# Enhancer Plugins? (like Gullfoss, Soothe etc)



## Lionel Schmitt (Jul 3, 2022)

Hi!

Since I hate the sound of almost everything as it comes out of the box my sanity and income depends 30% on audio enhancer plugins. Saves me a few instances of Pro-Q.

Not talking about subtle "analog" fuzz which I personally never even hear but stuff that can take a shit sounding source and make it good at least... or a good sounding one and make it great.

Curious about all the options out there. Luckily you can try out almost every plugin, so not necessarily just favorites.
Haven't found a overall thread for these.

I just start the "list" with what I know (which might be most of them haha). Plugin name first, then developer name

*Gullfoss - Soundtheory *(awesome highly pristine and artifact free spectral/auto-EQ type thing. Best for overall tonal imbalance reduction. Watch out for CPU/Audio performance impact, although the latest version is fairly light for what it does)

*Soothe* -* OEK Sound* (awesome spectral/auto EQ type thing for more targeted control in problem areas. Can introduce a slightly artificial sound/artifacts at high values but still using it a bit more than Gullfoss due to more controls/targeted usage potential. Watch out for CPU/Audio performance impact)

*Spiff - OEK Sound* (More niche. Very useful for transient control across the whole spectrum or specific frequency areas. For instance removing some overbearing clicky high-end transients etc. Transient detection isn't perfect but better than anything else I tried, which isn't a ton)

*Abbey Road Saturator - Waves *(the compander option is superb for a more pristine and warm sound. Not even using the Saturation much. Seems to be fairly light but haven't tested in depth)

*Infected Mushroom Pusher - Waves* (very cool for more punch, power and clarity. Seems to be fairly light but haven't tested in depth)

*Smart EQ - Sonible* (the AI feature allows automatic correction of frequency imbalances tailored to the source material. Don't have it, didn't like what it does half the time)

*Fire Charger - United Plugins* (Incredible for making anything larger, deeper and richer sounding. Even brings out more detail, like the fingers on a guitar or felt of a felt piano. Even can somewhat reverse excessive noise reduction. Serious performance impact and 185 ms latency though)

*Fire Cobra - United Plugins* (Don't have it, based on a trial it seems to be kinda similar to FireCharger. Much less performance impact but I like it less too)

*Intensity* - *Zynaptiq *(Don't have it)

*Intensity* - *Unfilter * (Don't have it)

*LUXE - Klevgrand* - (Great overall sound enhancer. Ridiculous price of 20 dollar. Seems to be fairly light but haven't tested in depth)

*OTT - Xfer* (A classic. Fairly simple but effective upwards/downwards multiband compressor. Great for more power, punch and clarity. FREE)

*Abbey Road Vinyl - Waves *(Has a very interesting and cleaning + exciting effect on the sound when turning of the tape effects - noise, crackles etc. The models seem to get more drastic from the 1st to the 3rd and the tone arm control brings in very interesting and unique saturation like effect at extreme settings.)


----------



## olvra (Jul 3, 2022)

Soundgoodizer


----------



## KarlHeinz (Jul 3, 2022)

What does exactly that for me best is definitely mixbox. 

I have tried out some other stuff like the soundtoys rack, now the new narcotic and some other "multi-effect" but mixbox makes what you described: feed in a sound that lacks "something" to "evrything", try out some of the presets you think might bring it in the right direction (must not be the instrument category it is, sometimes right direction from another instrument category can do it) and there it is . Not evrytime exactly what I was looking for but simply sounding good.

I got it completely wrong first cause I thought it is some kind of channelstrip or like neutron but it really has much more of a sound enhancer/changer tool for me.


----------



## SupremeFist (Jul 3, 2022)

Are you talking mixbuss enhancers or channel enhancers? I mean in either case the actual answer is always "it depends on the source material and what you want to do with it", but the one thing that almost never fails to improve my mixes overall is a (relatively subtle) use of Voxengo TEOTE.


----------



## Living Fossil (Jul 3, 2022)

Since you mention Zynaptiq's Intensity:
I have it, and I really like it.
Most of the time I use it on the master bus. Usual workflow is: setting up the frequency response, setting up the degree of enhancement -> both steps at @100% wet.
When this works, dialing back the wet to around 10-20%.
p.s. when I use this one on the master, I don't use Gulfoss (almost everytime).
p.p.s. Intensity also works on stems, e.g. on strings.

Then, there are several plug ins by MIA laboratories that I absolutely love:

- The 358 Enhancer:
fantastic and easy to set up on stems.

- Pi and Phi (mk III):
similar to the enhancer but with more options (bands). I use it less then the 358 atm, but it's great if it has to be more subtile.

- their color EQ range (Blue, red, green):
If you want to highlight one frequency band, these are a secret weapon.
Blue has the broadest steps, green the narrowest.
Mostly I use "red", since the (fixed) bands of blue are not exactly where I want them, and green is too narrow.
Technically, these are EQ's are not exactly enhancers, but they can be life savers if you have a sound that lacks one frequency area.

I'd put PiA's Phil's Cascade in a similar category, btw: you can enhance specific ranges at specific amounts and dial them back with the mix knob.


----------



## AkashicBird (Jul 3, 2022)

It's not exactly what Teote or Gulfoss do, maybe closer to Soothe afaik, but DSEQ is a pretty cool dynamic/AI stuff that might seem less user friendly but appears more tweakable to me.


----------



## MarcMahler89 (Jul 3, 2022)

What exactly is it that makes you hate everything that comes out of the box? Too less of something or too much of something? And what particular genre are you working in / what kind of sound are you trying to polish? Do you refer to individual elements or the overall mix?

Answers to those questions might make it a lot easier to give a tailored response  

Concerning your personal list:
Oeksounds plugins just became a favourite of mine in the recent months, because Soothe can do things where id need at least 2 different plugins in a row ( EQ/DynEQ*MBC/Compressor) way faster and sometimes, not to say most of the time, in an even more organic way. So if its "too much" of anything, and you dont want to make it sound too artificial, soothe gets my vote  

Started using Spiff a few weeks ago as well, because of a particular percussion sound where only the highend transients were annoying, and out of all my previous mixing solutions Spiff provided the best solution for this particular issue at hand, as static EQ dulled down the sound too much and MBC did the same, even with a very fast release time


----------



## Snarf (Jul 3, 2022)

MarcMahler89 said:


> And what particular genre are you working in / what kind of sound are you trying to polish?











Lionel Schmitt


Listen to Lionel Schmitt | SoundCloud is an audio platform that lets you listen to what you love and share the sounds you create.




soundcloud.com


----------



## Russell Anderson (Jul 3, 2022)

MSpectralDynamics


----------



## creativeforge (Jul 3, 2022)

Snarf said:


> Lionel Schmitt
> 
> 
> Listen to Lionel Schmitt | SoundCloud is an audio platform that lets you listen to what you love and share the sounds you create.
> ...


Wowzers! This is awesome! Love it!  ♥


----------



## d4vec4rter (Jul 4, 2022)

Waves Greg Wells Signature Series Mixcentric is excellent as a one knob enhancer - used it a lot on the mix bus. I also like the Pianocentric one from the series which seems to be particularly effective on acoustic guitar as well as on piano. +1 for Zynaptiq Intensity - expensive but worth it (I'd wait for a sale). Another one which has recently received a load of attention is the Pulsar Modular P42 Climax Line Amp. Stick that on your drum/bass channels and hear the difference.

Oh, and I've just upgraded to Neutron 4. I thought I was done with Izotope but when I trialled Neutron 4 I got some great results from it.


----------



## GtrString (Jul 4, 2022)

These things are convenient all-in-one, but you can achieve similar/better results when mixing from putting a saturator plugin on an effects track, and eq before and after it. Add a compressor and transient designer if needed too - that way you get more control over what frequencies to mangle.

Saved as presets, it's as convenient as these plugins.


----------



## NekujaK (Jul 4, 2022)

*Ploytec* *Aroma*: basically a multimode harmonic saturator, but the results are more impressive than any other saturation plugin I've used, including Saturn. On the mix bus, it can have a transformative effect on a mix, adding sparkle, depth, and sheen.

+1 for *Voxengo* *TEOTE*. An invaluable tool for final overall balancing of a mix. I much prefer it to Gulfoss.

*Waves* *NLS: *Use it on every mix. Appropriately subtle yet pleasingly noticeable. Satson and Britson from Sonimus do the same thing, but I find NLS easier to work with and slightly more flexible.

*Sonnox* *Inflator*: Whatever sorcery is under the hood, it's able to squeeze more loudness and intensity out of anything. I consider it similar to OTT, but more transparent and natural sounding.

*Hornet Thirty-One*: Another dynamic spectral balancer like Gulfoss and TEOTE. Ridiculously inexpensive and offers more manual intervention capabilities than its counterparts.

*Acustica Celestial*: Not an automatic tool, but provides a convenient chain of processing tools to polish and finalize a mix. You kinda need to know what you're doing to get the most out of it, but the results can be quite good.

*Plugin Alliance Black Box Analog Design*: Also not an automatic tool, but great for adding some analog sheen to a mix. (Currently on sale for $17.76 during PA's 48-hour 4th of July sale!)

*Waves Greg* *Wells* *Mixcentric *can have an intoxicatingly magical effect on mixes, but use with caution. I find it tends to over-compress and kill dynamic range, so don't use it much anymore.

*Softube Drawmer*: I've never gotten good results with it, but some people swear by this mix bus finisher.


----------



## Living Fossil (Jul 4, 2022)

NekujaK said:


> *Sonnox* *Inflator*: Whatever sorcery is under the hood, it's able to squeeze more loudness and intensity out of anything. I consider it similar to OTT, but more transparent and natural sounding.


It's a waveshaper.

There is a Reaktor ensemble that does the same and there are presets for the Melda Waveshaper that do the same. (Links etc. are available at Gearspace, probably with some search)

If you like Inflator, Newfangled's Saturator, which is part of the Elevate bundle, is a great next step.
I use it a lot.


----------



## PeterN (Jul 4, 2022)

d4vec4rter said:


> Waves Greg Wells Signature Series Mixcentric is excellent as a one knob enhancer - used it a lot on the mix bus.


Greg Wells Mix Centric, yea, the only Waves plugin Ive compromised to keep and actually pay for it for the yearly hijack fee.

But it must be used sparingly. I prefer it over Gullfoss, which creates that hiss like the real Gullfoss dam. The real name of Gullfoss is Gullfosschsssch.


----------



## ScoringFilm (Jul 4, 2022)

Have tried pretty much all of the above and my favourites are:

*Gullfoss* - I use this the most; have to tame the high frequencies though
*Soothe* - great at reducing mudiness
*Oxford Inflator* - Excellent transparent/smooth compression
*Intensity* - Auto EQ/Compression; helps but I have found to be a bit resource heavy


----------



## el-bo (Jul 4, 2022)

GtrString said:


> These things are convenient all-in-one, but you can achieve similar/better results when mixing from putting a saturator plugin on an effects track, and eq before and after it. Add a compressor and transient designer if needed too - that way you get more control over what frequencies to mangle.
> 
> Saved as presets, it's as convenient as these plugins.


This seems like good advice. but it doesn't deal with the other types of plugins that are being mentioned e.g Soothe, DSEQ etc. i.e the resonance-removers. Of course, these are also just automated versions of common mixing processes, but these processes would be much more cumbersome to do in real time.


----------



## Russell Anderson (Jul 4, 2022)

I can't be the only one who hears "squelch squelch squelch" after awhile listening to TEOTE, can I? I figure it's the crossovers, I didn't hear it for awhile as I was bouncing between TEOTE, Gullfoss and MSpectralDynamics for 30 minutes straight but then suddenly, there it was. Gullfoss, alright, MSpectralDynamics, alright, TEOTE, alr--_squelch squelch squelch--_ wait a minute, what

It's pretty subtle and it's possible I just had it on settings that were more conducive to crossover squelching. MSpectralDynamics can be prone to washiness or spectral artifacting if the processing is too extreme or low quality (and it's not very fast in terms of detector speed at super high quality...)


----------



## Scalms (Jul 4, 2022)

My biggest issue with sounds out of the box is the noise reduction the developers do sucks out alot of the brightness and life of the instrument. It's my single biggest difference i hear when i switch back to a live recording. Normal EQs help a little to brighten, but nothing quite like dedicated Air EQs:

*Clariphonic MKII*- Kush Audio (the best, heavier on CPU)
*Sie-Q*- Soundtoys (almost as good, lighter on CPU, gets used more perhaps)

This technique can pop out instruments to bring them to the front whenever I want to highlight something, it can be used on the master, and elevates my mix no question.

Perhaps this seems obvious but it shouldn't be underestimated


----------



## nas (Jul 6, 2022)

I'll second BlackBox HG-2. It can really wake up a track and offers enough tweak-ability to dial in some great tones - and yes you can definitely hear the effects. It's on sale now at Plugin Alliance for 17 USD and usually retails for about 250 USD so I'd definitely jump on it.


----------



## Rob Elliott (Jul 6, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> Since you mention Zynaptiq's Intensity:
> I have it, and I really like it.
> Most of the time I use it on the master bus. Usual workflow is: setting up the frequency response, setting up the degree of enhancement -> both steps at @100% wet.
> When this works, dialing back the wet to around 10-20%.
> ...


Thanks for this information on Zynaptiq's Intensity. I need to take a long look at it. Would you say it 'excels' at orchestral? (better than Gullfoss)?


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Jul 6, 2022)

Don't forget Gullfoss is 3 plugins (Live, Standard, and Mastering). I deleted Standard from my computer as I never used it after the others were released. Also, you can target specific frequencies by dragging in the lines from the sides.

Inflator - there's others that can do what this does, but this is so easy to use that it "wins" for me

The biggest thing to watch for with all these tools is overdoing it. I generally find what I like and then back off a bit.

Some others not yet mentioned
* Kush TWK - add a little warmth and body, instantly (con: have to manually adjust input/output)
* Neold Big Al - add a little fuzz, but preserves the stereo image better than most (HG2-MS deleted)
* Saturn 2 - targeted subtle to modest saturation (con: heavy distortion falls a flat)
* Mastering the Mix - several useful tools available
* SlickEQ M - go SmartOps!
* CanOpener Studio - dial in a bit of this if using headphones to monitor (place before SoundID)
* Kush Blyss - impressive analog-style mix EQ (con: a bit heavy on the CPU due to oversampling)


----------



## Living Fossil (Jul 6, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> Thanks for this information on Zynaptiq's Intensity. I need to take a long look at it. Would you say it 'excels' at orchestral? (better than Gullfoss)?


Hi Rob, I think it's quite different than Gulfoss.

It can highlight nuances in the material depending to the curve you choose in a brillant way, but it's not really suited to tame momentary buildups (like Gulfoss). 

So basically, it's a great tool when the material you feed to it already sounds well balanced; then it can really do some impressive magic.
The thing that really needs attention is the mix setting; too high wet amounts can create quite an "artificial" sound or introduce harshness or even mess up the mix.

I can totally recommend it for all kinds of music that relies on "real" instruments that come with lots of subtile details. This could be an orchestra or a guitar ensemble etc etc.
If you demo it, make sure you have enough quality time for it (that means time before the ears are already tired...  ). I would also recommend to try it quite a range of different tracks and stems.


----------



## Rob Elliott (Jul 6, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> Hi Rob, I think it's quite different than Gulfoss.
> 
> It can highlight nuances in the material depending to the curve you choose in a brillant way, but it's not really suited to tame momentary buildups (like Gulfoss).
> 
> ...


Ok - good notes and advice. I am a big believer on getting a 'processing type plugin' where I want it and THEN backing off - more than just a little. It seems if I don't - days/months later it just screams 'too much'. Looking forward to trying this on lots of different material. Thanks again.


----------



## el-bo (Jul 6, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I generally find what I like and then back off a bit.


Like plugin edging?


----------



## Trash Panda (Jul 6, 2022)

Lionel Schmitt said:


> *Smart EQ - Sonible* (the AI feature allows automatic correction of frequency imbalances tailored to the source material. Don't have it, didn't like what it does half the time)


Is this the original version or the most recent one? The best results I’ve seen with SmartEQ3 is to put it on your section busses (brass, strings, etc) at 100% dynamic, then set up a group for the busses and prioritize them to taste for the piece. 

Does a really good job of not coloring the sound, but lets your most important parts shine through in the mix. 

SmartComp is great for adding some punch to percussion while sounding transparent and is awesome for ducking, such as making room for big drums when you have the contrabasses taking up the low end room.


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Jul 6, 2022)

Trash Panda said:


> Is this the original version or the most recent one? The best results I’ve seen with SmartEQ3 is to put it on your section busses (brass, strings, etc) at 100% dynamic, then set up a group for the busses and prioritize them to taste for the piece.
> 
> Does a really good job of not coloring the sound, but lets your most important parts shine through in the mix.
> 
> SmartComp is great for adding some punch to percussion while sounding transparent and is awesome for ducking, such as making room for big drums when you have the contrabasses taking up the low end room.


Forgot about those (I have smartcomp but not any of the others). They use a fair bit of CPU and also have quite a bit of latency - they're not really designed for real-time use. But they work well during mixing.


----------



## lux (Jul 6, 2022)

I'm basically addicted to Maag EQ4 and EQ2. It's incredible how those are able to ehnance a mix or an instrument in a musical way. Small changes that works a lot in a mix. I prefer those way over any Pultec replica I own. The high range ehnancement is pure ear candy. Love em both.

I was about writing it while it was still on offer at 17 bucks but it went back to original price (although promotions are always around the corner with Plugin Alliance and those are part of several monthly fee based bundles).


----------



## Junolab (Jul 6, 2022)

Tone Projects Kelvin is also a pretty amazing and flexible tool to enhance/alter any sound. But IMO a lot of tools mentioned here are not comparable at all, but I guess the word "enhance" could be used for any kind of plugin plugin.


----------



## eric_w (Jul 7, 2022)

I'm always looking for a new AI type of plugin. Feels like the audio world has been slower at implementing next level plugins until recently. Gullfoss and soothe seemed to kick it off first.

Mixroom is really good. I find that it's great at pointing out problem areas although it tends to cut aggressively.


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Jul 7, 2022)

eric_w said:


> I'm always looking for a new AI type of plugin. Feels like the audio world has been slower at implementing next level plugins until recently. Gullfoss and soothe seemed to kick it off first.
> 
> Mixroom is really good. I find that it's great at pointing out problem areas although it tends to cut aggressively.


Mastering the Mix tools are almost must-haves. They tend to fall short of that level, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful!


----------



## MartinH. (Jul 7, 2022)

Could DSEQ be used with a sidechain signal for ducking too?


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Jul 7, 2022)

MartinH. said:


> Could DSEQ be used with a sidechain signal for ducking too?


Yes (I’ve never done it)


----------



## d4vec4rter (Jul 8, 2022)

Has anyone tried Jaycen Joshua's "The God Particle" which seems to be the newest kid on the block in all this stuff?


----------



## PeterN (Jul 8, 2022)

d4vec4rter said:


> Has anyone tried Jaycen Joshua's "The God Particle" which seems to be the newest kid on the block in all this stuff?


Thanks for info. Neva heard. But there's a 5 days demo. Definitely will be demoed.


----------



## flampton (Jul 8, 2022)

Gullfoss works well but as mentioned need to cut out that weird high freq boost. I have had some success with Hornet 31Mk2 which could be considered a budget Gullfoss, I think it can be had for like six bucks. 

And I am loving the new Klegrand Fosfat for giving my percussion texture. Just a little and it sounds so sweet.


----------



## Lionel Schmitt (Aug 7, 2022)

Thanks to everyone for the input! I found another one that works great as an enhancer.









Abbey Road Vinyl Plugin | Waves


Give your music the vintage warmth of vinyl records played on classic turntables and needles: a precise model of Abbey Road Studios’ vinyl cutting and playback gear.




www.waves.com





Abbey Road VINYL by Waves.

Has a very interesting and cleaning + exciting effect on the sound when turning of the tape effects - noise, crackles etc. The models seem to get more drastic from the 1st to the 3rd and the tone arm control brings in very interesting and unique saturation like effect at extreme settings.


----------



## NoamL (Aug 7, 2022)

Skeptical of Gullfoss on the mix bus for orchestra. The plugin seems to want to add air to almost anything orchestral. Even with the brightness knob turned down significantly, using bright sounding libraries etc., it's still constantly 'suggesting' adding more 10k and 15k _all the time_ except when there's a cymbal crash or swell. I think this has a lot to do with the 'soundgoodization' of the plugin (and why, sometimes in my experience, it makes mixes sound good at the end of the day but then brittle-sounding the next day).

Gulfoss is sorcery on individual instruments though. Take something like a bad home recording, slap some Gulfoss on it and boom everything opens up.


----------



## Jdiggity1 (Aug 7, 2022)

NoamL said:


> Skeptical of Gullfoss on the mix bus for orchestra. The plugin seems to want to add air to almost anything orchestral. Even with the brightness knob turned down significantly, using bright sounding libraries etc., it's still constantly 'suggesting' adding more 10k and 15k _all the time_ except when there's a cymbal crash or swell. I think this has a lot to do with the 'soundgoodization' of the plugin (and why, sometimes in my experience, it makes mixes sound good at the end of the day but then brittle-sounding the next day).
> 
> Gulfoss is sorcery on individual instruments though. Take something like a bad home recording, slap some Gulfoss on it and boom everything opens up.


I find Gullfoss very helpful as a bus processor for orchestra particularly if you can recognise the weaknesses in your mix, and limit the correction range in gullfoss to taste.
ie, if you get an overall sense that the mix is a bit flabby or mid-hyped, pull the top end handle down to 2k or so and raise the lower handle to 200Hz, and gullfoss will certainly help establish clarity in the low-mids without impacting your clean sub or 'natural air'.
So i suppose in a sense it's like literally every other plugin - *Have an intention before adding a plugin*, otherwise your chance of success will be slim / left up to chance.


----------



## KEM (Aug 7, 2022)

d4vec4rter said:


> Has anyone tried Jaycen Joshua's "The God Particle" which seems to be the newest kid on the block in all this stuff?



Only thing on my master bus except for Gullfoss!!


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Aug 7, 2022)

NoamL said:


> Skeptical of Gullfoss on the mix bus for orchestra. The plugin seems to want to add air to almost anything orchestral. Even with the brightness knob turned down significantly, using bright sounding libraries etc., it's still constantly 'suggesting' adding more 10k and 15k _all the time_ except when there's a cymbal crash or swell. I think this has a lot to do with the 'soundgoodization' of the plugin (and why, sometimes in my experience, it makes mixes sound good at the end of the day but then brittle-sounding the next day).
> 
> Gulfoss is sorcery on individual instruments though. Take something like a bad home recording, slap some Gulfoss on it and boom everything opens up.


Live, Standard, or Master version?


----------



## NoamL (Aug 7, 2022)

Jdiggity1 said:


> I find Gullfoss very helpful as a bus processor for orchestra particularly if you can recognise the weaknesses in your mix, and limit the correction range in gullfoss to taste.
> ie, if you get an overall sense that the mix is a bit flabby or mid-hyped, pull the top end handle down to 2k or so and raise the lower handle to 200Hz, and gullfoss will certainly help establish clarity in the low-mids without impacting your clean sub or 'natural air'.
> So i suppose in a sense it's like literally every other plugin - *Have an intention before adding a plugin*, otherwise your chance of success will be slim / left up to chance.


very true Jdiggity & good tip



vitocorleone123 said:


> Live, Standard, or Master version?


usually standard if I'm composing or Master if doing a stem mix.


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Aug 7, 2022)

NoamL said:


> very true Jdiggity & good tip
> 
> 
> usually standard if I'm composing or Master if doing a stem mix.


Have you tried Live? It’s not as …. “sharp”.


----------

