# Soundtheory Gulfoss Discounted. Do You Recommend it ?



## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

Hi,

I hear a lot about SoundTheory's *Gulfoss*, and it's magical functionality to clean up audio, or make sound better, more detailed, ..etc.

It's currently Discounted to $129.35, BF Sale (From Nov. 23 Until Dec. 3) .

https://www.soundtheory.com/home

I'm curious to know if it is a plugin you are using a lot these days, and if you would recommend it at this price ?

Do you use it mostly on Mix Busses, and/or master bus, or on individual instrument tracks on an as needed basis ?

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## Everratic (Nov 24, 2020)

I recommend it. It can be useful on anything, whether it's on a bus, master, or individual track. In some cases it does make things sound worse, so one should be careful. With the use of the two filters and the brightness setting, you can alleviate its occasional negative effects and mostly keep its positive effects. I mainly use it to tame resonances, improve a boxy sound quality, enhance sound effects, and make the mix sound more slightly more consistent across different speakers.


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

ka00 said:


> Save your money.



So, did you not buy it ? or you did, and regret it ?


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

ka00 said:


> I deleted my post because as with everything on this forum, no one will agree and things will get personal. But, speaking personally, I regret spending the money on it. I think I just read glowing praise and jumped the gun in buying it during a sale. I don’t think what it does was worth the money to me.



OK. Thanks for your feedback.


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## EvgenyEmelyanov (Nov 24, 2020)

I do not use it a lot BUT I can strongly recommend it. Very good plugin. But use it very carefully and in small proportions. Do not set the values to 200%. Listen to the results very carefully.


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## EvgenyEmelyanov (Nov 24, 2020)

ka00 said:


> I deleted my post because as with everything on this forum, no one will agree



I think no need to delete the posts if you regret after buying. It is your position and I'd like to thank you for sharing it. But I wanted to ask why did you not download and try the demo before buying it?


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## NekujaK (Nov 24, 2020)

After owning it for a year, I'm really not sure what to think of Gullfoss. It's one of the tools that's available in my masterbus template, but I find that: A) it doesn't always help the mix, B) when it does help, it's very subtle. Sometimes, I can't even tell the difference between Gullfoss enabled or bypassed.

Based on my experiences, I think it's better suited to punchy pop/rock style music than acoustic and ochestral music. If you're happy with your mixes, then Gullfoss won't really bring much to the table. If you're still learning how to mix or don't consider yourself skilled at mixing, then Gullfoss may be able to add a little bit of clarity or polish to your mixes. But it's definitely not a must-have tool, IMHO.


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## jsheaucsb (Nov 24, 2020)

in my opinion, yes. its absolutely worth it. It won't fix your mix, but I have had it on my master bus since I've bought it. It can clear up some mudiness very intelligently. I'm careful to bypass it often to see what its doing………often its the same balance, just darker.


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

jsheaucsb said:


> in my opinion, yes. its absolutely worth it. It won't fix your mix, but I have had it on my master bus since I've bought it. It can clear up some mudiness very intelligently. I'm careful to bypass it often to see what its doing………often its the same balance, just darker.



Thanks for the feedback.

Actually, I think if I get it, I would use it on the Master Bus as a mastering EQ assistant. It is the dynamic functionality that is unique here. It's not a static EQ, that you set, and leave at that setting. Music is dynamic, not static, so the frequency values are dynamically changing as a function of time, every point in time the mix frequencies are changing, so having a tool that can also change in real time, and react to the input signal as needed, (smartly), then that's not a bad thing. 

I'm tempted to give it a try.


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## NekujaK (Nov 24, 2020)

BTW, based on everything I've read and heard, *Voxengo TEOTE *might be a better alternative to Gullfoss. I don't own it, but it's currently on sale and is definitely on my shopping list:





__





VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music


VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music Plugins from Pluginboutique




www.pluginboutique.com


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 24, 2020)

I'm just working with it now (reviewing it for Synth and Software).

So far I like what I hear a lot. It really does help a lot with clarity, and you can't do what it does with regular EQ.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 24, 2020)

They have a free demo.


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

What worries me a bit with Dynamic/Smart EQs like Gulfoss is when used on Orchestral/Soft Acoustic Instruments, not Heavy Meal Guitars, or Synth Leads, or Dub-Step ... etc.

The timbre of the orchestral instruments is a very critical detail, having an EQ interfere with that could be problematic, or maybe not, that's my concern. Lots of the YouTube examples are showing Gulfoss on Rock/Pop, Heavy guitar stuff, or electronic beats, Hybrid Orch., ..etc. Which are less of an issue if you distort their frequencies to make the overall mix sound better, but orchestral instruments are more sensitive imho. to EQ, when it comes to their timbre.

i.e. how good is it when used on a String Quartet recording, or a Strings & Woods Octet, or small chamber orchestra, or symphonic orch ?


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I'm just working with it now (reviewing it for Synth and Software).
> 
> So far I like what I hear a lot. It really does help a lot with clarity, and you can't do what it does with regular EQ.



Have you tried using it on orchestral genre mixes ?


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## Everratic (Nov 24, 2020)

If you primarily compose realistic orchestral arrangements in a classical style, then I would take back my recommendation because manual dynamic EQ seems far better for that.


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## muziksculp (Nov 24, 2020)

Everratic said:


> If you primarily compose realistic orchestral arrangements in a classical style, then I would take back my recommendation because manual dynamic EQ seems far better for that.



Thanks for the advice. and saving me some $


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 24, 2020)

muziksculp said:


> Have you tried using it on orchestral genre mixes ?



Not yet, but I can tell that it's not doing phasey stuff, which is what you wouldn't want on orchestral mixes.



muziksculp said:


> What worries me a bit with Dynamic/Smart EQs like Gulfoss



This is a unique processor. I'm not sure what you're worried about! You don't hear it working and it doesn't sound electronic, if that's your concern.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 24, 2020)

Everratic said:


> If you primarily compose realistic orchestral arrangements in a classical style, then I would take back my recommendation because manual dynamic EQ seems far better for that.



I see them as quite different things, even though there's some overlap.


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## VivianaSings (Nov 24, 2020)

I'd say be cautious. Try the demo. I wouldn't let it within 100 miles of anything I mix, pop or orchestral because it does something to the sound I don't like no matter how little I use.

Also as someone who has worked in this industry professionally for decades, I spend a lot of time to make my mixes sound the way they do. The last thing I'm going to do is throw some auto eq processor on it. I think it tends to wow people who have no background in mixing and no experience in recording sounds correctly and mixing correctly. You stick it on and things sound scooped, which is kinda nice off the bat because that's the thing everyone falls for, but when you start to listen critically, and if you have a proper mixing space to hear these things, you start dialing it back until it sounds good and then you realize you turned it off.

If mixing isn't your thing and you just need your stuff to sound OK and you're not sure how to get it there, then throwing this somewhere will get you closer to that and probably won't bother you, especially in the short term. But I have a strong feeling this thing is gonna end up being more like the aphex exciter where everyone threw it on everything for a decade and then when cocaine went out of style and wore off everyone realized it sounded like ice picks in your ear.

I'd say try the demo and spend a lot of time with it.


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## Macrawn (Nov 24, 2020)

It's a great plugin. I use it on master, and sometimes bus channels. I use it fairly lightly as it can damage your mix if you put too much on. It clears up things in a mix. To me it provides a little polish to a mix and was worth the price. I'm not sure if it is worth the price for you for a plugin that is mostly for polish, not bread and butter work but it was for me. 

I'd demo it though, that costs nothing. You have to play with it for a while because, it can help clear things up, but too much of it takes away something and you don't always hear what it takes out because your ear picks up on the clarity first and what is missing second. That's why light use I think is good.

There will always be haters for this kind of thing because it can do what a human can't. I just see it as a complement to what a human can do with more non adaptive plugins. 

I've seen some big name pros speak highly of it, but those same individuals hardly ever go heavy on a plug in, it's always light touches unless there is something wrong in the mix or recording. 

Just my opinion on it. No reason not to demo it for yourself.


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## Bman70 (Nov 24, 2020)

It's not really the same concept but since they're both "shiny" plugins... $39 for Sonnox Inflator might get you something you're happier with. People rave about its effect on mixes, and it wouldn't come with a buyer's remorse inducing price.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 25, 2020)

VivianaSings, your post here is why the Internet sucks - not your opinion, but the reaction to it. Four people who Liked what you say are now going to spread around filth about a product that doesn't deserve it. They may even be potential customers.

As someone who's been getting away with being a professional charlatan for decades, I say YOU CAN ADJUST THE AMOUNT OF SCOOP WITH A DEDICATED CONTROL! - and totally eliminate it if you want. That's not the main thing this processor does anyway.

Your criticism that you don't like the sound is valid. That's what makes the world go around.

But the rest of what you're saying is also subjective, and I consider it eccentric at best, frankly. Saying you've worked professionally for decades is an argument to authority - yourself. This is not some "auto EQ processor," it's a very specific and subtle one that does things you can't do by "mixing correctly," for one because it updates 300 times a second!

Anyway, I suggest that everyone download the demo and work with this thing to form your own opinions, rather than motivating plug-in developers to go write stock trading software and ignore musicians.


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## muziksculp (Nov 25, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Anyway, I suggest that everyone download the demo and work with this thing



Yes, that's imho. the best way to evaluate it. 

Thanks.


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## Symfoniq (Nov 25, 2020)

I demoed Gullfoss a few months ago and really liked it, but decided to wait until it went on sale.

So I guess I'd say that I can live without it, but I'd also prefer to own it at the right price. I'll probably pick it up this weekend.


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## muziksculp (Nov 25, 2020)

How long can one use the demo version ?


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## José Herring (Nov 25, 2020)

I've been at this for a while and I've always been cautious of a tool that claims to magically fix anything. Every time I see a top engineer work his magic I'm always dumbfounded that they are using the most basic tools. Statements like "Yeah, I used the pan knob to get the violins to sit mostly on the left". So I realized that there is no magic tool, just skill. So I've put all my effort in the past few months to get better at VI programming and mixing. Hopefully some day I might actually get good.


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## Symfoniq (Nov 25, 2020)

muziksculp said:


> How long can one use the demo version ?



I think it was 14 days?


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## Joël Dollié (Nov 25, 2020)

I use it in every mix


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## Blakus (Nov 25, 2020)

Very cool plugin, often finds its way into my mixes. Definitely needs careful usage, and often only find myself using only the “tame” parameter. “Recover” tends to mess up my high end too much on orchestral material. I love plugins that push into new territory like this one.


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## Polkasound (Nov 25, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Four people who Liked what you say are now going to spread around filth about a product that doesn't deserve it.



What makes you think they would do that? I liked Viviana's post because it was a well-articulated explanation of why she wouldn't use the product, and an opinion as to why others might. That's all.

I haven't used Gulfoss and therefore have no opinion about it, so I won't be spreading anything.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 25, 2020)

Polkasound said:


> What makes you think they would do that? I liked Viviana's post because it was a well-articulated explanation of why she wouldn't use the product, and an opinion as to why others might. That's all.
> 
> I haven't used Gulfoss and therefore have no opinion about it, so I won't be spreading anything.



Good!

I have no problem with someone saying they don't like the sound of something, nor do I have any issue with how any of that post is articulated.

My issues are with the factual errors and the idea that using a processor that does automatic things on a mix is bad because argument to authority.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 25, 2020)

It's quite easy. If you have to ask, the chances are very high that your musical success is not held back by not using this plugin, since it's effect is (should be) subtle. 
So: if you have to ask to buy something: don't, you either don't need it or don't really want it or you just need an excuse to buy it.


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## merty (Nov 25, 2020)

This plug-ins comes up on this forum so often...

Anyway, my no.1 point of view is its a great mastering processor to match mix's (to be placed in an album). Different listening levels has an impact on the overall balance of a song, so if one has songs recorded in different time frames its perfect to unite them.

But aside that, the tools it provides can be good and bad. for example, taming peaks may overall sound more pleasant to the ear in a commercial sense this also has an effect of compressing the overall sound. So while you focus on the smoothness of sound, may not notice its getting less "3D" the more you push it...

If one wants to really understand what gullfoss does, use an auto-gain plug-in like ABLM, letimix etc. . It uses loudness curves so can fool the ear, an auto-gain plug-in will prevent this and save you maybe months of misuse of the product.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 25, 2020)

Yes, I have it ($99 pre-release price). I’d cross shop. TEOTE is good and cheaper - I find Gullfoss faster to use. DSEQ is a better problem solver.

Not sure I’d pay over $100 for it....
But I do use it often.


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## patrick76 (Nov 25, 2020)

Last year I downloaded a demo of Gulfoss and decided my money would be better spent on Soothe at the time (I know, they are not the same thing). My opinion was that I didn't love what it did to the sound, but perhaps that I was missing something and would come back to it. 

Well, now that @Blakus and @Joël Dollié have mentioned that they like and use it, I am wondering about it again. I am curious to know how you guys use it. When I throw it on the master buss, I can hear it tighten the low mids a bit, which is somewhat nice, but I feel like I lose some clarity and separation. I have the "tame" set to 20% and that's it. Do you guys find you are making significant adjustments with it, or does it seem that once you have it dialed in (say on the master buss), only subtle changes are made for pieces in the same/similar genres? To me it sounds like it is acting as a glue also, which may be why I'm not loving it because I already have enough glue on the piece I'm throwing it on to check it out. 

Thanks


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 25, 2020)

merty said:


> Anyway, my no.1 point of view is its a great mastering processor to match mix's



There are matching EQs, including one included with Logic Pro. This does something different.

Bottom line, it made me hear things I didn't notice missing.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 25, 2020)

ReleaseCandidate said:


> It's quite easy. If you have to ask, the chances are very high that your musical success is not held back by not using this plugin, since it's effect is (should be) subtle.
> So: if you have to ask to buy something: don't, you either don't need it or don't really want it or you just need an excuse to buy it.



True of everything we surround ourselves with! 

I haven't been backpacking for a while, but one of the things I like about it is that it reminds you how unimportant all this stuff is!

A little Thanksgiving philosophy from someone's grandmother.


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## merty (Nov 25, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> There are matching EQs, including one included with Logic Pro. This does something different.
> 
> Bottom line, it made me hear things I didn't notice missing.



It's better not going 100% match with match eq's for such purpose, then after that gullfoss is handy.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 25, 2020)

merty said:


> It's better not going 100% match with match eq's for such purpose, then after that gullfoss is handy.



To be honest, I've never used match EQ, just EQ to match.

And never on a whole mix, just on voiceover.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Nov 25, 2020)

Just try the free demo, who gives a damn about what people think  Only you can determine if it's useful to you. It's literally a 14 days fully functioning trial if I remember well. If someone can't decide based on that then nothing/noone can help 

I personally couldn't live without it!! It's like a mixing assistant that reduces or eliminates complex sound dirt and annoying resonances, and takes away about 20-30% of my mixing work I feel.


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## Bluemount Score (Nov 25, 2020)

DarkestShadow said:


> Just try the free demo, who gives a damn about what people think  Only you can determine if it's useful to you. It's literally a 14 days fully functioning trial if I remember well. If someone can't decide based on that then nothing/noone can help
> 
> I personally couldn't live without it!! It's like a mixing assistant that reduces or eliminates complex sound dirt and annoying resonances, and takes away about 20-30% of my mixing work I feel.


Have to agree here. I use it all the time, mostly on busses, often on my master. Besides Pro-Q3, my favorite Plug-In when it comes to EQ-work..


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## patrick76 (Nov 25, 2020)

DarkestShadow said:


> It's literally a 14 days fully functioning trial if I remember well. If someone can't decide based on that then nothing/noone can help


It's a great trial for sure. But, the thing about not being able to decide is, for me at least, due to the fact that I know that 2 guys who can make really nice mixes stated in this thread they the like it and use it. This makes me think perhaps I am missing something or that I don't know the right questions to ask about it or the best way to use it, so I may need to reevaluate based on that. It still may not be for me, but I want to be sure I don't let my possible ignorance be the cause of me not using/buying it.


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## artomatic (Nov 25, 2020)

I use it sparingly, depending on the audio.
I find myself selecting a section of the spectrum to limit its effect more often than just letting it effect the entire audio.
This is a wonderful plugin. Try it out for free.


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## Arbee (Nov 25, 2020)

I tried Gulfoss for a few days and it forced me to think hard about my overall approach to sonic shaping and mixing. It's a dynamic tool that can undoubtedly provide some great shine in small doses.

However, I decided the best path for me was to keep learning my craft to make this kind of tool largely redundant. To that end, I find Tonal Balance is one of the most useful tools on my main mix bus, as it forces me to craft the overall mix EQ from within (i.e. individual instruments and arrangement).


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 25, 2020)

Arbee said:


> I tried Gulfoss for a few days and it forced me to think hard about my overall approach to sonic shaping and mixing. It's a dynamic tool that can undoubtedly provide some great shine in small doses.
> 
> However, I decided the best path for me was to keep learning my craft to make this kind of tool largely redundant. To that end, I find Tonal Balance is one of the most useful tools on my main mix bus, as it forces me to craft the overall mix EQ from within (i.e. individual instruments and arrangement).



Yes, Tonal Balance + REFERENCE2, for example, are a powerful combo. But there's still room for Gullfoss, TEOTE, DSEQ, Soothe2, etc. to further enhance a mix. Improving mixing skills is admirable, but that doesn't mean you can't benefit from having tools that can help you hear things differently, or just take it that much further.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 26, 2020)

A plugin called Teote, by Voxengo, is basically a clone, which some say, does an even a better job.
Much cheaper too.


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## Arbee (Nov 26, 2020)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Improving mixing skills is admirable, but that doesn't mean you can't benefit from having tools that can help you hear things differently, or just take it that much further.


 I hear you, and I'm a keen fan of Clariphonic. "Intelligent" tools though do make me a little nervous, but only because I don't yet have sufficient raw expertise and it would be too easy to give them too much to do out of ignorance.


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## Macrawn (Nov 26, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> A plugin called Teote, by Voxengo, is basically a clone, which some say, does an even a better job.
> Much cheaper too.


I don't think you are right about it being a clone. Teote just follows a fixed curve.


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## ZenBYD (Nov 26, 2020)

There's a few of these kinds of "fix it quick" plugins that are really useful if you use it a little - but so so easy to overdo... Zynaptiq's "Unfilter" is a great example; makes everything sound quite pleasing, but also quite tiring...

Gullfoss is really useful as a tool, as long as you know what you're doing and what you're getting... then it can be just the pill the doctor ordered... but it's also easy to get addicted and overdose and kill your mix.

Great tool though, very nice interface!


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## AudioLoco (Nov 26, 2020)

Macrawn said:


> I don't think you are right about it being a clone. Teote just follows a fixed curve.


Pretty sure its program dependant, but I might be wrong.


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## Macrawn (Nov 26, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> Pretty sure its program dependant, but I might be wrong.


Like I think it does what Ozone 9 does with it's dynamic eq. It references your mix against a tonal balance control curve and then applies dynamic eq to it, but less bands than Teote does. I'm pretty sure teote just uses a sort of expected curve and then dynamic eq against that curve. No real time analysis. I could be wrong too. 

But Gullfoss is doing calculations in real time neither Ozone of Teote are doing that. And the curve or analysis I'm quite certain is different as it is trying to clear up muddiness not just balance against a reference curve, though I think it does probably have some kind of reference curve as well to keep it in line. 

Hard to say for sure because it's a black box.


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## Macrawn (Nov 26, 2020)

Soothe 2 is now having a bf sale too. I've been waiting a few months for a sale on it.


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## AudioLoco (Nov 26, 2020)

Macrawn said:


> Like I think it does what Ozone 9 does with it's dynamic eq. It references your mix against a tonal balance control curve and then applies dynamic eq to it, but less bands than Teote does. I'm pretty sure teote just uses a sort of expected curve and then dynamic eq against that curve. No real time analysis. I could be wrong too.
> 
> But Gullfoss is doing calculations in real time neither Ozone of Teote are doing that. And the curve or analysis I'm quite certain is different as it is trying to clear up muddiness not just balance against a reference curve, though I think it does probably have some kind of reference curve as well to keep it in line.
> 
> Hard to say for sure because it's a black box.



I wasn't aware of it not doing real time.... mmmm.. Thought it was cleverererererer...


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 26, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> A plugin called Teote, by Voxengo, is basically a clone, which some say, does an even a better job.
> Much cheaper too.


I didn’t find that to be the case (better). It’s similar but different. And cheaper.


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## merty (Nov 26, 2020)

I think you guys (yes, all of you) should read the Teote manual before comparing to Gullfoss.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 26, 2020)

Just now I received that video, normally Polarity knows what he si talking about:


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## Macrawn (Nov 28, 2020)

merty said:


> I think you guys (yes, all of you) should read the Teote manual before comparing to Gullfoss.


TEOTE is an automatic spectral balancer plug-in for professional music production applications. It was designed to be a very useful tool for both mixing and mastering. It automatically performs such tasks like gentle resonances taming, de-essing, tilt equalizing, usually performed during mixing and mastering. In mixing, TEOTE sounds good on pretty much any material. While by definition TEOTE is a dynamic equalizer, its technology is solely based on multi-band dynamics processing. This allows TEOTE to have only minor phase issues, and to produce a subtle transient-emphasis effect associated with dynamics processing. TEOTE tries to make the program material follow the specified spectral profile, tuned to the contemporary mastering standards by default. It can be said that TEOTE “straightens” the frequency response, making further adjustments a lot easier; it removes a lot of repeating work. Is TEOTE an AI plug-in? In a sense that AI usually boils down to a “curve-fitting task”, TEOTE is an AI plug-in that performs gain adjustment decisions in a quantity equal to “SampleRate multiplied by BandCount” per second. However, TEOTE does not use neural networks; it is based on an extremely-refined, completely predictable, curve-fitting function. “TEOTE” is an acronym for “That’s Easier On The Ear”. TEOTE is a serious contender in helping bring your music production to the next level

From the manual. Basically a curve fitted mult band eq. No realtime ai analysis just the analysis that any multiband compressor has to do. They all have to evaluate the signal in real time to determine if the signal goes over the preset threshold. Basically exactly what I said it was. 

Not sure what Gullfoss does that is different. Gullfoss is certainlly using a curve. How it determines the cuts / boosts other than the curve I'm not sure. Is there any comparative logic that goes on in the program in real time? It does increase the clarity. I'm going to buy Teote anyway for kicks.


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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)

Gulfoss seems to be more popular than TEOTE, although TEOTE cost less. Maybe it's the GUI, or Gulfoss does something better, or ... ?


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## Macrawn (Nov 28, 2020)

Ok I put them side by side on a rough mix. 

Teote does have a nice effect balancing out the track, brining up what it needs to bring up. I'm giving it a thumbs up. I think it definitely requires more dialing in than Gullfoss as I noticed it sounded like it was pumping things default right out of the box but I improved that messing with the settings. 

Gullfoss sounded clearer and smoother when using it. I don't think it brought up certain parts the way Teote did, but you can see that both were somewhat working in the same direction. I'm mostly interested in clarity for Gullfoss and it improved the clarity more. 

Just looking at the graph as they work you can see the the curve that Teote uses. In my project it looked like a smiley curve bringing the ends up and the mids down. Some cross over around 134 hz and 2.5k hz where it might bring it up or down depending on what was happening. 

Looking at the Gullfoss curve what is see is kinda similar with a couple of differences. It wanted to bring the low and highs up like Teote. In the mids though you could see it was changing a lot more. You might have one spot it was increasing in db, and not far from it bring it down, and not far from that bringing it up. It wasn't as strict so to speak on a smiley curve and was bringing up places in the mids where Teote was only bringing it down or not down as much.

Gullfoss is definitely easier to set up and use as there are a few but important settings, some that people don't even notice that need to be used. 

I give both a thumbs up. I want to try Teote more because I think I can do better with it than I did on my test. 

I guess one could say they are kinda doing the same thing, but Gullfoss definitely brings more clarity, Teote maybe more overall balance. 

I'd definitely pick Gullfoss over Teote as of now.


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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)

In the spirit of BF and the Holidays.. I went ahead and purchased *Gulfoss* since it was discounted. 

I do produce non-orchestral music as well, Electronic/Synth, and/or hybrid Acoustic/Orch. with Synth/Electronic sound, so I will surely put Gulfoss to do some of the hard work for me, while I kick back and sip my coffee.


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## Virtual Virgin (Nov 28, 2020)

A) I think it's great.
B) Don't overdo it (though occasionally it sounds great cranked on a single instrument).
C) Like any plugin: A/B it and judge whether it is making a positive change or not.
D) I think it works best when used with the frequency range window. It gets a little wild on its own in broadband mode.


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## merty (Nov 28, 2020)

Macrawn said:


> Ok I put them side by side on a rough mix.
> 
> Teote does have a nice effect balancing out the track, brining up what it needs to bring up. I'm giving it a thumbs up. I think it definitely requires more dialing in than Gullfoss as I noticed it sounded like it was pumping things default right out of the box but I improved that messing with the settings.
> 
> ...



Try this on any source (noise would be easier) with 1 track teote and other with gullfoss side-by-side:

Gullfoss setting; tame 200
Teote setting; increase to 64 bands

You should notice their graphs are already very similar and this should be the base of your test.

Teote won't do other parameters like recover, brighten or boost. Think of it like the tame function of Gullfoss on steroids. Unlike Gullfoss it doesn't try to mess with any smile/loudness curves (its flat) which has its downs and ups.

By steorids for example; now increase teote's "boost t" to max and with this it will only lower resonances. As you decrease it (like gullfoss) compress and expands at the same time. All other functions (mostly timing related) are there for either give a controlled or musical feel to the dynamics.

One vs the other is really scenario dependent; To me innutshell Gullfoss has edge on mastering while teote for individual tracks but this won't be a fair comment either.

For example say I have a vocal track and don't have eq for whatever reason; with one instance of teote I can cut lows/high, deess, tame resonances and/or enhance dynamics and also tilt (slope parameter) this response to be thicker or brighter sounding...obviously this will likely overload and not be ideal but should give an idea on Teote's potential.


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## Andrajas (Nov 28, 2020)

Whats the difference between Gullfoss and soothe2?


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## Virtual Virgin (Nov 28, 2020)

Andrajas said:


> Whats the difference between Gullfoss and soothe2?


Soothe2 is particularly for frequency-selective cutting, something like the "tame" function on Gullfoss, but without the smiley curve. It is a dynamic-eq trained specifically for finding and ducking inharmonic resonances (generally less pleasant frequencies). It is much more specialized to this task though, so it will beat Gulfoss for that purpose usually. This means that one of the differences between Gullfoss and Soothe2 is that Gullfoss adds and or subtracts from your signal, whereas Soothe2 is particularly suited to subtract (supress frequencies). With Gullfoss, you are more likely trying to add a sheen or sparkle to the mix, with Soothe2 you are more likely trying to correct for mic placement and room resonances.
Different tools, but both are forms of dynamic eq.


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## Macrawn (Nov 28, 2020)

merty said:


> Try this on any source (noise would be easier) with 1 track teote and other with gullfoss side-by-side:
> 
> Gullfoss setting; tame 200
> Teote setting; increase to 64 bands
> ...


I'm sure they are both trying to balance against that kind of white noise, but it appears to be a smile when you look at a normal orchestra track because they tail off on the lows and highs. I was just playing around not really trying to run it through tests but I'll take your word for it on what you say. 

I think Teote would be a lot better like you said on an individual track than Gullfoss. I've tried Gullfoss on an individual track and I don't see that it really does anything better than a fixed eq can do. It really does better work when there is a lot of stuff going on where it can make a difference sorting that out a bit. 

I was impressed though when I put Teote on my unmixed project and it balanced the levels out to where I would want it to sound at the end of the mix. No substitute for mixing it properly as it was pushing Teote making it try and do too much and you could hear it. But it really hit what I would want it to sound like more or less toward the end of the mix process in terms of balance. 

It's a cool plugin.


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 28, 2020)

Virtual Virgin said:


> Soothe2 is particularly for frequency-selective cutting, something like the "tame" function on Gullfoss, but without the smiley curve. It is a dynamic-eq trained specifically for finding and ducking inharmonic resonances (generally less pleasant frequencies). It is much more specialized to this task though, so it will beat Gulfoss for that purpose usually. This means that one of the differences between Gullfoss and Soothe2 is that Gullfoss adds and or subtracts from your signal, whereas Soothe2 is particularly suited to subtract (supress frequencies). With Gullfoss, you are more likely trying to add a sheen or sparkle to the mix, with Soothe2 you are more likely trying to correct for mic placement and room resonances.
> Different tools, but both are forms of dynamic eq.



DSEQ < > Soothe2 like Gullfoss < > TEOTE


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 28, 2020)

Macrawn said:


> I'm sure they are both trying to balance against that kind of white noise [...]



With Teote you can set the the slope in dB/Oct, default is -4.5, pink noise would be flat using -3dB/Oct, the maximum of Teote, the minum is -6, the slope of brownian/red noise.
White noise would be flat using 0 dB/Oct. So no, no white noise.


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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)




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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)

Hi,

I will put Gulfoss to work in the next few days, and post some feedback here. 

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## R. Soul (Nov 28, 2020)

muziksculp said:


> Gulfoss seems to be more popular than TEOTE, although TEOTE cost less. Maybe it's the GUI, or Gulfoss does something better, or ... ?


Gullfoss came out almost almost 3 years ago (Jan. 2018). Teote was released just 5 weeks ago, so it obviously has not had much time to make an impact.


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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)

R. Soul said:


> Gullfoss came out almost almost 3 years ago (Jan. 2018). Teote was released just 5 weeks ago, so it obviously has not had much time to make an impact.



Thanks, Oh.. I didn't know that. 

Yes, that does make a difference. Well, I might take a look at TEOTE as well, maybe they can both work together as a team on my mixes


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## muziksculp (Nov 28, 2020)




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## Bman70 (Nov 29, 2020)

Has anyone used Slate Digital's free new plugin Fresh Air? It seems to be another one of these high gloss plugins... anything like Gullfoss or Teote?












Fresh Air | Slate Digital


Get Fresh Air for FREE & give your mixes the smoothest highs you’ve ever heard. Fresh Air puts serious audio power behind a gorgeous facade. Based on vintage exciter circuits & state-of-the-art dynamics processing, Fresh Air lets you add just the right amount of brilliance & shine to your mix in...




slatedigital.com


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## merty (Nov 29, 2020)

Bman70 said:


> ...



Sounds more like an exciter/saturator


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## muziksculp (Nov 29, 2020)

Bman70 said:


> Has anyone used Slate Digital's free new plugin Fresh Air? It seems to be another one of these high gloss plugins... anything like Gullfoss or Teote?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi @Bman70 ,

Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. I subscribe to the Slate Digital All Pass Service. But didn't check what's new for a while, I just installed their new FRESH AIR Eq, and will see what's special about it. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Nov 29, 2020)

OK... I'm instantly impressed by what *FRESH AIR* is doing to the mids and highs.

Super smooth, velvety transformation when I dialed some mids and highs via the two big knobs. They can also be linked together. Wow.. I'm surely going to use this EQ quite a bit. 

Works beautifully on Strings.

I should also add that the Clarity is improved dramatically !


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## muziksculp (Nov 29, 2020)

The clarity is also improved quite a bit using FRESH AIR

Wasn't expecting this. WOW !


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## vitocorleone123 (Nov 29, 2020)

muziksculp said:


>



The handles on the sides of the graph are key for effective use. I almost always use Brighten as a negative value since using Tame and Recover make it brighter. On a track, I sometimes use the Tame and Recover high like you have there. On a bus or mix I keep them < 15%.

Finally, they hid some settings "behind" the logo, such as graph refresh rate and oversampling.


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## musicisum (Nov 29, 2020)

muziksculp said:


>


Will check this one, thanks for pointing it out! Didn't see much hype around it. I am using their SPAN plugin everyday.


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