Has anyone used Infected Mushroom Pusher and/or Scheps Parallel Particles? Before selecting my free plug-in after a purchase, I have been demoing these two plug-ins. And while this “hands-on” trial has helped me understand how they work and sound, I still cannot decide between the two…one sounds better on one track, the other sounds better on another track, same for group and mix bus, and so on. If anyone has any experience with either (or both) of these, I would love to hear your take on them.
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Hello! I’m a fan of both plugins and it’s probably difficult to say one is “better” than the other. Both are worth owning, but it depends on your needs!
Are you the type of person who likes to use a varied bunch of plugins on your master bus for final processing? If so, then Scheps Parallel Particles is probably the way to go because it will work well in combination with other plugins.
Infected Mushroom Pusher can technically work well with other plugins if you choose to use it that way, but it’s really designed to be a sort of all-in-one mix finisher… And it’s great for that!
Are there any other choices from your free plugin range? Those are both great, but if you don’t have Scheps Omni Channel I personally consider that Waves’s #1 “must have” plugin.
Thanks so much for your thoughts. Your assessment seems to be spot on. As I continued with the demos tonight, I actually noticed that SPP seemed to enhance/enforce the group buss and mix buss tracks (and worked well with the addition of “Fresh Air” or “Neutron’s EQ Module”), while IMP seemed to almost reinvent the sound of those busses…not necessarily in a bad way.
To my ear, SPP sounded more tight, focused and centered, while IMP tended to open things up, creating a nice, clear, and wide sound…but it was less focused. My favorite combination was using SPP on my Drum Buss, which made it more focused and punchy, and using IMP on my All Instruments Buss, which really opened it up. Of course, there may very well be some user error involved. I’ve watched videos and tutorials for both plugins, but a quick demo can be a challenge.
Oh, I almost forget, one of the purchased plugins that produced this freebie was Scheps Omni Channel. I have plenty of EQ’s and comps of different flavors, and lots of FX like tape/saturators, verbs, delays, etc. And now I have three flavors of channel strips, Neutron, SSL E-Channel, and Scheps Omni. That’s why I want to try something a little different for the freebie.
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There is one thing that has crossed my mind regarding IM Pusher and Scheps Par Particles, as a possible problem. Neither of them have the option of dialing in a specific frequency or frequency range for their parameters…“Body”, “High”, “Thick”, “Bite”, and “Air” all seemed to be “fixed” (except for “Low” and “Sub”) - unless I am misunderstanding how they work.
If you were to use several instances of one of these two plugins in a project, wouldn’t this cause an unnatural build-up in the specific frequency ranges that the plugin affects?
Well, there is limited control with the Sub parameter, but generally you’re right about the limitation.
I’m not sure if its that important in this particular effect though. I haven’t used it for a while so I forget how it sounds, but it seems it might work a little like a multiband enhancer. So a whole bunch of frequencies get enhanced with each parameter.
Sub does lows, Thick does low-mids, Bite does Hi-Mids and Air does Highs. So the level controls are more about balancing the different bands within the enhancer. It will most likely be more complicated then that though as I’m sure each band will have its own special blend… unless I’m mistaken about this whole multiband thing.
If I’m right, though, there won’t be an unnatural build up of any specific frequency if you stack plugins.
The IM Pusher, though was designed to be a quick and ■■■■■ limiter that immediately impresses. Not the kind of thing you want to put one most mixers, but if you’re just pushing something out to the nightclub quickly, like these fellas were, or if you want something to use for quick reference mixes for your clients, the Pusher might prove a useful tool.
Thanks so much for your thoughts. You make good points. I think the issue with these plug-ins is that it’s not entirely clear what’s going on under the hood…and perhaps that’s part of what makes their quick and easy results appealing.
I think the key with both of these is to avoid overuse.
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To be honest, I think the same thing applies to all plugins in general. Even life in general. As they say, “do things in moderation”