# 2c Audio Products



## Wibben (May 5, 2015)

I've been drooling over their products for a while now, but one thing that confuses me is the differences between their plugins.

Both Aether and B2 seems to do the same things -- at least sound similarly great--, with the exception that B2 seems to incorporate distortion and other sound design things. I've searched the boards but haven't yet come across an explanation of why anyone would use Aether instead of B2 etc.

Anyone out there that could help me understand this a bit?

Also, if you have both, when would you use one over the other?


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## Walid F. (May 5, 2015)

For most intents and purposes, Aether will be just fine. But B2 is just so incredibly huge and powerful. Has so many options, filters, functionality and sound shaping capabilities. 

I love B2!!!!

W.


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## Wibben (May 5, 2015)

Haha 

Do you have both, Walid?


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## tokatila (May 5, 2015)

In my understanding with Aether you can control ERs separately.

B2 is a CPU hogging beast, not sure about the Aether.

I have B2, it's the original Bomber.


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## Walid F. (May 5, 2015)

I only have B2, but looking at what Aether offers (all of it is included in B2), it seems its the most commonly used things in B2. B2 just allows you to mess around way more, reach more crazy sounds and more acoustical properties. 

And yeah, B2 surely takes up a lot of CPU power. If money is an issue - go Aether imo. If you want a real cool reverb with tons of crazy presets and stuff go B2.

Maybe Den can chime in here? 

W.


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## Wibben (May 5, 2015)

"If money is an issue - go Aether imo. If you want a real cool reverb with tons of crazy presets and stuff go B2."

This has me confused as well, as they cost the same! :D If B2 is a bigger brother to Aether, then why do they have the same price?


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## Walid F. (May 5, 2015)

Oh dude !! I completely thought you were talking about Breeze. I mixed them up. 

In that case I have absolutely no idea. But B2 is for sure awesome. Seems Aether is all about the ER and LR, meaning it might be better suited for pure orchestral stuff, while B2 is more versatile for both orchestral and other sound designish fields. Though I'm not sure.

W.


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## windshore (May 5, 2015)

I have all 3. If I were to live with only one, it would be B2. Breeze is nice when you are worried about CPU load. Aether still has a few tricks that I haven't found in B2, but in general, I could live without Aether but not without B2.


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## Blakus (May 5, 2015)

I agree - I have all 3 also, but B2 is king.
Aether is nice too, but B2 just has some magic about it. Just be aware of the cpu requirement.


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## DynamicK (May 7, 2015)

*B2 *without a doubt. As for CPU usage I compared it to a demo version of Phoenix.... on my system, the load was the same.


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## Den (May 7, 2015)

B2 is my main reverb. Aether is special for lush smooth vocal reverbs, and Breeze for snare plates or ambiences or Rooms (For Bass). (Amp Rooms)

All have different sonic possibilities. Aether will do a retro reverbs, B2 ultra realistic, and Breeze very light transparent ambiences or rooms e.t.c.

However they all sounds different.

But If I have to choose one, it will be B2 !

0oD

Just listen the B2 on Acc Guitar:
https://soundcloud.com/dens-place/b2-sustain-hall


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## Wibben (May 7, 2015)

Thanks for all the input guys!

Do any of you know of any tutorials for how to work with B2? I'll always look up a plugin on youtube and learn about it before I dive in, but I can't find anything on the tubes :/

I'm mainly interested in a reverb where I can create a passable version of orchestral halls etc. 
I already own a lot of verbs (Valhalla room+ Vintage, Spaces) but I'd love a "one verb for everything" plugin. B2 or Aether seems, and sounds, like they fit the bill.


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## patrick76 (May 7, 2015)

Is it possible to control pre delay with b2? Thanks!


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## Wibben (May 7, 2015)

patrick76: Yes. There's a pre delay thingy on the interface, so I imagine it controls.. well.. pre delay


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## Andrew Souter (May 20, 2015)

Hey guys.

I'm happy to answer some questions about this. Ask whatever specific questions you like.


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## Andrew Souter (May 20, 2015)

patrick76 @ Thu May 07 said:


> Is it possible to control pre delay with b2? Thanks!



Yes, of course.

B2 has two identical "engines". Each engine can be thought of as "Early Reflections Only" (if Feedback is disabled) or as a full "ER + Late Reflections" instance.

Both engines have independant Pre-delay settings. (all settings are duplicated between the alpha and the beta engine. -- alpha/beta instead of a/b since we have already a/b preset states in the Nav bar.)

In fact it is better to think of the two possible states of each engine (ignoring the third state, which is simply disabled) as:

1) Discrete/FIR (i.e. ERs)
2) Diffuse/Decaying/IIR (i.e LRs)

You can, and normally do, use small sizes and short pre-delay values when Feedback is disabled. This effectually creates "Early Reflections" as are common in various other competitive products.

But, there is no reason to confine yourself to this use. If you think of the "no feedback" mode as simple "Discrete Delays", these can be used to create "Input Echoes", "Output Echoes" and other similar things. The size range of B2 is HUGE!! Max size is 625 Meters! (Max size of LX480 is ~37 Meters for example.) Huge size results in very long delays. These can be used to create all sort of very interesting "delay + verb" hybrid presets. Things become even more interesting with the use of Cascade, where the signal path of the Alpha and Beta engines can be either in parallel or in series or some combination of the two. All combined this allows for incredibly complex and interesting preset design possibilities.

B2 can be configured in so many different ways that it becomes a bit mind-numbing to think about. The main themes to think about are:

1) Is the preset single engine, or dual engine?

2) Are the engines ER/Discrete/FIR or Full/LR/Diffuse/IIR?

3) What is the Density/Diffusion setting of each engine (Nano, Low, Hi, XTRM) (this has a HUGE impact on CPU usage)

4) How is Cascade and Balance being used?


I will write separate posts for each of these...


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## Andrew Souter (May 20, 2015)

First some "Aether vs B2" stuff from various other things I wrote previously elsewhere:



> Aether is a reasonably traditional reverb design, albeit a VERY flexible one with many unique features. It has an early reflections engine and a late reflections engine. They are two completely different technologies technically and they could very well be two separate products. This is a very good design for modelling the behaviour of real concert halls etc. in a reasonably efficient manner.
> 
> A lot of the music we listen to in modern times however is absolutely not strictly authentic in terms of the spatialization of the instrument components used in the mix. What is the natural equivalent of a synth pad, or a flanger, or an auto-panner in the real world? When we use such instruments and effects in a mix, the authenticity of the totality of the spatial image of the mix is already compromised from the perspective of the acoustic purist. So, why worry so much about physical emulation? It seems better in some cases to study all the psychoacoustic cues that are possible with stereo effects and build a system that spans the potential parameter space to give extreme creative control to artists, producers, sound-designers, and composers. If you are scoring the Superman movie, or Tron, or Oblivion, why should all of your mix sound like it is recorded in a Baroque chamber? It shouldn’t. Often it is highly desirable creatively to be able to have things that are larger than life. Such things elicit powerful emotions both in the composer who is inspired by the space to go creatively in a direction they might not have chosen otherwise, as well as the audience who are the eventual consumers of their message. These are the things B2 focuses on.


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## Andrew Souter (May 20, 2015)

another "Aether vs B2" discussion:



> JenniferKinney said:
> 
> 
> > Galbanum said:
> ...


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## Wibben (May 20, 2015)

Thank you, Andrew! 
I want both of them now... 

It sounds like B2 is the way to go, eventhough I primarily want to create orchestral halls etc, I do also love sound design and produce a lot of rock/metal hybrid stuff. B2 seems like the more "all encompassing" solution


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## Echoes in the Attic (May 23, 2015)

windshore @ Tue May 05 said:


> I have all 3. If I were to live with only one, it would be B2. Breeze is nice when you are worried about CPU load.



Actually B2 can be equally good on cup with the right settings. You just have to use the same components that breeze has with one module only and set no higher than "high" quality. In fact, B2 has a couple quality settings that are even more efficient than breeze. So it's a good light cup as well.


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## Den (Jun 2, 2015)

*Aether Presets "Classics"*

The latest change to "Classics" folder in the Factory.

I just finished the latest edits for Classics presets to improve details and sound.

There is some really interesting colours.

https://soundcloud.com/dens-place/aether-warm-cathedral

https://soundcloud.com/dens-place/aether-berlin-hall

https://soundcloud.com/dens-place/aether-2c6000-gtr-amb



Updated:


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