Voxengo has recently made major updates to three of their leading products, SPAN version 3.0, Drumformer 1.5 and Elephant 4.5.
Each of these updates have added major features and corrections to these plug-ins.
SPAN 3.0 provides you with a very flexible “mode” system which you can use to setup your spectrum analyzer preferences. You may specify Fourier block size in samples, FFT window overlap percentage, spectrum’s visual slope. Beside that you can choose to display secondary spectrum of a desired type (e.g. real-time maximum, all-time maximum). Spectrum can be smoothed out visually for an easier examination. Span is free and available for download on the Voxengo website.
Drumformer 1.5 can operate in broadband, 2-band and 3-band modes, with each band having compressor-expander and saturation modules. The sound of the compressor can be defined as “gluey with a ping”, because it instantly creates a “tight and glued together” sound while masterfully emphasizing the transients. The saturation module offers you a choice between six saturation modes, each having a smooth sound and differing harmonic content.
The “EL-C” algorithm which is the newest addition to Elephant version 4.5, uses a novel approach to limiting, based on usual compression found in compressors, but applied in a special feed-forward & feedback manner. This mode has fixed internal timing constants making it very easy to setup and use. This mode is not meant to completely surpass and replace the “EL-4” mode, but in some music genres, the “EL-C” mode produces less coloration and less transient distortion. It also has a different release character.