FabFilter

You can download the entire FabFilter library and try it out for 30-days. Everything is fully functional during that period.

The EQ adds no tone. It is mastering quality sound.

The Compressor has three style options. One is called, Classic, which adds a nice tone (smooth and plush though subtle). Out of limitless possible "vintage" tones it probably wouldn't be the tone I'd choose, but it was my favorite out of the popular compressors I demoed in this price range.

Saturn can definitely give you gritty in a thousand different ways, from very subtle to definitely not subtle. Smooth and plush I don't think are qualities I would use to describe it. Like I don't recognize the Classic sound from the compressor coming from any of the options, but I could be mistaken.

The limiter has 4 styles. Two of them I have a difficult time choosing between on my tracks and really wish there was a version in between them. Transparent adds no color and really retains the details of your sounds. I love it. The other one I like is called, Punchy. My brain doesn't really register it as a color shift. Rather, it's clear, but with a little loss of detail in exchange for the punch. The punch is fantastic. The other two options don't do anything for my music.

I think a growing option these days for color is rather than using compressors, eqs, and limiters that lock you into very specific sounds there are more and more saturation plugins that give you some range to tailor your sound.

If I ever find one that can make tones similar to the free Acustica-Audio AcquaVox I will buy it in a heart beat. Regarding that plugin, since it's a snapshot it can't really be tailored and it's latency is over-the-top making it barely usable.

Lately I've been drooling over the production of the demo tracks you hear on the 8dio website when you hover over the different products. They all have the sound, but hover over the mandolin, steel string, and dobro to get a good sense of what I'm talking about. The sound on these tracks is super silky, smooth and delicious yet amazingly detailed without any of that detail being harsh in even the slightest way. I've never heard anything like it. I haven't been getting anything done lately, just listening to these tracks wondering if it's possible for me to get that million dollar sound. If that sort of sound can be attained with the FabFilter suite then I can say for certain I wouldn't know where to begin.

Beyond the sound of the FabFilter plugins, two other big selling points if you find yourself split between FabFilter and another company is the great UI and customer support. They even pretend to listen to my feature requests. Haha.

Hope that helps, though keep in mind I'm merely a hobbyist so my opinion may not be worth all that much. I just love drenching myself in beautiful tones.

Cheers,