# New: BABY Audio Smooth Operator



## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

BABY Audio caught my attention with Super VHS. Which is great if you’re into that whole vaporwave esthetic. Their Spaced Out reverb / echo combo was brilliant.

And I have just bought this newly released EQ / spectral messing-about thing. Kind of an uninformed purchase, which I feel very confident about 

Anyway. For those who know BABY Audio I figured it may be interesting:



https://babyaud.io/smooth-operator-plugin


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## Markrs (Apr 27, 2021)

Hey Temme, watched that video this morning and noticed that Baby Audio has a good introduction price on this. With having Gulfoss and Neutron/Ozone Advanced, not sure whether this is needed. I am going to wait out a few more reviews, though initial comments seems to be that it is more like Soothe.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

Yeah, since I had none of those “get-rid-of-resonance” tools yet, I figured I’d take the chance 

I will try and incorporate it in my next mix.


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## Kuusniemi (Apr 27, 2021)

I can not help it and I'm probably going to some fairly warm place because of this, but I am soooooo reminded of Goldmember from Austin Powers... I'll get me coat.


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## Markrs (Apr 27, 2021)

If you use the code MAGIC15 you get an extra 15% off


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## Nimrod7 (Apr 27, 2021)

Thanks for the post! 
I felt in love with Baby Audio after I got I ❤️ NY. 
I was astounded with Spaced Out when released. Super friendly folks in the company too! 

I own myself Gulfoss also and Soothe, and I am not sure what new I will get. I am curious to be honest:

"Use it to perfect your tonal balance and add a touch of ‘HiFi’."

I would say for people not having any other plugins available, might be a good opportunity to get this one. The intro price is great (thanks Mark for the coupon!)

I will personally keep an eye for more reviews...


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## FinGael (Apr 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Yeah, since I had none of those “get-rid-of-resonance” tools yet, I figured I’d take the chance
> 
> I will try and incorporate it in my next mix.


Thanks Doc. I had not heard of this one. Looking forward to hearing your experiences with it.

I don't have a "magic EQ" (an active one) and I have at the moment very limited funds, so if this turns out to be a good one, I might jump on the Smooth boat too.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

Will report back


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## Consona (Apr 27, 2021)

Great price, but is it as good as the alternatives? Soothe2 seems to have bazillion more control knobs, including wet/dry and such.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

I like my mixing fx to not have a lot of knobs 😂


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## Markrs (Apr 27, 2021)

DSEQ 3 is another one that gets mentioned a lot as does TEOTE when discussing spectral improvement. Though it takes more effort, MSpectralDynamics reputedly can also do the same sort of thing. So lots of competition in the space, though I like the simplicity Baby Audio's offering.









DSEQ


DSEQ is a dynamic processor working in the frequency domain.DSEQ is removing digital harshness on the fly thanks to self-adjusting frequency bands.




www.tbproaudio.de












Automatic Spectral Balancer Plugin [VST, AU, AAX] - TEOTE - Voxengo


Automatic spectral balancer plugin for mixing and mastering. Delivers sonic performance in tune with the highest music production standards, while being easy to use.




www.voxengo.com


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## SupremeFist (Apr 27, 2021)

Baby Audio make great stuff but yeah I'd be interested in whether this adds something to my Soothe2, TEOTE and Trackspacer. Very cool if you have none of those though!


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

Markrs said:


> DSEQ 3 is another one that gets mentioned a lot as does TEOTE when discussing spectral improvement. Though it takes more effort, MSpectralDynamics reputedly can also do the same sort of thing.


I have to say though... Smooth Operator has the better colours... 😂


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## Consona (Apr 27, 2021)

I only own this one, pretty interesting plugin:





SoundBrigade – A brigade of filters with a mission | www.sknoteaudio.com







www.sknoteaudio.com







doctoremmet said:


> I like my mixing fx to not have a lot of knobs 😂


I have to say, I have NI Transient Master with 3 knobs, then I bought Sonnox Envolution with five million knobs and man, low knob number plugins have been suspicious to me ever since...


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I like my mixing fx to not have a lot of knobs 😂


Says the guy with Melda MCompleteBundle


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## PeterN (Apr 27, 2021)

Nimrod7 said:


> Thanks for the post!
> I felt in love with Baby Audio after I got I ❤️ NY.
> I was astounded with Spaced Out when released. Super friendly folks in the company too!
> 
> ...


What about the I love NY plugin, how do you use it? On orchestral too? ...or mind telling a few words why you like it. Same developer, I just got the Spaced Out last week and it sounds quite handy.


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## MusiquedeReve (Apr 27, 2021)

Uninformed, yet confident, purchases are the best!


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## vitocorleone123 (Apr 27, 2021)

Gullfoss works to dynamically unmask frequencies. Some good posts by the main dev on Gearspace recently, going into more depth. The latest version of Gullfoss has put it over the top in terms of magic and sound quality, complete with a new Live version with almost no latency that treats transients different than the standard version.

I like Baby Audio, their aesthetic and exploration- as well as prices. But nothing yet has swayed me to buy it, and I do demo everything they make. The free Magic Chorus is something everyone should have in their toolbox.


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## Nimrod7 (Apr 27, 2021)

PeterN said:


> What about the I love NY plugin, how do you use it? On orchestral too? ...or mind telling a few words why you like it. Same developer, I just got the Spaced Out last week and it sounds quite handy.


Hey Peter, 

Sorry not for orchestral, mosly EDM stuff. Others more experienced than me in orchestral music maybe can comment on this. 
Usually I was adding it to drum busses for parallel compression, its quick, and was giving a certain "punch" to the drums. I was doing the same thing manually using normal compressors before.

Now Baby Audio have the Parallel Aggressor which is from what I understand an evolution of I Heart NY. Might worth demoning this instead...


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 27, 2021)

Lazy as I am I just thought I put this on the master bus and all mixing and mastering problems will be fixed magically .....

That wont work (of course.....), but put on the tracks this thing is really a big help as first impression. And I have not even tried out the side chain options of it.

Only downside so far for me as a preset junkie is the naming and organising of the presets, as this is mainly useful on the tracks I would really loved a categorisation after instruments/tracks and less "kiss" "soul" "bullet proof"......

If this even NEEDS presets (and I say that AS a preset junkie....) is another thing but if I have more then 60 I would love to at least know what they are all about  .

But I am really happy as this is adding something definitely I am missing so far.

Wonder how this will work with sonible smartEQ:3 coming out beginning of may as I have an instant on evry track now as my favourite track EQ.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 27, 2021)

KarlHeinz said:


> Wonder how this will work with sonible smartEQ:3 coming out beginning of may as I have an instant on evry track now as my favourite track EQ.


Been wondering the same thing!


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## Alchemedia (Apr 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Will report back


Why in the world would you need a plugin called "Smooth Operator" Doc? 😎🤘


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## Alchemedia (Apr 27, 2021)




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## Consona (Apr 28, 2021)

Do you think Waves is working on a similar plugin?


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## twincities (Apr 28, 2021)

Consona said:


> Do you think Waves is working on a similar plugin?


i would so happily buy another soothe clone if they got the latency down to where they'd need to for live use.


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## Markrs (May 2, 2021)

Comparison between Soothe 2 and Smooth Operator.

Short version: both do a great job, not much in it on sound. Soothe 2 has more controls but that also means it takes a bit longer to dial in what you are looking for. On price Smooth Operator is an easy winner




Another comparison and came to similar conclusions as above


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## Markrs (May 2, 2021)

One temptation is to get Smooth Operator at ADSR and get MTurboEQ free!


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## mybadmemory (May 2, 2021)

Just here to say that Dobby Emmets new avatar 1. Is moving, and 2. Makes me sad. 💔


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## doctoremmet (May 2, 2021)

Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


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## Markrs (May 2, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


Take care Temme/Dobby look after yourself 😊


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## SupremeFist (May 2, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


But how will we know what to buy in the meantime?? Get well soon Temme! 🤘🏻


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## mybadmemory (May 2, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


You’ll be missed! Hope you feel better soon! ☺️


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## kgdrum (May 2, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


Feel better 👍


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## Alchemedia (May 2, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


Get well soon Doc and always remember:
"If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything!" 🙂


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## Trash Panda (May 3, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Dobby is taking the week off chaps; he’s not feeling too well. Cheerio, he’ll be back soon enough.


Feel better, Temme! Hope it’s not the rotcod.


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## doctoremmet (May 8, 2021)




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## Markrs (May 8, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


>



Just watched that, it is clear that Whtse isn't a fan of Smooth Operater


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## el-bo (May 8, 2021)

Markrs said:


> Just watched that, it is clear that Whtse isn't a fan of Smooth Operater


No need to ask...


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## doctoremmet (May 8, 2021)

Wietze is mainly a fan of Fabfilter


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## sostenuto (May 8, 2021)

... but have also followed many reviews pointing out helpful infos, and many other than FF, which have been quite supportive ..... _jus sayin' _


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## doctoremmet (May 8, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> ... but have also followed many reviews pointing out helpful infos, and many other than FF, which have been quite supportive ..... _jus sayin' _


I can’t take his videos very seriously though... he never seems to have any clue to be honest. Love the guy, and I always laugh a lot... but let’s just say there is a disconnect between the stuff I watch him do and the things he says after seemingly spending no more than 30 minutes with a plugin...


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## sostenuto (May 8, 2021)

Seasoned / senior ears usually fail to hear most of what he seems to find very interesting ! 
So much for my observations ... one way another.


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## doctoremmet (May 8, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Seasoned / senior ears usually fail to hear most of what he seems to find very interesting !
> So much for my observations ... one way another.


Nah. I was likely a bit too harsh. For sure, Wietze knows WAY more than I ever will. And in terms of chaotic presentation style, I will prolly beat him haha


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## Markrs (May 8, 2021)

Infamously he never reads the manual, which for many plugins is just required, or you have to use it fore more than 30 mins before you give an opinion.


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## doctoremmet (May 8, 2021)

Markrs said:


> Infamously he never reads the manual, which for many plugins is just required, or you have to use it fore more than 30 mins before you give an opinion.


Pretty much this hehe


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