PSP VintageWarmer2 by PSPaudioware Review

PSP VintageWarmer2 is an analog-inspired multi-band compressor and saturation processor. The plugin vibe has the sound and saturation of carefully modeled analog tape machines.

PSPaudioware did send a review copy with no strings attached.

Installation

You download PSP VintageWarmer2 from your user account and install the software. Follow the authorization instructions from PSPaudioware, I did encounter some issues across the PSPaudioware product line when I tried to authorize their different plugins. Contact their support to get help if you do run into issues.

With PSP VintageWarmer2 you receive 3 versions of the plug-in:

• PSP MicroWarmer which provides the same sound quality as it’s big siblings, but with a simplified single-band interface and low latency performance optimized for use on individual tracks;
• PSP VintageWarmer (LE) which is a direct descendant of the original PSP VintageWarmer with its all strengths such as low resource usage and latency;
• PSP VintageWarmer2, the main addition being the FAT double sampling mode for even more analog sounding processing.

The first version of VintageWarmer2 was launched several years ago, the company behind it continues to launch updates when needed.

Sound

VintageWarmer2 is all about applying the analog analog-style vibe to single tracks, mixing and mastering.  it has the ability to bring each track to life with analog silky lushness.

The plugin works well as it adds sounds and harmonics to the mix which we (or our brain) regards as more pleasing. For many mix and mastering engineers tool and its legacy version has been the secret sauce that was added to a lot of mixes.

The included presets are useful, I did use this plugin on a released track (mastering) and found a great working preset which needed some minor tweak to my taste. I recommend it on bass, keys, guitar, synths,  percussion, groups, samples, loops, mix bus and mastering. I use it on the master buss quite often.

The vibe and tone you get is fat and silky smooth tracks.

Features of VintageWarmer2:

• High-quality signal processing algorithms
• Single or multi-band signal processing
• FAT (Frequency Authentication Technique) PSP’s double sampled processing
• 64-bit floating point precision
• Shelf filters for bass and treble frequencies in single-band processing mode
• Control of bass and treble signal components in multi-band processing mode
• Accurately calibrated VU and PPM meters with the overload indicators
• Disengagable brick-wall limiting
• Two Release Multiplier ranges for fast or relaxed processing
• Semi-Automated Release mode.
• Up to 192kHz sample rates supported
• Library of presets

User interface & Usability

The design follows the PSPaudioware flow and has all the controls you need. Playing with the settings and the presets is a good way to learn about the plugin, its vibe and how you manage everything.

Rating:  Five out of five stars

PSP VintageWarmer2 is a phenomenal tool, very original records. The tool has that rich, warm analog vibe that is needed for modern productions, it works great on Lo-Fi and comes with a large presets library. I used it recently as a master plugin on a released track to do its magic.