TC Electronic MASTER X HD-DT Multiband Dynamics Processor Plug-in with Dedicated Hardware Controller Reviews

At first it was a little unusual. I mean it's not like a typical Multiband where you have separate thresholds and ratios, attack and release control for each band. But once you start using the Factor and Threshold you start to realize how nice it sounds. It handles and controls the mix in a more pleasing way. It's also a lot easier to enjoy what you are getting by not having to deal with more control like a traditional multi. Turning the ratio will also give you a nice result. With the tiny controller I've gotten used to the few options I need to mess with. Mostly factor, threshold, ratio and then you can adjust individual gain per band to fine tune or shape the sound.
Very nice and for the price it's a no brainer.

I love this thing! Not only does it sound great but the options kind of urge you out of your own technical side and make you use your ears! The tiny hands on controller is perfect for those without a lot of desktop space and is capable of a ton of control with the knobs and buttons included.

Very satisfied purchase :)

I had to try this at the blowout price...I was pleasantly surprised. The controller is actually a huge plus, I figured the whole thing out in a few minutes, and the sound can be dialed into something thoroughly professional quite easily. Yes the architecture of the plugin is simplified vs a more elaborate option such as FabFilter's Pro-MB and its six bands with fully independent control. But sometimes you can give yourself too much leeway for your own good. I get 482 samples of latency in Logic which is fast enough for bus work.

The one problem I had was the user presets folder didn't get installed, and I had no choice but to figure its proper location out with trial and error. "Reveal User Preset Folder" didn't work. To save you that hassle, the correct Mac folder is in your user Library folder, ~/Library/Audio/Presets/TC Electronic/MASTER X HD/ Create a folder hierarchy there by hand (hold down option and select Library from the Go menu in the Finder) and save your presets into it and they will show up on the menu. The beta testers must've all had the folder already created and never noticed this failure on the installer.

That fixed, this is actually an excellent tool, the hardware is about the height of a smartphone, and is just sturdy enough to survive average user use. I've noticed in referencing that nearly everyone is using multiband these days across the mix and this is a good-sounding one. Tips for those reading this far: set the limiter first, dialing in the transient sound with the soft clipper, back that off and bring on the multiband comp, finally cut off the excessive breathing with the expander if desired (the old SSL channel trick). While the selected curve is global, the amount of curve applied is customizable for each band, and you have input gain per band as well as globally. Match the output level to bypass to check your moves. If you need more than this offers, fix it upstream in the mix if you have that available. You can put a mastering EQ and dedicated limiter after this, probably best to do the dedicated limiter first to understand what it will do the transients as you adjust this.

I like it from the sound to how good it feels to the touch

All 4 of these units stay on the master bus. They are awesome.

just get it

I was mildly impressed by the Master X and believe it provides pretty good value, but if you're looking for the real deal finalizer, you'll need to get the TC MD4 VST/AAX plugin .... FFT

It doesn't look like TC electronics, it looks second class, very poor quality.