A game changing plugin......DSM

[jdhogg]

This for me is a game changing plugin that very few people know about. I cant imagine anyone not getting better mixes with this in their arsenal regardless of how pro you are.

There are similar plugs such as soniformer but this is engineering wise superior for a number of reasons.
Read the testimonials, those are some big engineering names.

Watch the videos!!! Also can be used as a mastering tool with imho the best limiter out there.

From the site

http://www.proaudiodsp.com/products/dsm/

Overview

At the heart of the DSM lies an easy-to-use single-button "Capture" system. This unique feature uses groundbreaking adaptive techniques to capture both the frequency-domain and dynamic characteristics of audio program, and uses this as the basis for a highly developed large scale multi-band compression process.

The DSM also includes a single-button Limiter function which has been optimised specifically to work with the compression stage.

Exemplary results in lightning-fast time can be acheived for common tasks such as:-

* Loudness enhancement
* Compression
* Vocal enhancement and character processing
* De-essing

The DSM provides multi-dimensional control over both the spectral response and dynamic characteristics of audio material, bringing a whole new dimension of facility and artistic ability to the sound engineer.

[remmet]

Sounds great! It's on my list.

R

[cardell]

Sounds great! It's on my list.

R

Me too.

Stuart

[kitchensinkmusic]

I'll check it out tomorrow...I've always had problems with master buss compression/limiting - maybe this is the solution??

[joshhunsaker]

HarBal has technically been able to do this same thing for quite some time:
http://www.har-bal.com/

It may not be quite as articulate a program however. I haven't personally used either but have heard very good things about harbal in general.

[kitchensinkmusic]

this DSM sounds pretty impressive and the testimonials are extensive. Kinda pricey tho'. Anyone got an opinion about that?

[jdhogg]

I did say there were similar things but they are not the same.

Harbal is a static digital eg and is therefore not remotely close to the power of DSM.

From harbal

So how does Har-Bal balancing handle this problem?

Har-Bal is essentially composed of two parts : a spectrum analysis engine and a high-resolution linear phase digital filter. We handle the problem by first analyzing the entire recording. This gives us a measure of the average and peak spectrum content (displayed graphically) from which we can quickly and easily judge the spectral balance of a given recording. Then through a novel user interface, our software allows you to design a matching digital filter that produces the spectral balance that you want and without question. The designed filter can be tested by listening to the effect it has on the recording and comparing it with the un-balanced version in real time.

So for example if there is a frequency peak at some point (eg de-essing) harbal just applies an average over the whole signal all the time to get the average to where it should be and will thus trash the signal where there is no "essing" or problem....but....DSM will only compress/limit the peak leaving the rest untouched.
I know harbal is not for de-essing but it shows why they are not the same in effect or function.

Harbal is an EQ. DSM is essintialy a very clever type of compressor that can optionally focus on any frequency and therfore dynamicaly manipulate the signal and thus in effect the eq curve.

As for the price! They dont charge 20% vat at the moment as their turnover is low so it should be more. Try the demo and then decide if it is expensive.

It essentially replaces amongst other things master bus compressor, limiter and eq and results in a better sound and more quickly.

Did anyone try the demo?

[billg1]

Pretty impressive what you can do with this on the master buss! I can see this being useful in a mastering environment for tracks with severe problems. I didn't like what it did to the sound of the voccls in the de-ess demonstration though.

It does seem pricey but if I were a mastering engineer I'd think it was a worthwhile tool. It could be really valuable in the day-to-day job of fixing really screwed up mixes without a lot of the usual headaches.