Elevayta Space Boy (and others) - opinions wanted

[Compyfox]

I'm really looking into getting some useful tools in the next weeks/months, etc. Elevayta ExtraBoy is on my list too, cause a friend of mine asked me to do "overdubbings" for a fanproject, but nothing sounds as good in terms of "frequency cancelation" than ExtraBoy.


Anyway, while looking at the Elevayta page, a couple of other tools stood out for me:
SpaceBoy and StreamBoy

I'd like to get some opinions on them if possible. What I can do with them in Cubase and Wavelab, what'S the best usage for them (for example SpaceBoy in an orchestra or a rock environment - both with vocals). Can I use Stream Boy in a network (multiple PCs)?

The more info, the better. Goods and bads, just post them here please.
Thanks in advance.

[Space Boy]

FYI, there was recently a very similar question discussed a few days ago. Here's the link

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=145328

[Compyfox]

Well, I read myself through the thread, but it wasn't really helpful to be honest. Just general opinions and thanks as on your page.

I however want to get some opinions just on "this" particular plugin outside of the general praise "it sounds good, I always use it".

- Does it work like an EQ with rolling of the low/high frequencies to make room for other instruments?
- What instrument combinations do you suggest?
- Do only "pairs" work or several instruments at once?
- Do you put this thing in the pre-fade/EQ or in the post-fade/EQ?

All these kinds of questions.
Before I sit down myself and try hours to find the right combinations, I want to catch some suggestions and opinions first, from those who're already using SpaceBoy more indepth. Especially because there're no demos or suggestions on the Elevayta page itself. That's all.

[Space Boy]

You typically use two instances of Space Boy on two independent tracks which contain instruments that are interfering with each other in an undesirable way. One in Tx mode and one in Rx mode. The Rx track will automatically make holes in the EQ of the Rx track when required according to the information transmitted from the Tx track.

Classic example is Kick and Bass. Put a Tx instance on the Kick track and an Rx instance on the Bass track. At the frequencies where the Kick and Bass overlap, a space will be made (real-time and dynamic) in the audio spectrum of the Bass to prevent a muddy sound. Thus you get the punch of the Kick and the character of the Bass - without the boom and without the mud. This is just one example. It also works on any pairs of instruments that share common frequencies in an undesirable way. It can even be used on a single instrument (see the Elevayta forum on KvR).

- Does it work like an EQ with rolling of the low/high frequencies to make room for other instruments?

Exactly - but only when the instruments involved contain frequencies that clash and only when the clash occurs. It can also detect and visually display the frequencies that clash so that you can dial them into any EQ you use.

- What instrument combinations do you suggest?

Any that are relevant. For example, with a Clarinet and Oboe playing the same tune in unison, the Oboe will always dominate over the Clarinet because they share a lot of common frequencies and the Oboe has more harmonics (which make it dominant) - Space Boy fixes this automatically. Space Boy is designed to quickly solve a problem where clashing frequencies are involved. If it isn't required you will hear no difference on the material.

- Do only "pairs" work or several instruments at once?

You can apply multiple pairs, copy and rename the .dll to create more instances. How many you can use depends on your CPU power.

- Do you put this thing in the pre-fade/EQ or in the post-fade/EQ?

It makes most sense to make Space Boy the first pug-in on each track. You don't want to be introducing EQ changes before Space Boy only to have them compensated.

The demo is there to try.

Cheers

Paul

[.jon]

Thanks for the explanation, that sounds clever. Will try the demo.

[Compyfox]

Thanks for the information, Paul. Very detailed and now I understand this plugin a bit more.

- Do only "pairs" work or several instruments at once?

You can apply multiple pairs, copy and rename the .dll to create more instances. How many you can use depends on your CPU power.

So... does that mean I can only use "one instance" of this plugin after all? Unless copy/rename it to like spaceboy01.dll to spaceboy10.dll?

Then however I can use one Tx track as trigger, but several Rx tracks as receiver? Or again, pairs only, but this time independend from like, spaceboy01. (spaceboy01 = bass and kick, spaceboy02 = pads and vocals - if that even makes sense).


Also reminds me of a sidechaining compressor, but more intelligent acting. Definitely a nice idea.

[2windy]

Anybody use Space Boy with Orion Plat ok? Can't test as DAW is shagged.

[JoMal]

Space Boy is nothing short of revolutionary. I'm using it on a project right now that includes full orchestra that features a piano as the lead instrument. Piano has a very broad freq spectrum and is very hard to seat in a mix (at least for me) - so I put an instance of Space Boy on the piano track and another on the group bus that contained the orchestral instruments . Instant gratification.

[Lagrange]

I love Spaceboy. I use it everytime I mix a my songs. The only thing is that I cannot stand delay compensation so using this one live is out of the question for me. This makes it a pain because I have to print to audio for specified tracks. Other than that Space Boy is a life saver!

[Space Boy]

So... does that mean I can only use "one instance" of this plugin after all? Unless copy/rename it to like spaceboy01.dll to spaceboy10.dll?

Then however I can use one Tx track as trigger, but several Rx tracks as receiver? Or again, pairs only, but this time independend from like, spaceboy01. (spaceboy01 = bass and kick, spaceboy02 = pads and vocals - if that even makes sense).

Also reminds me of a sidechaining compressor, but more intelligent acting. Definitely a nice idea.

First of all, the demo is quite old and allows 1 channel (without needing to rename the .dll). The licensed version has many more features and allows 2 channels to be chosen from the UI. So, you can set up 4 instances (2 Tx and 2 Rx). One pair for your Kick and Bass and another pair for your Pad and Vocals (without renaming the .dll). If you want to add more pairs after this, you can simply copy and rename the .dll exactly as you described above.

You can use one Tx instance that transmits to multiple Rx instances. So you can set up a Tx instance on your Kick and two Rx instances, say one for a Bass guitar and one for a Bass synth. As long as they all use the same channel and there is only 1 Tx instance for that channel this multiple Rx will also work (you can try it with the demo).

JoMal gave another excellent example of fitting a piano into an orchestral background. The same is true for voices among backing vocals and backing vocals within a background pad. A simultaneous vocal and Sax also springs to mind. Others have used it on multiple guitars.....

JoMal - Welcome to the revolution! - there will be more to come

[Lagrange]

ELE THAT IS CRAZY IM GOING TO TRY THOSE IDEAS NOW!!

[JoMal]

...

JoMal - Welcome to the revolution! - there will be more to come

Any hints on what's to come, Paul? A mastering suite maybe?

[Compyfox]

Woha... the more I read about it, the more I really want to implement into my setup. I guess this weekend is planned out.

[Kitchen Sink]

I have SpaceBoy, but my problem with it is that I can't understand the controls. The features have these new made-up names (wormhole, outer space, deep space, etc.) and for the life of me, I can't remember their purpose without re-reading the manual once again. Why not just call them Jack, George and Eric? So the DLL has been mostly collecting dust in my VSTPlugins directory. Heck, I even have Voxengo GlissEQ which can import the "wormhole" stuff. Another totally non-descriptive name, btw. I've read GlissEQ's manual at least a dozen times and I still couldn't even remember its name, if someone asked me what the Voxengo dynamic EQ plugin is called. It could just as well be Voxengo MxzptlkEQ. Actually, MxzptlkEQ is something I could probably remember.

[Space Boy]

The features have these new made-up names (wormhole, outer space, deep space, etc.) and for the life of me, I can't remember their purpose without re-reading the manual once again.

The names do actually relate to their functionality. It's just that you never had this kind of functionality in a plug-in before.
That's sometimes the problem with innovation - it takes a while for the lingo to catch on.

However, the basic settings (and presets in the licensed version) of Space Boy should be adequate to begin with.