Manley® Variable Mu Limiter Compressor
Customer Reviews
Manley® Variable Mu Limiter Compressor
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B. Ullman
My New 2 bus Compressor
I used the 14 day demo on some old recordings and was floored with what happened!! Vocals became more forward, the stereo image seemed wider, brighter but so harmonically rich and pleasant. Manley magic I needed, along with Voxbox... and Massive Passive haha. Gorgeous!!
M. Alvin
Dynamic!!!!!!!!!
Just the best ever......... I can’t believe what iam hearing in this plug in. It’s got the elements of old tape machines and the flexibility of new gear all in one. I just love what it does to my mix .. this is part of my secret sauce.......Mikke
p. garcia
Brutal
Una maravilla, con solo insertarlo ya da un rollazo.
K. Gilroy
THE WINNER IS... The Manley® Variable Mu Limiter Compressor
They say its "raison d'être" is on the mix bus, where its expert features can unify your mixes with a rich, hi-fi fit and finish. Ya know what...They're RIGHT!
It has an open finish that makes anything and everything sound great. I use it where ever I can. Take the time to compare it to all the Variable Mu Compressors and I think you'll see... hear what I mean. Hey, all the top engineers love it. Love It too! - Gilroy
D. Hincks
Next level Awesomeness
I have yet to try it on everything, but so far it has been sounding great on acoustic guitars, vocals, and of course, the mix buss. Very happy with this purchase.
J. Grönvall
Sweet!
Great tool for the master-buss. Natural uncoloured sound, perfect for a gentle 3dB squeeze.
C. Jaramillo
Great mix tool!
I love this plugin. I know the hardware as I used to work with it... Now I have it back!
I always put it at the end of the mix bus chain of inserts. I am kind of using a 670 to a EQP1 (hardware or plugin) to the ATR-102 and then to the Manley Vari Mu...
... then I have this cohesive thing off the speakers. I think this is when it shines going for 1,5 reduction, give or take. I love that popping sound while transients get tamed and enhanced.
T. Willis
Love the Vari-Mu
This plugin was recommended to me by the great Ken Lewis himself. Now I won't finish any mix without it! The way this glues a mix is AMAZING. It has one of the most transparent, most polishing sounds I've found in a plugin.
T. Brooks
New Go-To for Mid/Side
I'm still new to the Universal Audio world, but I've played enough now with UAD's Manley V-Mu emu, the Waves Puigchild 670 emu, the UAD demo for their Fairchild emu, UAD's K-Stereo Ambience Recovery demo, and the Left-Only/Right-Only/Mid/Side options in Logic's stock Channel and Linear Phase EQ's. To be completely honest, I couldn't hear much difference between Waves' Puigchild and UAD's Manley V-Mu at comparable settings (and perhaps only heard a transparency difference between the Puigchild and UAD's 670). But after playing with the Manley's Attack and Release controls, Dual Input and Headroom controls, L-R linking, and side-chain filtering, oh my goodness -- I instantly knew the Manley would become my go-to. As a producer and engineer constantly moving between different genres and styles, having this much control serves me greatly and UAD has modeled a powerful unit that can provide that control.
Also, UAD's Manley V-Mu gave me better review of the Fairchild emu plugs I'd been toying with prior (i.e. Waves Puigchild, UAD Fairchild 670): the Fairchild is without a doubt a masterpiece of a classic compressor, and like the old saying goes there's creativity in limits. That is, the Fairchild's six-option time constant system is an extremely useful set of presets if you're trying to get in the ballpark of mix-sound, if not just to "feel" the variable-mu compression behavior along its elastic range from "punchy" to "buttery." But if you want to explore the V-Mu flavor more deeply, you need more than time constants. That's where the Manley gives you more levers to pull. And while I don't have any experience with the hardware unit, I know the UAD model is incredibly transparent and solders Mid and Side channels into a beautiful, sheeny composite that feels good on individual busses and whole mixes. 5 out of 5.
Applications-wise, I feel like UAD's Manley put my mixes in the same vein as Afta-1's "Quest," Nujabes' "Peaceland," Nicolay's "Tight Eyes," Little Dragon's "Cat Rider," Bonobo's "Cirrus." I also think there are some beautiful applications for this kind of compressor as far as jazz and soundtrack music, as well as less traditional hip-hop and R&B tracks. For pop, funk, folk, and more traditional hip-hop and retro, I might either combine the Manley V-Mu with a tape emu (e.g. UAD Ampex ATR-102, UAD Studer A800, Softube Tape) or saturation emu (e.g. UAD Fatso Jr./Sr., UAD Culture Vulture, Soundtoys Decapitator or Echoboy, Sonnox Oxford Inflator, anything UAD with a Neve preamp stage). If trial and error yields nothing, I'll reach for UAD's Fairchild, UAD's Shadow Hills, and the SSL G Buss emus from Waves or UAD. In the latter case, I'm definitely using the UAD Manley V-Mu as my point A.
K. Lima
musical and natural...
Organic...
k. abadie
Great Manley Unit
Great 2bus compressor ! I am loving it so far
J. Poole
Comes in handy...
I find if I use this last in the mastering chain before the limiter I get most of the Manley sound and a little of the magic...it's like a tube/presence 'in your face' effect...
P. Uszyński
Another beauty from Manley & UA
Dont't know the original unit, but this thing - together with Massive Passive - got my latest mix work & shine right away. I'll say goodbye to my PSP MasterComp, I'm afraid, Variable Mu did it just better and in a more musical way!
M. Sudhakar
Perfect for Mastering
I was working with the Hardware and Software. The Plugin is sounding the perfect alternative for me.
N. Antonio
マジック
マスターバスとボックスバスで他では出ない気に入ったトーンを見つけられたので満足です。
.
Got Glue
Mu is straightforward, easy to use. Adds glue to your mix. Nice unit to have in the studio.
D. Dake
It’s got kick
Love this plugin, tightens up my mixes and gives em weight. I have no experience with the real hardware, but the software is worth every cent .
M. Kourilov
Manley variable Mu review
Very happy with that plugin. Sounds like a real thing. Got some friends who’s got the real hardware, you wouldn’t not believe but they selling it since they got plug-in version from UA. Can’t blame them
D. Perini
Manley Variable Mu® Limiter Compressor
The Mu on master is indescribable great!!!
V. Gerasenkov
Must have for MSTR!
This is an unusually powerful, indispensable mastering tool that will leave untouched sound tonal image that you lined up during mixing.
UA, you are the best!