LiquidSonics Lustrous Plates

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Demoed it, here are a few main thoughts:

a) It's a lot less versatile than UVI plate. The different plate types sound mainly like different frequency emphasis curves, and the controls are a lot less extensive. With UVI plate I can use one plate type and create wildly varying reverbs, with Lustrous not so.
Most notably the lowest decay time value in Lustrous is much, much higher than in UVI.

b) The overall sound vs UVI can be described as perhaps more realistic, but also dirtier and definitely needing of more EQ to sit in a mix. It's not a bad sound, but it's quite distinct and might not play well with other reverbs. I see UVI plate as something that can make pretty much everything sound better whether it's with very small rooms or huge spaces.

Overall, with UVI being priced better, if I had to choose I'd go for UVI.

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The comparisons between LP and UVI were very interesting...
I much preferred the warmth of LP, finding the UVI quite harsh and to be honest - and yes the LP is supposed to be a plate emulation - I don’t really carre when the sound is this good... Plus! They do have a kind of disclaimer by using the prefix ‘Lustrous’ :D Anyway LP is killer on vocals.

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kelvyn wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:58 am The comparisons between LP and UVI were very interesting...
I much preferred the warmth of LP, finding the UVI quite harsh and to be honest - and yes the LP is supposed to be a plate emulation - I don’t really carre when the sound is this good... Plus! They do have a kind of disclaimer by using the prefix ‘Lustrous’ :D Anyway LP is killer on vocals.
I feel exactly the opposite - LP is "harsh" in terms of forcibly transforming the sound you feed it to something quite different. Some of the mid-heavy plates are also quite boxy. Try UVI on the highest quality settings? It's horrible on CPU but I can't imagine anyone calling it harsh.

For warmth, just roll off the highs in UVI? Did you notice that you can draw your own decay time curves and create any type of sparkly or warm reverb tail?

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I agree with Liero.

I compared these two also (own both of them, LP through Slate subscription.. which I'm probably not going to resub once it runs out in the autumn) and for pure mixing "placement" duties I find the UVI Plate quite a bit better.

Lustrous Plate has a very "Liquidsonics" fingerprint.. I'm having a bit of a hard time describing it but I'm starting to recognize a pattern in the sound somehow. I also have Seventh Heaven and extensively demoed Illusion. This may of course be purely in my mind.. it probably is.

To my ears LP sounds like an idealized plate from a fantasy world.. a "perfect" hi-fi plate. Sort of how in the same vein as a Hollywood movie portrayal of a real life event.. whereas the UVI Plate is closer to a documentary which also gives you the option to completely screw it up with settings.

One thing is for certain. Both sound ridiculously good. If CPU constraints was no option then I'd say UVI Plate is the more sensible purchase as it covers much more ground and has the capability of being way more unique and interesting.. but for basic hi-fi dream like plate reverb with a modest CPU usage Lustrous Plates is the better option. Neither eats the others territory so of course the truly best option is to have both. :D
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot

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For me, I choose LP over UVI. Reason is that I find LP more complimentary to the source with little effort compared to UVI. UVI is much more versatile but its more difficult to fit into the mix. LP has this kind of transparent lushness and clarity for lack of better terms. This is also way I like 7th Heaven. :phones:

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rewrite history wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:00 pm Unless you're really into long vocal breaks or have a need for huge pads or strings. Not sure how that fits into 2019, but okay.

It's probably better that you don't hear the reverb, because it's too much by then.
How you dare to say that! Now I'm offended #triggered :x so much that I need to go to safe space...

...ok now I can tell you that some of us like to make things wet not dry. If you know what I mean ;) Never enough of reverb! NEVER!

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edit, I was wrong.
Last edited by reggie1979 on Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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edit, again, I'm wrong.
Last edited by reggie1979 on Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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plexuss wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:53 am
rewrite history wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 4:17 am It's never about which paint or paintbrush, it's always been about the painter and the painting.
If the painter doesn't have paints and paintbrush there will be no painting. That's why I bought Lustrous Plates. :phones:

And your analogy makes no sense - in the realm of painting the materials and techniques used are as important to the medium as they are in music. It's all intertwined.

If you have to use for Lustrous Plates, perhaps move on? This is a thread about this specific product.
People would be better off learning about the paints and paintbrushes they already own. Collecting a whole cabinet full of paints and paintbrushes might make you a "painter", but not an artist. A true artist can draw a picture in the sand with a stick that brings emotion to people's soul. Far from buying something off the shelve that you believe will fill the holes you have in your artistry.

It reminds me of people with a shopping addiction and a closet full of shoes for every occasion.

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rewrite history wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 4:35 pm
People would be better off learning about the paints and paintbrushes they already own.
You have very strong opinions about this. Do you use a minimal amout of plugins ("paints") in your music? I'd love to hear your work, can you share a link? :phones:

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It's an OK reverb, however, I much prefer Transatlantic Plate Reverb, and prefer UVI and Valhalla Plate as well. Those are probably more comparable since it's an idealized model of a plate reverb, similar to Valhalla and UVI, as bmanic mentioned.

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plexuss wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 4:41 pm
rewrite history wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 4:35 pm
People would be better off learning about the paints and paintbrushes they already own.
You have very strong opinions about this. Do you use a minimal amout of plugins ("paints") in your music? I'd love to hear your work, can you share a link? :phones:
I tend to use what the song calls for, not the other way around.

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@rewrite, you could write this off as another "reverb," but if so you'd be missing the point of what's on offer as it is another Plate reverb.

When and why people use a plate reverb is very much like in painting, knowing when to use a Fan brush (since you seem big on this Painter/Artist analogy). A fan brush is specific tool with well known outcomes (just check Bob Ross and his friendly trees) much like Plates are a specific tool with well known outcomes (even if not everyone seems to understand when they are listening to a plate reverb vs. other types of reverbs).

In terms of dedicated plate reverbs, there's still not much out there so its a good conversation to discuss what they did well and what they didn't do well. Is Lustrous Plates better than IRs? Is it better than other dedicated tools like UVI Plate, or Valhalla Plate or is it better than non-dedicated algorithmic reverbs that either have plate algos built in like 2CAudio's Breeze 2 or Plate presets like many others?

Anyway... these topics don't have to be GAS-fests. They really can be about the tool and whether or not it adds something worthwhile.

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Yeah, I don't think this is a gas fest. Just information about a new plug. Some love it, others are not so impressed. Lovely to have options. Got mine for free* so it's not like I'm just talking myself out of it. Just giving honest opinions.

*well, part of the Slate sub

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+1 Not every audio tool is for everyone. For me, there is no "good" or "bad", just "different" - some things I get jazzed about and make an impact on my music, and others I don't for various reasons. I never think the argument should be "which is better" but rather what are the characteristics of it, how can it be used best and tips-n-tricks. That's where I try and keep my content oriented at least... :phones:

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