Fog Convolver 2 adds Space Simulator in Free Update
Tutorial | Jan 17, 2024
In this video, I discuss the new update for the Fog Convolver 2 plugin by Audio Thing. The update includes a space simulator created by Lese, which allows users to adjust various room parameters, generate impulse responses, and export them as wave files for use in convolution devices like Bitwig Studio. I also mention that if viewers don't own Fog Convolver 2, they can check out Lese's plugin called Eigen, which offers similar features as a standalone space simulator.
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In this tutorial, the focus is on Fog Convolver 2 by Audio Thing, an updated plugin available for free download to existing owners. It features a space simulator designed by Lese, allowing users to customize room acoustics:
- Room Customization: Change room size, audio source, and listener positions.
- Material Selection: Choose different materials for walls, ceiling, and floor, affecting room resonance.
- Reflection Depth: Simulates the number of audio reflections, akin to bounces in graphic retracing.
Impulse Response Generation and Export:
- Real-Time Updates: Auto-generate impulse responses with each setting change.
- Export Capability: Export the custom impulse response as a .wav file.
Integration with Bitwig Studio:
- Convenience: Use the exported impulse response with Bitwig's convolution reverb.
Alternative Options:
- Eigen by Lese: Another plugin focused on space simulation.
- Comparison with Bitwig's Native Tools: Fog Convolver 2 offers a simpler and more efficient process for generating impulse responses compared to Bitwig's native methods.
The tutorial highlights the ease of creating unique acoustic environments with Fog Convolver 2 and its utility in music production. The presenter also mentions Eigen as a standalone option for space simulation.
Questions & Answers #
Maybe you dont watch the video, here are some important takeaways:
Impulse Response Generation: How does the Fog Convolver 2 plugin by Audio Thing allow users to create impulse responses? #
The Fog Convolver 2 plugin provides a space simulator created by Lese. Users can adjust the room size, audio source position, listener position, and materials within the room. They can then generate a new impulse response based on these settings, which can be exported as a wave file for use in other convolution devices.
Market Availability: What other impulse response generators are currently available on the market? #
Apart from the Fog Convolver 2 plugin, there are limited options for impulse response generators on the market. The only other ones I am aware of are the Eigen plugin by Lese and some Voxengo plugins from 20 years ago. Therefore, the Fog Convolver 2 plugin is a valuable tool for those in need of an impulse response generator.
Workflow Improvement: How does the impulse response generation process using the Fog Convolver 2 plugin compare to other methods? #
The workflow for generating impulse responses with the Fog Convolver 2 plugin is much simpler and more efficient compared to other methods. Rather than going through complex steps in Bitwig or other software, users can easily adjust settings and generate a sampled impulse response within the plugin itself. This makes it a convenient option for creating impulse responses.
Plugin Recommendation: Can you recommend any alternatives to the Fog Convolver 2 plugin for creating impulse responses? #
If you are not interested in purchasing the Fog Convolver 2 plugin, I recommend checking out the Eigen plugin by Lese, which is a space simulator in its own right. It offers similar features such as listener and source positions, room materials, and the ability to render impulse responses to a file. Both plugins provide valuable tools for working with convolution reverb.
Transcription #
This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.
[00:00:00] So I want to talk a bit about Fog Convolver 2 by Audio Thing and it's Fog Convolver,
[00:00:06] not F*ck Convolver and it's a pretty important difference there.
[00:00:10] So if you own this plugin already, you can head over to the Audio Thing page and you
[00:00:14] can download this new update for free because it features a new space simulator here.
[00:00:22] And this is made by Lese and I pronounce it Lese because it looks like Lese, it's
[00:00:27] German word for reading.
[00:00:30] So I just say Lese and they made a space simulator and what you can do with this is basically
[00:00:37] you can change the room size of the space here.
[00:00:41] We can change the audio source or position the audio source within this room.
[00:00:47] We can also position here the listener position inside of this room and we can define the
[00:00:53] materials for this room here.
[00:00:55] We can see the front wall have heavy curtains, then we can change the back wall, ceiling,
[00:01:03] floor maybe to thick carpet, right?
[00:01:07] Right wall maybe, let's say wooden panels.
[00:01:10] So you can change the material and resonance of this room, how it sounds to be within this
[00:01:16] room.
[00:01:17] Then we have something like here reflection depth and I think this is something like bounces
[00:01:23] inside of Blender where you retrace or retrace graphics, right?
[00:01:29] And you want to define the number of how many bounces the simulation does and yeah, it's
[00:01:39] basically how many bounces you want to have of these audio reflection inside of this room.
[00:01:44] I think that's what it does.
[00:01:46] I'm not really sure 100% sure.
[00:01:50] And then when you define basically everything, you can say I want to generate a new impulse
[00:01:54] response and load it into IR one slot at this one here.
[00:01:59] So we hit generate and then you can see we have a new impulse response here generated
[00:02:03] and it sounds like this 100% wet or let's say zero to B.
[00:02:17] Let's bring the listener closer here to the audio source, generate.
[00:02:24] We can also use your auto generate so every time I change something, it re-renders basically
[00:02:32] the impulse response.
[00:02:34] Maybe make the room a bit smaller.
[00:02:45] That's nice.
[00:02:46] So then when you are kind of happy with your impulse response here, you can export this
[00:02:53] impulse response then which is kind of nice because there are not many impulse response
[00:03:00] generators on the market.
[00:03:01] I only know this one here and the other one by Lese called Eigen and then some Voxengo
[00:03:12] plug-ins from 20 years ago.
[00:03:15] That's it basically on the market right now for impulse response generators.
[00:03:19] So there's not much you can actually buy at the moment.
[00:03:23] So that's also why I do this video because I think it's always nice to highlight these
[00:03:29] special plug-ins where you have or they can create stuff that's not usually easy to create.
[00:03:39] I did the videos.
[00:03:41] Some videos, in some of my recent videos, I did something where you can create impulse
[00:03:46] response from within Bitwig but it's not that easy.
[00:03:50] So here you just click a few buttons, turn a few knobs and then you can generate a new
[00:03:54] impulse response.
[00:03:56] So when you are happy with this impulse response here, you can choose then export wave and put
[00:04:02] it in some kind of directory.
[00:04:04] It's just a wave file, impulse response for Convolver here and then call it let's say
[00:04:11] small piano space and then hit save.
[00:04:19] And then you can disable this plug-in and call here the internal Bitwig device convolution
[00:04:25] reverb and then we can just load this wave file into this convolution device here and
[00:04:35] use that.
[00:04:47] So you can generate spaces from Convolver 2 which is really nice to have.
[00:04:56] You don't need to use a space sim.
[00:04:57] You can also use here the older generator which kind of generates some white noise but it's
[00:05:04] actually quite handy.
[00:05:05] So you can say I want to have a reverb that's 10 seconds long, right?
[00:05:11] Density, fade in time.
[00:05:14] We can also define here a filter sweep.
[00:05:17] So we want to start here with the low pass at 1K and at the end we want to filter down
[00:05:24] to let's say 100 hertz here, maybe something like this, no resonance.
[00:05:30] So it slowly removes overtones from the reverb.
[00:05:36] Then we introduce here maybe a bass cut, 20 hertz, that's okay.
[00:05:44] And then stereo and load into impulse response slot 1, generate.
[00:05:50] And then you can see it's no longer, it's now 10 seconds here.
[00:05:53] Again we can export this.
[00:05:56] I don't know why it doesn't remember here my directory and let's call this long reverb.
[00:06:06] It's hit save.
[00:06:08] And again you can use this in the convolution device here of Bitwig Studio.
[00:06:14] Direct this in and we have here 10 second reverb now.
[00:06:27] So the workflow of generating impulse responses with this is much, much, much better than what
[00:06:35] I showed you in my recent video about generating impulse responses in Bitwig.
[00:06:41] Because here, like I said, you just turn a few knobs, push a few buttons and you have
[00:06:46] a nice sampled impulse response that you can use in all kinds of convolution devices.
[00:06:54] Not only of Bitwig, the convolution device of Bitwig.
[00:06:58] So it's pretty handy and if you already own this and I know a lot of people own this that
[00:07:03] watch my channel, then you can just download this for free.
[00:07:06] I just want to give you basically this update.
[00:07:09] And if you don't own Fog Convolver 2 and you don't want to buy it for some reason, because
[00:07:16] I think it's a nice plug-in, not only because of the space sim, because you also have the
[00:07:21] generator here and the browser with some of my presets.
[00:07:28] You can also head over to the Lese.io page and maybe look into Eigen, which is just a
[00:07:38] space simulator on its own in its own plug-in.
[00:07:42] So it's the same thing.
[00:07:43] You have a listener position, source position, room.
[00:07:46] You can change here the materials of the walls.
[00:07:49] You can render then into a file, into a Wi-Fi.
[00:07:55] Can even analyze this here.
[00:07:57] Not really sure.
[00:07:58] So yeah, it's own plug-in basically called Eigen.
[00:08:02] I put you the link to Audio Thing and Eigen into the description below.
[00:08:06] This video is not affiliated.
[00:08:08] So it's just, you know, so you know.
[00:08:13] So that's it for this video.
[00:08:15] Thanks for watching.
[00:08:16] Leave a like if you liked the video.
[00:08:19] Subscribe to the channel.
[00:08:21] Ask me questions in the comments below.
[00:08:23] Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video.
[00:08:25] Bye.