A while back, I wound up picking up the Plugin-Alliance annual Mega-Bundle subscription ($249/year … but you wind up getting a voucher that lets you buy perpetual licenses worth $249 anyway, so it’s effectively free … at least if you were going to buy that value’s worth of plugins anyway).
While I usually use this stuff in recording/mixing/mastering/production capacities, the fact I have it means it’s also nice to piddle about with for random listening experiments.
Today’s trio were all SPL components (a couple of which I’ve mentioned before):
IRON is probably the most interesting (and certainly the most audible in its effects). If you’ve never played around with a compressor or leveler, they can be very interesting. Most are simpler than IRON, and also use a different setting (due to operational differences) … namely a “ratio” setting vs. the “threshold” on the SPL piece.
IRON, and tools like it (there are many, both software and hardware*), will give you interesting insight to what’s possible just with dynamic range compression (and how it sounds in practice, with the ability to properly A/B it).
Lots of fun …
Especially when followed by some gentle Twin-Tube processing:
And using HawkEye to visualize the effects of the changes being made:
*The hardware version of IRON is an awesome piece - I might need another before I shut down my studio permanently - though the software version is MUCH cheaper. And you don’t have to spend in the “SPL category” to get a fun piece with some similar, if less comprehensive, functionality. Also, these are professional tools - so it’s a good idea to understand the implications of input and output signal levels if using them with consumer gear.