FabFilter

Hi,

I've got all FF plugins, love the sound of them and they are by far the most used plugins i own.

I honestly only have one issue with the plugins, and that is workflow based.

I would absolutely love if it was possible to select a secondary mode in each plugin where the values of different parameters jump in increments/decrements of say 0.25 instead of 0.01. I spent way to much time on completely indifferent ie. EQ decisions way too early in the process of making a track because the precision is simply to high.

Hear me out, I absolutely think precision should be the default mode. FF plugins are precision plugins. BUT, if during the production phase I could turn on - let's call it - "Stepped Mode" it would save me loads of unnecessary work. The human brain is fascinating. I'm a producer as much as I'm a mixer, but when I use FF plugins I mostly become a mixer because of the precision and therefore number of decisions I have to make - does that make sense? And everyone knows that it is very counterproductive to switch mode from being a writer/producer to a mixer while you're actually writing a song. If during songwriting I could turn on "Stepped Mode" and then later when I mix and possible need more surgical precision could turn it off again, that would be the perfect setup.

Here's what a good "Stepped Mode" would do:

ProQ-2
The frequency would jump 5 hz pr increment/decrement.
The gain would jump 0.25 db pr increment/decrement.
The Q would jump 0.25 pr increment/decrement.

ProC-2
Threshold jumps 0.25 db pr increment/decrement.
Ratio jump 0.25 pr pr increment/decrement.
Attact jumps 0.25 ms pr increment/decrement.
Release jump 5 ms pr increment/decrement.

And so on...

This is not about making FF plugins better but making them more usable for...
1) People like me who are both involved in writing/producing/mixing.
2) Users who are just getting to know your plugins.
3) People who prefer the analog feel of stepped hardware with fewer options.

As a sidenote, I've seen many producer/mixer friends who use FF plugins spend a lot of time hitting values that "make sense" rather than listening to the sound - something I once in a while is guilty of myself. Many producer/mixers are a bit OCD like that and this mode could help keeping focus on the sound rather than the number itself.

All in all I think it would be a great addition with a secondary mode in FF plugins that steps the value of parameters and enables the users to keep their eyes on the price (the price being writing great songs) rather than the perfect EQ'ing 5 minutes into writing a song.

All the best,

-Esben Andersen

Thanks for this feature request, and for explaining it in so much detail. I understand the idea, and will think about it... but I'm not sure what my opinion about this is :-)

I also mix with FabFilter plug-ins a lot, and I simply just don't care about 'hitting values that make sense', i.e. choosing 'rounded' parameter values. I just work, drag the curves or turn the knobs, and don't really look at the values... During initial mixing, I make rough choices and estimates fast, during the final mixing stage I fine tune the settings if needed.

Also, if I do want an exact value, I just double-click and enter the value directly.