# IK Multimedia T-RackS 5



## muziksculp (Sep 17, 2017)

Hi,

IK Multimedia has released *T-RackS 5* , Your thoughts ?

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/tr5/

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## evilantal (Sep 25, 2017)

It looks nice, but the details are extremely sketchy.
At least when you already have some of the plugins it's terribly unclear if and what upgrade you need to buy to get up to speed.
See the threads over at KVRAudio and Gearslutz.


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## GtrString (Sep 25, 2017)

I like it, and have most of the plugins already, so I'll jump on the basic version. The IK marketing makes it quite uncool to use, but the plugins are really up to par with UAD, imo, and when upgrading at their frequent sales, it won't break the bank either. IK don't rob you blind every other year, either, like some others, so I'm really a fan of their mastering plugins.


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## jcrosby (Sep 26, 2017)

evilantal said:


> It looks nice, but the details are extremely sketchy.
> At least when you already have some of the plugins it's terribly unclear if and what upgrade you need to buy to get up to speed.
> See the threads over at KVRAudio and Gearslutz.


 Totally agree. I emailed support and had to go back and forth several times before it was clear. Here's what they told me, (that is NOT intuitive from the site.)

If you already own any TR4 plugins all you need is the $99 preorder. That gets you the new modules, the old ones will carry over.
(That said I'd still email them and let them know that the upgrade details are a mess...)

And agree, these actually stand up to UAD pretty darned well. I prefer UAD a little bit more, but these are pretty damn close, and alot cheaper... Unlike Waves they actually went the extra mile and modeled the saturation in the API EQs, they sound killer... Sure the marketing is kind of ridiculous, but the one click and you can sound like artist X thing is going show up in more and more plugins... As long as you can still cook from scratch it doesn't concern me... Plus matching EQ is actually quite handy when you have to turn something around fast...


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## evilantal (Sep 26, 2017)

jcrosby said:


> Totally agree. I emailed support and had to go back and forth several times before it was clear. Here's what they told me, (that is NOT intuitive from the site.)
> 
> If you already own any TR4 plugins all you need is the $99 preorder. That gets you the new modules, the old ones will carry over.
> (That said I'd still email them and let them know that the upgrade details are a mess...)



Exactly.
I have all the T-RackS stuff (except Saturator X) and am trying to decide wether I should buy the update when I don't want the new plugins or use the standalone application.
It's totally not clear if I need to buy the 99 package or that my plugins will be updated for free anyway when a free CS version arrives that is now only mentioned as "TBD".

I'd like to know if I'd be throwing money away for something I'd get for free anyway.


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## stan-k (Sep 26, 2017)

jcrosby said:


> Totally agree. I emailed support and had to go back and forth several times before it was clear. Here's what they told me, (that is NOT intuitive from the site.)
> 
> If you already own any TR4 plugins all you need is the $99 preorder. That gets you the new modules, the old ones will carry over.
> (That said I'd still email them and let them know that the upgrade details are a mess...)



That is not what I understood at all from all the posts on those forums... Basically, what Peter from IK kept saying is that if you own some T-Racks 4 plugins you can get the $/€99 upgrade which will give you the new T-Racks 5 interface and sound engine, 4 new modules and the updated TR5 interface for your TR4 plugins. However! They will still be TR4 plugins, not TR5 plugins, which have been recoded from the ground up. He also adds that the TR4 plugins that you own will still benefit from the new audio engine, but they are not TR5 versions.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I did spend a fair amount of time reading through all those posts before I got the MAX 5 upgrade for $/€199.


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## rrichard63 (Sep 26, 2017)

evilantal said:


> It looks nice, but the details are extremely sketchy.
> At least when you already have some of the plugins it's terribly unclear if and what upgrade you need to buy to get up to speed.
> See the threads over at KVRAudio and Gearslutz.



Yes. It looks like we have to wade through nine-plus pages of GS (rhymes with BS) in order to figure out which package to buy. I got to the bottom of page 1 and stopped. UPDATE: they actually get everything (or at least the important stuff) sorted out on page 4.

This reminds me of the recent introduction of Syntronik. It took weeks to get a clear picture of what that product is and isn't. IK Multimedia needs to hire a communications specialist.


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## rrichard63 (Sep 26, 2017)

stan-k said:


> That is not what I understood at all from all the posts on those forums... Basically, what Peter from IK kept saying is that if you own some T-Racks 4 plugins you can get the $/€99 upgrade which will give you the new T-Racks 5 interface and sound engine, 4 new modules and the updated TR5 interface for your TR4 plugins. However! They will still be TR4 plugins, not TR5 plugins, which have been recoded from the ground up. He also adds that the TR4 plugins that you own will still benefit from the new audio engine, but they are not TR5 versions.
> 
> Please correct me if I'm wrong. I did spend a fair amount of time reading through all those posts before I got the MAX 5 upgrade for $/€199.


What's not clear is exactly what "recoded from the ground up" means. I'm reasonably certain that one difference between the TR4 and TR5 versions of the same plugins is that TR5 includes a resizable GUI. But what does "audio engine" refer to in Peter's statements? Just the shell? Or is there a common code base, and changing it changes all of the plugins that use it -- even when used as standalone plugins?

From what I can tell so far, a lot of the choice between $99 and $199 depends on whether you want your 30-odd legacy plugins to have a resizeable GUI.

EDIT: it appears that you only need to spend $99, not $199.


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## Living Fossil (Sep 26, 2017)

stan-k said:


> However! They will still be TR4 plugins, not TR5 plugins, which have been recoded from the ground up..



As far as i've read they have *not* been recoded. Just the TR5 environment is new.


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## muziksculp (Sep 26, 2017)

Hi,

I have non of the IK Multemedia TR Plug-Ins. I have *Ozone 7 Advanced*, and am not sure I really need *TRack-5*, I do hear very positive comments about IK's TR plug-ins, it has been a popular product for quite a few years now. But do I really need it if I have Ozone 7 Adv. ? 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## stan-k (Sep 26, 2017)

Living Fossil said:


> As far as i've read they have *not* been recoded. Just the TR5 environment is new.


 This is from the T-RackS 5 FAQ on the IK forums:

*Are my T-RackS 4.x Singles and Classic, Deluxe, Grand, etc plugins updated in T-RackS 5? *
Yes, Singles (and your current 4.x plugins from collections, or purchased a la carte, etc) will be able to take advantage of an updated UI appearance, better integration into modern DAWs, and resizable. 

*Will the audio quality improve in my T-RackS 4.x models?*
No, but the new audiophile engine that includes higher sampling rates, new oversampling and dithering algorithms makes them sound just a touch more refined (where possible/applicable) in the new T-RackS 5 context (as T-RackS 5 Standalone processors, in the plugin suite or as single plugins in your DAW).

*Will T-RackS 5 work on 32-bit systems?*
No, T-RackS 5 is 64-bit only.

*Will T-RackS 5 replace my loaded T-RackS 4 plugins in DAW sessions/projects? *
No, old sessions/projects will still look for and load T-RackS 4 plugins. T-RackS 5 can be used alongside or used to replace your T-RackS 4 plugins in your projects if you wish (and at your pace and discretion).

*What happens to my T-RackS plug-ins when I purchase T-RackS 5?*
You will still have those T-RackS plug-ins and Custom Shop available. All of your current projects will continue to load them. In addition you will have the T-RackS 5-equivalents of your plug-ins available, for use in T-RackS 5 standalone, the plug-in suite or as individual plug-ins.​
As I understand it, after the upgrade, we would have two versions of plugins - TR4 and TR5.Especially interesting is the second question about the audio quality. So, basically if you choose the $99 upgrade you don't get the v5 version of the plugins, but a UI update of your v4 plugins. Plus, the new shell and four new modules.

I took the $199 offer because I didn't have the MAX package. But to be honest, I agree with somebody who mentioned it here already: this is the most confusing upgrade path I have ever seen... Its just exhausting to try to understand what each of their offers gives you...

On a more positive note, I really like the plugins, use them as standalone for 'mastering'.


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## rrichard63 (Sep 26, 2017)

muziksculp said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have non of the IK Multemedia TR Plug-Ins. I have *Ozone 7 Advanced*, and am not sure I really need *TRack-5*, I do hear very positive comments about IK's TR plug-ins, it has been a popular product for quite a few years now. But do I really need it if I have Ozone 7 Adv. ?
> 
> ...



That depends. In addition to Ozone, do you also have as many plugin emulations of "classic" hardware processors as you need/want? (Worded to allow for the possibility that you don't care at all about hardware emulation.) What T-Racks offers is mix of good hardware emulations and good processors that don't emulate specific hardware, along with a fairly versatile plugin chainer (shell). It's the shell that prompts comparison with Ozone (and Neutron, by the way). Otherwise, these are very different beasts.

A more likely comparison with T-Racks is the Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack (VMR) format. That comparison makes T-Racks appear to be a real bargain for what you get. At the introductory price, it's $330 US for over 30 plugins. And there are many developers of hardware emulation plugins that do not provide a shell for chaining their products together.

If Ozone is what suits your musical styles and production workflow, then you should be looking at iZotope's Neutron Advanced as well. It is to individual tracks what Ozone is to your master buss. But not yet -- iZotope is about to release new versions of both Ozone and Neutron.


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## muziksculp (Sep 26, 2017)

rrichard63 said:


> That depends. In addition to Ozone, do you also have as many plugin emulations of "classic" hardware processors as you need/want? (Worded to allow for the possibility that you don't care at all about hardware emulation.) What T-Racks offers is mix of good hardware emulations and good processors that don't emulate specific hardware, along with a fairly versatile plugin chainer (shell). It's the shell that prompts comparison with Ozone (and Neutron, by the way). Otherwise, these are very different beasts.
> 
> A more likely comparison with T-Racks is the Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack (VMR) format. That comparison makes T-Racks appear to be a real bargain for what you get. At the introductory price, it's $330 US for over 30 plugins. And there are many developers of hardware emulation plugins that do not provide a shell for chaining their products together.
> 
> If Ozone is what suits your musical styles and production workflow, then you should be looking at iZotope's Neutron Advanced as well. It is to individual tracks what Ozone is to your master buss. But not yet -- iZotope is about to release new versions of both Ozone and Neutron.



Thanks for the feedback.

I might just wait for the release of Ozone 8 Adv. and Neutron 2. Since I could upgrade to both of them. Meanwhile, I will consider TR-5 as another option for the future.


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## jcrosby (Sep 28, 2017)

rrichard63 said:


> That depends. In addition to Ozone, do you also have as many plugin emulations of "classic" hardware processors as you need/want? (Worded to allow for the possibility that you don't care at all about hardware emulation.) What T-Racks offers is mix of good hardware emulations and good processors that don't emulate specific hardware, along with a fairly versatile plugin chainer (shell). It's the shell that prompts comparison with Ozone (and Neutron, by the way). Otherwise, these are very different beasts.
> 
> A more likely comparison with T-Racks is the Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack (VMR) format. That comparison makes T-Racks appear to be a real bargain for what you get. At the introductory price, it's $330 US for over 30 plugins. And there are many developers of hardware emulation plugins that do not provide a shell for chaining their products together.
> 
> If Ozone is what suits your musical styles and production workflow, then you should be looking at iZotope's Neutron Advanced as well. It is to individual tracks what Ozone is to your master buss. But not yet -- iZotope is about to release new versions of both Ozone and Neutron.


 Couldn't agree more.. You could certainly do a bang up job with ozone. (that limiter is untouchable IMO. Easily the most transparent limiter I've used and I've gone through a lot... Stealth Limiter's pretty damn good though!)

Anyway... The upside to TR is that the emulations add a lot of color that you don't get out of Ozone, each Emulation having it's own sonic footprint... An API has really wide colorful boosts, Neves also broad and colorful, but different than API... And, the models they chose have been standard favorites for years... You basically get an incredibly well modeled anthology of mix engineer favorites... So they're different tools...

A good example is Ozone's Vintage EQ. (It's Pultec modeled, but doesn't have any modeled Pultec saturation. T-Rack's Pultec does... Same with the vintage compressor and limiter. Ozone's don't have modeled saturation, the units they're modeled on do. (hybrid / loose emulations of Manley and Fairchild). IK are pretty great about modeling the saturation as well as the EQ shapes...

They both sound fantastic, T-Rack's just has a little more mojo, Ozone is more surgical. And, what you don't get in Ozone are reverbs, tape delay... Basically different types of products... Both fantastic and both capable of finishing the job, TR just having more colorful options, Ozone being 'clean' versions. (Barring Tape and Exciter of course...)

If that kind of thing interests you Slate is a killer deal. VMR is part of every mix I do. Moreso than TR... And the Distressor Slate just put out is RIDICULOUSLY Good!


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## muziksculp (Sep 28, 2017)

jcrosby said:


> Couldn't agree more.. You could certainly do a bang up job with ozone. (that limiter is untouchable IMO. Easily the most transparent limiter I've used and I've gone through a lot... Stealth Limiter's pretty damn good though!)
> 
> Anyway... The upside to TR is that the emulations add a lot of color that you don't get out of Ozone, each Emulation having it's own sonic footprint... An API has really wide colorful boosts, Neves also broad and colorful, but different than API... And, the models they chose have been standard favorites for years... You basically get an incredibly well modeled anthology of mix engineer favorites... So they're different tools...
> 
> ...



Thanks for the helpful feedback.


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## rrichard63 (Sep 28, 2017)

jcrosby said:


> ... And the Distressor Slate just put out is RIDICULOUSLY Good!



Off topic here, but Distressor is also a little pricey. JMHO.


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## jcrosby (Oct 2, 2017)

rrichard63 said:


> Off topic here, but Distressor is also a little pricey. JMHO.


in general terms as a single plugin? Sure, it isn't cheap... I see the point for sure...
For anyone who's an absolute freak for the hardware? (At 6-7x the price MONO, and 10X+++ the price STEREO; Allowing you use of only 1 stereo pair at a time?)
FG-Stress is very reasonably priced...

ELI's own plugin is $349. (I gave that thing serious consideration despite its steep price tag. IMO this no more or less Distressor than the Arouser is. It's a fine software emulation, and much more reasonably priced....)
For anyone paying $15 a month? This makes the cost of a year well worth it...

For tracking the hardware's a winner sure... but considering many of us use this at the production stage the hardware's really an unrealistic comparison for this kind of money.... It really comes down to if the Distressor is what you're after... If you're just looking for an ITB compressor it's steep. You have much better priced options for general compression duties... If you want a software versions that gives you the same general vibe, IMO it's a steal....

Basically it comes down to whether you're looking for something that does what a distressor does... If not than yeah, it's pricey... but for those that have a niche it fills it a pretty fantastic price, and a fine option if not tracking a bunch of stuff live...


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## IKMultimedia (Oct 18, 2017)

We had previously added information about the free version to our 
T-RackS 5 FAQ

Also, we've started the
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/iktr.php?P=MjkyMnwxNTA4MzMzNTYwNjk1 (T-RackS 5 Countdown)
to the official release date!


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## paulmatthew (Oct 31, 2017)

Today is the day !!


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## IKMultimedia (Oct 31, 2017)

paulmatthew said:


> Today is the day !!


Indeed! T-RackS 5 is now available!


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## Living Fossil (Nov 7, 2017)

jcrosby said:


> ... Same with the vintage compressor and limiter. Ozone's don't have modeled saturation, the units they're modeled on do. (hybrid / loose emulations of Manley and Fairchild).



Ozone's vintage limiter indeed does saturation. 
When the signal gets near the threshold, some saturation starts.
_analog_ mode has most, _modern_ mode the least amount.
The vintage Limiter has become my to-go option for limiting single tracks.

But, since this is the IK-Multimedia thread: i also love IK-multimedia's plug ins....
Not only those in T-Racks, but also Amplitube (specially the new Ampeg models are stunning)


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## jcrosby (Nov 7, 2017)

Living Fossil said:


> Ozone's vintage limiter indeed does saturation.
> When the signal gets near the threshold, some saturation starts.
> _analog_ mode has most, _modern_ mode the least amount.
> The vintage Limiter has become my to-go option for limiting single tracks.
> ...



It's actually distortion caused by the limiter. (I beta'd O7 and 8 and this was requested.) All limiters and compressors distort. Even Pro-C2 adds harmonics once you exceed the threshold...

Vintage Limiter is basically a hybrid of Fairchild and Vari-Mu in limit mode, Vintage Compressor is mostly Vari-Mu. Granted neither are supposed to be to be clones, but that doesn't mean they couldn't use a little mojo either... Weirdly they added Neve modelled saturation to Neutron's EQ, don't understand why they didn't have the some similar options for Ozone...

With IK and UAD just passing signal through them adds harmonics. Wish Ozone had the option to add it to the signal path...


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## paulmatthew (Nov 8, 2017)

There is a guy that does videos on you tube comparing plugins with a sine wave I think and shows which ones add saturation or harmonics in different freq areas . Kind of good to know


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