I generally don't do reviews of products, but I feel this one certainly deserves one. I'm obsessed with saturation plugins and I have a rake of them. I can't say that this is the best one I own, but it's certainly close to the zenith.

So why take the time to review this particular one? Quite simply put, its sounds (and behaves) more like hardware than anything else I've heard for the type of plugin it is. It’s somewhat hard to explain, but after trying this on various sound sources it makes a big difference. First off, it adds a very natural 'weight' to the low end, and this is adjustable. Which makes it sound fantastic for bass and kick drums, etc. It also really shines in the mid-range while adding a very nice, but pleasant 'grit'. Which sounded much better than a lot of the harsh and more digital sounding saturators. You can also dial this grit to taste. From being pleasant and fat to being pretty aggressive while still sounding like the hardware.

For me the P 42 really shines on individual instrument tracks as well as being placed for analog summing over multiple tracks. I was also happy with it on the master but I dialled it back (luckily there's a mix knob). I make a variety of heavy genres and I see it being equally useful for my band as well as my personal electronic material (it’s fantastic on synthetic drums).

So what are the downsides? Well, not much. The only quibble I really have is that some of the controls are a little less responsive than I’d like (as I said in the thread). Lastly, and this is only in my opinion, that the price of the plugin is too high at $249. This is unfortunate, as it may put quite a few people off and I think this plug deserves to be heard. However, I purchased it at 159 Euro (with the intro discount). Which I was happy to pay given the plugins great sound quality.

If you can afford it, and want great analog weight, warmth and saturation, then I’d highly recommend this bad boy.

This is the first plugin I've reviewed. I own a lot of plugins (a LOT) and a lot of really great ones too but this plugin is truly something special.

I saw it described as a desert island plugin recently and it truly is. I find myself using it to shape sound more than any other saturator or even EQ I own and there's nothing I've tried it on that it doesn't improve.

Add to this the fact that the CPU hit is so low it can easily be on every track. It don't know how they've done it.

It's on the pricier side of plugins but seriously give it a demo - I'm confident you'll like what you hear. This is one everyone should know about.

So far, whatever I run through P42 feels more alive. It thickens things in a pleasing way and is fun to use. I'm also able to get more clarity without harshness.

The CPU usage is very low, and I like the improvements the dev has already made to it. I'm not crazy about the GUI, but given the sound and the low CPU usage I can roll with it.

Working in sound design means a near-constant need to elevate the sonics of every kind of source imaginable .. I came to this thanks to a casual recommendation from a mix engineer I respect. It's now on absolutely everything - it's almost a reflex action and is a staple part of my 'make things better - quickly' collection of tools.

What's even stranger is it appears you can chain several instances together without it getting overly tired or digital sounding - There's very few things that do this.

I have no idea what's going on under the hood and I have no wish to know as it would undoubtedly be a 'man behind the curtain' situation given that this is running an algorithm designed to emulate analogue behaviour.

I can though tell you that this thing FEELS amazing - it's phat, round ,tubey, vibey and immensely human sounding and I've yet to find a single source that it can't do some good for and I've been around since the very 1st VST and have a plug in folder so stuffed that it would probably constitute grounds for divorce in at least 14 US states.

So the downsides - the GUI is rubbish - sorry chaps but it is - it feels like I'm using a thrown together freebie, not something costing just over €200 and on that point , SSL just released the drive circuit from the Fusion at around half the asking price .

Pulsar if you read this - this is where you need to be - you will increase your sales 100% by doing so with some decent marketing and make everybody happy in the process - You are asking a hell of a lot of money at a time where people's outgoings are going through the roof post-pandemic - This plugin is SO good it really should have mass adoption, but I'm afraid it simply won't at this price -

Having said that - I Also mark it 4/5 on bang to buck - why - because I can't get close to the results from this plugin without using hardware - hardware that costs over £1500 per channel either and this offers multiple instances and instant recall and no external patching - I'm lucky enough to be able to afford the price and can say that it's worth money .

If you're reading this - just try it - I hope you'll very quickly discover that I'm not exaggerating here.

James Wiltshire - F9 Audio

This one just makes most things sound better. I’m still learning how to get the most out of it, but so far , there isn’t an instance where this plugin didn’t improve the source and the low cpu hit makes it easy to try on everything. Highly recommended!

The magic of P42 Climax is in all the ways you can manipulate its parameters to sound "right" for a particular track, depending on how the source needs to be modified. And P42 seems to always sound natural and organic in use... as in the source never sounds overly processed.

I like P42 a lot. And well more than the only other new plugin I've tried recently... Softube OverStayer. P42 is more useable, easier to dial in, and sounds better in every case. It pretty much always makes a source noticeably better when dialed in... which is not always the case with other plugins.

Yeah, it's a little on the pricier side. But P42's stellar sound quality and its ability to be used across a mix in multiple ways to massage & mold sounds into place is invaluable. Often it even seems to improve the quality and use of other plugins P42's combined with. No other single plugin I've used has this kinda capability with this much sound quality.

I own a Wolfbox DI which I have routed to run assorted tracks thru (drums, synths, etc) and P42 absolutely nails the sound of the vintage transformer, while adding a great deal of extended sonic flexibility

It's very warm and adds analog weight and depth to any signal without losing clarity. It has very quickly gone straight to the top of my extensive collection of saturation plugins. One of the very few plugins that works just as well on individual tracks as it does on the master bus

The coding is extremely efficient and it uses very little cpu. In addition to that I've found the developer to be extremely responsive and helpful. He implements user requested features and updates on a very regular basis

Yes it's not cheap but in the end you get what you pay for. And I have no hesitation about supporting this developer if it means he will continue to release top tier products like this. 10/10

This is one of the best tone/colour plugins I've come across, ever.

This energizes program material and retains transient clarity unlike anything else, and would take at least 3-4 plugins to replicate (at the expense of additional CPU). "Fatness", "edge", "energy", "push" all come to mind when going through the motions with P42.

This plugin cannot be made to sound bad. A real secret weapon.

My biggest pet peeve with working in the box has been analog emulations that when engaged still somehow rear their ugly head of shrill build up between 2-6k impossible to eq out, or while saturating subtly, that hollow 700hz is still cold, just thick cold. Or intermodulation distortion builds up and … Ugh, I hate it. Where as when I’ve worked with analog gear somehow, I require less gear and less moves to make me substantially happier without having to fix and come back and fix…
It makes sense why we need dynamic eq, and soothers, and de-essers, and things that can act fast dynamically because really, that’s the nuance of analog gear. It’s somehow alive, and that’s what developers have been trying to emulate, sometimes more so than being identical is that difference in the quality of the sound. 1 analog box does what 6 plugins do. And we’ve all “thought” that a plugin developer nails it, only to discover, yeah, but… no. Some boxes just makes things sweeter. Whistle tones? Gone. Shrill build up? Gone. Hollow and cold in the low mids? Gone. The problem is, when a developer comes close, it's high in cpu cost.

When I think about how much I've spent on plugins, and updates, I think, I should have invested in the hardware more, but with so many tracks, it's not easy. But neither is a plugin that can't have more than 3 instances anyhow! So when an amazing plugin costs $200 but I can only use 3 instances, and I add up all of the plugins I bought that I don't use. These days I'm more fickle about what I buy rather than how much it costs. For $200+ I can use P42 on every track more than once, and so it's value just rose for me, because that's exactly what I would want my hardware piece to do.

My sole focus of late has been to simply audition anything new based on the above criteria, as I own something like 1,200 plugins it’s ridiculous I’m not happy yet, right? My goal is to put my tracks through something that sweetens, emboldens, tightens, and brings out an instrument from the get go, making it so much easier and more of a joy to mix. So when I DO boost 2-6k I don’t have to cringe.

And… In comes P42.
I found P42 by accident. My favorite thing to do is test plugins. I level match loudness and spend a day. At a minimal settings (like Mix-NV1080), P42 came ahead in depth, fullness, focus, transient punch and roundness over: True Iron, Saturn, HG-2, J37, VTM, Softube Tape, Celestial, SSL Vintage Drive, VSM-3. What it did was clarify the weakness of some of these as it exploited their digital-ness, more than I had even realized prior. As well, the strength of others, as well, their differences. The only plugin that competed at all in what I was looking for, was IK Tape 80. Except, I can barely run 3 instances of that, so I was committing tracks and printing them prior to mixing. Going P42 into IK Tape 80, or P42 into DynOne, or even more unexpected Waves Abbey Road Vinyl (didn’t see THAT coming) (which also is CPU heavy) sounded really really good out the gate for me on numerous tracks. That’s what I want. That’s what I’ve been missing. That I can put P42 everywhere is a very very happy me. No shrill, just tight, bold, depth, sweet and full. Like a cuddle for the mix.

I took it through its paces in Plugin Doctor, too. I had to see what was under the hood. There is nothing static at all about this plugin. The harmonics are very much alive, like I’ve rarely seen, if you have plugin doctor, look at the dynamics and hammerstein and compare to plugins you think are similar, and just see how much more static they are, things begin to really makes sense with P42. That was cool to see! The harmonics are really clean too. The intermodulation distortion is incredibly clean, honestly never ever see that with a color plugin, unless it’s a clean plugin like pro q 3 that doesn’t have harmonics, so that’s wild to know. I guess that’s why the developer insists you can easily stack P42 in series. Now it makes sense! And from what I “see” there’s hardly any reason to oversample even though the option is there. Very excited. It’s going to be a problem that I’m putting this everywhere on my mixes, but I haven’t figured out how I’m going to pay for it with a baby on the way. I’ll ask my wife to put it on our registry. lol.

The GUI is growing on me, too. I appreciate it’s small. It means I can have many open on the screen. What I would love to see implemented is a notch filter (with a q), maybe… on the on the right next to the Drive dial? It’s uncanny how all in one this little gem is AND it does all of the subtle nuances that I adore that just clean things up real nice and tight. It just makes going to work on a mix a joy.

The first plugin which gives me THAT REAL TRANSFORMER MOJO. At last!

I have tested all saturators and no plugins came close to P42.

Using it to fatten kick and all busses and master bus.

Brilliant!

Cons are GUI (not my cup of tea) and price (but unique algorithm is worth this price IMHO, just compare it to the real deal).

Update V2 has automatic gain compensation. That´s great.
Love it on Bass, Drums and electric piano.
I like how you can shape the sound and add color, more definition and
depth. Might become a go-to plugin for bass.

I have just uploaded two videos showcasing P42 Climax.

https://youtu.be/AbmdmNnAgKU

https://youtu.be/Z6aIuoVpMT0

Sooo, I was a bit late to the party when I discovered the P42 thread. Too late for the introduction discount. But the large number of posts made me curious, so I started demoing - even though my plugin collection is already pretty huge and actually I don‘t want to buy more. Anyway, maybe this would bring a new processing quality to the table, so be it.

In my first testing rounds I put it on top of some masters which were already final and I checked some of the presets and loaded some of my other “dirt plugins“ for quick comparisons. This one can give pleasing results very quickly! Of course on a real master it needs to be carefully set-up. I was likely applying too much of it, but it was only testing rounds and it sounded so good
The results could not be matched with the other plugins I was checking against P42. I only compared it to single processors. Maybe it is possible to get closer with a chain of other plugins. But it is of course the workflow and tool set which lets you dial in tones in a certain way. And no matter which chain of other plugins, it would not let you dial in the same tones naturally, without having the P42 results as a reference.

Next I was testing the cumulative effect by inserting P42 in every channel in a mix and barely driving each instance. Very nice, too! Normally I am using Slate’s virtual consoles or tape machines for cumulative dirt, followed by Nebula consoles or preamps for some more 3D-ness. Slate’s tape and consoles are great with their grouping functions, which let you adjust the gain on all instances at once. So, I will likely stay with Slate/Acustica for that kind of effect. However, if I did not already have them, P42 could serve me well here.

The main use case for P42 has to be the first insert slot of a track, for the first tonal shaping. It can get certain sources sound much better than without it! It can enhance the tone without flattening it. Sure, sometimes such a tool is not needed and some other times a track needs tools which let you dig in deeper… But put P42 on a bass or drum track. With the right settings you will just love what it does

So, how does it compare to other similar tools? It is lighter on the CPU and RAM and can drive harder than the usual suspect Acustica Audio offerings and does not have stuff like the echo bug or overcritical gain staging requirements. AA‘s sound is stellar. But so is P42‘s!
There are other transformer plugins (like True Iron) or preamp emulating plugins which do sound good indeed, but don‘t have P42’s tone shaping capabilities with the shelf EQs.

All in all I am seeing myself using this plugin on many tracks in the future. My demo will expire in a couple of days and I am really tempted to lighten my wallet and just go and get this gem…


Edit after some more days of use:
This is da shiz!! I can slam it on any master and it makes it sound better than before. So pleasing. Similar to a very good tape effect, but it doesn‘t take away as much as tape. Demo is still good for a couple of days, but I will be buying it

I'm own tons of saturation plugins from different and great brands like Psp, UAD, Plugin Alliance and Kush Audio for name a few, and the P42 is so great, easy to use and with a superb sound that now is on my daly mixing duty's first hand tools

I haven't yet found a source this doesn't improve. Its smooth as silk saturation makes it useful for so many things. Just passing signal through it with minimal saturation enhances in a wonderful way.

Pricey, yes. But it deserves your attention.