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Using Soothe2 From Oeksound To Tame Low End Resonances

Soothe2 from Oeksound is their latest update to a tool referred to as a "Dynamic resonance Suppressor." What is a dynamic resonance suppressor exactly? 

Here is what Oeksound says about it: It automatically detects resonances across the whole frequency range and applies reduction only to the harsh and resonant parts of the signal, where and when needed. It can find its uses on individual channels as well as on busses and in mastering. You can use it to reduce the harshness from close mic'd sources, clean up low-mid muddiness, be a transparent de-esser, or even bass build-ups which poke out.

In practice, it does precisely this. It has an intuitive, modern interface with just the right amount of control. The auto-detection function makes it simple to dial in a useable setting with just a couple of knob twists. But it also offers more power for the times when you want to dig in a bit deeper. 

Soothe 2 is no simple dynamic EQ or multi-band compressor. It only acts upon uneven and unbalanced sounding resonances, leaving the rest of the tonal spectrum intact. I've had great results using this on a male VO and a variety of instruments. 

In this video, hear it in action on an electric guitar part with some uneven sounding resonance in the low range, and an electric bass sound. The side chain feature is used here to have the kick drum carve out a bit where the problematic resonances hit, primarily when the kick drum plays at the same time. The bass sounds perfectly natural while carving out a nice snug fit with the bass drum when they play together. It's subtle, but a very musical sounding process that helps add a bit more snap to the groove!

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