Voxengo TEOTE automatic spectral balancer plugin released
-
- KVRAF
- 10361 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
In short: TEOTE is a semi-automatic/intelligent "make it sound better" type of plugin where the user has quite a bit of control over what that "better" means, in terms of overall frequency response.
It's aim is to naturally "tilt/massage" the frequency response of any audio you throw at it to the specified spectrum slope. It defaults to 4.5dB/octave tilt, meaning a slightly brighter overall representation than pink noise. 4.5dB slope is the current average trend for overall frequency response of popular music.. or virtually any music released today (of course varies a bit per genre).
With the built in filters however you can also target specific frequency areas of interest, that you want to control.. or you can completely shape the target frequency slope yourself and force TEOTE to do some drastic changes to your audio.
It does all this by means of multiband compression/expansion. The musicality comes from the exceptional crossover filters and the underlying dynamics algorithm (which is apparently derived from the latest Marquis compressor). With the latest update it's possible to set TEOTE to quite drastic settings which allows it to be used for radical sound shaping as well.
Some examples:
- You recorded some Vocals and they are unevenly bright or dull over a whole song or passage. Put TEOTE on the track, set the desired slope (aka brightness) and turn up the FX knob until it automatically gets much more balanced and even.
- Want to quickly remix a drumloop where the kick is way too prominent and uncontrolled? Insert TEOTE on the track, set it's threshold to zero, target the filters to treat only the lows, set the shape control to bright (-3.0dB slope) and turn up the FX knob to full and suddenly that kick is controlled by extreme amounts. Now if you feel TEOTE controlled the kick very well but took out too much overall bass, then simply use an EQ after TEOTE to bring back some of the lost frequencies. Instant control.
- Have a synth pad that screams and wobbles with resonances all over the place, making it hard to fit within a mix? TEOTE will take care of this nicely when set to the full 64 bands. It'll precisely control all those moving resonances, even if they rapidly slide from left to right in the stereo spectrum. Simply unlink the stereo link knob (set to zero), choose if you want to compress the offending frequencies while boosting everything else or just go for complete compression.
It's aim is to naturally "tilt/massage" the frequency response of any audio you throw at it to the specified spectrum slope. It defaults to 4.5dB/octave tilt, meaning a slightly brighter overall representation than pink noise. 4.5dB slope is the current average trend for overall frequency response of popular music.. or virtually any music released today (of course varies a bit per genre).
With the built in filters however you can also target specific frequency areas of interest, that you want to control.. or you can completely shape the target frequency slope yourself and force TEOTE to do some drastic changes to your audio.
It does all this by means of multiband compression/expansion. The musicality comes from the exceptional crossover filters and the underlying dynamics algorithm (which is apparently derived from the latest Marquis compressor). With the latest update it's possible to set TEOTE to quite drastic settings which allows it to be used for radical sound shaping as well.
Some examples:
- You recorded some Vocals and they are unevenly bright or dull over a whole song or passage. Put TEOTE on the track, set the desired slope (aka brightness) and turn up the FX knob until it automatically gets much more balanced and even.
- Want to quickly remix a drumloop where the kick is way too prominent and uncontrolled? Insert TEOTE on the track, set it's threshold to zero, target the filters to treat only the lows, set the shape control to bright (-3.0dB slope) and turn up the FX knob to full and suddenly that kick is controlled by extreme amounts. Now if you feel TEOTE controlled the kick very well but took out too much overall bass, then simply use an EQ after TEOTE to bring back some of the lost frequencies. Instant control.
- Have a synth pad that screams and wobbles with resonances all over the place, making it hard to fit within a mix? TEOTE will take care of this nicely when set to the full 64 bands. It'll precisely control all those moving resonances, even if they rapidly slide from left to right in the stereo spectrum. Simply unlink the stereo link knob (set to zero), choose if you want to compress the offending frequencies while boosting everything else or just go for complete compression.
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
-
- KVRAF
- 4970 posts since 26 Apr, 2007 from Noosphere
You are beast bmanic. I will reread it though. And yes, i've had problems with spiking resonance just like anybody else (and I'm not an EQ wizzard, so I tamed it with a generic (non dynamic) compressor). I will try the demo. Thank you.bmanic wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 2:36 pm In short: TEOTE is a semi-automatic/intelligent "make it sound better" type of plugin where the user has quite a bit of control over what that "better" means, in terms of overall frequency response.
It's aim is to naturally "tilt/massage" the frequency response of any audio you throw at it to the specified spectrum slope. It defaults to 4.5dB/octave tilt, meaning a slightly brighter overall representation than pink noise. 4.5dB slope is the current average trend for overall frequency response of popular music.. or virtually any music released today (of course varies a bit per genre).
With the built in filters however you can also target specific frequency areas of interest, that you want to control.. or you can completely shape the target frequency slope yourself and force TEOTE to do some drastic changes to your audio.
It does all this by means of multiband compression/expansion. The musicality comes from the exceptional crossover filters and the underlying dynamics algorithm (which is apparently derived from the latest Marquis compressor). With the latest update it's possible to set TEOTE to quite drastic settings which allows it to be used for radical sound shaping as well.
Some examples:
- You recorded some Vocals and they are unevenly bright or dull over a whole song or passage. Put TEOTE on the track, set the desired slope (aka brightness) and turn up the FX knob until it automatically gets much more balanced and even.
- Want to quickly remix a drumloop where the kick is way too prominent and uncontrolled? Insert TEOTE on the track, set it's threshold to zero, target the filters to treat only the lows, set the shape control to bright (-3.0dB slope) and turn up the FX knob to full and suddenly that kick is controlled by extreme amounts. Now if you feel TEOTE controlled the kick very well but took out too much overall bass, then simply use an EQ after TEOTE to bring back some of the lost frequencies. Instant control.
- Have a synth pad that screams and wobbles with resonances all over the place, making it hard to fit within a mix? TEOTE will take care of this nicely when set to the full 64 bands. It'll precisely control all those moving resonances, even if they rapidly slide from left to right in the stereo spectrum. Simply unlink the stereo link knob (set to zero), choose if you want to compress the offending frequencies while boosting everything else or just go for complete compression.
P.S.: considering your experience, are you going to use this tool?
-
- KVRAF
- 10361 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
Already used it a lot! At the moment I've used it mainly on all my synth sound design. I'm sampling a lot of my synth presets for my MPC Live. It's a very quick and comfortable way of getting things post processed so that they fit more easily into a mix as I have so few possibilities within the MPC Live to do deep mixing.
I've also used it on various reverb and delay sends to minimize buildup of certain frequencies and to keep reverbs and delays from congesting the mix too much.
In general it's a great tool for keeping things in check. I do however suspect I'm over using it at the moment. It's a bit too easy to get everything and anything under control, which may lead to some sterility in mixes and some of my sound design. I'll have to be careful!
Cheers!
bM
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
-
- KVRist
- 204 posts since 24 Sep, 2019
Don't you use it on whole mixes ?
Interesting... haven't tried that one.
I reach a lot for the bypass... and a/b a lot. for ME, within a mix context, it SHOULD "open" up subtly the whole "soup" whilst maintaining low-to-sub info intact. I had cases where low-end just "tightened" in a very pleasing way (not "wobbly"). if low end suffers I "fill" it with synthetic low-end processor (I tried the tilt thingy Alexsey suggested... it didn't quite click with me. maybe because I use heavily low-end stuff)bmanic wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:59 am In general it's a great tool for keeping things in check. I do however suspect I'm over using it at the moment. It's a bit too easy to get everything and anything under control, which may lead to some sterility in mixes and some of my sound design. I'll have to be careful!
-
- KVRAF
- 2303 posts since 11 Jan, 2009 from Portland, OR, USA
This is actually a pretty good description of its behavior, for me anywayMichey wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:17 pm I reach a lot for the bypass... and a/b a lot. for ME, within a mix context, it SHOULD "open" up subtly the whole "soup" whilst maintaining low-to-sub info intact. I had cases where low-end just "tightened" in a very pleasing way (not "wobbly"). if low end suffers I "fill" it with synthetic low-end processor (I tried the tilt thingy Alexsey suggested... it didn't quite click with me. maybe because I use heavily low-end stuff)
. I mostly use it on the master bus, and it definitely helps 'tighten' things up: the lows get 'contained' a bit (mud carved out of the cracks) and the high-end gets brightness / sizzle. It's pretty easy to control the amount of this, which is important of course since it's easy to over-do.-
- KVRian
- 1189 posts since 11 Jun, 2019
Very interesting. TEOTE is on my List, but you´ve made me curious again.bmanic wrote: ↑Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:59 am
Already used it a lot! At the moment I've used it mainly on all my synth sound design. I'm sampling a lot of my synth presets for my MPC Live. It's a very quick and comfortable way of getting things post processed so that they fit more easily into a mix as I have so few possibilities within the MPC Live to do deep mixing.
I use the similar DSM V3 until now and for Sampling, too.
But isn´t it destructive in the narrow Sense of the Term to apply a) a Mastering FR Curve b) with an MB Comp c) to a single Sound? That will usually end up in a high, "flat" Sound without Depth reminding of some Kind of Noise?
What are your Experiences?
DL TEOTE now.
-
- KVRist
- 239 posts since 21 Apr, 2010
Why don't you try it yourself with YOUR material ?
The thing that I appreciate with TEOTE is that while its easy overdoing things, its as easy to "soften" and "back-off" the (potentially) over-processed results, making them suit your needs : the FX (ie. wet/dry); boost thrs; (num of) bands; slope; band passing the affected freq range.... TONS of option (but not overwhelmingly so).
A few guys said here it easy to overdo it... I'd go the other way around and say : it's easy to pinpoint the desired effect whilst maintaining the overall coherence of the audio. of course one has to know the sound he's looking for...
-
- KVRAF
- 10361 posts since 3 Feb, 2003 from Finland, Espoo
I'm the one who said I probably overdo it. I just know myself well enough to be cautious.
TEOTE sounds absolutely phenomenal, thus it's a typical case of easily overdoing it because it sounds so even and "musical". Sometimes you don't notice until way later that one should back off a bit.
Good point about DSM v3. It too applies dynamics processing to a target curve (which you can specify yourself or capture), however DSM only does compression and to my ears TEOTE is a bit less invasive at heavier settings than DSM is. TEOTE is also a lot more accurate in the bass frequencies as it splits frequencies in a more traditional way than DSM (which is FFT based).
TEOTE sounds absolutely phenomenal, thus it's a typical case of easily overdoing it because it sounds so even and "musical". Sometimes you don't notice until way later that one should back off a bit.
Good point about DSM v3. It too applies dynamics processing to a target curve (which you can specify yourself or capture), however DSM only does compression and to my ears TEOTE is a bit less invasive at heavier settings than DSM is. TEOTE is also a lot more accurate in the bass frequencies as it splits frequencies in a more traditional way than DSM (which is FFT based).
"Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of the idiot who said it." -an idiot
-
- KVRian
- 1189 posts since 11 Jun, 2019
Tested it and ... It sounds amazing.
It's theoreticaly playing in the same League as DSM, but it is a completely different Tool for different Purposes.
I'd not recommend to throw it on everything, that should be clear (...), it's mainly a Mastering Tool for Mixes - but it is great for Balancing, for quick Changes and as Comparison/Reference - and in so far and secondary a really nice Tool for Sound Design. The Compression is Outstanding. The high Frequencys silky in a Way seldomly heard from Software.
But once again I'm left with Questionmarks like"why does it brighten a Signal again and again if you use several Instances"? ... And it has accentuated Problems in two Cases here. But anyway. Three Thumbs Up for this Timesaver. Sound Improver. Reference.
DSM is more versatile than it looks btw. I seldomly use it for its main Purpose, but rather e. g. for Keyrange / Frequency selective Compression or as a "Flattener".
It's theoreticaly playing in the same League as DSM, but it is a completely different Tool for different Purposes.
I'd not recommend to throw it on everything, that should be clear (...), it's mainly a Mastering Tool for Mixes - but it is great for Balancing, for quick Changes and as Comparison/Reference - and in so far and secondary a really nice Tool for Sound Design. The Compression is Outstanding. The high Frequencys silky in a Way seldomly heard from Software.
But once again I'm left with Questionmarks like"why does it brighten a Signal again and again if you use several Instances"? ... And it has accentuated Problems in two Cases here. But anyway. Three Thumbs Up for this Timesaver. Sound Improver. Reference.
DSM is more versatile than it looks btw. I seldomly use it for its main Purpose, but rather e. g. for Keyrange / Frequency selective Compression or as a "Flattener".
-
- KVRAF
- 7363 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
I'm sure there are many ways to work with it, and it's still early days yet. But my thinking is this:
It makes sense to clean the "gunk" out of individual tracks before they get mixed together... so go ahead and put TEOTE on individual tracks, but set the boost threshold high so it doesn't get to boost much if at all. Those areas of the spectrum might be covered by another part in the mix and you might rather have the separation.
It can be a helpful diagnostic tool at that point too -- in one case it made me realize I really needed a highpass filter on a part.
Also, it might be useful to note where it wants to boost, even if you don't let it. Then you can go back during the mix and raise thresholds on individual parts, or tweak EQ, or just let an instance of TEOTE on the final mix take care of it.
It makes sense to clean the "gunk" out of individual tracks before they get mixed together... so go ahead and put TEOTE on individual tracks, but set the boost threshold high so it doesn't get to boost much if at all. Those areas of the spectrum might be covered by another part in the mix and you might rather have the separation.
It can be a helpful diagnostic tool at that point too -- in one case it made me realize I really needed a highpass filter on a part.
Also, it might be useful to note where it wants to boost, even if you don't let it. Then you can go back during the mix and raise thresholds on individual parts, or tweak EQ, or just let an instance of TEOTE on the final mix take care of it.
-
- KVRian
- 1265 posts since 3 Jul, 2009
TEOTE is the kind of tool I hoped Gullfoss would be (the end result anyway), and also much easier to use than DSM V3. TEOTE is more versatile and the sound is great. One feature I would prefer however; a simple range of operation. ´Apply to range´ won´t cut it because of the low dB filter slopes.
-
- KVRAF
- 1525 posts since 29 Oct, 2015 from Jupiter 8
noob question, as i've never used any of these “(semi) automatic better mixer plugins“ (and no troll attempt, i promise 
), but why is seemingly 99.9% of the music mixing internet condemning MB compression as some crippling bandaid that you only should use if you have no other choice and even then with absolute care and now since Gulfoss et al it's suddenly (one of the) best thing(s) ever to fix / goodize your mix, despite being way more multiband than MB compression ever was?
I know bmanic was not one of those 99.9%, but still...
), but why is seemingly 99.9% of the music mixing internet condemning MB compression as some crippling bandaid that you only should use if you have no other choice and even then with absolute care and now since Gulfoss et al it's suddenly (one of the) best thing(s) ever to fix / goodize your mix, despite being way more multiband than MB compression ever was?I know bmanic was not one of those 99.9%, but still...
The GAS is always greener on the other side!
