

Analog Channel

McDSP's take on bringing an analog vibe to digital tracks, Analog Channel is composed of two distinct plug-ins. AC1 emulates the analog distortion and saturation characteristics of the line-input amplifiers on high-end analog recording consoles. AC2 is a tape emulator that simulates the head-bump curves of several of the great (and not-so-great) tape machines. You can specify tape formulation, IEC equalization curves, playback speed, and bias amount. I found AC1 to be quite subtle, and AC2 much less so. Though I've never heard a tape-emulation plug-in that sounds like my Ampex MM1200 2-inch machine, AC2 brought a big smile to my face, and I enjoyed the beefy character it added to my tracks (see Web Clips 1a and 1b).

DE555

This de-esser plug-in offers a number of nifty features. The key filter has a Focus Shape control for fine-tuning of de-essing behavior around the key frequency. The filter can be set to either highpass or bandpass, and a Listen mode solos the key filter for easy identification of the problem frequency. EQ and compression graphs are included to help you visualize the process, and basic presets for most de-essing situations are available to get you started. I particularly liked the efficient presets for male vocals and acoustic-guitar finger squeaks.

NF575

Designed for surgical removal of noise and unwanted frequencies, NF575 is a 5-band set of notch filters that also includes highpass and lowpass filters. It's useful for removal of rumble, hiss, 60-cycle hum, and other audio headaches. The notch filters can be set to extremely sharp filter slopes. Filters can be linked together and automatically set to harmonic intervals of each other, so upper partials of harmonic noise can be removed along with the fundamental. Used in conjunction with a highpass or lowpass filter if needed, this noise-reduction system is quite effective for removal of steady-state, pitched noises.

FutzBox

This convolution-like filter and distortion/decimation/noise-generation package is ideal for postproduction voice-processing and sound-design applications. Utilizing McDSP's Synthetic Impulse Models (SIMs), FutzBox offers highly realistic emulations of nearly every type of radio, telephone, earphone, and loudspeaker you could want. Additional processing includes filtering and EQ, a lo-fi bit-decimation circuit, distortion, a gate, and noise generation. FutzBox is a natural for any postproduction facility.

Chrome Tone

Four separate plug-ins are available in the Chrome Tone guitar-effects processor: Wah, Tremolo, Amp, and Chorus. These are also all integrated into the Chrome Stack plug-in. Each plug-in consists of a series of subsections and provides enough controls to satisfy the most hard-core knob twiddler. The amp simulator has prefilter, Noise Gate, EQ, Compression, Distortion, Reverb, and speaker-simulation sections. The Distortion section alone offers nine EQ curves that feed the signal to the distortion emulator, which has six distortion types. The Wah plug-in gives you both auto-wah and MIDI-triggerable wah, as well as some tasty phaser sounds. Tremolo is great for classic tremolo, autopan, and Leslie simulation, and it even has some transient-shaping capabilities that sound cool on drums. Chorus offers a variety of rich chorusing and flanging effects.

Revolver

This is a highly programmable convolution reverb with two delay lines, a 3-band parametric EQ, a crossover network, and control over Diffusion, Attack Time, and signal flow. Tools are included to allow you to create your own impulse responses. Revolver sounds great (see Web Clips 2a and 2b) and has excellent programming depth, but it has a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz. For those working at 96 kHz (like myself), this is a real limitation. Large portions of the included impulse responses are samples from other manufacturers' reverb units. I wish the library had a larger collection of uniquely recorded IRs.

Synthesizer One

This soft-synth plug-in (see Fig. 3) is McDSP's lone foray into sound generation. It features three oscillators, three LFOs, two VCFs, and two envelopes. Two of the oscillators are of the wavetable type. Their waveforms can be generated through line drawing, mixing together combinations of up to three existing shapes, or by extracting audio data from Pro Tools regions. You can map MIDI controls to virtually any parameter through the Matrix Modulation page, and a sophisticated event sequencer/arpeggiator is included as well. Synthesizer One has a high degree of flexibility and programmability and can mimic many vintage analog synths. Dozens of presets let you explore its many facets.

All You Need?

To put it plainly, the Emerald Pack rocks. The processors sound great and can really make your mixes sing. What makes these plug-ins so appealing is their chameleon-like breadth. Once you learn the interface for Channel G, for example, it's great fun to see how the Neve, API, and SSL G EQ simulations handle the same EQ curves differently.

After you dig into the presets, you realize just how much ground is covered. Great-sounding reverb, an enormous variety of EQ and compression, guitar-amp and effects simulations, de-essing, noise filtering, a synthesizer, and simulations of consoles and analog tape are all offered, among other effects. Aside from more delay-based effects and pitch-shifting, it's hard to imagine what's missing here.

The Emerald Pack is worth a close examination by those shopping for a high-quality, comprehensive plug-in solution for Pro Tools. McDSP offers 14-day free trial downloads of all its products from its Web site. Efficient, well-thought-out plug-ins, excellent customer service, and a free-upgrade policy are solid proof that McDSP is doing things right.

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Nick Peck is a composer, keyboardist, and sound designer in San Mateo, California. His latest album, Fire Trucks I Have Known, is available through CD Baby.