# SPL Iron mastering compressor plugin from Brainworx



## WindcryMusic (Jan 11, 2019)

Anyone else looking at this brand new release from Plugin Alliance?

I have never had much satisfaction with adding even mild compression to my mix buss, at least on predominantly orchestral material. Out of curiosity I watched a video on SPL Iron yesterday and was quite impressed with the modeling and the technology, but still didn't think it was something my music could benefit much from, based upon my past attempts with mix buss compression. Nonetheless, I decided to install the demo today and tried throwing it onto a little test project I have (nothing special, just something that exercises the orchestra for a few bars), just to see if it could do anything worthwhile for that type of cue.

Two minutes later I purchased the plugin. Yes, I was (and still am) that impressed. It's literally the first time I've dropped a compressor onto my mix buss and said "ooooh, THAT is why most everyone else seems to feel a bit of mix buss compression is worth doing." To my ears, SPL Iron is just incredibly smooth and transparent, and immediately makes the mix sound bigger and wider somehow, even when volume-matched, but without the usual telltale artifacts of compression. (Maybe this is just a characteristic of vari-mu compressors in general, a type which I have never tried before?)

Looking forward to spending much more time with SPL Iron this weekend, but just from my limited testing with it today, I believe I've found my new mastering compressor.


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## sostenuto (Jan 11, 2019)

WindcryMusic said:


> Anyone else looking at this brand new release from Plugin Alliance?
> I have never had much satisfaction with adding even mild compression to my mix buss, at least on predominantly orchestral material.
> Looking forward to spending much more time with SPL Iron this weekend, but just from my limited testing with it today, I believe I've found my new mastering compressor.



Got PA e-mail earlier and demos installed. Hope you get some helpful Replies!
Will be comparing demo with Klanghelm MJUC which has been my vari-mu comp for long time. 
(You likely know MJUC jr is darn nice Freebie ? ))

https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/MJUC/MJUC.php

Will be informative to evaluate both.


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## Nathanael Iversen (Jan 11, 2019)

I use the Vari-Mu style plugin from Slate Digital FG-RED I think they call it. I almost always use it in M/S mode and it is very useful to make things gel. It is rarely doing more than 1dB of compression. It is the last thing I adjust before printing the mix. I can always adjust it so that there is extra magic in just a few minutes. Glad you found something you like. I have been looking at the hardware version of that plugin thinking, I might have to hear that.... But the Manley Vari-Mu with the M/S mastering option is on the list of "true luxury goods that will not help me write any better, but which would do some magic that maybe only I would ever appreciate."


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## sostenuto (Jan 11, 2019)

UAD Manley Vari-mu on sale for $149.: __ Plugin Alliance _ Iron @ $99. Intro.
Klanghelm MJUC @ $25.

Only ones who will 'know' are those who use all three ???


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Jan 11, 2019)

WindcryMusic said:


> I have never had much satisfaction with adding even mild compression to my mix buss


Curious to know which you've tried.

It would also be interesting to compare with Acustica's version of it (Coral) which is a lot more expensive. They seem to be highly regarded for their emulations. I just picked up a few on sale and they're nice but they're doing something which I don't like with the depth. There's also a ton of latency (try to move a knob and then see it move a second later) and they're really CPU intensive.


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## WindcryMusic (Jan 11, 2019)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> Curious to know which you've tried.
> 
> It would also be interesting to compare with Acustica's version of it (Coral) which is a lot more expensive. They seem to be highly regarded for their emulations. I just picked up a few on sale and they're nice but they're doing something which I don't like with the depth. There's also a ton of latency (try to move a knob and then see it move a second later) and they're really CPU intensive.



I haven’t tried anything overly special before - mainly just the compressor built into Logic and a few from NI Komplete (e.g., Solid Tube Series). And Ozone’s Maximizer, which is sort of in the same category (and sounds pretty bad next to IRON).

I don’t know anything about Coral myself, but the huge thread on another music forum suggests that IRON is coming off well in comparison to it, and that it is also significantly lighter on computer resources.


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## Henu (Jan 12, 2019)

229 $ is rather a salty price for a software compressor, but I'm definitely interested.

I don't use a bus compressor in orchestral music, but my bread and butter mastering one is Kush Audio's Novatron- which is probably the best-sounding software compressor for mastering I've ever used. So I'm curious to find out what this can do what Novatron cannot.


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## Dr.Quest (Jan 12, 2019)

sostenuto said:


> UAD Manley Vari-mu on sale for $149.: __ Plugin Alliance _ Iron @ $99. Intro.
> Klanghelm MJUC @ $25.
> 
> Only ones who will 'know' are those who use all three ???


 Where do you see Iron for $99? It's intro price is $229 as far as I can see.


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## Bear Market (Jan 12, 2019)

Dr.Quest said:


> Where do you see Iron for $99? It's intro price is $229 as far as I can see.



It is USD 99 if you already own several PA plugins (15 or 20, I don't remember where they draw the line).


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## WindcryMusic (Jan 12, 2019)

Bear Market said:


> It is USD 99 if you already own several PA plugins (15 or 20, I don't remember where they draw the line).



I got it for $99 as well, by combining the intro voucher code (from being on their mailing list) and a separate $50 voucher for January (which I perhaps received because I bought several of their plugins in December … I still have only six of them thus far, so I’m not in the “Heavy Hitters” group which requires the 20 plugins to be owned).

If it had been $229 I probably wouldn’t have been able to justify the expense either, but I certainly believe that at $99 I got more than my money’s worth.


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## wst3 (Jan 12, 2019)

I used to use a pair of Altec 438 variable Mu compressors strapped together for stereo operation as my 2-mix compressor (back in the days when one had to go to such lengths<G>). It did provide, on some projects, a nice finishing touch. When plugins became a thing I tried several vari-mu style compressors, and none of them worked quite as well - to my ears. Sadly I had retired the console, so it wasn't practical to use the hardware solution.

Emulations continue to improve, and there are a few out there that sound pretty darned good - again to my ears.

I've considered the UA Manley Vari-mu, but even on sale I just can't quite justify it. Their original Fairchild does a pretty good job, and at least in my setting I can't hear a big difference between that and the upgraded version, so I haven't bought that yet either. I can't remember what Waves calls their Vari-Mu, but I did not find that one useful (which is odd, Waves usually gets close to the mark, if not spot on.)

Plugin-Alliance has, for my purposes at least, an excellent track record. And SPL builds really good hardware! I will definitely download and try the SPL Iron, but even at $99 I'm skeptical that it will make a big enough difference.

These days I use the UA SSL bus compressor most of the time, and while it sounds nothing like a Fairchild 670, I like what it does. When that isn't working for me I try others till I find the right one for the project, or decide that there is no such thing.

But yeah, Plugin-Alliance has earned my respect. I will give SPL Iron a try - and I kind of hope it is as cool as it should be.


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## sostenuto (Jan 12, 2019)

No luv for Klanghelm MJUC …. No M/S, but can this be done using 'free' Voxengo MSED ?

Only using MJUC jr so far. Not stressing over Eur 24 , but applied to PA _ Iron; brings it down to ~$71.50.


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## Dr.Quest (Jan 12, 2019)

Bear Market said:


> It is USD 99 if you already own several PA plugins (15 or 20, I don't remember where they draw the line).


$125 with my voucher and intro. Tempting but $99 would be better. I have many PA plugins but couldn't buy any during Xmas sales.


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## Living Fossil (Jan 12, 2019)

sostenuto said:


> No luv for Klanghelm MJUC …. No M/S, but can this be done using 'free' Voxengo MSED ?



Actually, i really like Klanghelm MJUC a lot.
However, it's more like 3 different compressors in one, since the 3 modes sound quite different.
It's able to give some nice coloration.
BTW it's maybe my favorite tool to get rid of that artificial-excited top end in Soundiron's Apocalyptic Percussions by turning the timbre darker (with almost no compression)

I haven't tried out PiA's Iron yet and probably won't, since i feel pretty covered with compressors.


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## sostenuto (Jan 12, 2019)

Living Fossil said:


> Actually, i really like Klanghelm MJUC a lot.
> However, it's more like 3 different compressors in one, since the 3 modes sound quite different.
> It's able to give some nice coloration.
> BTW it's maybe my favorite tool to get rid of that artificial-excited top end in Soundiron's Apocalyptic Percussions by turning the timbre darker (with almost no compression)
> ...



Tend to agree, but not so capable evaluating many subtleties of PA _ IRON. 
This specific video impressed … with the many additional tweak controls.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ckPMpcAzgZY?rel=0&autoplay=1&showinfo=0&color=white

Dunno yet ….


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## Living Fossil (Jan 12, 2019)

sostenuto said:


> This specific video impressed … with the many additional tweak controls.



Yes, it seems to be a great tool.
However, with many features comes a longer time to get an intuitive feeling of getting the best results, and i doubt that at the moment a compressor is what i need.
I'm recently exploring different combos of the HG-2, the VSM-3 (both PiA), Elevate (Newfangled/Eventide) and Pi and Phi (Mia Laboratories) for bus duties, and they all come with overwhelming features that also reduce the importance of a compressor which might be a little bit better than all the other compressors that i already have....


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## nordicguy (Jan 14, 2019)

Living Fossil said:


> I'm recently exploring different combos of the HG-2, the VSM-3 (both PiA), Elevate (Newfangled/Eventide) and Pi and Phi (Mia Laboratories) for bus duties...


Hi Living Fossil, I'd be pretty interested to hear you'r finding about Pi and Phi that really caught my attention.


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## Living Fossil (Jan 14, 2019)

nordicguy said:


> Hi Living Fossil, I'd be pretty interested to hear you'r finding about Pi and Phi that really caught my attention.



@nordicguy : Pi and Phi has become one my absolute favourite plug ins lately.
It's like kind of a 12 band Enhancer, that gives you the opportunity to feature quite specific frequency ranges without the downside of an EQ. Which means, it brings out the interesting details in that specific range without also boosting the unwanted parts.
So far, some of my observations are: On vocals, it's incredible when it comes to feature the top end.

It's also great on orchestral samples, since it can preserve/feature details without making the samples sound processed/artificial. 
Often, when EQing orchestral samples, i take out some resonance buildups and also some of the top end. With Pi and Phi i can bring back the interesting part of what has been attenuated.

The twelve band concept makes it easy to feature different bands on different buses.

Another observation: i would call it's impact on the low end very "round". 
I.e. it's more active on the sustained part of a sound than on the transients. 

A last thing where it shines is when it's put after colouring plug ins (like Phil's cascade, VSM-3 etc, etc). Brings out the coloration without getting a harsh sound.


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## nordicguy (Jan 14, 2019)

Many thanks for the reply @Living Fossil, much appreciated!


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## Henu (Mar 12, 2019)

Blatantly hijacking this thread a bit to ask, if anyone's willing to sell their licence for this one?


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## Headlands (Apr 1, 2019)

I think it's brilliant. I'm a fan of PA for the most part (with a few exceptions), and though I have all of the plugins mentioned on this thread and more, Iron offers me something different and more versatile, and has a "thing" that I just love. As with any plugin it's not always the best one for the job, but it sounds positively stellar and is super deep.


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## stfciu (Apr 1, 2019)

Just if anyone is still interested, PA runs a one week sale right now with Iron discounted including. 

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products.html


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## Fleer (Mar 8, 2020)

You can get it for $15 this weekend (with voucher).


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## sostenuto (Mar 8, 2020)

Hmmm .... was tempted last week @ ~$30., but went with Shadow Hills. 
March Voucher amount went up .... guess based on the several recent buys, but must spend > $75. use use it ..... :( Aarrgghh !

Oh ! __ can add bx_console 4000 G w/ its promo Code, and both now @ $40. w/ Voucher.  Yea ! 
Silly though as already have bx_console 4000 E. 
Sorry _ just noodling after your post @ Fleer.


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## Obi-Wan Spaghetti (Mar 8, 2020)

sostenuto said:


> Hmmm .... was tempted last week @ ~$30., but went with Shadow Hills.
> March Voucher amount went up .... guess based on the several recent buys, but must spend > $75. use use it ..... :( Aarrgghh !
> 
> Oh ! __ can add bx_console 4000 G w/ its promo Code, and both now @ $40. w/ Voucher.  Yea !
> ...


You can still get it for $15 with the survey $25 voucher. Or maybe you didn't get the survey?


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## sostenuto (Mar 8, 2020)

Obi-Wan Spaghetti said:


> You can still get it for $15 with the survey $25 voucher. Or maybe you didn't get the survey?



Duuuhhhh ..... plumb furgot ! Did Survey too. 
THX for wake-up call.


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## Obi-Wan Spaghetti (Mar 8, 2020)

sostenuto said:


> Duuuhhhh ..... plumb furgot ! Did Survey too.
> THX for wake-up call.


so many voucher, so little time...


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## Dewdman42 (Mar 8, 2020)

Thanks for the heads up, just grabbed it for $15 after survey. no brainer.


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## elpedro (Mar 8, 2020)

Didn’t know I could use 2 vouchers, yay!


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## synergy543 (Mar 8, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> Thanks for the heads up, just grabbed it for $15 after survey. no brainer.


Dewd, how do you use two vouchers when there's only one place to enter a voucher?

Oh, I see, yeah it worked. $14.99. Thanks!


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## Fleer (Mar 8, 2020)

One after the other.


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## synergy543 (Mar 8, 2020)

Thanks Fleer, our messages must've crossed in the ether!


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## Thundercat (Mar 8, 2020)

Jeeeeezz....thx brothas and sistahs! Just picked up,Iron for $14.99 many thx!!!


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## khollister (Mar 9, 2020)

Same here - $15 after loyalty voucher. Not that I needed another compressor


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## Uiroo (Mar 9, 2020)

Ah, just unsubscrided to the newsletter a few days ago, damn!


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## Obi-Wan Spaghetti (Mar 9, 2020)

Uiroo said:


> Ah, just unsubscrided to the newsletter a few days ago, damn!


You mean you don't have the survey voucher? Cause i think it's the same for everyone. I can give it to you if you want plus the Iron coupon.


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## Uiroo (Mar 9, 2020)

Obi-Wan Spaghetti said:


> You mean you don't have the survey voucher? Cause i think it's the same for everyone. I can give it to you if you want plus the Iron coupon.


Oh, that would be awesome! I actually couldn't find any vouchers or coupons anywhere.


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## Obi-Wan Spaghetti (Mar 9, 2020)

Uiroo said:


> Oh, that would be awesome! I actually couldn't find any vouchers or coupons anywhere.


PM me and I'll give it to you.


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## JEPA (Mar 9, 2020)

installed it, compressed some choirs..... WOOOOOWWWWW


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## vitocorleone123 (Mar 9, 2020)

I'm discovering the gentle wonders of DDMF Metaplugin oversampling on plugins that don't have it. Iron is one such (PA plugins don't seem to believe in oversampling). The effect mathematically is noticeable, but to my amateur ears, it's subtle. In looking at DDMF Plugindoctor, you can clearly see that going to 4x oversampling on Iron and Shadow Hills makes a decided difference in reducing aliasing. At a CPU hit - gotta find a balance. On the flip side, Purple MC77 is more a 2x kind of plugin, or leave alone.


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## 2chris (Mar 10, 2020)

Wow, I missed this one. I probably would have bought it, but didn't see the email or thread until today and the sale ended. I'll stick to The Glue and Vulf Compressor for now.

The one I really want is Black Box Analog Design HG-2. Once they do a sale I'm buying. I've demoed this and I really like what it's done to my mixes. I think I like it as much or maybe even more than sound toys decapitator for drums and some synths.


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## Lasperanza (Dec 30, 2020)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I'm discovering the gentle wonders of DDMF Metaplugin oversampling on plugins that don't have it. Iron is one such (PA plugins don't seem to believe in oversampling). The effect mathematically is noticeable, but to my amateur ears, it's subtle. In looking at DDMF Plugindoctor, you can clearly see that going to 4x oversampling on Iron and Shadow Hills makes a decided difference in reducing aliasing. At a CPU hit - gotta find a balance. On the flip side, Purple MC77 is more a 2x kind of plugin, or leave alone.



Signor Vito (!), may I ask how you were able to run the SPL Iron through the Metaplugin (which isn't standalone, to my knowledge), and then load that into Plugindoctor (which IS standalone)? I might be missing the obvious here, for which I apologize!

EDIT: Ignore the request, it seems I was missing the obvious....


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