by Mat Dirjish
Helsinki, Finland plug-in company oeksound is celebrating a decade of its flagship plug-ins, the Soothe and Soothe2. According to the company, its plugins are employed in the vocal chains and mix buses of nearly every high-profile producer and engineer.
The first iteration of Soothe is the brainchild of Olli Keskinen, an audio engineer with a degree in programming and music technology. Top-tier mixing engineers were often going over vocal takes and adjusting the EQ syllable by syllable. Keskinen thought this labor-intensive step was ripe for automation. He used his insight as a front-of-house sound engineer with a background in digital signal processing to create the first Soothe plug-in.
Soothe works similar to a dynamic EQ or de-esser plug-in. In all its variations, Soothe takes the edge off jarring moments in performances. Meant to reduce resonances from close-miked sound sources such as vocals, guitars, woodwinds, and violins, Soothe cuts back on these frequencies without impacting adjacent ones.
Oeksound released Soothe2 in 2020, during the COVID-19 saga. The plug-in proved perfect for at-home recording environments, helping smooth out the raw edges musicians and producers encountered as they switched from pro studios to humbler surroundings in lockdown.
Like pitch correction and autotune, Soothe is an essential part of the majority of professionals’ workflows. Musician and producer Adam “Nolly” Getgood (Periphery, Devin Townsend, Animals as Leaders, and Haken), said, “oeksound’s plugins find their way into every mix of mine. They’re irreplaceable tools that greatly affect the listenability and clarity of my mixes.” For greater gleanings, visit the oeksound website.
Mat Dirjish Online 