Hey what’s good fam!
Back with a new review for you, today I’m checking out Alloy 2 from iZotope
Let’s dig in!
What is Alloy 2?
Think of it as a channel strip, a plugin that contains multiple essential mixing tools in one interface.
You get and eq, 2 dynamics modules, a transient shaper, exciter, de-esser, and a limiter.
It has a very clean and intuitive interface which makes it very easy to tweak and learn how to use.
You can go as deep or shallow as you wish, whether you want to start with presets or start from scratch.
As you know, when it comes to FX I like to keep it simple yet powerful, and most importantly I want it to sound good.
Alloy is like the “general use” version of Ozone, meaning, where Ozone is made for mastering, Alloy 2 is made to throw on every track without bringing your computer to a grinding hault!
How does it sound?
It’s an effect, so it’s “sound” is definitely going to depend on what you’re trying to do. Sometimes you want your effects to have a specific character and sometimes you want them to be super clean, luckily with Alloy 2, you can do both.
You can add some subtle or extreme distortion with the exciter if you wish, and you get all types of eq curves to provide multiple eq characters.
I like the limiter as well, I’ve compared it against quite a few and for my tracks it remains in my top 2 to 3 limiters. What I like is that it can raise the level and limit peaks without sounding like it’s squashing my tracks or distorting, especially when using the “soft” mode.
The eq can be surgical if you wish, or broad and smooth, and overall I dig the quality with which it removes or enhances the frequencies I’m working with.
Overall I think it’s powerful without adding too much color, yet allowing for just enough character to improve pretty much anything you throw at it.
So what’s the bottom line?
I’m not an engineer, I have no desire to be an engineer either!
So I’m always looking for tools that allow me to make the adjustments I want to make without requiring me to go too deep, while still allowing me to get advanced when I need too.
Alloy 2 provides both extremes and I give it 4.5 out of 5 subs. It’s got a great interface, great sound, and most importantly it just plain works.
I love having all of those modules in one plugin, which makes tweaking and adjusting things so much easier.
I tried the original version of Alloy, but I really dig the interface of Alloy 2 much more.
For one thing, it’s bigger! Which makes it a lot easier to navigate, I just don’t like tiny plugin interfaces.
I also really dig the overview panel, which let’s you quickly adjust and compare multiple modules at once.
If you’re just starting out and looking for a good collection of plugins or you’re not sure what to get, definitely try this out.
Even if you’ve been at this for a while, Alloy 2 is definitely a channel strip worth your consideration.
Go on over and check it out, read up on all the technology in the product, or better yet, download the demo and try it for yourself.
