Eventide Audio has launched its new Split Essentials plug-in series with two new processes: DeBoom & Sheen Machine.
With both Split Essentials plug-ins, incoming audio is analyzed then separated into transient (noise, pops, mic plosives, vocal sibilance, attacks) and tonal (sustained notes, harmonics, tone, ambiance) elements. Specially crafted EQ curves are applied to the tonal layer of the source audio.
DeBoom tames low-frequency muddiness without losing thump and removes resonance while keeping punch.
Sheen Machine adds tonal high end without boosting transients and makes dull signals shine by accentuating the “airy” quality of any signal without adding nasty sibilance or the harshness often generated by traditional high-shelf boosts.
The power of Eventide’s Structural Split technology is task-focused in the Split Essentials plug-ins, merging the power of SplitEQ into a single, powerful, one-knob gesture that lets engineers enhance low-frequency content with DeBoom without losing the energy of the incoming signal, or add vibrance and airiness without the harshness introduced by traditional equalization techniques using Sheen Machine. The Split Essentials user interface also includes undo/redo, input gain control and built-in bypass.
DeBoom and Sheen Machine are available now through the end of 2023 at a special introductory MSRP of $25 each. Crossgrades are available from SplitEQ/Physion Mk II/Anthology XII for $19 each. The standard MSRP will be $49 each.
Dirty VHS is a free plugin that brings back the dodgy sound of old VCRs and video tapes.
Bedroom Producers Blog has released BPB Dirty VHS, a free plugin concerned with audio only.
Specifically, the kind of imperfect sound you used to get from old video cassette recorders and the VHS tapes that you put into them (unless you were a Betamax user – in which case, you’re probably sitting there now saying that it was actually the better format and that this plugin should really be called Dirty Betamax).
BPB says that the new plugin was “born out of our love for resampling audio for VHS and the need to streamline the process and make it more instantaneous.” It’s based on analysis of multiple VCRs and tapes in varying states of repair, with the pitch variation, circuit and transport noise, dynamics, and frequency response information being extracted from each unit.
Accordingly, the eight processing modes emulate various machine/tape combinations in different conditions. You also get the sound of a VCR accidentally being switched into long play mode, a circuit-bent model and a vintage games console being recorded to VHS.
There are also three processing modes: Grainy is the most accurate but the hardest on the CPU; Smooth is less precise and less demanding on your CPU but preserves transients better; and Whammy turns Dirty VHS into a pitch shifter.
Other features include a tape chorus with stereo spread – designed to emulate the sound of a signal being recorded to multiple VHS tapes – and the distortion algorithm from Dirt, another of BPB’s free plugins.
Dirty VHS comes with 20 presets and offers a freely resizable GUI, a randomise button and undo/redo functionality. You can download it for PC and Mac in VST/AU formats from the Bedroom Producers Blog website.
Synthesist Ziv Eliraz – In the latest Loopop video – takes an in-depth look at the Polyend Play Plus – a major upgrade to original Play groovebox.
The Play Plus adds 8 synth voices, multichannel USB streaming and stereo samples. Eliraz compares the Play Plus to the original Play, discusses the new features, explores the new synth engines, discusses its pros and cons and more.
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