Audio Damage update...

Work is proceeding on Dr. Device. We’re not in alpha yet, which is where I generally drop a complete screenshot, but we’re getting there. Adam won’t let me put up a screenshot until we’ve finalized the feature set (in fact, I think he’d be happier if I didn’t put up anything at all until it’s actually on sale, truth be told) and it’s usually a good thing, as the controls go through several revisions before we actually decide on what a given plug is going to do, unless it is a slavish clone like Phase Two or 914.

In any case, Dr. Device is working well enough that I’m now comfortable telling you what it is, exactly. It will be a multi-mode filter and a stereo delay, that handiest of combinations. There are several things that will set Dr. Device apart from the dozens of similar products out there. In no particular order:

1. We’ve spent quite a bit of time on the filters, which are tuned for musical usefulness rather than any particular model. So our 4 pole lowpass flavor is something that makes me particularly happy; I can’t say “hey, it’s just like the filter in the Prodigy,” because it’s not. It is a custom design which has features that I like in a filter. There are seven filter models in all that comprise what we feel are the general filter toolbox of an electronic musician.

2. The delay section is, for all intents and purposes, a two-tap true stereo Dubstation, and that’s something that will make a lot of people happy. It also has a clean mode, which we have laughingly referred to as “digi” mode (ironic inasmuch as all plugins are inherently digital, of course), where the filters that are part and parcel to the Dubstation feedback sound are removed.

3. All normal controls can be addressed by an X/Y pad. However, that’s like saying “Diamond Dave is prone to rambling.” It’s an incredible understatement. This X/Y pad, which I’ll talk about in a future installment, is a thing of beauty, and goes far beyond simple “click and drag” adjustment. The negative (for me) is that the Power Of The Pad won’t be immediately obvious from a screenshot, so I can see a video demo in my future, and that’s gonna be a pain in the ass.

All that said, we’re not that close to an alpha state (there aren’t even any knobs on the UI at this juncture) and the plugin is barely usable at this point, so I can’t even really give you an audio demo, and definitely not a prospective release date. Adam is going on vacation at the end of the month, and by default I will be as well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, here I come!) and we’re hoping to be in beta by that time, but at the rate things are going… well, we’ll see.