Today, I’m comparing Schwab Digital’s Orange Clipper plugin to its counterpart, the renowned FL (Fruity Loops) Clipper. Both plugins have merits, but how do they compare?
Overview of Orange Clipper
The Orange Clipper aims to bridge a gap many of us didn’t fully realize existed. For years, the FL Clipper has been a go-to for its characteristic punch and warmth, particularly with drums. The challenge, however, arises for mixers like myself who operate outside of FL Studio. Enter Orange Clipper: designed to recreate the beloved FL Clipper’s effects within any DAW. This proposition alone piqued my interest, leading me to explore what Schwab Digital had managed to achieve with their iteration.
Key Features of Orange Clipper
The Orange Clippers design is elegantly simple, focusing on functionality over frills. Here are some standout features:
- Simplicity and User Interface: The plugin boasts a straightforward interface that’s refreshingly easy to navigate. This simplicity ensures that both novice and seasoned producers can achieve their desired sound with minimal fuss.
- Clipping Methods: Orange Clipper offers two primary ways to achieve clipping: adjusting the ceiling or manipulating the input levels. This flexibility allows for precise control over the clipping intensity, accommodating a range of sonic preferences.
- Wet and Dry Knobs, Oversampling, and Phase Settings: These features are particularly noteworthy. The wet and dry knobs facilitate blending the processed signal with the original, allowing for subtlety in effect application. Oversampling options enhance sound quality, reducing aliasing, while phase settings cater to those meticulous about phase coherence in their mixes.
Personal Experimentation and Results
In my quest to evaluate the Orange Clipper, I subjected it to a series of tests across various instruments, focusing mainly on drums. The results were enlightening. The plugin excelled in creating a warm, saturated sound that brought my drums to life, closely mimicking the punchiness associated with the FL Clipper. By adjusting the ceiling and input levels, I was able to dial in the perfect amount of grit and body without ever feeling like I was losing control over the sound.
One aspect that stood out was the plugin’s ability to manage signal distortion gracefully. Even when pushing the limits of clipping, the Orange Clipper maintained a musical quality, thanks in part to its oversampling and phase adjustment options. These findings not only showcased the plugin’s versatility but also its capacity to deliver high-quality results.
Comparison with FL Clipper
To provide a comprehensive analysis, I compared the Orange Clipper with the FL Clipper, focusing on their performance with drum tracks. The comparison involved playing the unprocessed drum track, followed by the same track processed with the Orange Clipper and then the FL Clipper. I aimed to maintain similar settings across both plugins to ensure a fair assessment. You can hear in the video below.
Methodology: The process was straightforward yet revealing. I adjusted the settings on the Orange Clipper to closely match those I typically use in the FL Clipper. This involved tweaking the clipping threshold and experimenting with both the soft and hard knee settings to replicate the characteristic sound of the FL Clipper.
Observations: The comparison highlighted several key points. Firstly, the Orange Clipper’s ability to mimic the FL Clipper’s sound was impressively close, especially when fine-tuning the knee settings. The warmth and punchiness that the FL Clipper is known for were very much present in the Orange Clipper’s output. However, slight differences in texture and harmonic saturation were noticeable, with the Orange Clipper offering a slightly cleaner, more versatile sound.
This experiment underscored the Orange Clipper’s effectiveness as an alternative to the FL Clipper, particularly for users who work outside of FL Studio. The nuanced differences between the two plugins could be seen as complementary, with each offering unique advantages depending on the desired outcome.
Conclusion
After extensive testing and comparison, it’s clear that the Orange Clipper by Schwab Digital is a formidable contender to the FL Clipper. It not only replicates the sought-after effects of its FL Studio counterpart but also introduces a level of flexibility and cleanliness.
I do feel that it’s a bit overpriced, and you could argue that you can get close to the same sound with other clipper plugins, but it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it.
If your tracks need that professional touch, my mixing and mastering services are just a click away. Visit mixandmastermysong.com for more information on how we can bring your music to life together.
