Author: Jooyoung Kim

Mixing Engineer, Music Producer

Output Movement Rhythm Engine 50% Off (Until 8/16)

Hello, I’m mixing engineer and music producer Jooyoung Kim.

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Output’s Movement plugin, a tool designed for creating dynamic rhythms.

As with my previous posts on Output products, this plugin was provided by Plugin Boutique under Not for Resale conditions, enabling me to write this review.

Purchase Output Movement at Plugin Boutique

(Purchasing through this link gives me a small commission, which greatly helps in running this blog.)

Let’s dive right in!

If you’re seeing this plugin for the first time, it might seem a bit overwhelming. To summarize the concept of Movement:

  1. It separates sounds in parallel,
  2. Modulates various parameters through signals like Step Sequencers, LFOs, and Sidechain,
  3. And then combines the sounds back together.

This plugin is particularly specialized in rhythmic modulation, which is why it’s marketed as a Powerful Rhythm Engine.

Now, let’s break down its features one by one.

First, you’ll notice Engine A and B on either side, where you can adjust each engine’s volume and pan values. Above the engines is the rhythm section responsible for modulation. Let’s start from there.

The rhythm section allows you to choose between Step, LFO, and Sidechain.

When Step is selected, you can create up to 32 steps.

You can manually create steps, generate them randomly, or choose from presets. You can adjust the shape and swing of the steps, and determine how often the steps change through the Rate setting.

LFOs work similarly. You choose a shape from the shape presets, select the starting phase, and use the Chaos function to set the amplitude randomly, which creates a unique sound that is both unpredictable yet rhythmic.

Sidechain is exactly what it sounds like! You can use external audio signals as triggers for modulation.

By placing the rhythm section’s number buttons on a knob, you can modulate that knob according to the selected rhythm value. Right-clicking on the knob allows you to access a modulation window where you can adjust how much it modulates based on the x-y axis movement.

You can choose up to six FX to apply. I analyzed Comp, EQ, and Distortion in particular.

Comp

The above images show the frequency response and harmonic distortion with Warmth set to 0, while the ones below show the same with Warmth increased.

With Warmth at 0, it functions as a clean digital compressor. With Warmth added, the high frequencies are slightly rolled off, and the sound becomes more saturated.

Distortion

The Distortion effect includes High Pass and Low Pass Filters as basic parameters, so the extreme lows and highs are filtered out. The upper images show Crunch at 0, while the lower images show it at a medium setting. This effect can add strong saturation!

EQ

The EQ offers three types: Parametric, Shelving, and High/Low Pass.

Interestingly, this EQ still affects the sound even if Gain1 and Gain2 are set to the center. This applies to both Parametric and Shelving EQs, so keep this in mind when adjusting.

The EQ also tends to boost the extreme high frequencies.

When flattening the frequency response and examining the phase, you’ll notice some unique characteristics.

I’ll skip the details of the remaining FX as they are more straightforward.

Finally, the button at the bottom left of the plugin reduces the processing load, easing the burden on your CPU. It doesn’t affect the sound but reduces the amount of movement in the plugin’s UI, making it less taxing on your system.

Check out Output’s official trailer to see how it works and hear what it sounds like.

You might think this plugin is only useful for electronic music, K-Pop, or hip-hop, but it can actually be applied across various genres. The Sidechain function, in particular, offers some exciting possibilities.

Output’s products are on sale at Plugin Boutique until August 16th, so if you’re curious about other plugins, it’s worth checking them out.

Purchase Output Movement at Plugin Boutique

(Purchasing through this link gives me a small commission, which greatly helps in running this blog.)

When you purchase a plugin from Plugin Boutique, you’ll also receive a free plugin. This month’s free plugins are Softube’s VCA Compressor or Imagine Audio’s K7D Delay.

If you don’t have a dbx160-style compressor, I’d recommend the VCA Compressor. If you want to apply delay to a variety of sources, K7D is a great choice.

See you in the next post~:)

Output Thermal Distortion Plugin FX 49% Off (Until 8/16)

Hello everyone, I’m mixing engineer and music producer Jooyoung Kim.

Today, following my previous post on the Portal plugin and its discount, I’m excited to introduce Output’s Thermal plugin.

buy output thermal plugin at plugin boutique

(Purchasing through this link will give me a small commission, which greatly helps in running this blog.)

As mentioned in the previous post, Plugin Boutique has provided the plugin under Not for Resale conditions, allowing me to write this review.

Let’s get started!

Thermal is one of Output’s flagship effect plugins, specializing in various types of distortion. Its basic UI is similar to that of Portal.

Opening the settings panel, you’ll find two Macros on the right and two LFOs labeled as MOD, allowing modulation of parameters with four values.

On the left, you can select the area to adjust through Stages, enabling you to control three different frequency ranges separately.

Does this remind you of anything? If you’ve used many plugins, Fabfilter’s Saturn might come to mind.

Unlike Saturn, which is for coloring with Tube or Tape settings, Thermal lets you choose from 19 ways to distort the waveform.

You can adjust how it transforms through parameters like Drive, Shape Depth, and Frequency. The Clip function provides a clipping effect, and you can control Feedback Time and amount.

There are nine effects, similar to Portal, applied only to the selected Stage.

Width and Tone are also applied per Stage.

The Modulation section works like a synthesizer’s LFO. Clicking the + button and assigning it to a parameter creates a small circle that you can adjust up and down to control the amount of modulation.

In the lower right section, you can adjust Macros with the mouse, apply the overall effect, or tweak EQ/Compression in the master section.

These parameters can also be modulated using Macros or LFOs.

This kind of plugin is great when you want intense saturation or when basic distortion isn’t enough, and you want to experiment with sound transformation.

Using automation, you can alter the XY Macros with your mouse to break away from monotonous sounds.

It’s challenging to describe these transformations in words, so check out the official Plugin Boutique video above to hear it in action.

I started with just an acoustic guitar, but as I continued making music, I began exploring plugins like this.

Though it might be too bold for mixing external projects, it can be a valuable tool to add edge to your compositions and arrangements.

I believe this is one of the best discounts ever offered. Output plugins are 50% off until August 16th, so it’s worth considering.

buy output thermal plugin at plugin boutique

(Purchasing through this link will give me a small commission, which greatly helps in running this blog.)

Additionally, when you purchase a plugin from Plugin Boutique, you get a free plugin.

This month, you can choose between:

The VCA Compressor, a recreation of the dbx160 by Softube, or

The K7D Delay by Imagine Audio.

If you don’t have a dbx160-style plugin, I recommend the VCA Compressor. For those who need a versatile delay for instruments and mixing, the K7D Delay is a great choice.

See you in the next post~:)

Stam Audio SA-2A Compressor Review

Hello, I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

Today, I’m excited to share my review of the SA-2A, something I’ve been eagerly anticipating! Let’s dive right in.

The Struggle with the Gear

If you’ve been following my blog, you might know that this unit had quite a journey before it landed in my studio. Initially, I bought a faulty one with the idea of enhancing my understanding of circuits and practicing some soldering by fixing it myself.

I thought it might just be a simple fuse issue… But after blowing through about five fuses, I took a closer look at the circuit board.

Despite my inspection, I couldn’t find any blown capacitors or burnt resistors. So, I decided to take it to a repair shop after seeking advice.

The culprit turned out to be a burnt toroidal transformer, damaged by overcurrent.

The challenge was that this early version of the SA-2A used a Cinemag transformer, and Stam Audio wasn’t sure if they had any spares left.

After two weeks of waiting for a response with no luck, I asked them to send me the specifications so I could have a custom transformer made.

After installing the custom transformer, the unit finally came to life!

I purchased the broken unit in January, and the repair was completed by early July, marking a nearly six-month battle.

Of course, I was a bit busy, which contributed to the delay, but it was quite the saga nonetheless!

Measurements

As regular readers of my blog know, I like to run measurements on gear, whether it’s hardware or plugins. While measurements don’t tell the whole story, they do help in explaining things more clearly.

I find it especially useful to compare my impressions from using the gear with the measured data, which can sometimes reveal if my ears are having an off day.

The frequency response graph above shows the response with no compression applied. (Keep in mind the peaks and valleys you see are typical of analog gear.) You can see a noticeable roll-off in the high frequencies.

Here’s the frequency response graph with compression applied and gain compensated. There’s a rise in the high frequencies, and the right-hand graph shows noticeable distortion.

As the Peak Reduction increases, harmonic distortion also changes. It seems much more dynamic than using a plugin.

This is the compression curve graph. Strangely, the left side shows the settings for “Comp,” and the right side shows the settings for “Limit.” They seem switched, don’t they? Perhaps it’s just a labeling issue.

Even when using the device, it felt like the settings were somewhat reversed.

Practical Use

I tested the SA-2A on vocals and lead acoustic guitar in a project I’m currently mixing, as well as on some demo vocals for a production I’m working on. Additionally, I conducted a few simple tests.

My observations are as follows:

  1. It’s a saturation machine that adds a hefty amount of color.
  2. It can sound a bit rough, so careful EQing or the use of de-essers/multiband compressors may be necessary to tame it.
  3. As you increase the Peak Reduction, the high frequencies rise, so setting the Input Gain properly beforehand is crucial.
  4. It’s challenging to use on sources that are already colored.
  5. The lack of an Emphasis knob is a drawback.

I wouldn’t say I’m in love with it, but it certainly has its uses.

Since 2017, there’s been an option to use Sowter transformers, and it seems they’ve started custom ordering these transformers from the two companies they work with.

While the raw sound isn’t spectacular, it integrates nicely into a mix. I plan to experiment more with transformer and tube swapping in the coming months.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review. See you in the next post!

I’m always open to reviewing hardware products! If you’d like me to review a product, please feel free to reach out at joe1346@naver.com.

Output Portal Granular FX 50% Off Sale (Until August 16th)

Hello, this is Jooyoung Kim, mixing engineer and music producer.

Today, I’m excited to share that Output is having a summer sale with 50% off on their plugins!

Buy output plugins at plugin boutique

(Using the link above to make a purchase provides me with a small commission, which greatly supports the maintenance of this blog!)

Output is a well-known company that creates fantastic plugins. If you’ve been into music production, you’ve likely heard of them.

Since this sale is a rare opportunity, I requested NFR (Not for Resale) codes for three of Output’s flagship plugins—Portal, Thermal, and Movement—from Plugin Boutique to review them.

Instead of covering them all at once, which might be overwhelming for both you and me, I’ll review them one by one. Let’s start with Portal!

Portal is a plugin that transforms incoming audio into a granular synthesizer-like sound. But first, let’s explore what a granular synthesizer is.

A granular synthesizer chops up a sample into tiny grains ranging from 1 to 100ms to synthesize new sounds. As shown in the image, you can slice and rearrange waveforms to create unique sounds.

This technique is particularly effective for creating atmospheric pads, making it a popular choice in movie soundtracks and instrumental genres.

Portal’s user interface is designed to resemble that of a vector synthesizer.

Joystick from a Prophet-VS vector synthesizer plugin

A vector synthesizer can be considered an early form of a wavetable synthesizer. It uses a joystick to blend different waveforms assigned to each direction.

In Output’s Portal, Macro 1 is placed on the vertical axis, while Macro 2 is on the horizontal axis. The values of these macros control various parameters.

You can connect Macro 1 and Macro 2 to different parameters in the Grain Control section. By double-clicking the macro names, you can even rename them.

To assign a macro, click the ‘+’ sign below the name of each knob (like Macro 1 and Macro 2), then drag it to a parameter. A small circle will appear next to the parameter, indicating the range of control the macro has.

Similarly, you can use the LFO in the bottom left to modulate parameters. Think of it as a traditional synthesizer, which should make it easier to approach.

At the bottom center, you can choose between the XY, Effects, and Master sections to adjust various parameters.

The built-in effects include Bit Reducer, Chorus, Distortion, Filter, Phaser, Reverb, and Delay, making for a total of seven options. All these parameters can be linked to the LFO modulation or macro functions for dynamic control.

The Master section includes a built-in filter and compressor, which can also be modulated with LFOs and macros.

Clicking ‘DEFAULT’ at the top right allows you to access various presets. Beginners might find it helpful to start here.

Portal is particularly appealing due to its ability to produce random, evolving sounds based on XY values. It’s an excellent choice for those who don’t already have a granular FX plugin.

Check out the demo video to hear what it can do.

The 50% off sale runs until August 16th! Here’s the purchase link:

Buy output plugins at plugin boutique

(Again, using this link helps support my blog with a small commission!)

Additionally, if you purchase from Plugin Boutique, you can get a free plugin. This month, you can choose between Softube’s VCA Comp or K7D’s Delay.

Softube previously offered the VCA Comp for free in March. It’s a great dbx160-style compressor, perfect if you don’t already have one.

The K7D Delay is a tape delay that sounds great on electric guitars and works well in mixes.

That wraps up the overview of Portal. In the next post, I’ll review another Output plugin, Thermal. Stay tuned!