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Today we are pleased to bring you a review of a product from Oeksound called Soothe 2. Soothe 2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor, meaning that it identifies problematic and harsh resonances in real-time and notches them out, leaving you with smoother and more balanced signals to work with.
Company: Oeksound
Product: Soothe2
Price: £179
Our Rating: 4.5/5
Overview
Soothe 2 is the direct sequel to the original Soothe resonance suppressor and has caused quite a positive stir in the audio post/music production communities. Whilst the original Soothe started out life as an obscure boutique plug-in, it quickly became a go-to tool for producers worldwide thanks to its usability and wonderfully smooth sound. Soothe 2 represents a clear step up from the original and virtually every aspect of the plug-in has been improved in some way or another.
Some of the main upgrades include: - Increased range of action across the full frequency spectrum. - Mid/side processing across the overall spectrum or on individual bands. - Improved performance and lower latency. - Attack & Release parameters for increased control.
- Addition of a new “Soft” mode which is more transparent and less in your face.
Key Features & Benefits
Why not just use an EQ to remove harsh frequencies? We are glad you asked. You most certainly could use an EQ to achieve a similar resonance suppression, but Soothe2 will give you a level of speed and detail that just couldn’t be achieved with a traditional EQ, and also offers a powerful reduction of unwanted elements without comprise the timbre of the sound or introducing unwanted artefacts. In the world of Audio Post-production, time is a critical factor, and if there is a way to complete a job more quickly or with fewer steps involved then this is always a massive win, and Soothe2 lets you do just that.
Another thing that we really love about this product is its simplicity and ease of use. The developers have been very disciplined and have restricted the features to only what you need to get the job done and nothing more, which is something that says a lot about the design approach that Oeksound has taken with developing Soothe 2.
The new features of Soothe2 are shown here in this explainer video.
Where it's useful
Soothe2 will be useful across a wide range of audio applications, and is equally suited to music production, mixing, audio post-production, sound design, and mastering situations.
We will primarily use it to treat dialogue recordings and smoothen them out. This could be removing the proximity effect from dialogue recorded with LAV mics or treating harsh frequencies caused by sibilance.
Some common scenarios in which Soothe2 excels include: - Remove harshness from close miked sound sources.
- Transparently manage sibilance in vocals and dialogue.
- Treat uneven tonal balance from suboptimal recordings.
- Clear muddiness, boominess, and proximity effect.
- Soften overly bright guitar and piano recordings.
- Tame piercing synth sounds.
Conclusion
Overall, Soothe2 builds upon the foundations laid by its predecessor and improves in nearly every way. Its ease of use, combined with its transparent sound makes it a top-tier choice for anyone who is looking for a resonance suppressor plug-in.
The £179 price stage is perhaps the only downside, as at this price soothe2 remains a specialist tool, and is better suited to more advanced users who will get the most value out of this product. More junior users would be better served with a more general EQ or multiband compressor.
It will certainly exist on our dialogue chain for lots of projects going forward!
You can find out more about Soothe2 as well as the purchase information via the link below: https://oeksound.com/plugins/soothe2/
We hope you enjoyed this review!
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