Soundevice Digital/United Plug-ins' Pluralis
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Soundevice Digital/United Plug-ins' Pluralis |
Pluralis is a stereo delay plug-in of a very special design with four operating modes named: Left/Right, Low/Hi, Quiet/Loud, and Mid/Side. Once you discover and learn how these modes work and, if you are like me, you will be sufficiently intrigued to try them all out. Most of the GUI's controls are self-explaining to anyone who is familiar with delay plugs. There is the Colour control saturating the delays.
Other than for a straight, ahead send/return effect, I use Pluralis as an insert processor--even for the Left/Right mode for two completed separate delays where I used the individual modulation sections to automatically vary the left and right delays. I liked the Filter displays for the left and right outputs with 'mouseable', 6dB/octave HP and LP levers--these graphics hint at Pluralis intricate possibilities.
Low/Hi mode splits the two delays by frequency like a Tilt equalizer except more extreme. That would be whatever frequency you dial in on the large central Crossover control. I used 700Hz for a Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar part with only 1.8ms on the left side and 3.1ms on the right side. Delay times up to 10-seconds are available and delay is also adjustable in musical notation and subdivisions for syncing to specific tempos.
Quiet/Loud is a way to split the two delays by level or volume stated in dB. In this mode the Crossover control indicates at what level the left or right delay's output is heard. I used a mono to stereo instance on a lead vocal where I wanted 1/8-note delay only on the louder singing and also maintain a short delay only on the softer singing. I moved the track's pan pots inward plus the plug-in has separate Gain controls so you can get the delay level just right. I saved a preset called VocalFattening.
Finally, Mid/Side mode worked well for a true stereo pad. The Pan pots are grayed out because now Crossover varies the delays between the Mid and Side components of stereo sound. I liked being able to put a short delay only on the Side component and not the Mid. Not enough space here to get into this mode too much but I am trying it a lot.
Pluralis from Soundevices Digital sells for $99 and trials are available. It works great! I think it is awesome but could use separate Mute buttons for the two outputs and the Crossover control should just be a simple visual horizontal fader.
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