“It really feels like Colin and his team has travelled back from the year 2029 in order to bring this revolutionary tech, the world's first programmable analog processor.”

"Any comparison between the APB‑16 and digital plug-in platforms hinges on them being sonically equivalent — and they aren't."

"[Tape] certainly stands out from the crowd, with an ability to inject energy into a mix and make everything ‘bounce’ that I haven’t heard in any purely digital tape emulation — or indeed in conventional compressor plug‑ins."

"If you’re looking to recreate the crisp, slightly compressed big studio sound, it’s right here. TAPE APB gives you the sound, minus the grunge, except this time it’s automatable and recallable."

"I often find that synth basses are too subby... and BOB APB makes it easy to rebalance the tone so that it will be audible on small speakers without robbing the synth of its impact."

"It's cool to see that McDSP keeps adding plug-ins to the APB ecosystem while improving useability. BOB Bass Optimized Bias is a winner for adding lows to tracks and mixes."

"Some say that digital distortion plug‑ins tend to sound ‘flat’ and two‑dimensional — and next to KD1 with its Kinetics control turned up, they certainly do."

"I really enjoyed using the KD1 Kinetic Drive on my mixes. This could very well be a glimpse at the future of audio processing."

"Even if you push it into obvious compression, it still sounds smooth and rich, and although you can use the EQ and the saturation stage to make the mix significantly brighter, it never gets harsh."

"Here’s a list of superlatives: grand, rich, expansive, velvety, and fucking AWESOME! They really do sound excellent, and in all of my uses (mix bus, mastering, piano, drum bus)."

"Of particular note in the Royal Q is the upper band, which offers frequency settings that go right up to 25kHz. That, of course, is outside the range of human hearing, but the effects of a wide‑band boost centered on 25kHz certainly aren’t, and they sound glorious on the right material."

"The Royal Q can also saturate in the analog domain before being passed to the output Trim control; as with all APB plug-ins, the saturation will never cause the signal going back to the computer to digitally clip, so drive these babies into the red!"

"The MC-3's retro ’70s interface chimes well with the sound, which employs fairly aggressive and ‘grabby’ FET‑style compression."

"The MC-3 is a beast! It’s a utility processor that also has powerful tonal and dynamic-shaping properties combined with the big analog sound and saturation of the APB architecture."

"The APB was already a very powerful and versatile wolf of an outboard rack in plug‑in sheep's clothing; Moo X integrates all that power into a single framework, with benefits that are both audible and ergonomic."

"I love mixing in the box for the speed and convenience of recall, but I also love analog processing. Having the best of both worlds together with complete, instant recall, plus the true flavor of genuine hardware processing is almost too much to believe. Welcome to the future! "

"APB‑16 plug-ins don't sound like digital plug-ins, and it's my belief that almost anyone who hears them side-by-side will prefer the former."

"It really seems like we're just scratching the surface of what's possible with this box, and with the term "analog processing," it seems that the team at McDSP are not planning to stop anytime soon."

"You can easily achieve either tight, fast, aggressive limiting, colourful pumping with that characteristic 'sucking' effect on cymbals, or precision marmalising that allows kicks and snares to punch through while pushing everything else back into the mix."

"The most remarkable thing about McDSP's APB-16 is just how simple it is to use. I used the El Moo Tube Limiter on horns and bass, and particularly loved the sound of the Saturation knob on both instruments."

"The APB‑16 looks like the bargain of the century, as well as offering all the advantages of recall and automation that come with plug-in processing."

"No patch cables and no need to fill your phone with photos of your compressor settings for a manual recall nightmare."

"Chickenhead are more aggressive compressors designed to bring more obvious character to your tracks. I found that regular plug-ins couldn't match the sense of liveliness and excitement that was coming from Chickenhead when set to nuke the signal."

"I really loved the ChickenHead Compressor; it just sounds great on anything. The controls are very standard except for the Sauce button that I left engaged about 80% of the time. When compressing heavily, Sauce mode seems to open the top end in a very natural way while bringing energy to the source."

"The L-18 limiter is intended to sound 'pristine', though it can be persuaded to add some of its own sound to a track when pushed hard."

"APB-16's plug-ins, like the analog compressors in my rack, can be clean and sweet, or nasty and aggressive"

"The L-18 limiter is intended to sound 'pristine', though it can be persuaded to add some of its own sound to a track when pushed hard."

"The C-18 compressor is intended to sound 'pristine', though it can be persuaded to add some of its own sound to a track when pushed hard."

"For under $7,000 (street price) you get 16 channels of incredibly flexible analog compression. That's $437.50 per channel, which is actually quite a good deal!"