OEKSOUND Bloom (NEW)

[TBlake]

I was prepared to pay $150 or $160 US for Bloom but this is just pure greed from oeksound.

[Erik_Lucas]

Loving the plugin ollie. Nice job!

[plexuss]

I do not think the price is too high for a tool, maybe not targeted for newbies at home anyway?
Watching some videos of it in action it could be a nice quick fixer for more dynamic and wide bandwidth solutions. Love the smash section

Ironic since those are the folks that could use it the most.

[vexxangel]

Had a quick playaround with this on the mix bus and a guitar track. I honestly much preferred the results I was getting from Gullfoss and Process Audio's Sugar. I've also a few alternatives to these (such as TEOTE) that I didn't bother with. Maybe it's my ears, but I just couldn't hear anything better than what a straightforward Dynamic EQ could achieve.

Track-wise, there are just too many other surgical and colouring EQs (AI and non AI) out there to warrant spending $200 on another one. No loyalty discount either kinda puts two fingers up to those, like me, who've kept them in business by purchasing Soothe and Spiff. This one's a definite miss.

Agree. They should offer 25% off for owners of Soothe or Spiff. No introductory price is very rare, and everyone is broke. Plus most people own Gullfoss or the other plugins you mentioned by now (Cue FS: Gullfoss on FVR Sell forum). That said, it does seem to be a step ahead with its algo, perhaps using the Mel scale. and AI training, as it does selectively choose the best frequencies pretty well. It offers much more control than Gullfoss which is a bit random. Don't know much about Sugar but seems like the same idea as Bloom, with a different algo, for less money.

[plexuss]

Had a quick playaround with this on the mix bus and a guitar track. I honestly much preferred the results I was getting from Gullfoss and Process Audio's Sugar. I've also a few alternatives to these (such as TEOTE) that I didn't bother with. Maybe it's my ears, but I just couldn't hear anything better than what a straightforward Dynamic EQ could achieve.

Track-wise, there are just too many other surgical and colouring EQs (AI and non AI) out there to warrant spending $200 on another one. No loyalty discount either kinda puts two fingers up to those, like me, who've kept them in business by purchasing Soothe and Spiff. This one's a definite miss.

Agree. They should offer 25% off for owners of Soothe or Spiff. No introductory price is very rare, and everyone is broke. Plus most people own Gullfoss or the other plugins you mentioned by now (Cue FS: Gullfoss on FVR Sell forum). That said, it does seem to be a step ahead with its algo, perhaps using the Mel scale. and AI training, as it does selectively choose the best frequencies pretty well. It offers much more control than Gullfoss which is a bit random. Don't know much about Sugar but seems like the same idea as Bloom, with a different algo, for less money.

Bloom apparently doesnt use AI (good). It's meaningless anyway to say a product uses AI without explaining exactly what is involved. I have Soothe and Spiff. Bloom seems to be redundant with my other similar tools. Even if it were a unique "flavour" of such tools, the $210US price tag makes it a no-go for me. I like Gullfoss anyway.

[legendCNCD]

I do not think the price is too high for a tool, maybe not targeted for newbies at home anyway?

Ironic since those are the folks that could use it the most.

Not sure if it would yield more destruction than fixing

[equisonus]

I do not think the price is too high for a tool, maybe not targeted for newbies at home anyway?

I understand and have empathy for your perspective, but in my experience, this dynamic AI equalizer tends to excel more on lower quality audio material, often recorded by beginners. So, in my opinion, it's precisely the newbies who may not benefit as much from this price.

Personally, I prefer investing in pricier tools like those from DMG Audio, which demand more user input and treat their loyal customers like… well, loyal customers.

[plexuss]

... this dynamic AI equalizer ...

It apparently doesnt use AI. Not everything new and sexy is based on AI.

[equisonus]

I don’t even find it sexy

[plexuss]

I don’t even find it sexy

It's hot pink, for heaven's sake!

I tried it out on a mix buss. To my ears, the best analogy would be like wiping a window clear - it cleans away the grime. It's not like Gullfoss - Gullfoss does a full bandwidth tweek that brings out transient clarity and removes from grime. Bloom is more like, set it up to the "colour" of the grime and then dial it in to wipe it away. I suppose it makes audio "bloom". Aptly named. Still $210 is too hard a pill to swallow at the moment.

One thing I tried was dialing Bloom in to taste and then using EQs to match the sonic character of Bloom. I got close. I could also hear possible artifacts with Bloom on higher big knob numbers. I think its programme dependent though. It would be interesting to see how it cleans up stems.

I think I will pick it up when it comes on sale in 1-2 years. I can wait. For me it's a "nice to have" not a "need to have".

[kelvyn]

Funnily enough this is probably an easier purchase for hobbyists who have other sources of income than other professionals. Quite a few professional composers, artists, musicians, arrangers are dealing with a financial crisis right now, income has continued to dwindle over the years for all sorts of reasons - well known - and
maintaining a reasonable lifestyle whilst also keeping up with the kind of tools professionals require has become somewhat of a difficult balancing act. Whilst I appreciate the fact that companies also need to make money in order to research and develop new product Bloom doesn’t seem to be a million miles away from what they have already developed. My thinking is that keeping the price on the same level as their initial innovative plugins might not have been in their best interests judging from the comments here and at GS.

[plexuss]

As always in life: They snooze they lose.

[coroknight]

I’m begging Oeksound to reconsider iLok. Bloom looks awesome but I’m not going to install background processes on my computer.

This practice is cancer and something I’ve had to actively avoid. If I wasn’t so dilligent I’d have, no joke, have 5 or more of these processes running in the background doing who knows what. I’m talking everything from anti-cheat rootkits for video games to various licensing and DRM programs.

Hell I had to return my UAD audio interface because it wanted to install a f**king background process just to get the ASIO drivers.

Enough is enough. Please stop. If companies like u-he can get away without iLok so can you. I believe in you Oeksound.

[morelia]

The price looks a lot in US$ but it's $318 in AU. I like Bloom, although not sure yet what it offers above other more affordable tools I have. First impressions are I'd buy it is the price was closer to the competitors but no way I can fork out 318 on something that it at least partly covered by other tools, and learning to mix better.

[Digivolt]

(Cue FS: Gullfoss on FVR Sell forum).

Don't Gullfoss have the shitty terms that if you buy it on a sale, you can't transfer the license ?