A Glimpse into the Future
"But I want a REAL Surround plug-in!!!!" Guess what -- your dream is about to come true. A very cool company called Kind-Of-Loud Technologies has just introduced what is billed as the first true Surround plug-in. Called RealVerb, it takes mono or stereo in, and creates a real 5.1 Surround output. Its creator, Bill Putnam, has had considerable experience in developing 3D DSP effects, and he brings his psychoacoustic knowledge to the development of TrueVerb.

Figure 3

As you can see in the lower right-hand side of the interface (fig. 3), you not only set the levels for Direct, Distance, Early Reflections, and Late Reflections, but you also define their location in the Surround soundfield.

This kind of adjustment is from someone that is truely thinking in Surround, and the results prove this approach. This plug-in is a must-hear, and what it does for a mono track is outrageous. Hopefully RealVerb will serve as a model for other plug-in manufacturers in creating Surround plug-ins.

RealVerb, by the way, is currently available only on Pro Tools, but will be available in native form to run on Mx51 under Windows in a few months. Check out RealVerb at www.kindofloud.com.

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Jeff Wilson works for Minnetonka Audio Software, maker of software for professional sound recording and editing. He can be reached at jeff@minnetonkasoftware.com.