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Post by Martin John Butler on Jan 13, 2021 8:52:25 GMT -6
I've been waiting for Sooth 2 to go n sale one of these days.
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Post by drumrec on Jan 13, 2021 9:57:39 GMT -6
I'm in my last two days with a 20 day demo. I think it's great. You must use it carefully so you do not get any artificts. If I notch out a lot, much else would be lost, with Sooth2 it retains its source gallantly without harshness. It was a little too good not to press the buy button. But agree with Martin John Butler that it was in the most expensive level. But smart and good plugs deserve it, as well as good hardware. Was quickly addicted to it ..... or rather I AM addicted to it! The modern variants say "Sex, Smart Software and Rock'n'Roll"  |
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Post by svart on Jan 13, 2021 10:20:15 GMT -6
I'm -> <- this close to upgrading to Soothe 2.
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Post by svart on Jan 13, 2021 10:57:19 GMT -6
Also really wondering about Spiff..
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Post by tkaitkai on Jan 13, 2021 11:02:49 GMT -6
Aldiy really wondering about Spiff.. Spiff is amazing. I was a very early adopter of Soothe and have always loved it, but as I've improved at recording over the years, I've honestly found Spiff to be a slightly more invaluable tool. If you're obsessively nitpicky about transient control like I am, Spiff is crazy good. Although the new FirComp (with 0ms attack and FIR lookahead enabled) is also worth a serious consideration for this purpose... and it's free. |
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Post by jampa on Jan 13, 2021 17:05:19 GMT -6
I still dig it
I find Soothe 2 more useful than Soothe 1
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 16, 2021 14:11:48 GMT -6
Bumping this thread instead of starting a new one. I had never really thought about this plug until popmann mentioned it in the SM7b thread. What do you all think of this one year later? I'm in a stage where I'm very happy with my basic plugins and outboard, curious about some specialty "last 10%" utilities like this. Sure ain't cheap though. |
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Post by popmann on Nov 16, 2021 14:29:36 GMT -6
I certainly found it made a positive change in a lot of instances. the "full range mid/side piano" preset sort of takes any sampled piano I have and "cleans it up"--it sounds like..."the same, but recorded better" if that makes sense.
I did an amp sim track recently that had this boxy resonance in spots...it cleaned that right up.
...now the negative? Those observations are in (mostly) isolation. When I apply it to that amp sim guitar track, and the lead vocal and the stereo piano (sample) in that song and toggle them globally on vs off in mix context? Irrelevant. Hard to even hear the cumulative effect. And it eats CPU for breakfast. Those three instances used about as much CPU time as the whole rest of the mix minus the Abbey Road Plate, which is always the UUUgee CPU suck.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 16, 2021 16:00:50 GMT -6
I certainly found it made a positive change in a lot of instances. the "full range mid/side piano" preset sort of takes any sampled piano I have and "cleans it up"--it sounds like..."the same, but recorded better" if that makes sense. I did an amp sim track recently that had this boxy resonance in spots...it cleaned that right up. ...now the negative? Those observations are in (mostly) isolation. When I apply it to that amp sim guitar track, and the lead vocal and the stereo piano (sample) in that song and toggle them globally on vs off in mix context? Irrelevant. Hard to even hear the cumulative effect. And it eats CPU for breakfast. Those three instances used about as much CPU time as the whole rest of the mix minus the Abbey Road Plate, which is always the UUUgee CPU suck. Seemed like it might be a big CPU drain. But it also seems like the type of thing where you might just render the track right? Once you fix whatever problem you’re trying to fix it’s not like you’re going to make a lot of tweaks I would imagine. |
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Post by bossanova on Nov 16, 2021 18:07:16 GMT -6
It's a big problem solver in ways you wouldn't expect. I've used it to quietly even out low end build ups from proximity effect and uneven room response, and there's a mastering preset that does wonders to quietly smooth out the air frequencies.
I paid for it once and I'm glad I have it for the things I described above and those General instances where a static band of dynamic EQ just doesn't do the trick.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 16, 2021 18:09:32 GMT -6
It's a big problem solver in ways you wouldn't expect. I've used it to quietly even out low end build ups from proximity effect and uneven room response, and there's a mastering preset that does wonders to quietly smooth out the air frequencies. I paid for it once and I'm glad I have it for the things I described above and those General instances where a static band of dynamic EQ just doesn't do the trick. Sounds promising. Is this competitive with the new UAD Cedar plug? Name slips my mind. EDIT - C-Suite C-Vox |
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Post by bossanova on Nov 16, 2021 18:14:36 GMT -6
It's a big problem solver in ways you wouldn't expect. I've used it to quietly even out low end build ups from proximity effect and uneven room response, and there's a mastering preset that does wonders to quietly smooth out the air frequencies. I paid for it once and I'm glad I have it for the things I described above and those General instances where a static band of dynamic EQ just doesn't do the trick. Sounds promising. Is this competitive with the new UAD Cedar plug? Name slips my mind. EDIT - C-Suite C-Vox Not sure, but if it's based off hardware probably not. The only thing that does anything close to what Soothe does in my experience is Gullfloss, and that's only useful for broad overall shaping because it's always based on a set balance/curve target. (Gullfloss does do boosting though.) |
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Post by javamad on Nov 16, 2021 19:35:14 GMT -6
I had vrsion 1 and upgraded to 2 as soon as it came out. Now with full range it can help on bass and kick now.
Its a problem solver yes … but even if you don’t have problems it can be great to just tame honkiness in a vocal or righten uo a bass.
Because it follows frequencies and works dynamically it can be very fast to just drop in to a track, adjust the focus point and move on.
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Post by bossanova on Feb 12, 2022 17:29:29 GMT -6
I was digging into the production behind the most recent pair of albums by The Weeknd, partly because his 2020 album was tracked all over the place with with an SM7B into a UAD interface and had everything else processed ITB. There’s something about the vocals on that album that sound unnatural and “hollow”, even when they’re mixed more upfront, which isn’t often. It’s like the voice has all the body taken out of it, and most of the tone as well. It sounds distorted even when it’s “clean” (which is rare given the crazy amount of time and modulation FX on the vocal bus).
I got the answer from Mix With the Masters: his producer/engineer, in addition to multiple rounds of boosting highs and cutting lows, has two instances of Soothe running on the lead vocal. The first one has narrow cuts all through the mid range averaging 6db of GR. There’s a second instance at the end of the chain on default, taking out .5 to 1 db across the spectrum.
It’s honestly the best example of I’ve heard of Soothe being both audible and overdone on a mega-selling album.
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Post by javamad on Feb 12, 2022 19:05:35 GMT -6
Yeah … you have to be careful or de-resonance becomes de-tone very fast.
I don’t think I have used it beyond a 2-3db cut in anything but it teally helps.
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Post by Mister Chase on Feb 12, 2022 19:22:18 GMT -6
I was digging into the production behind the most recent pair of albums by The Weeknd, partly because his 2020 album was tracked all over the place with with an SM7B into a UAD interface and had everything else processed ITB. There’s something about the vocals on that album that sound unnatural and “hollow”, even when they’re mixed more upfront, which isn’t often. It’s like the voice has all the body taken out of it, and most of the tone as well. It sounds distorted even when it’s “clean” (which is rare given the crazy amount of time and modulation FX on the vocal bus). I got the answer from Mix With the Masters: his producer/engineer, in addition to multiple rounds of boosting highs and cutting lows, has two instances of Soothe running on the lead vocal. The first one has narrow cuts all through the mid range averaging 6db of GR. There’s a second instance at the end of the chain on default, taking out .5 to 1 db across the spectrum. It’s honestly the best example of I’ve heard of Soothe being both audible and overdone on a mega-selling album. I'll have to check it out. That's possible of course with any processor to ruin things, but soothe does it in a unique way because it's a new sort of unique processor. So that can be a pitfall when trying to get used to a new processor...
I've found there is a somewhat fine line between a pointy-pokey-lumpy and annoying sound and a dead de-toned flat sound. I dig in fairly deep sometimes but often I will just drag the parallel blend down. Often it's 85% or so. Very useful, very easy to ruin a sound lol.
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Feb 12, 2022 21:41:12 GMT -6
There’s something about the vocals on that album that sound unnatural and “hollow”, even when they’re mixed more upfront, which isn’t often. It’s like the voice has all the body taken out of it, and most of the tone as well. It sounds distorted even when it’s “clean” (which is rare given the crazy amount of time and modulation FX on the vocal bus). I got the answer from Mix With the Masters: his producer/engineer, in addition to multiple rounds of boosting highs and cutting lows, has two instances of Soothe running on the lead vocal. The first one has narrow cuts all through the mid range averaging 6db of GR. There’s a second instance at the end of the chain on default, taking out .5 to 1 db across the spectrum. It’s honestly the best example of I’ve heard of Soothe being both audible and overdone on a mega-selling album. I'm into a few of his tracks when I hear them. Super catchy. Every time all I hear is how nasally he is. That's all I hear when a chorus comes in. |
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Post by bossanova on Feb 14, 2022 22:22:58 GMT -6
I was digging into the production behind the most recent pair of albums by The Weeknd, partly because his 2020 album was tracked all over the place with with an SM7B into a UAD interface and had everything else processed ITB. There’s something about the vocals on that album that sound unnatural and “hollow”, even when they’re mixed more upfront, which isn’t often. It’s like the voice has all the body taken out of it, and most of the tone as well. It sounds distorted even when it’s “clean” (which is rare given the crazy amount of time and modulation FX on the vocal bus). I got the answer from Mix With the Masters: his producer/engineer, in addition to multiple rounds of boosting highs and cutting lows, has two instances of Soothe running on the lead vocal. The first one has narrow cuts all through the mid range averaging 6db of GR. There’s a second instance at the end of the chain on default, taking out .5 to 1 db across the spectrum. It’s honestly the best example of I’ve heard of Soothe being both audible and overdone on a mega-selling album. I'll have to check it out. That's possible of course with any processor to ruin things, but soothe does it in a unique way because it's a new sort of unique processor. So that can be a pitfall when trying to get used to a new processor...
I've found there is a somewhat fine line between a pointy-pokey-lumpy and annoying sound and a dead de-toned flat sound. I dig in fairly deep sometimes but often I will just drag the parallel blend down. Often it's 85% or so. Very useful, very easy to ruin a sound lol.
The terrible part is that I just listened to his duet with Lana Del Rey from 2017 (different engineers and production team) and on that he has tone for days. (The chain for that was a Manley Gold into a 1073.) Why his main producer decided that his “sound” in 2020 should be carving his voice to death with Soothe is beyond me. |
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Post by Mister Chase on Feb 14, 2022 22:34:07 GMT -6
I'll have to check it out. That's possible of course with any processor to ruin things, but soothe does it in a unique way because it's a new sort of unique processor. So that can be a pitfall when trying to get used to a new processor...
I've found there is a somewhat fine line between a pointy-pokey-lumpy and annoying sound and a dead de-toned flat sound. I dig in fairly deep sometimes but often I will just drag the parallel blend down. Often it's 85% or so. Very useful, very easy to ruin a sound lol.
The terrible part is that I just listened to his duet with Lana Del Rey from 2017 (different engineers and production team) and on that he has tone for days. (The chain for that was a Manley Gold into a 1073.) Why his main producer decided that his “sound” in 2020 should be carving his voice to death with Soothe is beyond me. Another reason I hate futzing with things. If I have a good mic and pre/converters, really it should be mostly there when it hits the 1's and 0's. The way stuff has to be mixed nowdays is really something I loathe. This just seems like another casualty of modern production. |
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Post by the other mark williams on Nov 30, 2022 12:36:04 GMT -6
I'll have to check it out. That's possible of course with any processor to ruin things, but soothe does it in a unique way because it's a new sort of unique processor. So that can be a pitfall when trying to get used to a new processor...
I've found there is a somewhat fine line between a pointy-pokey-lumpy and annoying sound and a dead de-toned flat sound. I dig in fairly deep sometimes but often I will just drag the parallel blend down. Often it's 85% or so. Very useful, very easy to ruin a sound lol.
The terrible part is that I just listened to his duet with Lana Del Rey from 2017 (different engineers and production team) and on that he has tone for days. (The chain for that was a Manley Gold into a 1073.) Why his main producer decided that his “sound” in 2020 should be carving his voice to death with Soothe is beyond me. You know, it's possible that it wasn't really his producer's decision to use an SM7B into an Apollo. I can't really imagine anybody making that choice when the budget is as high as his budget must've been - UNLESS there were a particular set of circumstances where it really was the most workable option: Like makeshift recording spaces, for instance, where an LDC might not work. I would still prefer an RE 10/11/15/16 to the SM7B in that kind of circumstance personally, though. Might not have even needed Soothe with one of those EV mics. The SM7B really doesn't sound that great on certain singers with certain kinds of mic technique, and I would completely understand turning to Soothe to address problematic resonances with that mic. But it could also have been that the artist just said, "this is what I want to use," and the producer kind of had to go along. The Weeknd certainly has the kind of clout that I could imagine a scenario like that. Whatever the situation, it is doubtful to me that the producer didn't hear what we're hearing in the differences between older recordings of The Weeknd's vs the newer stuff. I'm sure there was a reason he ended up doing it the way he did, and that the way he did it made sense given the circumstance. Doesn't mean it sounds as good, of course! |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Nov 30, 2022 22:47:45 GMT -6
I was digging into the production behind the most recent pair of albums by The Weeknd, partly because his 2020 album was tracked all over the place with with an SM7B into a UAD interface and had everything else processed ITB. There’s something about the vocals on that album that sound unnatural and “hollow”, even when they’re mixed more upfront, which isn’t often. It’s like the voice has all the body taken out of it, and most of the tone as well. It sounds distorted even when it’s “clean” (which is rare given the crazy amount of time and modulation FX on the vocal bus). I got the answer from Mix With the Masters: his producer/engineer, in addition to multiple rounds of boosting highs and cutting lows, has two instances of Soothe running on the lead vocal. The first one has narrow cuts all through the mid range averaging 6db of GR. There’s a second instance at the end of the chain on default, taking out .5 to 1 db across the spectrum. It’s honestly the best example of I’ve heard of Soothe being both audible and overdone on a mega-selling album. Not discounting how good the songs are, etc., but the dude's voice is one of the most nasally voices I've heard in a long time. I think the songs are great but I think after one side of a vinyl I'd have to take a break. Maybe has something to do with recording them sort of on-the-fly with no one telling him to sing a bit more from the chest? Who knows. Edit: Soothe 2. Definitely think it was a big improvement over S1. I find it useful sometimes and sometimes not. Just depends on how the recording and performance went that day for us and what the hardware chain is doing. It's definitely a tool to have in the arsenal for vocals though, IMHO. |
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Post by ab101 on Aug 18, 2024 20:21:19 GMT -6
So, about a year and 3/4 from the last post, anyone find something as good as soothe 2 with a lesser cpu hit?
Thx!
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Post by bossanova on Aug 19, 2024 9:29:30 GMT -6
So, about a year and 3/4 from the last post, anyone find something as good as soothe 2 with a lesser cpu hit? Thx! Not yet. I tried the waves one that was a freebie a year or two ago but I couldn't get it to stop pumping. I really like what the WA Vocal Enhancer does for the low end with the de-mud control, and I'm using the DeRes plug from the same company to tackle big static resonances, but soothe is still my go-to for those moving problem areas. |
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Post by christophert on Aug 19, 2024 19:32:34 GMT -6
So, about a year and 3/4 from the last post, anyone find something as good as soothe 2 with a lesser cpu hit? Thx! Have you tried TDR Arbiter? Unsure how Soothe compares, but Arbiter is used on every session I do. Has anyone done a comparison? I'm wondering if Soothe does anything special that Arbiter does not
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Post by ab101 on Aug 19, 2024 23:24:30 GMT -6
So, about a year and 3/4 from the last post, anyone find something as good as soothe 2 with a lesser cpu hit? Thx! Have you tried TDR Arbiter? Unsure how Soothe compares, but Arbiter is used on every session I do. Has anyone done a comparison? I'm wondering if Soothe does anything special that Arbiter does not
I need to check it out. So far, every TDR plug I have tried, I really like. |
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