Plug-in Folder : January 2003
Plug-in Folder Waldorf D-coder Published in SOS January 2003  Printer-friendly versionReviews : Software
Vocoders are clearly back in vogue, so who better than Waldorf to come up with a plug-in offering a powerful yet intuitive combination of vocoder and synthesizer? Designed to run on a TC PowerCore DSP card under version 1.6 software or above, D-Coder can be accessed from within any VST or MAS-compatible application, and combines a vocoder offering up to 100 bands with a simple eight-voice polysynth. There are two tuneable multi-waveform oscillators (which include noise), multimode filters, ring modulation, EQ and an LFO that can be locked to time or song tempo. Three faders allow the sound of the synth to be mixed with the vocoder output and/or the analysis input, and if you don't want to use the included synth as a carrier, a small carrier plug-in can be inserted into any audio mixer channel and then selected so that channel becomes the carrier instead. A side-chain button allows any audio track or mixer channel to be selected as the analysis input. D-Coder has a typically clean and tidy 'Teutonic' interface, as befits its provenance, where a window display shows both the analysis input spectrum and the filter spectrum applied by the vocoder. Normally these will be the same, but controls are provided to limit the range of analysis and/or to move the boundaries of the vocoder filter bank so that the analysis and vocoder filters are offset or pitch-scaled with respect to each other. This simple system makes it possible to radically alter the characteristics of a voice or other sound, from cartoon character to demon. Further changes can be made by adjusting the bandwidth and resonance of the vocoder filters. At one end of the scale the sound is similar to that of a traditional vocoder, albeit somehow more 'digital' sounding, while at the other extreme the effect is almost like singing wind chimes. A voiced/unvoiced detector is also included to improve intelligibility. A whole bank of presets is included to show off the range of sounds this plug-in can produce. During my tests, D-Coder worked faultlessly but I found it took some juggling to get a classic vocoder sound with good articulation — the result always had a flavour of digital resynthesis about it. It is possible to get reasonably close to the traditional analogue vocoder sound, but D-Coder's strengths are most evident when you move away from familiar territory and start to experiment with more radical effects. In this respect it is probably the most flexible vocoder/synth combination I've tried and makes a fascinating tool for sound design work. Paul White
Formats: Mac & PC VST SuperCamelPhat made its first appearance in SOS in the October 2001 issue, where it was praised for its originality by no less an authority than our own Martin Walker. For the uninitiated, it's a multi-effects plug-in offering distortion, compression, EQ, filtering and flanging effects, all accessible from the same 'idiot-proof' front panel. Now at version two, the plug-in has undergone a major overhaul, improving the user interface, and adding extra features including envelope and attack/release controls for the low-pass filter, a new band-pass filter section, and useful on/off buttons for each of the effect 'modules'. First in the signal path is the band-pass filter. This offers controls for both low and high cutoff points, which can be adjusted independently or linked together for 'swept' EQ sounds. There's also a Mix knob, which can be used to control how much of the unfiltered signal is added back into the sound at the plug-in's output. Since only the filtered sound is passed to CamelPhat's DSP modules, this provides an easy way to set up frequency-specific processing (so you can, for instance, apply flanging only to the ride cymbals in a drum loop). Using two or more SuperCamelPhats in series, it's even possible to do basic multi-band compression. SuperCamelPhat's compressor couldn't be easier to use, offering as it does just a single knob for the amount of compression, and no other controls! This simplicity does not detract from the quality of the sound, however, which is full and warm, and quite usable even at the highest setting. Most of the other modules are similarly straightforward: the Flange effect offers only a depth control, as do the 'Mech' and 'Tube' distortion modules, and the mysteriously named Magic EQ. While you might expect this lack of editability to be frustrating, it really isn't. Each of SuperCamelPhat's effects seems to have been carefully tuned to produce absolutely the right kinds of sounds by default. Instant gratification is what this plug-in is all about: insert it in a mixer channel, tweak a couple of knobs, and immediately things are sounding warmer, fuller and undeniably 'phatter'. The Magic EQ is particularly good in this respect. The supplied HTML documentation talks about "analogue modelled soft saturation" and "a custom high-end shelf", promising "extra weight and punch to the bass regions". In Meanwhile, Bomb Factory have updated their range of 'virtual vintage' plug-ins to run at sample rates of up to 96kHz. The range includes emulations of classic processors such as the UREI 1176, Fairchild 660, Universal Audio LA2A and LA3A compressors, along with more modern devices from the likes of Joemeek, Sansamp, Big Briar and Voce. The most complex SuperCamelPhat module is the low-pass filter, which boasts Attack, Release, Envelope (amount), Cutoff and Resonance controls. A few tweaks here are all it takes to set up some very nice, dynamic 'envelope follower' sounds, which are excellent for percussion loops. Overall, SuperCamelPhat is an impressive piece of work. It manages to combine absolute user-friendliness with varied but always usable sounds. The Mech and Tube distortion algorithms complement each other nicely, allowing SuperCamelPhat to sound as bright and metallic or as dark and woody as circumstances demand. The flanger exhibits a colourful 'analogue' character, and the filters are resonant in just the right way. SuperCamelPhat's parameters are controllable with MIDI Continuous Controllers, and if you're ever stuck for inspiration, you can click on the camel logo to randomise the current patch. A few moments' camel-clicking can turn up a whole range of unexpected sounds, from muffled 'band next door' rumblings, to in-your-face thrashing guitars, to grainy 'telephone' vocals. At just 38.75 Euros, SuperCamelPhat is an absolute bargain. To my mind, the combination of compressor and Magic EQ alone would almost justify the asking price, and the MIDI-controllable filters will be a real bonus for dance producers. It's available to buy for both Windows and Mac OS (with OS X support due imminently) from www.camelaudio.com. So don't delay, get the hump today! Paul Sellars
Formats: PC DirectX The original version of Izotope's Ozone was reviewed in SOS back in April 2002 and received a very definite 'thumbs up'. In basic operation, little has changed in the version 2 release, so interested readers can check out the details in the earlier review (www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr02/articles/izotopeozone.asp). In summary, the plug-in provides a combination of six processing modules: paragraphic equaliser, mastering reverb, multi-band dynamics, multi-band harmonic enhancer, multi-band stereo imaging and loudness maximiser. The equaliser offers high and low shelf plus six bands of parametric EQ, while the multi-band modules offer a maximum of four-band processing. Of course version 2 brings a number of improvements and additions. Top of this list is high-order noise-shaped dithering. Users can now dither and prepare word-length-reduced audio within Ozone via a number of different dither algorithms; conversion is possible between 8, 12, 16 and 24-bit audio. Ozone v2 also includes a much better system for managing presets and is supplied with some 60 examples for users to start work with (addressing a minor criticism made in the original SOS review), with more available for download from Izotope's web site. For most users, the multi-band modules are key to the mastering process and a number of improvements have been made here. Settings can now be copied between bands and it is also possible to work with fewer than four bands if required (perhaps to reduce CPU load). Of the other improvements, various display enhancements for better metering are helpful, as is the ability to alter the gain of the unprocessed signal when using the Bypass switch. This makes it easier to do processed/unprocessed comparisons to hear what the processing as doing to the tonal balance of the audio rather than the overall output level. I've been using Ozone v1 extensively within Sound Forge since carrying out the original review and have found it capable of producing very good results. Testing Ozone v2 suggests the new version is just as stable in operation, and the upgrade is certainly good value. New users can download a demo of Ozone 2 for a 'try before you buy' test run and, at $199, it is a pretty inexpensive way to get into the mastering process. Izotope should also be complimented for adding an excellent PDF article on dithering (to go with their existing 'Introduction to mastering' document) as a free download via their web site. Both are well worth a read even if you do not buy the software. John Walden
Published in SOS January 2003 | Friday 25th July 2008 August 2008
Click image for Contents
Other recent issues: SOS News Headlines
WIN Great Prizes in SOS Competitions!
|
£179 including VAT.
TC Electronic UK +44 (0)800 917 8926.
+44 (0)800 917 6510.
