There is multi-band support, parallel and serial operation, nested configurations, and a powerful set of “utility” modules such as mixer units to bring an FX design to fruition. These can be hosted in a fashion that allows nearly unlimited flexibility in how the component FX units are configured. MXXX is a closed architecture (no third party plug-in hosting), but it comes with MeldaProduction’s entire catalog of effect capabilities, which is pretty much anything you’d need for studio sound manipulation. As you will see, this is not a strong point of chainer host plug-ins, including MXXX.Īnyway, now let’s focus on MXXX. Think FXpansion’s Etch or FabFilter’s Volcano as two examples of filter plug-ins with the UI graphics fully supporting the function. Any plug-in that presents LFO/MSeg graphs as an essential part of the UI will be easier to work with than a chainer-hosted solution. But even in the best of cases, you might be a lot happier with a dedicated closed-architecture, single-purpose solution rather than a roll-your-own solution. With the open architectures, one can custom-build multi-effects on your own to whatever limits your imagination and the chainer’s capabilities allow. It’s the closest one to MXXX in terms of building total integrated multi-effect solutions.Īll of the above have a certain amount of appeal. No VST3 compatibility at this point, but it’s the only one mentioned so far that comes with bundled effects (65 of them – all the usual types: dynamics, EQ, filters, etc.) and provides integrated LFO and MSeg modulation. We can probably safely assume that other DAW makers will follow with their own improved integrated chainer solutions.įinally there’s Nomad Factory’s Magma ($199 USD list). Studio One Version 3 has set the standard for in-DAW solutions with its onboard FX chaining feature offering highly flexible serial/parallel configuration with a multi-band capability (VST3-compatibility unknown). This one is not the most elegant to work with, but it does represent a very good value. For that, the modestly priced MetaPlugin from DMF ($49 USD) is available and contains an onboard band-splitter to boot. So far, none of the items mentioned will host VST3. The Plug & Mix Chainer ($99 USD) allows for 32 effects in series or parallel it is available to owners of the Plug & Mix bundle for free but the free version does not host third party FX, only effects in the Plug & Mix bundle. Blue Cat’s MB-7 Mixer ($129 USD list) has just one chain with a band splitter to allow for roll-your-own multi-band FX creation. Blue Cat Audio’s Patchwork ($79 USD list) allows eight chains of eight effects. There are a number of FX hosts that do just that: they host FX plug-ins in various fashions, but do so with third-party effects. You need to know that up front, because you are probably going to drool over MXXX when you read about all it can do.īut let’s first briefly look at what else is currently available in this area. But one thing is clear: although pricing has not yet been established, this baby will set you back a pretty penny. This review will be done in two parts, partly because there’s so much to talk about, but partly because the final shipping version of MXXX is not yet available at the time this is being written. We’ll review some existing options momentarily, but what we’re going to look at here is the easily the most powerful of them all, MeldaProduction’s new MXXX mega-effect. These can be thought of as plug-ins that can in turn host other plug-ins in various configurations (series, parallel or combination) which can be saved as presets that can be easily recalled and reused. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen the emergence of effect-chainer plug-ins. Melda has set the bar very high with its new mega-effect. One FX to rule them all and in the mix to bind them? Not a bad description for something the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
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