Softube Empirical Labs Prof Punch-Knuckles Introduction

Hello! This is Jooyoung Kim a mixing engineer and music producer.

Today, Softube’s new plugin, Empirical Labs Prof Punch-Knuckles, is released.

I received the NFR code for this product from Plugin Boutique for this review, and if you purchase the plugin using the links included in this article, I’ll earn a small commission that helps me keep going… 🙂

Let’s start!

Distressor and Mike-E

If you really interested in mixing hardware, you may know the Empirical Labs’ Distressor (EL-8) and Mike-E (EL-9).

The goal of the Distressor’s development was to create a versatile unit that could emulate the sonic signatures of many vintage compressor types, such as opto, FET, and tube designs. However, it wasn’t sound like those, but the saturation character was really great! Now, it is a compressor that has become a modern ‘classic’.

Mike-E is a channel strip whose compressor section is based on the Distressor.

And Prof Punch-Knuckles is a saturator based on those two pieces of modern classic hardware.

Empirical Labs Prof Punch-Knuckles

Click the image to purchase the Empirical Labs Prof Punch-Knuckles at Plugin Boutique

There three types in this plugin.

In the manual, those types are explained like this.

  1. Toasty: Based on the saturation in the compressor of Mike-E
  2. Crunchy: Based on the preamp distortion of the Mike-E
  3. Distress: The compressor circuit of Distressor and Mike-E

(The frequency response and the compression curve corresponds to each type’s designated sequence)

The ‘Toasty’ and ‘Crunch’ types look like soft-knee limiters, but the ‘Distress’ type clearly behaves like a hard-knee limiter.

Furthermore, the low-cut and high-cut filters aren’t merely simple attenuators. They instead emphasize the frequencies around the cutoff, creating a resonant effect.

There are 3 modes too,

  1. XFRM: Transformer distortion tone, emphasizing low frequencies
  2. Wide: A wide-range distortion
  3. Tape: Emphasizes the distortion in the top end

Harmonic distortions are quite different depending on the types and modes. I didn’t include the graph, however, because it wouldn’t be helpful for clarity.

Over All

Having used this plugin a few times, I now understand why the Distressor has been a long-time favorite. The sound of the Distortion mode is superb, and I anticipate utilizing it in several upcoming mixing projects.

Purchase Softube Empirical Labs Prof Punch-Knuckles at Plugin Boutique

I strongly recommend it specifically for the quality of its saturation.

Shadow Hills Optomax Intro Sale (-53 %, ~12/24)

Hi there! This is Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer. Today, I’ll introduce an optical compressor plugin, Shadow Hills Optomax.

I received the NFR code for this product from Plugin Boutique for this review, and if you purchase the plugin using the links included in this article, I’ll earn a small commission that helps me keep going… 🙂 (It’s really hard to live with this job..TT)

Let’s start!

This plugin is a digital clone of the optical part of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor produced by Shadow Hills Industries. The hardware, OptoGraph also inspired by the optical section of the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor. But those two products are not exactly the same.

Click image to purchase OPTOMAX plugin at plugin boutique!

You can see that the UI of the Optomax looks very similar to that of the LA-2A. And it works like LA-2A. However, there are many adjustable parameters, unlike in the LA-2A.

First, you can change the speed of the attack/release, and ratio.

There is no official measurement data in the manual, so I measured it using Plugin Doctor. It seems that the high ratio ranges from 8:1 to 6:1, the medium ratio from 4:1 to 3:1, and the low ratio is 2:1.

And if you turn on the push button, the input gain will be pushed.

Tone and Trans parameters also exist.

Smooth tone is selected in default state, and this statement cut the high frequencies of the source. So it sounds old and lo-fi.

If you select flat, the frequency response will be very flat in whole frequency domain except super low frequencies. I recommend this statement. It’s sound is very similar to that of the Waves CLA-2A.

In Air state, super high frequencies are emphasized. You can see the frequency response in the graph.

Let’s move on to the trans parameter. It operated within the frequency response, especially in the super low frequency range. Nickel cuts the frequencies very slightly, Iron cuts them more than Nickel, and Steel cuts them more than Iron.

I recommend using Steel for vocals. It lightens the vocals, creating a difference between the CLA-2A and this plugin.

Let’s see the bottom of the plugin. Every parameter is familiar. But what is TX Drive? The term “TX” means Transformer. Therefore, TX drive refers to the harmonic distortion of the transformers. If you gain a large amount of these values, you can get a significant amount of harmonic distortion at low frequencies.

Other parameters, such as internal/external sidechains, Harmonics, Headroom,and Mix are common. So, I’ll skip them..:)

This plugin is really awesome! I think I’ll use it quite often, like the CLA-2A.

If you are interested, please find out OPTOMAX at Plugin Boutique.

AI Vocal Timbre Transformation Plugin VocalNet Launch Sale (~Oct 5)

Hey there! I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

Lately, AI-driven tools are popping up everywhere in music production, and they’re hitting the market as full-fledged products.

If you dig into research papers, you’ll find that voice-related tech has been around for a while. Back in 2016, a paper titled Phonetic Posteriorgrams for Many-to-One Voice Conversion Without Parallel Data Training introduced PPG (Phonetic PosteriorGrams)-based voice conversion. This technology laid the groundwork by separating the content and timbre of a voice, allowing timbre transformation even with limited recorded data.

Today, we’re checking out VocalNet, an AI-powered vocal timbre transformation plugin that builds on this tech with deep learning to create some seriously cool vocal effects.

Full disclosure: I received this plugin as an NFR from Plugin Boutique. If you purchase through the links in this post, I may earn a small commission, which helps me keep creating content and, you know, survive!

What’s VocalNet All About?

VocalNet is a plugin for real-time or drag-and-drop file-based timbre adjustment. And let me tell you, it’s super easy to use.

When you hover over the corners of the triangle in the interface, you’ll see a concentric circle and a file icon. The circle lets you select factory preset timbres, while the file icon lets you import your own audio file to use its timbre.

  • Load one file, and the sound transforms to match that timbre.
  • Load 2-3 files, and you can tweak the central concentric circle to blend their ratios.

So, how does it sound?

Well… maybe it’s because I’m still dealing with an itchy throat from COVID aftereffects, but I wouldn’t say it’s mind-blowingly amazing. That said, it’s solid enough to use for vocal harmonies or background vocals. One downside? Korean pronunciation felt a bit off, even when using the “World” setting. (I tested it with the Airy Japanese Soprano preset since there’s no Korean-specific option.)

English, on the other hand, works pretty darn well.

How It Works

For file-based use, you upload the audio you want to transform, hit the share button, and VocalNet saves a new file with the altered timbre based on your settings.

Real-time use, however, can be a bit of a CPU hog, so I’d recommend rendering the transformed audio for actual production work.

When Would You Use VocalNet?

Here are a few scenarios where I think VocalNet shines:

  1. Need a female vocal guide for a song but only have a male vocalist (or vice versa)?
  2. Want to add mixed-gender harmonies or different timbres for background vocals but don’t have the budget to hire extra singers?
  3. Need to gender-swap a voice for a video or creative project? (Okay, maybe a niche use case, but still cool!)

The standout feature compared to traditional voice changers is that you can pick and apply specific timbres. No more manually tweaking formants or slaving over pitch adjustments like we used to. The world’s changed a lot, hasn’t it?

Try It Out!

You can test VocalNet with a 2-week demo by visiting their website, so I’d recommend giving it a spin to see if it fits your workflow.

That’s it for now! Catch you in the next post! 😊

Basics of Synthesizers (6) – Vector Synthesis & Wavetable Synthesis

Hey there! I’m Jooyoung Kim, a mixing engineer and music producer.

Ugh… English has been killing me lately. Seriously… 😭

I wish it would just sink into my brain step by step, but it feels like I’m cramming it in, and my head’s about to explode. Words, especially, are the worst. Haha.

Anyway, with my schedule being so tight, I’m finally getting around to writing this on the weekend.

It’s been a while, but I’m back with another post on synthesizer basics! 😊

Today, we’re diving into vector synthesis and wavetable synthesis.

Ready? Let’s get started!

(By the way, if you make a purchase through the links in this post, I may earn a small commission, which helps me keep the lights on and keep creating content!)

Vector Synthesis

Vector synthesis was a fresh concept introduced by Sequential in the 1980s with their Prophet VS synthesizer.

Prophet VS synthesizer. You can see the joystick on the left.

This method assigns different sound timbres to the four corners of a square. Using a joystick, you can intuitively blend these sounds together! The resulting sound, created by mixing these four sources, can be represented as a single point on a coordinate plane using vectors—hence the name “vector synthesis.”

(If you took physics as an elective in high school, this concept might feel pretty familiar!)

Yamaha SY22
Korg Wavestation

Later, Sequential was acquired by Yamaha, and the development team moved on to join Korg. This led to the release of two vector synthesizers: the Yamaha SY22 and the Korg Wavestation.

Arturia has a virtual instrument called Prophet-VS V.

Korg also released a virtual version of the Wavestation, bringing its advanced vector synthesis system to software.

If you’re curious about vector synthesizers, these are worth checking out!

Wavetable Synthesis

Wavetable synthesis actually predates vector synthesis by a bit. It was first utilized in MUSIC-II, a sound design program developed by Max Vernon Mathews in 1958. It was later commercialized by PPG with their Wavecomputer 360 in the late 1970s and the Wave series in the 1980s.

The concept? It’s about mixing different waveforms to create new sounds. It’s somewhat similar to vector synthesis, in that both methods interpolate between different timbres to generate a sound. That’s why I’m covering both in the same post! 😄

The key difference is this:

  • Vector synthesis calculates the volume balance between four sound sources based on their position in a coordinate plane.
  • Wavetable synthesis works within a single waveform cycle, calculating the amplitude ratios of different waveforms.

This distinction should help clarify how the two approaches differ.

Also, you might notice that both vector and wavetable synthesizers let you tweak the ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) parameters independently. If you’ve read my earlier post on subtractive synthesis, you’ll know I mentioned that these parameters are pretty universal across synthesis methods.

Basics of Synthesizers (2) – Subtractive Synthesis

If you’re feeling a bit lost, check out that post for a primer on using something like a Minimoog. Most synths don’t stray too far from that foundation, and trust me, you’ll end up using a Minimoog sound in a track at least once in your life! 😄

Waldorf has recreated the PPG Wave as a virtual instrument, bringing back its iconic 80s sound.

There are tons of wavetable synths out there—Serum, Waves, the free Vital, and LANDR Synth X, to name a few. My personal recommendation? Go with Serum. It’s got a huge user base, which means tons of presets and a great community. Plus, it’s just well-designed.

A Few Final Thoughts

The thing about vector and wavetable synthesis is that you can’t pin down their sound to something specific like sine, triangle, square, or saw waves. Throw in a bunch of different sounds, and the output changes dramatically. Unlike FM synthesis or analog subtractive synthesis, it’s hard to describe the “typical” sound of these methods. 😅

Personally, I love messing around with synthesizers to craft the perfect sound, but it can be a time sink. My advice? Start with a preset that’s close to what you’re after. (If you familiarize yourself with basic waveforms like sine, saw, triangle, and square, it’ll be easier to figure out which category your desired sound falls into.) Build your track first, then tweak the sound later to get it just right.

That’s it for today! Thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you in the next post! 😊