Soundtoys pro-plug-ins go native

A few months ago Soundtoys released almost all their plug-ins in Native format, allowing non Pro Tools HD users to use their plug-ins. Like many people, I read a lot of amazing reviews on these plug-ins and heard top producers use them on regular basis.
The plug-ins I was eagerly waiting to use were the Filterfreak and the Echoboy, but with the Crystallizer, Phase Mistress, Tremolator and Speed I definitely got more than I bargained for. All of these plug-ins sound extremely good indeed giving the warmth and the weight generally attributed to analogue hardware.

Probably the most surprising for me was the Crystallizer, which is based on effects of the same name found on the Eventide H3000 (which, unfortunately, I’ve never tested). It’s a combination of “granular reverse echo slicing” and “retro pitch processing” - an awfully complex description. It’s probably one of the craziest effects I’ve heard, but although it seems quite unpredictable to start with, after a bit of work I was able to create sounds I could never have imagined. It did remind me a bit of granular synthesis but quite different at the same time. Already I feel I will be using this effect to a great extent in my future compositions.

I was really eager to try to the Filterfreak, having heard so many good things about it, and I used an old Russian analogue unit to experiment with it. In short it’s the best filter I’ve heard in a plug in format. Soundtoys has definitely got the analogue sound right and adding it to a synth will make it stand out if it’s used subtly. The possibilities are just endless, from regular sweeps to more complex rhythmic patterns - you can use filters like never before. Moreover the two filters can be switched in parallel and in serial mode, changing the flavours that the filter offers from rich harmonics to complete sonic mayhem.

I was expecting a lot from Echoboy. The delay I was using until then was Steven Massey’s TD5, which for me is the best Tape delay plug-in I’ve heard (especially in vintage mode). When trying the Echoboy I was impressed by the possibilities offered by this plug-in.  Everything I can find on the TD5 is on this, like the tap tempo, but Echoboy goes a lot further than this by offering different types of tape sound, from reputable German tape machine manufacturers to the ubiquitous Space Echo and a lot more. Again like all the other Soundtoys  plug-ins the sound is irreproachable and the controls are extremely precise. Delay is probably my favourite effect (even before distortion) and having such a versatile delay plug in sounding so good is just the best thing I could have wanted. I can say for sure that it will be my go to delay effect with the TD5.

After playing with these effects I can see (or hear) why so many top engineers praise them. Indeed they have the uncanny ability to make the sound stand out in terms of quality and presence in a way that only high-end effects. Except now they are accessible to everyone.