# Do we need Soothe 2?



## jamwerks (Nov 26, 2021)

It's on sale for the next few days (but still costs 139 euros).
Who loves it? Who bought it but not using it?
What are you using it on? 

I'm mainly thinking about calming the harshness of violins, but it probably has other uses on cinematic/orchestral samples.

Share your thoughts!


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## Wunderhorn (Nov 26, 2021)

I thought about it too, but then there is ‘Smooth Operator’ for $39 on sale as well...


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## Crowe (Nov 26, 2021)

Seems like Baby Audio's 'Smooth Operator' is a poor man's Soothe. I honestly don't think I need Soothe to start with, but I'm sure some folks swear by it.

EDIT: lololol


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## jamwerks (Nov 26, 2021)

I bought Smooth Operator recently, and wasn't blown away by it, but I'm not a reference for mixing. And I also recenly purchased BX_Refinement.


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## chlady (Nov 26, 2021)

I got smooth operator recently on sale as well. I do find it useful for taming certain frequencies and it certainly is a cheaper alternative to soothe. I do not have have soothe so really can not compare the two or the advantages of soothe.


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## Trash Panda (Nov 26, 2021)

Smooth Operator is good enough if Soothe is outside of your budget, but I found Soothe brought better clarity in a full mix.


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## dhmusic (Nov 26, 2021)

Trash Panda said:


> Smooth Operator is good enough if Soothe is outside of your budget, but I found Soothe brought better clarity in a full mix.


Is it noticeably different than Gullfoss or do they cover a lot of similar territory?


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## Scalms (Nov 26, 2021)

I recently demo'd soothe2 and it's one of those plugins I couldn't hear what it was doing, if anything. With all the praise I've heard here and there I could have sworn it was going to make a bigger difference. But I only gave it like 10min on a couple instruments, and i couldn't really tell, so it's probably my fault.

Maybe it's one of those subtle plugins? Anyone don't listen to me, I tend to like plugins that actually make more drastic changes, like anything from Kush Audio.


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## dunamisstudio (Nov 26, 2021)

Can't swing it this time but I feel like I have a plugin that can accomplish the task though.


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## KEM (Nov 26, 2021)

My engineer loves it and always raves about it, and it has orchestral presets for what it’s worth


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## muziksculp (Nov 26, 2021)

I got Mastering The Mix : *RESO*, from Plugin Boutique, instead of Soothe 2.

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/3-Studio-Tools/71-Dynamic-Processor/8320-RESO


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## Trash Panda (Nov 26, 2021)

dhmusic said:


> Is it noticeably different than Gullfoss or do they cover a lot of similar territory?


Definitely different. They work really well together on the mix bus.


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## PeterN (Nov 27, 2021)

dhmusic said:


> Is it noticeably different than Gullfoss or do they cover a lot of similar territory?


Without going into technicalities, (which Im not too qualified with anyway), just by the sound of it, Gullfoss creates a hiss, something like an exciter and saturation put together. The hiss is there even with -50% brightness. Soothe doesnt do that, it is more a cleanup tool. Gullfoss is very dangerous, Soothe is less dangerous.


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## Dietz (Nov 27, 2021)

Soothe is one of those rare plug-ins that really make a difference in my mixes. Especially with certain voices that tend to get shrill when they get loud, there is nothing out there that will have the same - uhm - "soothing" 8-) effect without degrading the signal. It's also a secret weapon for drum recordings with "moving" resonances (.... the Attack Speed parameter is your friend, in that case).

I wouldn't rely too much on the presets, though, and would only use it very, very carefully on complex polyphonic signals. Personally, I would refrain from using it in the mix bus regularly (if at all).


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## jamwerks (Nov 27, 2021)

Dietz said:


> Soothe is one of those rare plug-ins that really make a difference in my mixes...


Does it work well on violins & trumpets ?


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## toddkreuz (Nov 27, 2021)

Soothe 2 is brilliant. You need time to work with it though.

I would say its most useful for harsh cymbals and voices.


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## Dietz (Nov 27, 2021)

jamwerks said:


> Does it work well on violins & trumpets ?


Good question. If used sparsely it might be ok, but then you could also reach for a good dynamic EQ or multiband compressor. The sonic richness of these instruments relies a lot on certain formants, though, that's why it's easy to overdo it when Soothe actually starts to do its thing. 

I used it on violins and flutes already, but not in a soloistic context.


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## Loerpert (Nov 27, 2021)

jamwerks said:


> It's on sale for the next few days (but still costs 139 euros).
> Who loves it? Who bought it but not using it?
> What are you using it on?
> 
> ...


Use it on all my projects!!


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## Hunter123 (Nov 28, 2021)

I have Gullfoss which is more of an automatic dynamic eq which is great but you have to be careful with how much you use or you can make things sounds very dynamically flat. 

I'm very interested in getting Soothe2 and haven't demo'ed it yet but I like what I'm hearing/seeing based on tutorials. Basically it seems like it automatically hones in on specific resonances rather than just broad dynamic eq (more like gullfoss). It seems you have some good control with exactly how much it does and there are a bunch of options where that's concerned. Its expensive but i'll demo it and see how it goes. Having an automatic resonance control plugin will greatly speed up time spent mixing and it's plugins like this that are pushing the bar forward.


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## Soundbed (Nov 28, 2021)

Soothe2 is amazing. Here’s my tips:

I use it only on individual tracks (not buss or full mix). 

It is a resonance reducer. It removes unwanted resonances. It never adds anything. 

If you cannot hear unwanted resonances you don’t need it. 

I usually only do one of two things with it : remove mid / lower resonances or remove higher harshness similar to a deesser (but more specific)

The difference from a multiband compressor the number of bands and the speed and amount of control you have. It goes far beyond a typical “compressor” and feels more like a “dynamic eq”. 

It’s great for making any recorded source that maybe has some unfortunate issues more sonically balanced but again only by subtracting, never gaining frequencies

If you have a cello with some “notes” that are much louder than other “notes” try the preset called containing the low mid orchestra. It should sound more balanced. Not totally different, simply like it was recorded a bit better. 

If you don’t know what your ear is listening for or you don’t like it don’t use it. 

Smooth Operator is probably similar.


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## Russell Anderson (Nov 28, 2021)

MSpectralDynamics gang reporting in






I also don’t know the differences with soothe. A great mixer, Daniel Dettwiler, once told me (…in a YouTube video), that resonances often can’t be seen, only heard. And I believe tools like Soothe and MSD, unless targeted as specifically as any other dynamic EQ, are operating on what to us would be a visual FFT rendering of the sound. So it may be best to simply find the resonances, and apply a dynamic EQ to them. MSD and Soothe may be better suited to squeezing maximum loudness out of a track by removing frequency peaks (which does not necessarily mean resonances!), and that’s why we handle them with so much caution.


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## Dietz (Nov 29, 2021)

Russell Anderson said:


> So it may be best to simply find the resonances, and apply a dynamic EQ to them. MSD and Soothe may be better suited to squeezing maximum loudness out of a track by removing frequency peaks (which does not necessarily mean resonances!), and that’s why we handle them with so much caution.


I think that's not what Soothe does and what it was made for, primarily. The great thing about this plug-in is that it finds moving (!) resonance peaks in a certain frequency range and tames them to a desired degree. A conventional dynamic EQ can't do that.

Unless it's in the bass range, removing resonances won't increase the perceived loudness of a track (quite contrary).


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## reids (Nov 29, 2021)

Dietz said:


> I think that's not what Soothe does and what it was made for, primarily. The great thing about this plug-in is that it finds moving (!) resonance peaks in a certain frequency range and tames them to a desired degree. A conventional dynamic EQ can't do that.
> 
> Unless it's in the bass range, removing resonances won't increase the perceived loudness of a track (quite contrary).


Hi Dietz, I'm thinking about getting either Gullfoss or Soothe 2. I will demo them shortly. If you could choose only one, which would you find more useful for working on orchestral tracks?


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## Dietz (Nov 29, 2021)

Sorry - I don't know Gullfoss as I have little need for "automatic" EQing in my workflow. (I use Sonible's smartEQ3 and/or Zynaptiq's unFILTER for certain restoration tasks, but hardly in a mixing situation.)

That said I suspect that Soothe and Gullfoss aren't targeting the same issues.


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## jamwerks (Nov 29, 2021)

I may be starting to understand Soothe. It's like a dynamic eq that can kick-in in various frequencies, not just in a static region (as with a normal dynamic eq).

So if that's true, then Soothe would be good when the source has multiple resonances happening.

But for a section of violins (samples), do the resonant frequencies change much during a performance in a way that Soothe could be effective on? If it's resonances that are fixed, then maybe an eq or dynamic eq would end up doing the same thing?


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## Dietz (Nov 29, 2021)

jamwerks said:


> If it's resonances that are fixed, then maybe an eq or dynamic eq would end up doing the same thing?


Yes. But "fixed" is a relative term, especially in context of actual recordings of real people, moving (i.e. singing or playing actual instruments) in real rooms. 8-)


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## Russell Anderson (Nov 29, 2021)

If the dynamic EQ has pitch follow, like Melda, then it works fine, but the workflow is slower. For moving resonances, I wouldn’t be able to say whether MSpectralDynamics or Soothe does a better job, but I think they will probably be doing close enough to the same thing that I don’t need Soothe, personally. Please convince me otherwise if you can haha

That being said, I am eyeing Gullfoss, as I liked what it was doing when I demo’d it a few months back. I’d just have a hard time figuring out where to put it lol, I figure I’d put it after everything I normally do. It is definitely an enhancer, not a fixer.


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## THW (Nov 29, 2021)

I was intrigued by soothe2 and downloaded the trial. Being relatively new to mixing, my ears are still learning to identify those frequencies which are problematic in my mixes. What I can appreciate so far from the trial is being able to solo those frequencies that soothe is identifying as harsh and potentially unwanted. I’ve found that in itself educational as I learn how to use dynamic eq and multi band compression. I’m not in a position to purchase yet, but I do see myself learning a bunch over the next 20 days experimenting with this plug-in, and then picking it up down the road when I better understand what I want to accomplish with it.


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## muziksculp (Dec 28, 2021)

I use *RESO* by Mastering the Mix instead of Soothe 2. It costs much less, and does a great job at fixing resonances. 

Here is a helpful article about Resonances, and how to detect, and fix them, using RESO. 

https://www.masteringthemix.com/blogs/learn/how-to-fix-resonances-in-music


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## Zanshin (Dec 28, 2021)

For me, the problems it solves and how easy it is to use - it's worth it. I blame that purchase on @Soundbed I saw him use it in one of the MSS videos he did.


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## Soundbed (Dec 28, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> For me, the problems it solves and how easy it is to use - it's worth it. I blame that purchase on @Soundbed I saw him use it in one of the MSS videos he did.


I take full responsibility for your purchase


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## Trash Panda (Dec 28, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> For me, the problems it solves and how easy it is to use - it's worth it. I blame that purchase on @Soundbed I saw him use it in one of the MSS videos he did.


Which one? There's a lot of MSS videos on that channel.


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## Soundbed (Dec 28, 2021)

THW said:


> I was intrigued by soothe2 and downloaded the trial. Being relatively new to mixing, my ears are still learning to identify those frequencies which are problematic in my mixes. What I can appreciate so far from the trial is being able to solo those frequencies that soothe is identifying as harsh and potentially unwanted. I’ve found that in itself educational as I learn how to use dynamic eq and multi band compression. I’m not in a position to purchase yet, but I do see myself learning a bunch over the next 20 days experimenting with this plug-in, and then picking it up down the road when I better understand what I want to accomplish with it.


in addition to taming "harshness" ... I find it especially useful in reducing "boxiness" and lower resonances.

this may not be the best demonstration, okay it's definitely not, but here's a quick attempt at a demo using the "contain the low orchestra" preset:

View attachment soothe2 on cello.mp4






Trash Panda said:


> Which one? There's a lot of MSS videos on that channel.


probably the avengers one


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## Zanshin (Dec 28, 2021)

Soundbed said:


> probably the avengers one


Yup. Almost bought MSS based on those videos too. Jeez!


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## sostenuto (Dec 28, 2021)

Plugin Alliance has long had a plug-in that my limited chops feel does much of this well. 
bx _ refinement __ and with current promos / vouchers _ is ~ $20.00. 
The admired feature is hearing precisely what 'harshness' is being removed. 
I welcome experienced comment to explain what I'm missing __ mainly in context with more sophisticated tools discussed here.









Brainworx bx_refinement


Tame nasty high frequency harshness. Add sparkling presence and life with precision.




www.plugin-alliance.com


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## jamwerks (Dec 29, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Plugin Alliance has long had a plug-in that my limited chops feel does much of this well.
> bx _ refinement __ and with current promos / vouchers _ is ~ $20.00.


FWIW, I ended up not getting Soothe2, and even removing Smooth Operator from my template (VSL Strings). I'm just using eq, BX Refinement, followed by Ozone 9 Tape simulation, and very much likeing the results. 

I'm not a pro in mixing or mastering, but I do like what Refinement seems to be doing.


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## sostenuto (Dec 29, 2021)

Reassuring to see your positive experience. ( also helps budget immensely )  🙆🏻


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## toddkreuz (Dec 31, 2021)

An acoustic guitar with high mid resonant spikes that come and go depending
on the notes/chords being played. Perfect example of a great job for Soothe.
If you have a resonance that stays where it is, and is constant, just use EQ.


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## Soundbed (Dec 31, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Plugin Alliance has long had a plug-in that my limited chops feel does much of this well.
> bx _ refinement __ and with current promos / vouchers _ is ~ $20.00.
> The admired feature is hearing precisely what 'harshness' is being removed.
> I welcome experienced comment to explain what I'm missing __ mainly in context with more sophisticated tools discussed here.
> ...





jamwerks said:


> FWIW, I ended up not getting Soothe2, and even removing Smooth Operator from my template (VSL Strings). I'm just using eq, BX Refinement, followed by Ozone 9 Tape simulation, and very much likeing the results.
> 
> I'm not a pro in mixing or mastering, but I do like what Refinement seems to be doing.


big difference between soothe2 and bx_refinement, for me, because I usually use Soothe2 to remove lower deeper resonances* that follow the frequencies and harmonic series of the instrument. but it's true there are many things that can adequately reduce "harshness".

refinement is one of them. but I found it was much less transparent than soothe2 in the end. I suppose it could be used more subtly than I was using it. but dialing it in to only remove what I didn't want and not remove what I wanted without sounding artifact-y was a chore compared to soothe2, for me.

* (below 1000Hz)


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## AEF (Dec 31, 2021)

Soundbed said:


> in addition to taming "harshness" ... I find it especially useful in reducing "boxiness" and lower resonances.
> 
> this may not be the best demonstration, okay it's definitely not, but here's a quick attempt at a demo using the "contain the low orchestra" preset:
> 
> ...


this is a fantastic example of an extremely common problem I have with certain libraries that I spend way too much time chasing my tail trying to fix! might have to demo it now. ugggh im broke!


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## Rob Elliott (Dec 31, 2021)

I have used Surfer EQ2 / Pro-Q3 for this low end resonance build ups BUT I like this short demo. What is the 'hit' on CPU for Sooth2?


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## Soundbed (Dec 31, 2021)

AEF said:


> this is a fantastic example of an extremely common problem I have with certain libraries that I spend way too much time chasing my tail trying to fix! might have to demo it now. ugggh im broke!


smooth operator seems to be a cheaper alternative that might be almost as good, according to many (i don't have it) ... it will go on sale for much less than soothe2 will.


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## Rob Elliott (Dec 31, 2021)

Soundbed said:


> smooth operator seems to be a cheaper alternative that might be almost as good, according to many (i don't have it) ... it will go on sale for much less than soothe2 will.


When does Sooth2 usually go on sale?


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## R. Soul (Dec 31, 2021)

Rob Elliott said:


> When does Sooth2 usually go on sale?


Black Friday. Maybe one more time a year, but they surely don't have sales very often. 
You might want to take a look at DSEQ 3 instead. It's around half the price.


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## Soundbed (Jan 5, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> I have used Surfer EQ2 / Pro-Q3 for this low end resonance build ups BUT I like this short demo. What is the 'hit' on CPU for Soothe2?


I've always wanted Surfer EQ! Do you like it? I still may get it someday.

The "hit" is not insubstantial; about 17% CPU usage jump when it's on vs off in Studio One's CPU meter. So, I sometimes "freeze" the tracks it's on to audio so it can be disabled. Which is fine for me because it's a mixing tool, and doesn't really need to be on during writing.

Here is another demo where I think I did a better job of finding a "problem to solve" for those who remain unconvinced or unsure of what "low end resonance" can sound like in an orchestral context.


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## Rob Elliott (Jan 5, 2022)

Soundbed said:


> I've always wanted Surfer EQ! Do you like it? I still may get it someday.
> 
> The "hit" is not insubstantial; about 17% CPU usage jump when it's on vs off in Studio One's mater. So, I sometimes "freeze" the tracks it's on to audio so it can be disabled. Which is fine for me because it's a mixing tool, and doesn't really need to be on during writing.
> 
> Here is another demo where I think I did a better job of finding a "problem to solve" for those who remain unconvinced or unsure of what "low end resonance" can sound like in an orchestral context.



I am sure there are many other ways to take care of lo-mid build-ups on Vc's and Db's but this tool is the ticket for me. It is also a bit of a resource hog though. :(


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## Living Fossil (Jan 5, 2022)

Soundbed said:


> I've always wanted Surfer EQ! Do you like it? I still may get it someday.


If you have izotope Nectar: its EQ does the frequency following too.


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## Soundbed (Jan 5, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> If you have izotope Nectar: its EQ does the frequency following too.


Oh Nectar does? Crap. I have waited for that feature to come to Neutron. Silly me. I never use Nectar because I’m rarely working with vocals.


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## Rob Elliott (Jan 5, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> If you have izotope Nectar: its EQ does the frequency following too.


Hah! News to me. :(


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## Soundbed (Jan 5, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> If you have izotope Nectar: its EQ does the frequency following too.


ok I tried Nectar on a couple things and it's not as awesome as Soothe2. Limited number of bands, which don't always adapt to the harmonic series intelligently, and a bit sluggish at times so the eq is behind the music (understandable because otherwise the plugin would introduce delay, and it probably works fine for many vocal tasks). I won't be using it for too much until they introduce it in a more robust way, but it's great to see they've started down this path!


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## tressie5 (Feb 22, 2022)

I have no affiliation with Oeksound, but I declare - their Soothe2 and Spiff plugins are worth their weight in gold. Spiff, in tandem with Gullfoss, made my "varying proximity"/"spittle laden" vocal takes sound like Sinatra's. (Well, not quite, but you know what I mean). Soothe2 helps immensely with taming the savage beast that is digital audio. I compose ambient music so I'm always on the lookout for smooth, silky pads. Serum, Vital, etc all have nice enough pads but their red hot resonances and rough edges are not what the doctor ordered. To be fair, I've also had success with resonance suppression using SplitEQ, ProQ and Ozone 9. I guess I favour the Oeksound because it's so transparent, surgical.


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## Trash Panda (Feb 22, 2022)

I’ve found recently that much like Smooth Operator, you have to be really careful with using Soothe 2 on orchestral samples or it can actually make things sound more harsh in some scenarios. It can also add some significant distortion that you will only hear when summing to mono. 

Not saying it shouldn’t be used of course. Just that it’s good to be careful with it. 🙂


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## paulwr (Nov 7, 2022)

I just received an email from oeksound. You can reset your Smoothe 2 (or Spiff) 20-day demo, and the Black Friday sale coming up brings the price down to 139.00 (euros/dollars about the same now) Spiff will be $99. Here is the demo reset link: https://oeksound.com/trial-reset. This is as good as I've seen price-wise, I'm finally making this purchase. And thanks to Soundbed for illustrating its worth, always appreciated, man!


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## Rob Elliott (Nov 7, 2022)

paulwr said:


> I just received an email from oeksound. You can reset your Smoothe 2 (or Spiff) 20-day demo, and the Black Friday sale coming up brings the price down to 139.00 (euros/dollars about the same now) Spiff will be $99. Here is the demo reset link: https://oeksound.com/trial-reset. This is as good as I've seen price-wise, I'm finally making this purchase. And thanks to Soundbed for illustrating its worth, always appreciated, man!


hmmmm. I use gulfoss VERY sparingly on my stem busses and really like how it 'opens' up a good mix. Would Soothe 2 offer me really anything? At this price it is getting hard to ignore.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 7, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> hmmmm. I use gulfoss VERY sparingly on my stem busses and really like how it 'opens' up a good mix. Would Soothe 2 offer me really anything? At this price it is getting hard to ignore.


There's also at least DSEQ and Reso to demo.

Many people, I've read, prefer DSEQ to Soothe - though several others use both as they end up in slightly different places. Another thing to note: the upgrades from DSEQ to DSEQ2 to DSEQ3 cost $0. Soothe upgrades cost money.

Gullfoss is an "unmasker" that can help with resonances. Soothe is a de-resonator that can help unmask.


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## Piano Pete (Nov 7, 2022)

I wrote a post about Dseq2 and Soothe2 awhile back, if that's of any value for people looking for alternatives.

Since then, I have used DSEQ3 a few times in comparison and have to say that it is, sonically, much better than DSEQ2.

Soothe2 is still consumes more resources than DSEQ3, but if you want a simpler, point-and-click experience: Soothe2 is for you.

If you want more control or want the flexibility for more instances: DSEQ3 is more attractive and costs roughly $80.00. DSEQ3 also has a pretty generous demo policy which should be more than enough to determine if it gels with you.

Yes, there are sonic differences between the two plugins and how they sound, but if you learn either, you can get to a similar result that the other can do.

I still think Soothe2 sounds better with orchestral samples in most cases, but I have also ended up using DSEQ3 more often and still achieved what I needed to get done. If you go ham with either, they will destroy whatever they are affecting.

The above does not even consider using additional plugins in the chain, in which case I believe the differences are even less than negligible. 

---

Gullfoss vs Soothe2 (DSEQ3): These are different tools for different purposes—in my opinion. Soothe and DSEQ are better used on individual tracks or busses rather than on a summing or master busses. 

I have tried using Gullfoss, but I kicked it to the curb for most of my engineering needs. The main reason: whatever it was doing to clear a mix was often better achieved by tackling the culprit and not having Gullfoss manage it. Also, its reference curves seemed to be focused towards specific sonic timbres, which often were contrary to my use cases. If I want those frequency responses, I can usually achieve it other ways. 

TLDR:
Soothe2 vs. DSEQ3 = try both or flip a coin.
Soothe2(DSEQ3) vs Gullfoss = Different tools for different jobs. The former are more surgical. The latter is for broad strokes.


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## FabIV (Nov 7, 2022)

Piano Pete said:


> I wrote a post about Dseq2 and Soothe2 awhile back, if that's of any value for people looking for alternatives.
> 
> Since then, I have used DSEQ3 a few times in comparison and have to say that it is, sonically, much better than DSEQ2.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this explanation, could you clarify why you think soothe seems simpler? Ui-wise it seems identically, only some knobs are used in the opposit way (like the threshold) i also heard that dseq seems better at high resolution.
Thanks in advance


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## paulwr (Nov 7, 2022)

oeksound is giving a 2-day demo reset to everyone: https://oeksound.com/trial-reset. 
And said that the Black Friday Sale will bring the price of Soothe 2 down to 139.00. While I may jump on it, I'm not finding any instances of my strings that need it yet. Well, 20 days to figure it out!


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## Rob Elliott (Nov 7, 2022)

I am probably most concerned about the CPU hit. I understand you can 'work' with it in real time and THEN render at a much higher Quality. How has that worked with folks?


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## Trash Panda (Nov 7, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> I am probably most concerned about the CPU hit. I understand you can 'work' with it in real time and THEN render at a much higher Quality. How has that worked with folks?


Most excellently!


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## Rob Elliott (Nov 7, 2022)

Trash Panda said:


> Most excellently!


ok - trial it is!


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## muziksculp (Nov 7, 2022)

I don't have Soothe 2, and think it is priced too high. I got Gulfoss, and Baby Audio's Smooth Operator.

I might think about getting Soothe 2 if it is at least 50 % discounted. Otherwise no go for me. It's surely overpriced. There are other options. Don't waste your money.


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## muziksculp (Nov 7, 2022)

Oh, I also forgot to mention that if you have iZotope Ozone 10 (Advanced), it has the new *Stabilizer module* that tames resonances, and much more. No need to waste more $ on something like Soothe 2.

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone/features/stabilizer.html

Quote "
Automatic clarity.​Sculpt a balanced sound with the new Stabilizer Module, an intelligent and adaptive mastering EQ. Dynamically shape your mix into a clear, natural tone, or tame problem resonance, carve away harshness and smooth transients for better translation across listening environments. "


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## Eddie Thoneick (Nov 7, 2022)

There's not a lot plug ins that seem so essential for my daily production workflow. The one that i ALWAYS use for bringing out a clearer Mix are Soothe2. Both are a no brainer and changed my workflow with ease. Sooth has a bit of a learning curve to achieve the needed result, but the results are just amazing and saves you a ton of time. I use Soothe on everything that has harshness to it. Instead of finding resonating frequencies with an EQ you apply sooth and can eliminate all of them in a sound. The price is juicy but worth every cent as you save tons of time! 
Now we are talking about bringing clarity to sounds: If you want to get rid of clashing frequencies and muddiness in your production you should also check out "Trackspacer" by Wavesfactory!


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## jcrosby (Nov 7, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Oh, I also forgot to mention that if you have iZotope Ozone 10 (Advanced), it has the new *Stabilizer module* that tames resonances, and much more. No need to waste more $ on something like Soothe 2.
> 
> https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone/features/stabilizer.html
> 
> ...


Very different actually. Stabilizer's essentially Izotope's answer to Gulfoss. It's constantly attempting to fit itself to an _optimized_ curve; that curve is based on the balance of an entire mix, i.e. not really something you'd want to use on discrete instruments - at least not without using the bands to exclude unwanted frequencies.

Soothe is simply attempting to de-resonate hundreds of FFT bands in as transparent way as possible - no additional tone adjustment applied after the fact; i.e. it IS designed to be used on anything from single tracks, to busses, to mixes.

Soothe will basically transparently tame what you have and do it's best to leave the audio undisturbed, Stabilizer will constantly try and re-adjust itself to fit the audio to an optimized curve. Soothe is broadly useful Stabilize has a narrower set of uses.


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## Trash Panda (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> I don't have Soothe 2, and think it is priced too high. I got Gulfoss, and Baby Audio's Smooth Operator.
> 
> I might think about getting Soothe 2 if it is at least 50 % discounted. Otherwise no go for me. It's surely overpriced. There are other options. Don't waste your money.


Smooth Operator is pretty decent, but it’s not as effective and transparent as Soothe 2.


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## Rob Elliott (Nov 8, 2022)

The more I look into this plugin, the more it would benefit me in 'low-mid' muddiness control. For sure there are obvious uses with high harshness control. But really liking the low-mid tool.


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

Another benefit of TBProAudio DSEQ vs. Soothe2 is the amount of (free) updates DSEQ is getting, many of them feature requests/bugfixes posted on the Gearspace forum that get fixed or implemented just days or weeks after. Check out the changelog at the bottom of the product page:

https://www.tbproaudio.de/products/dseq


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

Trash Panda said:


> Smooth Operator is pretty decent, but it’s not as effective and transparent as Soothe 2.


OK. Thanks

I will think about purchasing Soothe 2 if it is discounted considerably on BF.


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> OK. Thanks
> 
> I will think about purchasing Soothe 2 if it is discounted considerably on BF.


Check post #53 in this thread, it will be available for 139 euros/dollars on BF.


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## Eddie Thoneick (Nov 8, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> The more I look into this plugin, the more it would benefit me in 'low-mid' muddiness control. For sure there are obvious uses with high harshness control. But really liking the low-mid tool.


Hey Rob, did you check Trackspacer for muddiness control in the mix?


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## PeterN (Nov 8, 2022)

A company in a land full of first class technocrats, with office in 'Helsinki, land of summer midnight sun, and only 2 plugins they put full focus on. Its pretty clear isn't it. Its should be a great plugin - and it is. Better than the hissing Gullfosss, or, that company that starts Black Friday in August, in the land of the sinking sun.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

wtptrs said:


> Check post #53 in this thread, it will be available for 139 euros/dollars on BF.


OK, I was hoping less than 100. Oh well.


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## lux (Nov 8, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> The more I look into this plugin, the more it would benefit me in 'low-mid' muddiness control. For sure there are obvious uses with high harshness control. But really liking the low-mid tool.


hey Rob, they changed quite a bit the low-end action from version 1 to 2. The first Soothe was more intended as a de-esser for the mid-hi range, while this version has some powers also in the low end, as a mud removal. While you may be driven to use it as a wide-range tool, I find it most beneficial when selecting a specific portion of the frequency range, and let it do its magic, perhaps trying not to exagerate much with the action.

All in all I just don't think I have a single track where I didn't use it at all. It always pops out at some point to carry some unbearable job for other plugs. A great tool all in all for my own experience.


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## lux (Nov 8, 2022)

Eddie Thoneick said:


> Hey Rob, did you check Trackspacer for muddiness control in the mix?


Love Trakspacer, it's kind of a different beast somehow. Basically its more of a mixing tool to me. Soothe has the ability to solve issues also just placed on buses, which is sometimes really useful and timesaving. 

Trackspacer is such a lovely tool though, another must have imho. Its a perfect compendium to classic compressor sidechaining, which I usually set to get a bit of movement/bounce in the mix, while trackspacer is more of a "kick and bass can live together in a perfect world" kind of tool


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## Eddie Thoneick (Nov 8, 2022)

lux said:


> Love Trakspacer, it's kind of a different beast somehow. Basically its more of a mixing tool to me. Soothe has the ability to solve issues also just placed on buses, which is sometimes really useful and timesaving.
> 
> Trackspacer is such a lovely tool though, another must have imho. Its a perfect compendium to classic compressor sidechaining, which I usually set to get a bit of movement/bounce in the mix, while trackspacer is more of a "kick and bass can live together in a perfect world" kind of tool


100% Lux! It's for mixing as mentioned. If you don't want to get that `ducking´of side chain and just want things to glue nicely.
I always thought I wouldn't need Soothe2. Until I've seen it in action and finally bought it 3 months ago. such a great tool!


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> OK, I was hoping less than 100. Oh well.


Psst…. DSEQ3 😅

Soothe2 is popular, but not necessarily better (or worse) - but definitely more expensive. There’s also Reso by Mastering the Mix.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

lux said:


> Love Trakspacer, it's kind of a different beast somehow. Basically its more of a mixing tool to me. Soothe has the ability to solve issues also just placed on buses, which is sometimes really useful and timesaving.
> 
> Trackspacer is such a lovely tool though, another must have imho. Its a perfect compendium to classic compressor sidechaining, which I usually set to get a bit of movement/bounce in the mix, while trackspacer is more of a "kick and bass can live together in a perfect world" kind of tool


I preferred smart:comp so that’s what I ended up with. They’re slightly different from one another, like the other tools mentioned here.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Psst…. DSEQ3 😅
> 
> Soothe2 is popular, but not necessarily better (or worse) - but definitely more expensive. There’s also Reso by Mastering the Mix.


I have Reso. Remind me, who makes DSEQ3 ?


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> I have Reso. Remind me, who makes DSEQ3 ?


TBProAudio

(they don't ever do sales, preferring to price more fairly and stick with it, like Valhalla... though I think Valhalla should raise their prices)


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> TBProAudio
> 
> (they don't ever do sales, preferring to price more fairly and stick with it, like Valhalla... though I think Valhalla should raise their prices)


Thanks. Do you have Soothe 2 ?


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Thanks. Do you have Soothe 2 ?


Nope 

I did the demo twice at different times. I do like the interface better than DSEQ, and that's not nothing. But the price is a barrier for the frequency of use. Even DSEQ was more than I probably should've spent, but it's been updated so many times it's kind of paid for itself. I bought it at v1 and now am at v3 without spending any more money.


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## lux (Nov 8, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I preferred smart:comp so that’s what I ended up with. They’re slightly different from one another, like the other tools mentioned here.


you just reminded I purchased smart:eq a long time ago, kinda lost trace of it, should give it a spin again. Never tried smart:comp, I'm gonna check it out now.


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## Trash Panda (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> OK, I was hoping less than 100. Oh well.


I would be surprised to see it get that low. $129 is the lowest I recall ever seeing it. You might be able to get it cheaper via second hand sale.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

lux said:


> you just reminded I purchased smart:eq a long time ago, kinda lost trace of it, should give it a spin again. Never tried smart:comp, I'm gonna check it out now.


v2 is also out... while better overall, in some ways i prefer v1


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## fakemaxwell (Nov 8, 2022)

Maybe a differing opinion- I basically never see a need to use Soothe/DSEQ on any sample based track. You've got great players on great stages recorded with great microphones by great engineers, that are then edited and denoised and demuddied all before you hit a note on your keyboard.

These resonance plugins are much more useful when you're dealing with raw recordings where none of the above is true. If you're under the impression that Soothe is going to fix your mix you should probably back up a few steps first.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 8, 2022)

fakemaxwell said:


> Maybe a differing opinion- I basically never see a need to use Soothe/DSEQ on any sample based track. You've got great players on great stages recorded with great microphones by great engineers, that are then edited and denoised and demuddied all before you hit a note on your keyboard.
> 
> These resonance plugins are much more useful when you're dealing with raw recordings where none of the above is true. If you're under the impression that Soothe is going to fix your mix you should probably back up a few steps first.


I don't use many orchestral samples, and could only see maybe when trying to "match resonance" or get them similar across libraries. For me, it's more about my hardware synths, should I choose to use DSEQ3.


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## Rob Elliott (Nov 8, 2022)

Eddie Thoneick said:


> Hey Rob, did you check Trackspacer for muddiness control in the mix?


No, but thanks for the heads up.


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

Mastering the Mix RESO is on sale, may be worth checking out as well.









RESO | Dynamic Resonance Suppressor


Excessive resonances ruin mixes, giving them a harsh and unpleasant sound. RESO helps you identify which specific frequencies are causing problems. It also guides you on how much reduction is needed to dynamically resolve the resonance without making your mix sound thin.




www.masteringthemix.com


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## Eddie Thoneick (Nov 8, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> No, but thanks for the heads up.


it surely will change your life


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## jonnybutter (Nov 8, 2022)

I wouldn’t say you need it, but it’s a very nice plug. I always liked Soothe 1 and 2 is more tweakable. I don’t use it all the time but like how it sounds and the UI


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## paulwr (Nov 8, 2022)

Rob Elliott said:


> hmmmm. I use gulfoss VERY sparingly on my stem busses and really like how it 'opens' up a good mix. Would Soothe 2 offer me really anything? At this price it is getting hard to ignore.


I've started the demo at the beginning of a large orchestral Atmos mix, think a bit of James Bond music. I haven't needed Soothe 2 for the strings yet, but I just bumped into some resonant french horn with tight "rubbing" harmonies and it seems to be working a trick. It may justify the price of admission for me and I have a feeling I'll find more uses as I go along. I'm following all the suggestions of "not overdoing it". The cpu hit doesn't seem bad here. On my DAW I'm running a i9 10900X, which is fast but not crazy fast. In experimenting, I've had 3-4 instances running and though this is a big Atmos project running at about 70% on the asio meter, I'm not seeing it move up from using Soothe 2, not getting any glitches from it. Not sure why, everyone has been saying it is a bit of a cpu hog.


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## paulwr (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> OK. Thanks
> 
> I will think about purchasing Soothe 2 if it is discounted considerably on BF.


They have stated the BF price will be 139.00


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

How do you know when you need something to tame resonances like Soothe 2, or other similar plugins, vs. just EQing the resonances down a bit. Also what exactly is the definition of resonances here ?

Are we talking about ironing out harshness ? or .. something else ? I just want to get a better understanding of what is meant by 'Resonances' here. Are there ugly resonances, and nice ones that we should keep ? or .. ? a bit of a mystery for me.


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

paulwr said:


> I've started the demo at the beginning of a large orchestral Atmos mix, think a bit of James Bond music. I haven't needed Soothe 2 for the strings yet, but I just bumped into some resonant french horn with tight "rubbing" harmonies and it seems to be working a trick. It may justify the price of admission for me and I have a feeling I'll find more uses as I go along. I'm following all the suggestions of "not overdoing it". The cpu hit doesn't seem bad here. On my DAW I'm running a i9 10900X, which is fast but not crazy fast. In experimenting, I've had 3-4 instances running and though this is a big Atmos project running at about 70% on the asio meter, I'm not seeing it move up from using Soothe 2, not getting any glitches from it. Not sure why, everyone has been saying it is a bit of a cpu hog.


Be sure to also try the TBProAudio DSEQ demo (a quick test i.e. preset 'A.I. - instrument' -> check delta by pressing the triangle button). I'm also checking out both plugins and after doing some tests I find DSEQ to be better than Soothe at "not overdoing it" and actually just cutting out resonances.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

Does DSEQ get discounted during BF sale ? It's currently at €79. It would be great if it is lower during BF, much more attractive price than Soothe 2, it also does a lot more than what Soothe 2 does. On the other hand it might be too complex to use, compared to Soothe 2. which looks more elegant, and simple to use.


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Does DSEQ get discounted during BF sale ? It's currently at €79. It would be great if it is lower during BF, much more attractive price than Soothe 2, it also does a lot more than what Soothe 2 does. On the other hand it might be too complex to use, compared to Soothe 2. which looks more elegant, and simple to use.


No it never goes on sale, €79 is the fixed price. You're right, it's a lot more complex and Soothe 2 does look a lot more elegant. But I find that just by using the presets or the A.I. assistant and doing some little tweaks (i.e. not touching 99% of the functionality) I'm already getting pretty good results. I haven't bought the full version myself yet but it will probably keep me from buying Soothe 2 this BF, which I was initially planning to do.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

Why do you think Soothe 2 is much more popular than DSEQ, given the lower price of DSEQ ?


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

Not sure, I think Soothe2 just set a standard for resonance supression and is still the most popular by far. In the last few years a lot of possible alternatives have been released and are getting better, i.e. RESO, DSEQ, Smooth Operator, Ozone 10, ... Since Soothe2 is a lot more expensive than most of these, even at a discount, I think it's a good idea to demo some of these alternatives and see if they can do what you're looking for as well, before spending $139 on Soothe2.

I did the same comparison between Gullfoss, TEOTE and HoRNeT ThirtyOne a few months ago and still went with the most popular and expensive one (Gullfoss) because I liked it the best.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

Does Gullfoss do what Soothe 2 does in terms of taming, or fixing resonance issues ? or is Gullfoss best at fixing, or improving something else ?


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## wtptrs (Nov 8, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Does Gullfoss do what Soothe 2 does in terms of taming, or fixing resonance issues ? or is Gullfoss best at fixing, or improving something else ?


It's not black and white because their functionality overlaps in some ways, but general consensus is Soothe2 goes on individual tracks or busses for taming resonances while Gullfoss is best used on the master bus to dynamically clean up some mud in the midrange or add a little sheen to your final mix.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

wtptrs said:


> It's not black and white because their functionality overlaps in some ways, but general consensus is Soothe2 goes on individual tracks or busses for taming resonances while Gullfoss is best used on the master bus to dynamically clean up some mud in the midrange or add a little sheen to your final mix.


There is a Gulfoss Live (for single tracks) and Gulfoss Master (for Maser buss). So, it tackles both areas of a mix.


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

I will ask this again, because I'm not sure what we are referring to as Resonances here.

Are we referring to harsh frequencies of i.e. a solo instrument, or section ? what if that is the nature of the sound source ? why alter the natural sound ? or are we referring to something else as resonances here ?


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## Dombaeb (Nov 8, 2022)

Don’t miss the strongest Soothe feature (for me) - spectral sidechain. I literally can mix the whole track with it and it will sound at least okay  I never use it for remove harshness, but it’s stupidly easy to glue instruments together without EQing and other sound engineering stuff


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## muziksculp (Nov 8, 2022)

Dombaeb said:


> Don’t miss the strongest Soothe feature (for me) - spectral sidechain. I literally can mix the whole track with it and it will sound at least okay  I never use it for remove harshness, but it’s stupidly easy to glue instruments together without EQing and other sound engineering stuff


What's that all about ? I have no clue how it would work.


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## Serge Pavkin (Nov 9, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> I will ask this again, because I'm not sure what we are referring to as Resonances here.
> 
> Are we referring to harsh frequencies of i.e. a solo instrument, or section ? what if that is the nature of the sound source ? why alter the natural sound ? or are we referring to something else as resonances here ?


Only my opinion, which could be wrong) Each of us has different experience in mixing and mastering. Where I usually used Soothe, an experienced engineer will use a normal EQ or lower the volume . On the other hand, an experienced sound engineer will use it where I wouldn't have thought of it and get a brilliant result. So buy it at a discount, try it and if it doesn't work for your workflow you can sell it for the same money. Because I, for example, in most cases replaced it with an ordinary equalizer and volume control (sometime Nova, but I often don't understand why I used dynamic equalization instead of normal). Sidechain is a good thing, but I replaced it with Nova. The only place it worked uniquely for me was cutting out microresonances (which, as you rightly said, can kill the nature of the instrument when overused). Or clear a place for a solo instrument in a complex orchestration. But finally I got rid of these needs as well. Although most samples made for purists have this already cleaned up. It could be a good help when working with live instruments in the recording process, but I don't have much experience. But maybe you will buy it, try it and it will be a diamond for you.


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## Per Boysen (Nov 9, 2022)

My understanding of "Resonance" is _too much of certain frequencies_. This causes bad masking where instruments clash at those frequencies when summed into a mix. I have always been dealing with this by automating EQ for every channel. Not just levels, a lot of parameters; the Q-value, the frequency, the gain etc. Doing this for many channels results in a clearer and more powerful mix with a way better definition. But is is terribly time-consuming, and I guess this is where SMoothe2 may step in


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## Trash Panda (Nov 9, 2022)

@muziksculp why not just try the demo?


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## muziksculp (Nov 9, 2022)

Trash Panda said:


> @muziksculp why not just try the demo?


I plan to. 

Q. What is a good audio source to test it on that would have lots of resonant frequencies that need to be tamed ? 

Thanks


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## Dietz (Nov 9, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> I plan to.
> 
> Q. What is a good audio source to test it on that would have lots of resonant frequencies that need to be tamed ?
> 
> Thanks


A loud female singer in her upper range.


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## Trash Panda (Nov 9, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> I plan to.
> 
> Q. What is a good audio source to test it on that would have lots of resonant frequencies that need to be tamed ?
> 
> Thanks


Try it on any sources you work with most often. How else to understand if it’s worthwhile for you?


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## muziksculp (Nov 9, 2022)

Dietz said:


> A loud female singer in her upper range.


Haha .. Hi @Dietz , OK.. now I have to find one. 

With Orchestral Sampled Instruments, which ones are the ones you find produce the most unpleasent sounding resonance build up that a tool like Soothe 2 would be need to fix, i.e. Strings, or maybe more frequently on High-Brass ? or .. ?

Thanks.


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## Trash Panda (Nov 9, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Haha .. Hi @Dietz , OK.. now I have to find one.
> 
> With Orchestral Sampled Instruments, which ones are the ones you find produce the most unpleasent sounding resonance build up that a tool like Soothe 2 would be need to fix, i.e. Strings, or maybe more frequently on High-Brass ? or .. ?
> 
> Thanks.


Tokyo Scoring String shorts in the register with the ringing.


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## Dietz (Nov 9, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Haha .. Hi @Dietz , OK.. now I have to find one.
> 
> With Orchestral Sampled Instruments, which ones are the ones you find produce the most unpleasent sounding resonance build up that a tool like Soothe 2 would be need to fix, i.e. Strings, or maybe more frequently on High-Brass ? or .. ?
> 
> Thanks.


Typically solo-instruments with lots of harmonics, playing _forte _in the upper register. Solo Violin, Triple Horn, Alto Sax, but also English Horn, Piccolo Flute, or the solo electric guitar squeezed by the 16-year-old wannabe rock star next door. :-]


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## muziksculp (Nov 9, 2022)

Dietz said:


> Typically solo-instruments with lots of harmonics, playing _forte _in the upper register. Solo Violin, Triple Horn, Alto Sax, but also English Horn, Piccolo Flute, or the solo electric guitar squeezed by the 16-year-old wannabe rock star next door. :-]


OK.. Thank You.


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## THW (Nov 11, 2022)

I hope this doesn't get the thread too off-topic, but I did want to ask about Sonnox Claro Any thoughts on that? It's currently on sale and appears to identifies resonant frequencies (although I think it's left to one's ears to discern whether its a good or bad frequency...which makes sense to me).... I don't think it corrects them like soothe2 or smooth operator. I'm curious about this one, also from a workflow perspective, where one can make broad-stroke eq corrections during the "production" stage, then tweak in more detail down the line, as well as compare overlaps. For the current price it seems worth a try but I just don't know. 

I am eagerly waiting to pick up soothe2 and have extended my trial. I learned so much from it, particularly by listening to the delta, I think it has helped train my ears a ton and certainly has improved the quality of my recordings (specifically violin and acoustic guitar).


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## PebbleStream (Nov 11, 2022)

Smooth Operator is good for when you require streetcar desire for higher heights... No place for beginners or sensitive hearts, I'm afraid.


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## muziksculp (Nov 11, 2022)

PebbleStream said:


> Smooth Operator is good for when you require streetcar desire for higher heights... No place for beginners or sensitive hearts, I'm afraid.


Can you translate that please ?


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## THW (Nov 11, 2022)

PebbleStream said:


> Smooth Operator is good for when you require streetcar desire for higher heights... No place for beginners or sensitive hearts, I'm afraid.


Using this demo, to be frank, I'm often guessing at what is going to work best for my project. Didn't have that experience with Soothe2. My concern with Reso is that I may have a similar experience -- concerned it may be above my skill level, unless there is a helpful manual or tutorial out there


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## PebbleStream (Nov 11, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Can you translate that please ?


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## Serge Pavkin (Nov 11, 2022)

THW said:


> I hope this doesn't get the thread too off-topic, but I did want to ask about Sonnox Claro Any thoughts on that? It's currently on sale and appears to identifies resonant frequencies (although I think it's left to one's ears to discern whether its a good or bad frequency...which makes sense to me).... I don't think it corrects them like soothe2 or smooth operator. I'm curious about this one, also from a workflow perspective, where one can make broad-stroke eq corrections during the "production" stage, then tweak in more detail down the line, as well as compare overlaps. For the current price it seems worth a try but I just don't know.
> 
> I am eagerly waiting to pick up soothe2 and have extended my trial. I learned so much from it, particularly by listening to the delta, I think it has helped train my ears a ton and certainly has improved the quality of my recordings (specifically violin and acoustic guitar).


If you have money for Soothe, buy Soothe) I tried Smooth Operator when I had Soothe and then I didn't understand why I needed it, because Soothe made it all easier. Claro is not a substitute for this, it's just an equalizer. Claro just indicates the dominant frequencies, but this can be useful in the context of comparison with other instances/tracks. The autocompensation function sounds interesting, when you reduce one range, Claro boosts the others and with this you can achieve the desired sound faster (although not always for me). I bought Claro because it was a good price) I hope this will help me in some cases. I sold Soothe and sometimes I regret it. In some cases, this is a very useful and unique tool. And it was probably the most beautiful plugin (skin) I ever had)


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## THW (Nov 11, 2022)

Serge Pavkin said:


> If you have money for Soothe, buy Soothe) I tried Smooth Operator when I had Soothe and then I didn't understand why I needed it, because Soothe made it all easier. Claro is not a substitute for this, it's just an equalizer. Claro just indicates the dominant frequencies, but this can be useful in the context of comparison with other instances/tracks. The autocompensation function sounds interesting, when you reduce one range, Claro boosts the others and with this you can achieve the desired sound faster (although not always for me). I bought Claro because it was a good price) I hope this will help me in some cases. I sold Soothe and sometimes I regret it. In some cases, this is a very useful and unique tool. And it was probably the most beautiful plugin (skin) I ever had)


Thanks Serge! This is helpful. I tend to get distracted by the 1000s of plugins out there and while this does look useful, I've finally gotten deeper into fabfilter and work well with those tools. I've tried neutron in the past and wasn't very successful going "all in" on the izotope suite of plugins (although I do use ozone in every project). For the upcoming price of soothe2, I think I'm going to go for it. I haven't read all comments on here and probably should...Reso sounds pretty good, but the last thing I want is buyer's remorse, particularly as a hobbyist on a mission to level up my skills and make some $$ to support my passion...I'm just concerned I'm going to find a convincing argument in favor or Reso over soothe2 and make me question my plan. Sigh. 

Thanks again for your comment -- I think I'll pass on Claro. Things often look better on video tutorials then in practice in the DAW.


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## Serge Pavkin (Nov 11, 2022)

Yes, if you have Fabfilter you can easily skip Claro. As I said before you can always sell Soothe for almost the same money if it doesn't suit you, it is one of the most liquid plugins. 
Damn, I'm already starting to want to buy Soothe again.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 11, 2022)

THW said:


> Using this demo, to be frank, I'm often guessing at what is going to work best for my project. Didn't have that experience with Soothe2. My concern with Reso is that I may have a similar experience -- concerned it may be above my skill level, unless there is a helpful manual or tutorial out there


Did you already try DSEQ3 with the "AI" mode presets?


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## THW (Nov 11, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Did you already try DSEQ3 with the "AI" mode presets?


I have not, I’ll check it out! At first glance it looks complex. Hope the learning curve isn’t too steep.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 11, 2022)

THW said:


> I have not, I’ll check it out! At first glance it looks complex. Hope the learning curve isn’t too steep.


Yes, it’s more complex and more powerful (while costing less) than Soothe2. Just look at the manual/watch a video and use the AI presets to start.


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## THW (Nov 13, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Yes, it’s more complex and more powerful (while costing less) than Soothe2. Just look at the manual/watch a video and use the AI presets to start.


At this price maybe I can finally get a sound toys bundle or ProL to go with it. I’m an ozone guy but looking to branch out on limiters. Seems a great plugin, thanks for sharing.


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## Soundbed (Nov 14, 2022)

paulwr said:


> And thanks to Soundbed for illustrating its worth, always appreciated, man!


No problem, glad the video helped!

I still use Soothe2 on almost every mix, somewhere. I’ve found more uses for it as I’ve learned to hear where it can help.


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## tsk (Nov 14, 2022)

Gullfoss hasn't been as good as I had hoped. It seems to be boosting low frequencies for no reason, even with only 'tame' raised. I know I can slide the frequency line along to stop it acting on low frequencies, but then I might as well use something more surgical anyway. I guess Gullfoss Master on the master channel sometimes seems to help but overall I'm starting to think I should have gone for Soothe 2 or DSEQ3 instead for my needs.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 14, 2022)

tsk said:


> Gullfoss hasn't been as good as I had hoped. It seems to be boosting low frequencies for no reason, even with only 'tame' raised. I know I can slide the frequency line along to stop it acting on low frequencies, but then I might as well use something more surgical anyway. I guess Gullfoss Master on the master channel sometimes seems to help but overall I'm starting to think I should have gone for Soothe 2 or DSEQ3 instead for my needs.


Well, those sliders are pretty important to using Gullfoss, so… ? It’s not an AI plugin.


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## tsk (Nov 14, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Well, those sliders are pretty important to using Gullfoss, so… ? It’s not an AI plugin.


Yea, I just mean that for me Soothe probably would have been better suited

Also, I'd like to use it in the low register, but not to boost frequencies so much, if at all.


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## jcrosby (Nov 15, 2022)

tsk said:


> It seems to be boosting low frequencies for no reason, even with only 'tame' raised. I know I can slide the frequency line along to stop it acting on low frequencies, but then I might as well use something more surgical anyway. I guess Gullfoss Master on the master channel sometimes seems to help but overall I'm starting to think I should have gone for Soothe 2 or DSEQ3 instead for my needs.


That's true, and why I described the downside of plugins like this as constantly attempting to force audio to fit an _optimized_ _curve _(page 4).

Plugins like this, Stabilizer, Sculptor, etc are constantly trying to force a source into fitting into a specifc frequency profile. This means that if you used this on a mix bus, the plugin will always attempt to _correct_ spectral contrast, even if some of that contrast was deliberate. Yes, you do have handles. But that doesn't make the plugin exempt from attempting to force anything inside those handles from constantly attempting to fit inside developer's concept of what an ideal frequency balance is....


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## PeterN (Nov 15, 2022)

tsk said:


> Gullfoss hasn't been as good as I had hoped. It seems to be boosting low frequencies for no reason, even with only 'tame' raised. I know I can slide the frequency line along to stop it acting on low frequencies, but then I might as well use something more surgical anyway. I guess Gullfoss Master on the master channel sometimes seems to help but overall I'm starting to think I should have gone for Soothe 2 or DSEQ3 instead for my needs.


Most likely, if you had bought Soothe2, you would be curious about Gullfosss too. Then you read some good review, and can't get it out of your mind. In the end, you would end up buying both. So there's no point to regret, bcs you were going to buy both anyway. We can already smell Gullfosss working on some new market niche, and if you had Soothe2, the next niche would have break your will.

Glad I got both, just to save myself from the agony of speculation.

But of course, not having The God Particle plugin, is now occasionally creating disturbances.


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## Henu (Nov 15, 2022)

Soothe is also extremely helpful in mastering. I basically use it like a de-esser on steroids, but also sometimes to tame some boomy bass note resonances in bad mixes. While it's more aimed to control the highs, there is a lot of use for it in the lower register of the spectrum as well.


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## PeterN (Nov 15, 2022)

Henu said:


> Soothe is also extremely helpful in mastering. I basically use it like a de-esser on steroids, but also sometimes to tame some boomy bass note resonances in bad mixes. While it's more aimed to control the highs, there is a lot of use for it in the lower register of the spectrum as well.


Asking the mastering engineer, would you see the possibility to use Soothe2 to carve out space for vocals?


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## Henu (Nov 15, 2022)

In master? Technically, there's very little we can actually do, but I wouldn't necessarily use Soothe for that. I think my first option would ask for a new mix. :D

But if another mix wouldn't be available, I'd maybe start fiddling around with som M/S EQ'ing first, and possible with (multiband) compression as well on the vocal area and see where that would bring me. In an extreme case, I could also try Ozone/RX rebalancing first, maybe extracting the vocals and then sidechaining the original mix a bit down with the extracted vocal track. A lot of trickery, of which 90% usually fails and 10% may help at least somehow, but it's really hard even with today's tools to get the vocals up in master and still sound natural. And the time spent to that small possible improvement is not really worth it after a while.

Funnily enough, I'm usually encountering mixes with the _other_ way around, and the vocals are mixed so loud that compressing or limiting is pure hell, haha!


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## PeterN (Nov 15, 2022)

Henu said:


> but it's really hard even with today's tools to get the vocals up in master and still sound natural.


Truth.

Thanks for great reply.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 15, 2022)

tsk said:


> Yea, I just mean that for me Soothe probably would have been better suited
> 
> Also, I'd like to use it in the low register, but not to boost frequencies so much, if at all.


I see, but... you seem to have missed the goal of Gullfoss, which is, in part, applying a proprietary(ish) curve as the guidance behind what it does dynamically. You should contact them and ask for your money back. Or at least suggestions on how to make you happier.

Soothe is quite a different tool with quite a different goal (which can also be achieved with DSEQ3).


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 15, 2022)

jcrosby said:


> That's true, and why I described the downside of plugins like this as constantly attempting to force audio to fit an _optimized_ _curve _(page 4).
> 
> Plugins like this, Stabilizer, Sculptor, etc are constantly trying to force a source into fitting into a specifc frequency profile. This means that if you used this on a mix bus, the plugin will always attempt to _correct_ spectral contrast, even if some of that contrast was deliberate. Yes, you do have handles. But that doesn't make the plugin exempt from attempting to force anything inside those handles from constantly attempting to fit inside developer's concept of what an ideal frequency balance is....


Only a downside if you're not aware of it what it does when you use it, similar to any other tool in the toolbox.


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## PeterN (Nov 15, 2022)

Henu said:


> In master? Technically, there's very little we can actually do, but I wouldn't necessarily use Soothe for that. I think my first option would ask for a new mix. :D
> 
> But if another mix wouldn't be available, I'd maybe start fiddling around with som M/S EQ'ing first, and possible with (multiband) compression as well on the vocal area and see where that would bring me. In an extreme case, I could also try Ozone/RX rebalancing first, maybe extracting the vocals and then sidechaining the original mix a bit down with the extracted vocal track. A lot of trickery, of which 90% usually fails and 10% may help at least somehow, but it's really hard even with today's tools to get the vocals up in master and still sound natural. And the time spent to that small possible improvement is not really worth it after a while.
> 
> Funnily enough, I'm usually encountering mixes with the _other_ way around, and the vocals are mixed so loud that compressing or limiting is pure hell, haha!


Do you offer your services anywhere?


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## Henu (Nov 15, 2022)

Me? Not really publicly nowadays, I have my hands so full usually (mastering is only one of my jobs) that I don't advertise very much, if at all.... if that's what you mean?


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## jcrosby (Nov 15, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Only a downside if you're not aware of it what it does when you use it, similar to any other tool in the toolbox.


Sure and there are plenty of use cases for all of them. But people seem to put too much faith in most of these 'new' 'intelligent' plugins without stopping to think what it means that they're constantly adjusting dynamics... I see some people talk about placing these on their mix bus as part of their mix every time, using 30% or more, etc, when a mastering engineer is more likely to use something like 5%, and only if needed... 

My main point is that people should understand what a realistic workflow for these kinds of tools looks like before buying them...


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## Trash Panda (Nov 15, 2022)

tsk said:


> Gullfoss hasn't been as good as I had hoped. It seems to be boosting low frequencies for no reason, even with only 'tame' raised. I know I can slide the frequency line along to stop it acting on low frequencies, but then I might as well use something more surgical anyway. I guess Gullfoss Master on the master channel sometimes seems to help but overall I'm starting to think I should have gone for Soothe 2 or DSEQ3 instead for my needs.


Out of curiosity, when you're getting results that are not desired, what settings are you using for Recovery and Tame? Are you adjusting the Bias and Brightness settings to keep the bouncing indicators on the left and bottom parts of the graph in the middle?

The idea is that neither should be straying outside of the center mark much, if at all.


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## KEM (Nov 15, 2022)

Even the Black Friday price is still expensive…


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## tsk (Nov 15, 2022)

Trash Panda said:


> Out of curiosity, when you're getting results that are not desired, what settings are you using for Recovery and Tame? Are you adjusting the Bias and Brightness settings to keep the bouncing indicators on the left and bottom parts of the graph in the middle?
> 
> The idea is that neither should be straying outside of the center mark much, if at all.


I do use the brightness setting too but I don't usually like the sound when it's still at the center mark. Maybe that's something I'm getting wrong. In any case, especially on the master, I'm not using very high values at all, usually about 10%. On some troublesome instruments I go higher with tame. I'm usually using about 5% on recover and 15-25% on tame.

Something that I can't really understand is that if I have recover at 0% and tame at some non zero value, then bias still has an effect. I thought it would only have an effect if both recover and tame were not zero.


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## tsk (Nov 15, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I see, but... you seem to have missed the goal of Gullfoss, which is, in part, applying a proprietary(ish) curve as the guidance behind what it does dynamically. You should contact them and ask for your money back. Or at least suggestions on how to make you happier.
> 
> Soothe is quite a different tool with quite a different goal (which can also be achieved with DSEQ3).


I understand your point, I do. I'm not going crazy with this thing at 200% all over the place, and I try to use it sparingly. Admittedly I'm getting the hang of it still although I did watch tutorials beforehand.


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## Tim_Wells (Nov 18, 2022)

I've been playing with the demo of Soothe2. Putting it on the master bus of a 99% completed song.

The song has some graininess and resonances that bug me. It suffers from a tiny lack of clarity and smoothness.

I've tried many different Soothe2 presets, but I'm not hearing a significant improvement. Maybe a tiny, tiny improvement. But I'm not even sure of that.

Does it work better if you place it on individual tracks?


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## SupremeFist (Nov 18, 2022)

Tim_Wells said:


> I've been playing with the demo of Soothe2. Putting it on the master bus of a 99% completed song.
> 
> The song has some graininess and resonances that bug me. It suffers from a tiny lack of clarity and smoothness.
> 
> ...


I use it only on tracks or buses myself, but others use it on the whole mix. It's really handy to engage the delta switch (which plays back just what it is removing) to tune in to what it's doing if you haven't tried that?


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## Tim_Wells (Nov 18, 2022)

SupremeFist said:


> I use it only on tracks or buses myself, but others use it on the whole mix. It's really handy to engage the delta switch (which plays back just what it is removing) to tune in to what it's doing if you haven't tried that?


Thanks! I haven't, and I will try that. I'm mostly hacking around, not really understanding the tool.


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## SupremeFist (Nov 18, 2022)

Tim_Wells said:


> Thanks! I haven't, and I will try that. I'm mostly hacking around, not really understanding the tool.


That's me with pretty much every plugin!


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## KEM (Nov 18, 2022)

SupremeFist said:


> That's me with pretty much every plugin!



That’s me with music as a whole, I don’t know what I’m doing


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## SupremeFist (Nov 18, 2022)

KEM said:


> That’s me with music as a whole, I don’t know what I’m doing


Oh shush, your stuff rocks 🤘🏻


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## Soundbed (Nov 19, 2022)

Tim_Wells said:


> I've been playing with the demo of Soothe2. Putting it on the master bus of a 99% completed song.
> 
> The song has some graininess and resonances that bug me. It suffers from a tiny lack of clarity and smoothness.
> 
> ...


Yes


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## blaggins (Nov 19, 2022)

⚠️ Warning, stupid question incoming....

Is it a reasonable to think that Soothe2 could take the place of per-instrument EQ (EQ intended to tame nasty resonances or room response buildup)? Or is that still a necessary step even when using Soothe2?


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## Land of Missing Parts (Nov 19, 2022)

blaggins said:


> ⚠️ Warning, stupid question incoming....
> 
> Is it a reasonable to think that Soothe2 could take the place of per-instrument EQ (EQ intended to tame nasty resonances or room response buildup)? Or is that still a necessary step even when using Soothe2?


I think Soothe2 can replace certain corrective EQ, like finding and taming resonances. The advantage with Soothe is 1) It'll detect them so you don't need to do the EQ sweeps 2) It'll follow the fundamental as you play different notes, unlike a normal EQ, which stays in place.

But it won't do any of the creative EQ shaping, or any boosting, or high / low pass, etc.


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## Land of Missing Parts (Nov 20, 2022)

paulwr said:


> I just received an email from oeksound. You can reset your Smoothe 2 (or Spiff) 20-day demo, and the Black Friday sale coming up brings the price down to 139.00 (euros/dollars about the same now) Spiff will be $99. Here is the demo reset link: https://oeksound.com/trial-reset. This is as good as I've seen price-wise, I'm finally making this purchase. And thanks to Soundbed for illustrating its worth, always appreciated, man!


Any ideas when the Soothe2 Black Friday sale will be? 

Last year's was short. I almost missed it.


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## Dombaeb (Nov 20, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> What's that all about ? I have no clue how it would work.


There is “Sidechain” section in UI below “Attack-Release”. Route desired signal to the track where Soothe is, then turn on Sudechain and voila - it starts to cut frequencies removing all conflicts and glue sounds together perfectly as if it was one sound without interference.


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## Chocolino (Nov 21, 2022)

Land of Missing Parts said:


> Any ideas when the Soothe2 Black Friday sale will be?
> 
> Last year's was short. I almost missed it.


I seem to remember that in the mail they announced it as of Friday the 25th and only for a few days (only the weekend) although I am not entirely sure of the final date.


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## paulwr (Nov 22, 2022)

Land of Missing Parts said:


> Any ideas when the Soothe2 Black Friday sale will be?
> 
> Last year's was short. I almost missed it.


I'm taking them at their word, so this Friday should be it. I still check every day, I don't want to miss it.


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## muziksculp (Nov 22, 2022)

paulwr said:


> I'm taking them at their word, so this Friday should be it. I still check every day, I don't want to miss it.


So how much of a discount are we expecting this BF ?


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## paulwr (Nov 23, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> So how much of a discount are we expecting this BF ?


$139 is the discounted price they say


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## Tim_Wells (Nov 23, 2022)

I should qualify my thoughts by saying my ear are shite. And I have no doubt this is a brilliant tool in the right hands. But I've been working the demo and I don't think it's the right tool for me. Not at this point in my intermediate-level mixing career.

I'm better off using my dynamic EQ and similar tools, along with my shite ears to locate offensive frequencies and mitigate them. That allows me to get my head around what's happening, rather than relying on some behind the scenes wizardry. YMMV. 

TBH, the high price is also a factor. I may take another look at DSEQ3 and check out RESO, as well.


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## paulwr (Nov 24, 2022)

Oeksound Black Friday Sale is on, now through Monday. $139 for Soothe 2.
Got mine.


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## blaggins (Nov 24, 2022)

I'm away from home and can't demo anything this week, but I might end up taking a gamble on it. On paper it seems like it could reduce the amount of time I spend individually EQing every instrument to reduce resonances (and reduce low-mid and high-mid buildup). It definitely feels like a gamble though...

Anyone have specific experiences using Soothe2 in combination with Synchron libraries? Good? Bad?


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## paulwr (Nov 25, 2022)

blaggins said:


> I'm away from home and can't demo anything this week, but I might end up taking a gamble on it. On paper it seems like it could reduce the amount of time I spend individually EQing every instrument to reduce resonances (and reduce low-mid and high-mid buildup). It definitely feels like a gamble though...
> 
> Anyone have specific experiences using Soothe2 in combination with Synchron libraries? Good? Bad?


Though I'm new to it, I'll comment. I have 70+ mix tracks on a large orchestral/vocal/bit of hybrid "Spy Thriller" piece I'm doing finishing touches on. An Atmos mix. Of all those tracks, I have 2 instances of Soothe 2. It fixed some pronounced resonances in the French Horn section... took all of 10 seconds to apply with stellar results. The other is cello just to also tame some mid-lo resonance. Again, just seconds to fix the resonance issue. I wasn't having any issues with the violins/violas on this piece, but I messed with it anyway. No improvement. Predictably I suppose. Think of it as a problem solver, not a "make everything sound better" plugin is my initial impression.
Edit: I just noticed I also have it on the vocal to reduce a bit of brittleness when she goes to higher notes. Maybe a dynamic eq would have worked as well, but this was faster.


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## CatComposer (Nov 26, 2022)

Since there is only 1 day left for the Soothe2 sale, 
I would like to know if the Izotope plugins can do the same job equally well.
I am planning to get an izotope membership later and don't want to buy something redundant. 
Does anyone have experience with both and can share their opinion?


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## Soundbed (Nov 26, 2022)

paulwr said:


> Though I'm new to it, I'll comment. I have 70+ mix tracks on a large orchestral/vocal/bit of hybrid "Spy Thriller" piece I'm doing finishing touches on. An Atmos mix. Of all those tracks, I have 2 instances of Soothe 2. It fixed some pronounced resonances in the French Horn section... took all of 10 seconds to apply with stellar results. The other is cello just to also tame some mid-lo resonance. Again, just seconds to fix the resonance issue. I wasn't having any issues with the violins/violas on this piece, but I messed with it anyway. No improvement. Predictably I suppose. Think of it as a problem solver, not a "make everything sound better" plugin is my initial impression.
> Edit: I just noticed I also have it on the vocal to reduce a bit of brittleness when she goes to higher notes. Maybe a dynamic eq would have worked as well, but this was faster.


These sound like exactly the kind of uses I’ve found in every piece I’ve mixed since I learned how to use it.

To add to what others have said; it’s strong at “corrective” shaping, not necessarily creative applications. (Although I’d be interested in trying it creatively, someday.)


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## Soundbed (Nov 26, 2022)

CatComposer said:


> Since there is only 1 day left for the Soothe2 sale,
> I would like to know if the Izotope plugins can do the same job equally well.
> I am planning to get an izotope membership later and don't want to buy something redundant.
> Does anyone have experience with both and can share their opinion?


I have both and use both, but not the newest Neutron and Ozone. 

Soothe2 is a better choice for me vs the sculptor features in Neutron or dynamic EQ (incl FabFilter) for the use cases we’ve mentioned in the thread. 

Sculptor is more like Gullfoss and there’s often no need to bring them up in the same conversations because an ideal curve is different from a purely subtractive function. 

Multiband dynamic eqs still have far fewer “bands” than Soothe2 and aren’t frequency shifting anywhere near the same way as Soothe2.


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