Decapitator is not subtle in anyway, it is pretty extreme at even the mildest settings. Meant for effect, not to be thrown on every channel for "warmth" or anything.
What is, in essence, the difference between VCC and decap (or any other saturation emulation). From what I understood, it's an analogue hardware modelisation right ? Isn't there a Neve model, like in VCC ?
I didn't know this plugin until now, so I'm interested.
Try using a transient designer before it and cranking the attack, then using the tape setting crank it to just before you can really hear the distortion (around 5 to 7). It does lovely things.
that thing makes mixes come alive for sure. just got it actually and i've been using it along with Nebula for warmth and life to my mixes. the one thing i've found is that it's important not to go overboard with it, just a tad printed to each drum channel i.e. can really make a drastic difference in the big picture. preamp emulation from Nebula printed on the tracks and decapitator slapped on the buss is a winner in my book, and the other way around for drums.