Quote:
Originally Posted by morfi
Funny, I was just about to ditch Pyewacket as it didn't do much for me. Neither does Thunder.
Actually, they are. You can't buy anything from AirWindows anymore, not even the past AU plug-ins, but you'll have to wait til he gets them as 2016/2017 VST AU versions. All he's got now is freeware but supported thru Patreon.
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Thunder is overkill for me. It gets out of hand too quickly for my tastes. Point is another one which just messes with my stuff too much.
After I realized Pyewacket was useful to me, I would try dialing in settings in other compressor plugins (ones that had some pumping/breathing, some noticeable "movement" and not just "clean compression") that I thought I couldn't get in Pyewacket. Then I compared again and gave it an honest try, and proved myself wrong. The toughest part was getting used to how Pyewacket works. I couldn't think of it in terms of how I'd dial in other compressors, so I initially assumed it wasn't that flexible. Then I got a bit more patient with it and realized that the +/- setting ranges (or left/right of center) allowed for more flexibility than I realized. Sometimes if you set one slider to its "-" range and another slider to its "+" range, you get a very different kind of response. This is one of those plugins. Chris uses the plugin a bit differently from how I use it actually.
I do tend to dial it in for some pumping/breathing, but then also blend the wet/dry control of Reaper for the plugin for parallel use. Then if I need more "clean compression" I add another compressor in series. I love how that approach works.
Knowing how "release" can affect the overall reaction speed of the compressor, and how the input gain (+ or -) affects the response, is critical. It seems unintuitive at first but then when you get it, you go "oooohhh" and it's a lot easier to dial in next time.
As for which of his plugins are free: all his current releases are free. Prior releases which are only AU are either unavailable or maybe can be purchased. On his Patreon feed I noticed someone asking for a prior plugin (only AU) and he agreed to sell it to the person. He's steering toward his new "all free and Patreon-supported" model but apparently can still be convinced to sell one of his prior plugins if you don't mind it's still AU only.