TesslaPRO mkIV released

all the analog goodness in subtle doses

Designed for mixing and mastering engineers navigating the digital realm, TesslaPRO strikes a balance between analogue character and modern precision. By reintroducing subtle artefacts from the analogue world into the digital domain, it delicately colours sound, refines transients, and weaves depth and dimension into the stereo field to achieve the coveted cohesive sound that defines professional mixes.

Version 4 introduces a new transformer model, integrating hysteresis effects for enhanced realism. It brings simplified gain staging to ensure consistent performance across a broad range of input levels and automatic output volume compensation allowing engineers to maintain control and predictability in their audio processing workflows. The plugin has been engineered for efficiency, further enhancing the workflow without compromising system resources.

Available for Windows VST and VST3 as freeware. Download your copy here.

ThrillseekerLA mkII released

ThrillseekerLA mkII – bringing mojo back

ThrillseekerLA is an optical stereo compressor optimized for gentle mix bus coloring. It combines smoothest optical compression with vibrant coloration options that deliver a unique box tone in their own right, including thrilling bass and elegant top end void of any harshness in the mids. Its compression not only glues things together effortlessly but also enhances the stereo image by increasing depth and dimension.

10 years after – new in version 2:

• Technical redesign with advanced opto cell emulation
• Simplified gainstaging including automatic output gain compensation
• Streamlined coloring options: Interstage, Tube and Loudness
• New compress/limit option and reworked sidechain filtering

The mkII update is available for Windows VST in 32 and 64bit as freeware. Download your copy here.

Related Links:

• • the beauty of opto-electrical compression – volume 2

TesslaPRO mkIII released

the magic is where the transient happens

The Tessla audio plugin series once started as a reminiscence to classic transformer based circuit designs of the 50s and 60s but without just being a clone stuck in the past. The PRO version has been made for mixing and mastering engineers working in the digital domain but always missing that extra vibe delivered by some highend analog devices.

TesslaPRO brings back the subtle artifacts from the analog right into the digital domain. It sligthly colors the sound, polishes transients and creates depth and dimension in the stereo field to get that cohesive sound we’re after. All the analog goodness in subtle doses: It’s a mixing effect intended to be used here and there, wherever the mix demands it.

The mkIII version is a technical redesign, further refined to capture all those sonic details while reducing audible distortions at the same time. It further blurs the line between compression and saturation and also takes aural perception based effects into account.

Available for Windows VST in 32 and 64bit as freeware. Download your copy here.

ThrillseekerLA – released today

introducing ThrillseekerLA

ThrillseekerLA – digital stereo leveling amplifier with truly analog qualities.

At a glance

• Sophisticated and deep gain riding full of musical character and attitude but with virtually no inter-modulation (IM) distortion artifacts
• Feedback compression design w/o any samplerate based delay in the loop
• Classic input level driven two knob design with additional manual attack and release time interventions
• Highly program dependent envelope timing adoption offering attack times ranging from “instantaneously” up to around 100ms and release times from 30ms up to several seconds
• Mix level switch to adopt the plug-ins internal gain staging to mixing levels at around -18dBFS
• Custom SC filter option to attenuate the SC bass response while slightly boosting the HF spectrum
• Additional one pole (6dB per octave) SC low-cut filter adjustable from 20 to 500Hz
• External sidechain support
• Switchable Input/GR/Output metering display
• Variable compression range control from 0 to 100%

announcing the “Thrillseeker” audio plug-in series

I’m bringing sexy back

The brand new and upcoming Variety of Sound Thrillseeker audio plug-ins series is going to be a plug-in collection premiering Stateful Saturation which is a sophisticated DSP core system for musical harmonic distortion generation based on authentic and truly stateful non-linear models.

Stateful Saturation takes advantage of some sought after analog qualities and preserves them accurately during their transfer right into the digital domain:

• high frequency shimmer and sheen without digital harshness
• depth and ‘3d’ imaging side effects before distortion itself becomes apparent
• audio transient dynamics that remains vibrant and alive
• natural and impressive bass response

Stateful Saturation opens the door for quite a number of amazing applications ranging from smooth harmonic exciters up to convincing amplifier effects and the DSP core can easily be set in context whether it’s a compressor output stage or a preamplifier circuit, just to name the two.

NastyDLA – final teaser and release info

NastyDLA – technical architecture

simplified technical architecture

Internally, NastyDLA consists of quite a bunch of DSP processing building blocks which as a whole are summing up to an authentic signal path simulation of it’s analog models. The blocks and the according signal flow are shown in the diagram above. Basic signal flow goes from left to right except the feedback path which goes in the opposite direction.

With NastyDLA, signal path coloration already starts in the input stage which provides a complete model of both, frequency and phase response as well as dynamic saturation. It’s located in the dry path but all nonlinear processing and coloring can be disabled on demand so it remains as a simple input volume control then. But while switched in, the input stage can greatly contribute on getting the processed signal to fit right into a mix.

introducing NastyDLA

There are just a few audio effects available that are capable of instantly turning a small and wimpy riff into something big and meaningful. One of them is the classic chorus/echo combination. Beside the individual classic echo or chorus devices these combined devices were historically build around true tape or bucket brigade delays.

From today’s production standards perspective they might be easily overseen (feature wise) but on the other hand they are still pretty much demanded due to their specific and warm tone and this unique sound quality is probably the charm which still today attracts producers and audio engineers to use them in their actual music productions.

NastyDLA is going to follow this path and recreates all the specific tone qualities while adding just some few but well selected modern features. The plug-in implements some of the most distinctive and much appreciated sonic effects generated by these devices:

• classic chorus and echo effects
• authentic signal path coloration
• tape-delay style feedback and saturation

NastyDLA applies gentle feedback driven delay effects, performs smooth audio signal modulations and adds extra harmonics and saturation effects. It will be available as a freeware VST plug-in for Win32 compatible systems later this autumn.

related links: the classic chorus echo device

quote of the day – phase shift

Quoted from the Manley Massive Passive EQ manual talking about “phase shift”:

“This is probably the most misunderstood term floating about in the mixing community. Lots of people blame or name phase shift for just about any audio problem that doesn’t sound like typical distortion. We ask that you try to approach this subject with an open mind and forget what you may have heard about  phase for now. This is not to be confused with “time alignment” as used in speakers, or the “phase” buttons on the console and multi-mic problems.”

I couldn’t agree more as already shown in the brief article on about audio signal coloration.