Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
220K+ subscribers
First, for the sake of transparency, this video is not sponsored in any way.
Bloom is a multiband intelligent dynamic EQ - similar to the Gullfoss EQ, but with the ability to fine-tune any changes.
The 4 bands aren’t pre-emphasis bands but instead control whether you want a region amplified or attenuated.
For example, say Bloom was amplifying the low mids of an instrument, but I’d prefer less; I would lower the band - pretty straightforward.
The center frequency of these ranges can be controlled, and the overall band can be disabled and solo if you want to monitor it.
Interestingly, at default settings, the plugin introduces a small boost to the lows and a couple of mild dips in the highs.
With the amount dial, we control how much tonal shaping can occur, with 7 and above causing an overall compression effect. At 7, there’s a high threshold and hard knee setting, and as we increase, the knee is softer and the threshold lower.
The most traditional compression occurs around 8.7, while 10 is aggressive maximization and compression. However, the behavior changes depending on the incoming frequency.
The attack and release behave like a traditional compressor. However, since the shaping is frequency-specific, adjusting these also affects the overall frequency response.
At the bottom, we have squash calibration - if my input is louder, but I want less compression, I could lower this, or if the input is quiet and I want more compression, I’d increase it. Think of it as pre-compression gain emphasis or de-emphasis.
We can adjust the wet signal’s level to match the LUFS of the original signal, adjust the mix amount and output level, and bypass, introduce filters if needed, and bypass the processing using high and low pass filters.
We’ll look into the quality and stereo mode in a moment, but let’s demo this plugin on a mix. I’ll use 7 different instances of it with unique settings so that we can hear a mix before and after Bloom has been introduced.
Watch the video to learn more >
At the bottom left, we have the quality and stereo mode. Starting with the quality, other than GPU, there isn’t a downside to using higher settings.
I was curious if the plugin introduces any pre-ringing distortion, but looking closer at the 3 settings, I don’t notice any additional signal before or after the test signal to indicate pre-ringing distortion from linear phase filters.
Moving on to stereo mode, we can use the default linked mode or control the M/S or L/R channels.
Once that’s split, we can trigger the processing by both channels and subsequently process them identically, or we can de-link the detection to cause differing amounts of processing to the mid/side or left/right.
What’s cool is that the tonal bands can be altered for either the mid or side and can have their center frequencies set independently. So, say I’m working on the kick, and I want more of the lows, but only on the mid-image.
I could increase the mid image and center the frequency on the fundamental while dipping the lows on the side image to keep it centered. And if I want to shift the processing slightly, I could, of course, adjust the amount or alter the focus to either the mid-image or the side image.
Let’s take a listen to this example, and notice how the kick becomes more centered and driving.
Watch the video to learn more >
Similar to Soothe 2, we can side-chain competing signals. So, say we insert Bloom on the bass, and the kick is in the same range. It would be a bad idea to use the plugin on both with the same settings since they’d be shaped to sound the same and end up clashing.
Instead, we’ll side-chain the kick, enable side-chaining with the SC icon up top, and adjust as needed.
Since we can control the bands, it’s possible that this could lead to more problems, but it’ll be much less likely since the processing interacts with the opposing signal and takes it into account.
Let’s listen and notice how it shapes the bass around the kick.
Watch the video to learn more >
All in all, this is a really well-designed plugin that offers a lot more control than its counterpart, the Gullfoss EQ.
Its controls are simpler than those of Oeksound’s previous plugin, Soothe 2, with fewer variables to consider, but that makes sense for what it’s designed to do.
The only concern I have is that, like Soothe 2, it’ll be overused and misused by many producers— I can imagine a fair number of engineers side-chaining a vocal and the instrumental mix and just shaping the 2 around each other instead of fixing problems in the mix.
That said, if this plugin is used as intended - for dynamic tonal shaping - it can be really beneficial.
But what are your thoughts? Do you plan on trying this plugin for yourself? Share your thoughts below.