If it's like the plugin, I find that on a full mix it's best not to touch the drive at all or at least not much beyond 1 and then adjust the colour. Gives a lot of meat and good sounding transient shaving with colour somewhere from fully counterclockwise to about 9 o clock. Try fet shred and maybe even turbo boost, just watch the dry/wet mix if you do that. Turbo is cool on drum buss ;)
this thing doesn't just add harmonics, it also distorts/modulates the existing higher tones when driven. both of these efects are intensity-variable by current loudness, too!
Sorry, but it doesn't sound much different to most of the other saturation devices/plugins out there. Good to hear that the nob rotation is satisfying though.
I don't know about hardware but for plugins I have two or three saturation plugins already but this one has much finer control and smoother sound compared to anything I've used for use in a wider array of scenarios. I can hear a dramatic difference in tracks or mixes without actually even reaching the point of distorting the sound, that's what excites me here. But it still could be used for distortion as well. That said I've only just begun to use it so maybe it's just my initial excitement? But listen to the dry wet comparisons: www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/elysia_karacter.html
I have one, and I really prefer it to the Blackbox HG-2 plugin, which I still use a lot! The trick is to not drive it past 3, really. This thing can go from sweet to overkill quickly, but once you can dial in that perfect sweet spot, it's killa! For example, I sometimes run my drums through my Thermionic Culture Fat Bustard into my Obsidian Compressor into my API 5500. Lots of color, right? Lots of valves, transformers, etc.? This single device can rival that at a fraction of the cost! Take it or leave it!
I just bought the plug in and I am really impressed with only the plug in. Now I see this....... I envy your hardware box. Damn you...... ;) Ps. Like other mentions, would love to hear a comparison of the plug in and the hardware unit.
oooo, i've been drooling over this box as well. "hey, are you saying this compressor lacks character? well then lets add some karacter to it, easy". and the way it distorts bass is just
If you're going to compare this with the plugin, do a sweep from 20hz to 24khz and view in a spectral editor like izotope rx. Prediction - hardware unit will blow plugin out of the water ie: no aliasing. The plugin will be a mess of alias tones.
If visiting a factory will lead to buying the things you like, don't make the mistake and visit Tegeler Audio Manufaktur. You'd just end up wanting to buy everything they have. :D
I had one for several months that I got for $575 used on Reverb. It worked well and I liked it a lot, but in April I demoed their plugin and it only took one day to realize that the plugin was just as good and a lot more flexible. Also, I found that I liked the Color implementation curves much better on the plugin. I sold the Elysia for $695 on Reverb and used the extra $550 to buy a used Slate ML-1 mic and had money left over. Do you like the hardware unit better than the plugin version from them?
If you ever gonna do the requests of comparing to the software .Would like to hear this one on straight 808 loops, kick hh snares claps, not trap. Instead of full tracks with acoustic elements,
I would love to see a Karacter (analogue) vs Karacter (VST). I know that you can't feel the knobs.. lol, but it would be very interesting to see the differences, if there are any?
it sounds to me like it is affecting the bias of the drive stage, but it's hard to tell at these low settings. it would help to hear it with the drive at maximum
I have this stupid thing I can’t get over with saturation, which is whenever I hear it on my mixes my brain is just giving me this “you fucked up gainstaging somewhere” alarm bell which won’t stop ringing until I turn it off. I just can’t use saturation because of it. It just automatically sounds like a fuckup to me.
I can see the SONARWORKS REFERENCE BOX. Can you please make one update video on this ? Provided if you are using it in a day to day basis for your work. I really want to know your opinion after using it for a long period of time. Please :)
I love your videos, man. Passion and curiosity driven, always. But I'm telling you, bro, you're not gonna use this Karacter much and you'll sell it within two or three years. I can bet on this, it just feels so much from your review and unboxing. (Well, hope I'm still wrong actually and you'll get some chemistry together!)
I looked at the instagram post, it is indeed a bit deceiving, they are using the “White Sea Studio got a Karacter”. This can mean both paid and for free in my interpretation. But fact is, I really bought one, or actually... I bought 2... one for my friend.... If you look closely, you can see the invoice laying on the EQ rack in the first shots of the video....
Will putting the Stereo Out through this solve bass phase problems, as outputting through my WA-73 does (though as I only have one it needs doing twice, the re-combining etc you know what I mean)
Probably the only reason that the wa-73 or any hardware is fixing any phase problems is because of the latency that it's introducing in the round trip. You could do the same with a very simple delay or time adjuster plug in. Most daws have settings to compensate for this delay if it's unwanted. Have fun.
@@aholder4471 Yes I see that, but with the WA-73 I can drive the signal a little bit, the 'analog sound' adds something, more definition to the bass especially, a preferable sound to my ears at any rate ;-)
I've tested the plugin against all the big industry standard saturation distortion plugins and I have to say its really not my cup of tea I really expected it to be good so I did quite a lot of testing and I never got it to sound anywhere near the standard braimworx etc stuff.. maybe I'm using it wrong or it's simply not my taste but I yeah as I said would definitely not recommend
Usually buy plugins but this time did a subscription. Would like a comparison of your new hardware vs plug-in in Mega Bundle by PA. So at $15/mo for 105 current ones, that is about U$ 0.15 per month per plug-in. But this hardware is about $1500 US dollars. So after 10,000 months I could have purchased one. Even if I only use 10 or so from PA, it still would be like 1000 months to equal what your Karacter cost here in US dollars. So a very very long time, will be long dead. Do a review hard vs soft. Great idea. Wonder just how much better the hardware version is in comparison. Alpha Compressor is far more.
@@boothbuster Thanks for the insight, but already paid for the year in advance, was a deal I hope. Will see. Do like their plug-in effects a lot, not sure about the subscription aspect. Will keep your wisdom with me though. In the last two weeks they have added a lot of new effect plug-ins, but who knows. Thanks for your tip EDub.
@@spacemanonearth I guess we will see... they just seem to like to change things as they please, when they please... and sugar coat it as "the best thing ever"... so I'd be sure to have track notes of settings and track prints of anything you use, just in case you don't want to renew when it comes time. :-) I agree, it seems like a decent deal as-is, if they keep it like that, no price increases, etc. I just am not keep on subscriptions since I don't use certain plugins that often, plus, it's a lot of plugins - I already learned from Waves that I can never use so many from one vendor. (although at least with theirs, you can always use them, just pay for upgrades when you want)
@@boothbuster Yes sounds about right to me. Feel for those who own their favorites from brainworx or others from PA, only to have their old bundle packages end, or had paid a high price. Hear if you wait for great sales, one can pick up good deals. Much rather own then subscribe but these are not cheap. Do have a few hands full of Waves plug-ins but got most all for great deals at best service, or $29 with 2 for 1 deal. Did get a guarantee that price would never go up as long as I do not cancel, and all included had contracted to keep product in bundle. Thanks!
@@boothbuster Think PA also said (if it is honored), that if a plug-in is pulled for any reason from the subscription, PA will give you a licence for that plug-in for free. They did do this recently before the new Mega Bundle. Guess if one had purchased plug-ins with the payment plan, they got them for free, even if it was only a month. Wish I knew that ahead of time. Things change, Subs are becoming kinda common, from Adobe, Slate, McDSP, IK, SSL, UA, or AVID, to sample based like EastWest (no idea), and others. Am new to the subscription thing so Thanks again for insight.
Ich hasse den respektlosen Umgang mit Material - Hier mit der Schutzverpackung, die mindestens genauso wichtig war, wie das Material das es geschützt hat... Pfffttt.... :-)
@morenazo952 Yea like he did with every review🤣. He is a guy with 2 years of experience in driving a scooter trying to fly a plane. Straight up cringe and I like it.
I must be missing something. I worked in audio all through 70s, 80, 90s right up to 2007. What you guys call colour we use to call crap noisy recordings and stuff we rather not have in the chain but had to live with. Now you guys are actively trying to put it back...? Please do not tell me that recording in the digital domain is too clean...just drive your amps hard or use a cheap distortion pedal ...count me out of this stuff its not needed.
for the price of one Elysia Device you can buy around 900 bottles of shampoo.
😱Compare it to the plug in please🧐
cool idea!
Great idea.
yeah please. this would be so cool.
with phase inversion!
Yes! Please do this.
please make a karacter plugin vs. hardware video :)
"sometimes when you feel a knob you just think oh this is quality"
Those from the UK - I chuckled a little childishly.
ahahahaa...good one. That took me a minute but I'm not from the UK
For the Americans, "that's what she said"...
Please install it with rusty screws so it looks like a plugin
Compare vs VST!!!!
Yeahh comparisonnn please
The unit looks much more polite than it sounds! Drive and color reach distortion pretty early on the dial.
Christmas in August! I love watching you unwrap presents . . . I can't afford outboard gear, so I get my thrills vicariously.
If it's like the plugin, I find that on a full mix it's best not to touch the drive at all or at least not much beyond 1 and then adjust the colour. Gives a lot of meat and good sounding transient shaving with colour somewhere from fully counterclockwise to about 9 o clock. Try fet shred and maybe even turbo boost, just watch the dry/wet mix if you do that. Turbo is cool on drum buss ;)
Test on some simple tone generator. How many harmonics produce this hardware.
this thing doesn't just add harmonics, it also distorts/modulates the existing higher tones when driven. both of these efects are intensity-variable by current loudness, too!
Sorry, but it doesn't sound much different to most of the other saturation devices/plugins out there. Good to hear that the nob rotation is satisfying though.
I don't know about hardware but for plugins I have two or three saturation plugins already but this one has much finer control and smoother sound compared to anything I've used for use in a wider array of scenarios. I can hear a dramatic difference in tracks or mixes without actually even reaching the point of distorting the sound, that's what excites me here. But it still could be used for distortion as well. That said I've only just begun to use it so maybe it's just my initial excitement? But listen to the dry wet comparisons: www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/elysia_karacter.html
I have one, and I really prefer it to the Blackbox HG-2 plugin, which I still use a lot! The trick is to not drive it past 3, really. This thing can go from sweet to overkill quickly, but once you can dial in that perfect sweet spot, it's killa! For example, I sometimes run my drums through my Thermionic Culture Fat Bustard into my Obsidian Compressor into my API 5500. Lots of color, right? Lots of valves, transformers, etc.? This single device can rival that at a fraction of the cost! Take it or leave it!
Too much distortion on the mix
I just bought the plug in and I am really impressed with only the plug in.
Now I see this....... I envy your hardware box.
Damn you...... ;)
Ps. Like other mentions, would love to hear a comparison of the plug in and the hardware unit.
oooo, i've been drooling over this box as well. "hey, are you saying this compressor lacks character? well then lets add some karacter to it, easy".
and the way it distorts bass is just
If you're going to compare this with the plugin, do a sweep from 20hz to 24khz and view in a spectral editor like izotope rx. Prediction - hardware unit will blow plugin out of the water ie: no aliasing. The plugin will be a mess of alias tones.
and three years later i just wonder...WHERE IS THE VIDEO YOU PROMISET WITH FULL REVIEW??? thank you...😘
YESSSS!! Finally!! Been waiting for this! So keen to watch this
sounds beautiful! This will sound Krazy on a 808! Nice job man
Sounds great. Yes, I want to see the separate review video. Great unboxing! Thanks.
If visiting a factory will lead to buying the things you like, don't make the mistake and visit Tegeler Audio Manufaktur. You'd just end up wanting to buy everything they have. :D
think, this would be amazing on 808s and vocals (modern hiphop)
Yes, please compare it with the plugin 🤝
Snake oil?
You could compare this to the software version by Plugin Alliance.
Tell the CEO to have a bit more presence on LinkedIn. It will help the company.
I had one for several months that I got for $575 used on Reverb. It worked well and I liked it a lot, but in April I demoed their plugin and it only took one day to realize that the plugin was just as good and a lot more flexible. Also, I found that I liked the Color implementation curves much better on the plugin. I sold the Elysia for $695 on Reverb and used the extra $550 to buy a used Slate ML-1 mic and had money left over. Do you like the hardware unit better than the plugin version from them?
Ooof, I was listening till I heard Slate mic. Not a great trade.
@@rt-uh6mt slate mic is pretty great for the price. Can’t beat it really
Nice looking unit, packaging is very utillitarian, no fancy graphics or full-colour artwork on the box. The way you ring that bell😂.
Yes I would love to see a review on the KARACTER.
i wanna buy this and make the most harmonically-diverse deep fried memes the internet has ever witnessed.
I bet you gonna end up with more than one of their units...:D
Karacter is best at individual channels, not the mastering bus.
Love it!
It is LIGHT because it's made of aluminium to save on shipping cost.
nice machine! it needs a very subtle approach as what i hear. Great toy!
I use the plugin all the time. Can’t imagine what the hardware sounds like in person 😭
Can you do a video on creating radio ready voice... Using mics, hardware and software. Im curious to see what route you will go
Cool, the software reacts the same! Which isn't always the case with software emulations.
If you ever gonna do the requests of comparing to the software .Would like to hear this one on straight 808 loops, kick hh snares claps, not trap. Instead of full tracks with acoustic elements,
I would love to see a Karacter (analogue) vs Karacter (VST).
I know that you can't feel the knobs.. lol, but it would be very interesting to see the differences, if there are any?
I've just seen the comments, all asking for the same thing .. You HAVE to do it!
Have you tried out Phil's Cascade by Elysia and Brainworx? It's a unique concept and sounds amazing.
I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on comparison to Brainworks plugins too. UAD has versions of those for Apollos too of course :).
what does coloring mean exactly? does it add more harmonics or does it does something else?
it sounds to me like it is affecting the bias of the drive stage, but it's hard to tell at these low settings. it would help to hear it with the drive at maximum
should have demonstrated it with drums instead for the distortion
WAIT WAIT, when you press the button that's a good button press sound.
I have this stupid thing I can’t get over with saturation, which is whenever I hear it on my mixes my brain is just giving me this “you fucked up gainstaging somewhere” alarm bell which won’t stop ringing until I turn it off. I just can’t use saturation because of it. It just automatically sounds like a fuckup to me.
Yeah, not feeling this product at the moment I'm afraid. At least not on the stereo bus. Looking forward to a more in-depth review though!
Why are you calling them Elusia?
How much does it weigh? How do the knobs feel? That's how I decide if a piece of gear is good or not.
If you can , Please review this VS the plugin :)
that is beautiful distortion indeed
Will this make my GM midi files sound like Major Lazer?!
how much did it cost? 1-2k? honestly not worth the bucks software is just as good
I can see the SONARWORKS REFERENCE BOX.
Can you please make one update video on this ? Provided if you are using it in a day to day basis for your work.
I really want to know your opinion after using it for a long period of time.
Please :)
I could never mix without it again. Simply the best bang for buck music related purchase I have ever made.
What's the song? I like it
The plugin seems to be very close.
surprised you didn't berate it
That sounds GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We want to see that!
I love your videos, man. Passion and curiosity driven, always. But I'm telling you, bro, you're not gonna use this Karacter much and you'll sell it within two or three years. I can bet on this, it just feels so much from your review and unboxing. (Well, hope I'm still wrong actually and you'll get some chemistry together!)
On IG Elysia said they going to give you one but you bought it somebody lying lol!
Yes, this looks like hidden advertisement.
I looked at the instagram post, it is indeed a bit deceiving, they are using the “White Sea Studio got a Karacter”. This can mean both paid and for free in my interpretation. But fact is, I really bought one, or actually... I bought 2... one for my friend.... If you look closely, you can see the invoice laying on the EQ rack in the first shots of the video....
testing it on stereo link mode kill the widenest of the track.
PLEASE COMPARE IT WITH THE VST PLEASE!!!!
Great! You give the Elysia karacter by saying Elusia ;-)
Can you expecify for what is that for ?
Sound quality of this vid seems different too, lower volume? Different mic?
Very intuitive.
Will putting the Stereo Out through this solve bass phase problems, as outputting through my WA-73 does (though as I only have one it needs doing twice, the re-combining etc you know what I mean)
Probably the only reason that the wa-73 or any hardware is fixing any phase problems is because of the latency that it's introducing in the round trip. You could do the same with a very simple delay or time adjuster plug in. Most daws have settings to compensate for this delay if it's unwanted. Have fun.
@@aholder4471 Yes I see that, but with the WA-73 I can drive the signal a little bit, the 'analog sound' adds something, more definition to the bass especially, a preferable sound to my ears at any rate ;-)
Definitely snakeoil! 😄
No lie!! What a rip off. Get a $200 rack mount guitar box and it will be better
so nice!
Sounds like you got a bad one... its distorting :-D Well enough joking... please compare it with the plugin.
I've tested the plugin against all the big industry standard saturation distortion plugins and I have to say its really not my cup of tea I really expected it to be good so I did quite a lot of testing and I never got it to sound anywhere near the standard braimworx etc stuff.. maybe I'm using it wrong or it's simply not my taste but I yeah as I said would definitely not recommend
tankiwel its asick thing but the price hurts
is it controllable via side-chain?
Was that sandstorm?
6:20 primal 😎✊
white sea guy, win me over by audio quality not attitude, show me the results !!!!
Usually buy plugins but this time did a subscription. Would like a comparison of your new hardware vs plug-in in Mega Bundle by PA. So at $15/mo for 105 current ones, that is about U$ 0.15 per month per plug-in. But this hardware is about $1500 US dollars. So after 10,000 months I could have purchased one. Even if I only use 10 or so from PA, it still would be like 1000 months to equal what your Karacter cost here in US dollars. So a very very long time, will be long dead. Do a review hard vs soft. Great idea. Wonder just how much better the hardware version is in comparison. Alpha Compressor is far more.
Stay far away from Plugin Alliance. They’ve screwed over users many times in the past and it will only continue.
@@boothbuster Thanks for the insight, but already paid for the year in advance, was a deal I hope. Will see. Do like their plug-in effects a lot, not sure about the subscription aspect. Will keep your wisdom with me though. In the last two weeks they have added a lot of new effect plug-ins, but who knows. Thanks for your tip EDub.
@@spacemanonearth I guess we will see... they just seem to like to change things as they please, when they please... and sugar coat it as "the best thing ever"... so I'd be sure to have track notes of settings and track prints of anything you use, just in case you don't want to renew when it comes time. :-) I agree, it seems like a decent deal as-is, if they keep it like that, no price increases, etc. I just am not keep on subscriptions since I don't use certain plugins that often, plus, it's a lot of plugins - I already learned from Waves that I can never use so many from one vendor. (although at least with theirs, you can always use them, just pay for upgrades when you want)
@@boothbuster Yes sounds about right to me. Feel for those who own their favorites from brainworx or others from PA, only to have their old bundle packages end, or had paid a high price. Hear if you wait for great sales, one can pick up good deals. Much rather own then subscribe but these are not cheap. Do have a few hands full of Waves plug-ins but got most all for great deals at best service, or $29 with 2 for 1 deal. Did get a guarantee that price would never go up as long as I do not cancel, and all included had contracted to keep product in bundle. Thanks!
@@boothbuster Think PA also said (if it is honored), that if a plug-in is pulled for any reason from the subscription, PA will give you a licence for that plug-in for free. They did do this recently before the new Mega Bundle. Guess if one had purchased plug-ins with the payment plan, they got them for free, even if it was only a month. Wish I knew that ahead of time. Things change, Subs are becoming kinda common, from Adobe, Slate, McDSP, IK, SSL, UA, or AVID, to sample based like EastWest (no idea), and others. Am new to the subscription thing so Thanks again for insight.
COMPARE WITH PLUGIN!
"Outlast me" ahah most important
AAAAH LUCKY MAN
Soinds like Elektron Analog Heat. But overpriced.
Which song is in the video ? Can Someone help me?
The song is called "Sandstorm" and was written by some upcoming artist called "Darude". Maybe we will here more of that in the future.
$2000 fuzz box? That's crazy. If it was $150, I'd still probably not buy this thing.
pls wash ur hair the next time
He's showing off an Elysia Karacter and you notice his hair?
@@ozzy3ml its a Karacter thing
Show some of your work I feel you maybe snake oil
Its Elysia not Elusia 😁
Man can you please handle this with more care 2:16. Seems like you didn’t pay a cent the way you treat this piece of gear 😅
Ich hasse den respektlosen Umgang mit Material - Hier mit der Schutzverpackung, die mindestens genauso wichtig war, wie das Material das es geschützt hat... Pfffttt.... :-)
You must be a cat. I'm positively sure, you must be, a cat.
Yip, also noticed throughout watching his videos for a couple of months that he is pretty rough on handling material/items/products
mmmm so soon after a visit to elysia factory ? mmm payback for the vid ? msybe its snake oil ?
Very mpressive.
4th comment YEAAH fan of this channel wytse go on!
Not impressed at all, Saturn is better and cost 1/10 of this unit. This elysia sound like snake oil.
heh
Watched video and thought about the same shit)
I agree. Would like to listen to this unit on distorted guitars or something like that.
Snake oil! Cause the name is spelled pooop
nah...it's a snake sweat :)
still pronouncing Elusia I hear lmao
Sounds horrible.
@morenazo952 Yea like he did with every review🤣. He is a guy with 2 years of experience in driving a scooter trying to fly a plane. Straight up cringe and I like it.
Come on man, type "how to pronounce Elysia" in Google :(
The CEO pronounces it as Elusia... so I think it was correct
@@Whiteseastudio wow, that is interesting. , I think The CEO made a mistake.
By the way, my congratulations and thanks for the video!
I must be missing something. I worked in audio all through 70s, 80, 90s right up to 2007. What you guys call colour we use to call crap noisy recordings and stuff we rather not have in the chain but had to live with. Now you guys are actively trying to put it back...? Please do not tell me that recording in the digital domain is too clean...just drive your amps hard or use a cheap distortion pedal ...count me out of this stuff its not needed.