DMG Essence

[bmanic]

Any other "creative" uses outside D-essing?

HUGE other possibilities. This really shouldn't be marketed as a de-esser only (even though it's very capable of this as well). It really is very similar in operation and capabilities to the Weiss DS1.. so basically it's an extremely flexible and kick-ass compressor/general dynamics tool. It is absolutely brilliant in keeping any desired frequency under strict control or making it more dynamic.

A very flexible plugin. Immensely powerful.

[Krzysztof Oktalski]

Hey hope i didn't offend you, I see a pm from you but you deleted it. Please Pm me if i had upset you, sorry about that.

That was just me thinking I was posting but accidentally PM'ing instead, sorry!

So basically will pit the three against eachother and see how we go! Will report back with my findings tonight. Cheers!

Hope it works out for you, cheers!

[ObsoleteAcc99]

Ok so have been testing this extensively and pitting against every de esser i can think of. Will probably be an unpopular opinion but i find it not even a little better than the sonnox, basically line ball. Like the sonnox it very noticeably dulls the highs to do effective sibilant removal.

Fab filter doesn't, and remains *THE KING*.

The thing is with fabfilter, you just insert it and tweak one knob and it's done, and it works *every single time*. Izotope Nectar2 is also good. (not alloy2, that's really, really bad).

With Essence, i had to work hard, then also tried every single preset whilst also adjusting the frequency and threshold. I have male and female OTT sibilant files i judge on, they are as bad as it gets, and this is how i pit deessers against one another. So i did my own work from scratch, presets, and heavily worked presets. Basically, everything to give it a fair shake.

It's "good". That's where i stand on the matter.

Another contender is the Xils. It has internal splitting of the sibilants and remaining signal. Each has their own EQ and level. What this means is i can effectively sub mix the vocal, and add brightness ONLY to the *non* sibilant signal if i need to, in case there is some HF loss with the deessing.

With essence, sonnox, even fabfilter.. the way they work means that if i boost the signal with EQ i am likely going to add sibilance back in.

in Reason, using the selig (or anything really), I can work around the issue because of reason's modular nature and separate outputs for sibilance and signal. I can then add whatever effects and use different mix channels for either.. heck i could even go on a "sibilant delay and reverb trip" LOL, if that's what i wanted. Stuff like this just can't be done in other software, i could even use rewire to send the SSSS and the DEessed signals to separate channels in Logic, then use ANY plugins to process them separately.

And like the fabfilter the selig is set and forget if you need it to, just move one knob. The thing is, the algorithm is so good that it works every time.

Unfortunately there isn't a scenario where you just insert essence and move threshold/frequency/ratio.. and get an acceptable result. It's just not that simple, and the work required to get a good result that's not better than the fab filter just isn't worth it.

I also find i get great results with using a multiband dynamic EQ or multiband compressor if i am going to spend that amount of tweaking. Reason being, i can fine tune attack and releases and threshold and ratios for various parts of the "SSSSS" to really transparently reduce it.. i am really good with that method.

I am always curious when a new de esser is out. I honestly expected something *mind blowing* with this and i'm just not feeling it. Maybe i expected too much, or maybe we have just reached the absolute peak of deessing technology.

I will say one thing, your one does sound musical, as in, "not lispy". And it is a very useful compressor, as i see it, it is a single frequency specific compressor that can be used for many tasks, and it's nice to have the upward option. I see the sonnox as equal in every single way, also for multi use, it has the parallel also, great monitoring options, etc.. the only thing it lacks is the upward mode which is a shame. However since i already own that for ages and sonnox stuff just is a nightmare to sell with $100 fees for one plugin, i will keep it.

Anyway, that's my honest take, cheers

[Twrogstudio]

Interesting review. I have managed to get good results, similar to Fabfilter, but it took a lot of playing to get there. After a few days with it now I like the plugin, but I like it more for its other uses than de-essing. Fabfilter is simple and works great, but this in its default mode and other de-essing presets can be quite tricky. I'll admit I'm by no means an expert, so it would be nice to have some examples from users who may be more adept at this sort of thing than me.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

Interesting review. I have managed to get good results, similar to Fabfilter, but it took a lot of playing to get there. After a few days with it now I like the plugin, but I like it more for its other uses than de-essing. Fabfilter is simple and works great, but this in its default mode and other de-essing presets can be quite tricky. I'll admit I'm by no means an expert, so it would be nice to have some examples from users who may be more adept at this sort of thing than me.

you are actually saying the same thing as me... so at least i am not alone.

it's good but not BETTER than fab, and takes much longer to get that result.

The claims are too bold, and i'd like something to back that up from DMG. A before and after de essed file, to see if i can't match it with other tools. That would be fair since they are claiming essence is the WORLD'S best deesser, yes? (that's their exact wording on webpage not mine).

If they can show I am perhaps using it incorrectly, and also provide the unprocessed file so we can show how we can't according to their claims get other de-essers to de-ess as well, then, that would be cool and of course i will retract my current opinion!

[DaveGamble]

Hi all,

Sorry for going quiet. I'd planned to have a week after the release to take care of any early bugs, but instead I've spent the week bedridden with flu and a fever. Pretty frustrating and very unpleasant.

So, if you've not had a reply from me that's why. Rest assured that come the new year I'll be back on this with a vengeance. Feeling a little better already but definitely not 100% yet.

I've been trying to keep up with things despite the illness, and in the few hours of clarity I've had this week, I have a fix for RTAS issues and for rendering with Wavelab. I've also been reading the discussion about when Essence isn't the best De-Esser in the world. Seems specific to mix scenarios with solo vocals. In beta we all got pretty carried away with the flexibility of this thing as a Dynamic EQ and a mastering processor, so this is oversight. Nonetheless, I think I can see what's missing from Essence to sort out the quick solo-vox case, and I'll be adding that for 1.01. Just needs one button. I will endeavour not to add too many extra parameters.

Anyway, thank you all SO MUCH for all the kind emails and sorry to everyone who I owe a reply.
As ever, you can be certain that I'll get you a reply as soon as circumstances allow!

I wish you all a very happy holiday season!

Dave.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

Hi all,

Sorry for going quiet. I'd planned to have a week after the release to take care of any early bugs, but instead I've spent the week bedridden with flu and a fever. Pretty frustrating and very unpleasant.

So, if you've not had a reply from me that's why. Rest assured that come the new year I'll be back on this with a vengeance. Feeling a little better already but definitely not 100% yet.

I've been trying to keep up with things despite the illness, and in the few hours of clarity I've had this week, I have a fix for RTAS issues and for rendering with Wavelab. I've also been reading the discussion about when Essence isn't the best De-Esser in the world. Seems specific to mix scenarios with solo vocals. In beta we all got pretty carried away with the flexibility of this thing as a Dynamic EQ and a mastering processor, so this is oversight. Nonetheless, I think I can see what's missing from Essence to sort out the quick solo-vox case, and I'll be adding that for 1.01. Just needs one button. I will endeavour not to add too many extra parameters.

Anyway, thank you all SO MUCH for all the kind emails and sorry to everyone who I owe a reply.
As ever, you can be certain that I'll get you a reply as soon as circumstances allow!

I wish you all a very happy holiday season!

Dave.

Hope your flu is 100% gone and you are feeling great today!

Yes with solo vox, that was the issue.. Hope 1.01 is out before my demo expires

Merry Xmas,

Cheers!

[Breeze]

How are things at DMG? Is Dave OK? it's been about a month since the Essence launch and the last post in this forum and not a peep. Krzysztof?

[Twrogstudio]

Yes, will be interesting so see what's coming in the next update is.

[DaveGamble]

Hi all!

Just to let you know that Essence 1.01 is out now, and hopefully addresses everything that's been raised!

http://dmgaudio.com/essence/

Changes:
- Added Sibiliance Detector for automatic de-essing of solo vocals.
- Added External sidechain input.
- Added release LEDs in dual-release mode.
- Added bManic presets.
- Added Solo Vocal De-Ess presets.
- Fix RTAS version.
- Some tooltip improvement.
- Fix VST/VST3 bypass support.
- Fix parallel mode for minimum phase.
- Fix latency reporting for Wavelab and renders in general.
- Fix annoying GR metering bug.
- Fix sidechain linkage for oversampling.

Hope you enjoy! If you need a demo extension, just shout!

Dave.

[Twrogstudio]

Awesome update! The detector works great!

Thanks Dave.

[Breeze]

Thanks Dave.

+1

...and welcome back!