#firesonic

United Plugins is proud to announce availability of QuickBass

United Plugins is proud to announce availability of QuickBass — bringing the fruits of an already acclaimed cross-brand collaboration between FireSonic (with its always-searching-for-a-shortcut attitude) and SounDevice Digital (forever fine-tuning tools based on longterm experience of mixing many recordings in its namesake SounDevice Studio) to bear upon the lower frequencies of the sound spectrum as an aptly-named bass guitar sound-perfecting plug-in par excellence as the two companies concerned continue creating a series of tools as Instant Audio to instantly assist anyone in achieving their desired sound

Having started their collaborative sound quest last year with Quick AG, an all-in-one acoustic guitar solution compatible with major AAX/AU/VST DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) applications on both macOS and Windows as a superlative shortcut to sought-after natural acoustic instrument sounds, Instant Audio’s QuickBass follows (in a similar) suit, though this time designed to achieve the perfect bass guitar sound as quickly as possible — as, indeed, implied by name. Needless to say, bass guitar is often considered to be the coolest of all instruments — by bassists! But there is no denying that the bassist should anchor everyone else — especially since the primary function of a bass guitar is to maintain a steady rhythm, with the bassist working closer to the drummer than the guitarist in a typical rock and pop setup. Sadly, however, it is often one of the most overlooked and underrated instruments. In the recording world, with a good DI (Direct Input) box being put to good use, a finely-played bass guitar often sounds as good as it gets, but a little push in the right direction here and there can make all the difference between sounding good and great. Getting there, of course, can be easier said than done — even in today’s supposedly-speedy DAW-driven recording world where using multiple plug-ins to achieve one goal simply makes no sense since there can be unwanted interactions between plug-ins while their often over-the-top features can combine to unnecessarily drain precious CPU (Central Processing Unit) power. Put it this way: with QuickBass, quick EQ, quick compression, quick saturation, and quick fatness are all available to all in next to no time at all.

As such, Instant Audio has helpfully found the sweet spot between speed and versatility with QuickBass by providing the tools necessary to achieve the perfect bass sound in a single plug-in with as few controls as possible, all anchored around a photorealistic GUI (Graphical User Interface) that looks like real — bassist-friendly — hardware while easily adapting to the varying needs of individuals. It is perfectly possible to resize it at any time by simply dragging the bottom-right corner positioned arrow accordingly, for instance. In many cases, simply pressing the standout style buttons — FINGER, tuned especially for finger-playing style; SLAP, tuned especially for slap bass technique; MILLERIZE, offering untypical settings for slap bass based on a famous player’s style; and PICK, tuned especially for rock playing with a pick — in the EQ section will be enough to get the job done, though there are also a healthy selection of presets available to help users get going in their desired direction with minimal interaction involved. As an effect that adjusts the amplitude of audio signals at particular frequencies, those featured in that EQ section have been chosen to suit the sound of those bass-playing styles and techniques, thanks to the following self-explanatory controls: LOW CUT (Hz) — with frequency range settings spanning from 28 to 55 for creating cleaner bass sounds; BASS (%) — for boosting or lowering the level of bass in the signal between -100 and +100 (with 0 by default); DESWAMP (%) — for dropping down the level of ugly frequencies in lower mids and higher bass frequencies, ranging from 0 to 100; MIDS (%) — for boosting or lowering the level of mids in the signal between -100 and +100 (with 0 by default); HIGHS (%) — adding a level of highs to the signal, ranging from 0 to 100; and HI CUT (Hz) — cutting the highest frequencies that are superfluous to the bass guitar signal with frequency range settings spanning 2000 to 9000.

As an effect that changes the dynamics of the incoming signal, compression can greatly assist in creating great bass guitar sounds, so QuickBass features a switchable COMPRESSOR with an associated COMPRESSION control ranging from 0 to 100 and also offers a STYLE control to blend three different types of simulated hardware compression: OPTO — originally made with the audio signal feeding a lighting element (such as an LED), which shines upon a light-sensitive resistor, the resistance of which informs the compression circuit how much and how quickly to attenuate the audio signal, à la LA2A; VARI MU — as the signal feeding these tube compressors increases, the actual current sent to the grid of their tube decreases, culminating in a reduction in overall level, à la 670; and FET (Field Effect Transistor) — capable of exceedingly fast attack times with a lot of colour, à la 1176.

Creativity continues with more easy-to-use controls, such as those found in QuickBass’ switchable SATURATION section, with the SATURATION control itself ranging from 0 — a pleasant, subtle-sounding ‘analogue-ish’ colour — to 100% — total distorted, fuzzy mayhem — based on the simulated sound of different distortions of overdriven electronic elements such as tubes and transistors, while DRY/WET balances the parallel level of the clean and distorted signal between 0 and 100% settings. Similarly self-explanatory, the SUBBASS section-residing SUBBASS control adds very low sub-bass frequencies to the bass signal with settings ranging from 0 to 100%, while the switchable DOUBLER section’s singular namesake control allows for a well-known effect whereby the sound is de-correlated by the initial detune and the tuning can be further modulated — the modulated signal being mixed with the dry signal with settings ranging between 0 and 100%. Last but not least, the INPUT control sets the input gain between -24 and +24 dB (with an associated meter indicating the input signal volume), while the OUTPUT control sets the OUTPUT gain between -24 and +24 dB (with an associated meter indicating the overall output level).

As an aptly-named bass guitar sound-perfecting plug-in that is worthy of taking up its position in Instant Audio’s series of tools to instantly assist anyone in achieving their desired sound, QuickBass has got its users covered. Clearly it is the ultimate bass polisher and finaliser for when speed and ease is of the essence. Instant Audio’s QuickBass is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of €29.00 EUR until April 11, 2021 — rising thereafter to €99.00 EUR — as an AAX-, AU-, and VST-compatible audio plug-in directly from United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/QuickBass/ (A 15-day, fully-functional trial version for macOS and Windows can be downloaded for free.) Note that no iLok, dongle, or internet access is required for QuickBass activation. (All United Plugins software uses license files for activation and owners can freely use purchased software on all their computers as long as they are the user.)

Watch United Plugins’ informative introductory video for QuickBass here: https://youtu.be/D0FMy6-2NP8

United Plugins is proud to announce availability of FireCharger

United Plugins is proud to announce availability of FireCharger — a universal processing plug-in from founding partner FireSonic with an intelligent algorithm for spectral charging and instantly bettering the sound, including emulations of analogue tape and advanced exciters 

FireSonic feels compelled to create smart, easy-to-use tools that can be put to good use on any track to make it sound better, because — let’s face it — most music productions benefit from a little enhancement here and there. Fortunately for anyone compelled to add it to their modern- day music production toolkit, FireCharger follows this tradition perfectly as a universal processing plug-in with an intelligent algorithm for spectral charging and instantly bettering the sound, including emulations of analogue tape and advanced exciters. Exciting-sounding stuff, surely?

So how does it work? Well, simply speaking, FireCharger analyses audio material to get it as close as possible to what its active audio engineering creators consider to be ideal, resulting in a better-balanced richer sound. So let’s take a guided tour around its easy-to-use functionality via its equally-easy-on-the-eye user interface that easily adapts to different screens — same size on any screen, in fact, whether low DPI (Dots Per Inch) ‘golden oldies’ or more modern high DPI/Retina 5K displays (with a horizontal resolution of around 5,000 pixels). Put it this way: with an arrow always available in the bottom-right corner of the plug-in window itself, it is easy to change its size, making it smaller to save valuable screen space or larger to make it easier to use. Using FireCharger is simplicity itself. Indeed, in most cases, only the DRY/WET knob dominating that photorealistic user interface is needed — increase its value to get more enhancement, and vice versa, of course, but bear in mind that this knob also controls how much of the following (individually-controllable) enhancement algorithms are applied.

Ultimately, users can control each enhancement algorithm separately — DRY/WET defining overall level of enhancement, starting with CHARGE, which is the main control for FireCharger’s sophisticated spectral dynamics processing: smooth and improve the signal with one knob and its intelligent analysing and processing algorithm.

ANODIZE adjusts the amount of energy that the treated track(s) will temporarily gain using the CHARGE when required. But be careful not to burn the track(s) being treated!

Meanwhile, MAGNETIZE controls the advanced vintage tube tape machine saturation simulation, making it perfectly possible to add additional warmth and a live feel to the sound being treated.

The TONE control is a special sophisticated dynamic height exciter, helping higher frequencies become more pronounced and making the treated track(s) become brighter sounding as a result. FireCharger features helpful INPUT and OUTPUT peak meters and gain controls. Though they are self-explanatory, it is worth noting that the INPUT level should stay, say, within the -10dB to -30dB range for optimal results. (It is also worth noting that FireCharger itself is an optimal plug-in since it uses 64-bit audio processing and can handle any sample rate — up to 192kHz, or even higher.)

Top toolbar-based functionality featured above those onscreen knobs and faders include A, B, and COPY buttons — clicking A and B switches between two recallable settings, so very useful for double-checking before committing to the best-sounding result, while COPY, unsurprisingly, copies the selected setting to the other slot, so A to B or B to A, in other words. Fortunately FireCharger itself, of course, comes complete with a set of preloaded presets, perfectly suited to most applications; access them using the toolbar’s ‘left’ and ‘right’ arrow buttons, or by clicking the preset field directly, though it is perfectly possible for FireCharger users to save and manage their own presets. Propelling our guided sprint over the functionality finish line is FireCharger’s BYPASS button; better still, the intelligent way FireSonic plug-ins manage bypassing ensures that there are no audible click or harmful noises when automating the parameter while also compensating for latency by ensuring that the bypass states are perfectly in sync with each other. On the face of it, then, there are not a lot of competing plug-in effect processors out there that so successfully combine such functionality with such simplicity of use. Use FireCharger as a mastering plug-in — positioned at the end of the host DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) output chain — as well as to improve single tracks. Whatever way anyone chooses to use it, rest assured that it will add body and brightness to acoustic guitars and vocals, improve drums and bass guitar tracks, and charge electric guitar performances. Put it on everything! FireSonic’s FireCharger is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of €19.00 EUR until December 6, 2020 — rising thereafter to €129.00 EUR — as an AAX-, AU-, VST-, and VST3-compatible audio plug-in directly from United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/FireCharger/ (A 15-day, fully-functional trial version for macOS and Windows can be downloaded for free from here: https://unitedplugins.com/download/) Note that no iLok, dongle, or internet access is required for FireCharger activation. (All United Plugins software uses license files for activation and owners can freely use purchased software on all their computers as long as they are the user.)

Watch United Plugins’ informative introductory video for FireCharger here: https://youtu.be/KcN3JXGkEmE 

United Plugins opens online doors for business with inaugural releases from founding triad of independent developers

United Plugins is proud to announce availability of its inaugural respective releases from founding independent developer triad FireSonic, JMG Music, and SounDevice Digital — namely, the AU-, AAX-, VST-, and VST3-compatible FireCobra (intelligent mix enhancer), HyperSpace (algorithmic reverb), and Royal Compressor (vintage vari-mu compressor) audio plug-ins for MacOS and Windows — as of June 3…

United Plugins founding independent developer FireSonic feels compelled to create smart, easy-to-use tools that can be put to good use on any track to make it sound better, because — let’s face it — most music productions benefit from a little enhancement here and there! With that thought in mind, FireCobra combines the accuracy of the digital world with the live randomness of analogue. After all, early engineers strived for perfection, trying to record and play back sounds as close to the original source material as possible. Paradoxically, perfection is (almost) possible in today’s digital era, yet some previously-problematic side effects of analogue are now appreciated for what they are as they simply sound better — though this is generally accepted to be due to psychoacoustics rather than the analogue devices themselves since it is now possible to achieve so much more than analogue alone ever could. Clearly, then, the superficially simple GUI (Graphical User Interface) fronting FireCobra belies some seriously savvy technology with which it intelligently analyses an audio signal to make it punchier, more powerful, and generally better sounding. Still better, it makes mixes sound better with next to no time wasted on setting it up. Ultimately, it’s simply a case of applying it to any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) track that needs enhancing and tweaking three algorithms accordingly via their associated controls on the flexible photorealistic 3D GUI: INTENSIFY (intelligently analyses the audio INPUT and makes the OUTPUT sound tighter and fuller), SMACK (creates unique and pleasant harmonic distortion inspired by rare analogue devices to make the treated audio sound way more authentic and audible in the mix), and ANALOGIZE (adds analogue warm valve mojo based on classic analogue saturation simulation). Saying that, adjusting the DRY / WET knob, increasing its value to increase enhancement or vice versa, is all that’s needed in most cases. As a highly-optimised plug-in designed to make most efficient use of the host computer’s CPU (Central Processing Unit) and also exploiting the newest AVX2 and AVX512 architectures, the 64-bit processing FireCobra can comfortably be applied to multiple tracks to best bring out difficult to perceive elements of a mix while attenuating those that tend to drown out others — and at sampling rates of 192 kHz or even higher!

Fellow founding independent developer JMG Music makes use of complex audio processing techniques, but balances them with easy to use controls, as evidenced by HyperSpace, an algorithmic reverb plug-in. Permitting its users to easily create their own algorithms made up of various processors in a fast, intuitive way, the self-explanatory Vintage, Classic, Retro, Modern, Sci-Fi, and Cosmic modes combine various algorithms with endless possibilities for enriching tracks with a myriad of colours — from vintage plates or classic hardware to super-realistic spaces or out-of-this-world ethereal textures. But behind the scenes, those algorithms comprise complex structures with hundreds of processors running in parallel with feedback networks while each processor possesses value settings that make up the character of the resultant reverb sound. Since each value for each processor has an effect on the others there is an almost infinite number of value sets available due to such complex structures. So machine learning was used to qualify over 20 million value sets, selecting only the best combinations for use in this 64- bit, 192 kHz (or higher) high sampling rate plug-in. Putting that into its user-friendly perspective, HyperSpace offers an amazing amount of control to create a reverb that’s unique to its user’s needs. Needless to say, it does that through an easy-to-use, resizable GUI with a super-clean background that effectively disappears, leaving users to focus on the controls that really matter. Moreover, these are divided into colour-coded zones — pink (controls the sound character of the reverb), blue (contains the main characteristics for creating a virtual space), orange (contains four special effects for creating spaces), and green (contains a group of processors designed to help the reverb sit better within a mix, so sounds are no longer pushed back in the mix, losing focus and clarity) — to ease navigating through HyperSpace. Helpfully, the plug-in’s parameters offer extreme value ranges to maximise flexibility while having the most useful values tuned to the centre of the controls so users can quickly find their sweet spot. Separate Wet and Dry controls maximise reverb balance, with a link option offering the typical mix behaviour found in most other plug-ins, while time-based parameters can be synced to the host tempo. The three dice symbols are smart randomisers that dial in useful settings for great-sounding reverbs in just one click, from subtly changing the character of an existing sound or unleashing chaos to surprise and inspire, while the wide range of onboard presets programmed by professional sound designers and producers truly showcase the sonic beauty of HyperSpace, however users choose to use them — whether for convenience or as an inspirational starting point without slowing down their creative workflow.

Rounding out newly-founded federation United Plugins’ founding independent developer triad (when placed in alphabetical order), SounDevice Digital is named after Czech musician, composer, and record producer Boris Carloff’s Prague-sited SounDevice Studio, which is where its ideas are conceived — creating convenient tools that are missed or needed while working there. That said, Royal Compressor is inspired by modelling three examples of a British vintage vari-mu compressor classic that dates back to The Beatles’ Sixties heyday, helping to shape hundreds of renowned recordings. Realising that the three devices in question sound somewhat different to each other by virtue of originally being built by hand steered SounDevice Digital towards the idea of merging them into a single, peerless plug-in. Put it this way: warm and pleasing-sounding compression attributes applicable to any kind of audio source material are readily on tap, thanks to the simulation of those vari-mu circuits central to Royal Compressor. Its clear-cut GUI features few controls, clearly influenced by yesteryear’s analogue era when manual mixing was the order of the day, yet those controls can dramatically alter any audio that they are applied to. They collectively bring about a welcomed vintage vibe to the compressed result, which is, of course, what Royal Compressor is all about. A MODEL knob allows users to instantly switch between the three different models of circuitry (A, B, and C), each with a different value for fixed attack. AUTOGAIN keeps the output signal at the same level, regardless of how high the INPUT CONTROL is set, so serious saturation always abounds. And, unlike those original vintage devices from which it draws its inspiration, Royal Compressor features an adjustable SATURATION control (based on a random saturation algorithm which creates the effect that valve hardware has when brought into play). Performance-wise, while Royal Compressor operates on a high internal sample rate, truly twenty-first-century simulation technology maximises its exceptional sound while minimising CPU load. Letting state-of-the-art simulation speak further for itself, Royal Compressor comes complete with a so-called ‘second-hand’ edition. Even semi-broken machines still serve some studios well, with functionality perhaps limited to only one feature, yet they can still bring something special to the production process. Which is exactly what this freebie from SounDevice Digital does!

FireSonic’s FireCobra is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of €77.00 EUR throughout June 2019 — rising thereafter to €129.00 EUR — as an audio plug-in (compatible with 32-and 64-bit VST hosts, 32- and 64-bit VST3 hosts, 32- and 64-bit AU hosts, and 32- and 64-bit AAX hosts) directly from United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/FireCobra (Note that 15-day, fully-functional trial versions for MacOS and Windows can be downloaded for free.)

JMG Music’s HyperSpace is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of €77.00 EUR throughout June 2019 — rising thereafter to €129.00 EUR — as an audio plug-in (compatible with 32-and 64-bit VST hosts, 32- and 64-bit VST3 hosts, 32- and 64-bit AU hosts, and 32- and 64-bit AAX hosts) directly from United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/Hyperspace (Note that 15-day, fully-functional trial versions for MacOS and Windows can be downloaded for free.)

SounDevice Digital’s Royal Compressor is available to purchase for a time-limited introductory promo price of €77.00 EUR throughout June 2019 — rising thereafter to €129.00 EUR — as an audio plug-in (compatible with 32-and 64-bit VST hosts, 32- and 64-bit VST3 hosts, 32- and 64-bit AU hosts, and 32- and 64-bit AAX hosts) directly from United Plugins here: https://unitedplugins.com/RoyalCompressor (Note that 15-day, fully-functional trial versions for MacOS and Windows can be downloaded for free.)

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