Add seasoning to your sounds with the Aroma effect plugin
A little something for your studio’s spice rack
Designed to add “character and charm” to your audio recordings, Ploytec and intelligent sound & music's new Aroma plugin does away with conventional parameter names in favour of Salt, Pepper, Sugar and Chili [sic] controls.
The intention is obvious: to equate Aroma’s processing with the seasoning you add to your food. Behind these parameters lie four valve or tape-like processing units that are designed to add some analogue-style flavour.
To summarise, Aroma's salt effect features an adjustable structure of even and odd order harmonics; Pepper focuses on odd order harmonics and offers a variety of musical colours; Sugar adds sweetness and fatness in the style of analogue tape; and Chili is designed to make recordings "hot as hell and delicious as heaven”.
Mastering is the main focus here, but you can also use Aroma on vocal and instrument recordings, and there’s a mid/side processing option.
Aroma is available for PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats. It costs €89, but you can download a demo before you buy. Find out more on the Ploytec website.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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