Tags: posts polarity-music Audio-Effects Bitwig Plugins Tutorial VST-Plugin Spectral

Bloom by Oeksound checked out

Tutorial | Mar 13, 2024

In this video, I downloaded a plugin called Bloom by Oeksound, which is a spectral-based tone shaper with four bands and adjustable center frequencies and volume changes. It also offers compression, attack and release settings, stereo modes, and presets. However, I found the price of $200 and the requirement of I lock installation for the trial version to be downsides, making it too expensive for what it offers.

You can watch the Video on Youtube - support me on Patreon

I just reviewed the new plugin called Bloom by Oeksound, alongside their other spectral-based plugins, Soothe and Spiff. Here's a concise overview:

Overall, Bloom by Oeksound is a sophisticated, spectral-based tool for nuanced audio shaping, albeit with considerations regarding cost and software requirements.

Questions & Answers

Maybe you dont watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

What are the main features of the Bloom plugin?

The Bloom plugin is a spectral-based tone shaper that functions similarly to an EQ. It allows for adjusting the center frequencies of four bands and applying volume or gain changes to each band. It also offers a global amount knob for scaling all bands simultaneously, as well as attack and release settings for signal reaction and stereo mode options.

What are the downsides of the Bloom plugin?

The main downsides of the Bloom plugin are its high price of $200, which some may consider too expensive for an EQ or tone shaper, and the requirement of having iLok installed for the trial version. The inability to resize the plugin and the lack of color customization are also mentioned, while the limitations of the content-aware functionality and the need for more personal experience with it are noted.

How does the Bloom plugin work?

The Bloom plugin operates by allowing users to adjust the center frequencies of four bands and applying volume or gain changes to shape the overall tone or vibe of the sound. While it resembles an EQ, it functions primarily as a tone shaper, making subtle changes rather than major EQ adjustments. The spectral compression feature and the option to adjust stereo modes add versatility.

Is the Bloom plugin worth it?

The author suggests that while the Bloom plugin may be useful for shaping tone, adding warmth, removing harshness, and dealing with phasing issues, the price point of $200 is considered too high. They feel that a lower price range, such as $100 or $150, would be more reasonable for this type of tool. The need for iLok installation and personal preferences regarding its use are also mentioned as factors to consider.

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 just downloaded this new plugin called Bloom by Oeksound and they also made Sooth
[00:00:05] and Spiff.
[00:00:07] And all of these plugins are, I guess, spectral based and also this one here.
[00:00:12] So this one is called some kind of tone shaper on the website.
[00:00:16] But for me it's more like an EQ.
[00:00:18] So you have four bands here.
[00:00:20] You can change the center frequencies of each band and then you can apply some volume change
[00:00:25] or gain change here to these bands.
[00:00:28] And then you have a global amount knob where you can scale all of these bands at once.
[00:00:33] You can put this down to zero so no band is actually changing here the frequency and loudness.
[00:00:40] So we can also put this up here into the squash range and then you apply some kind of compression,
[00:00:46] some kind of spectral compression.
[00:00:49] We have also your attack and release settings so you can change how fast it reacts to the
[00:00:53] incoming signal and we can change here the stereo mode from linked to mid side split.
[00:01:00] We have mid and side separate.
[00:01:02] We can change the volume of the side channel and the mid channel separately, which is also
[00:01:08] nice.
[00:01:10] Then the quality setting here, I think this is dependent on your CPU and we have a lot
[00:01:15] of presets in here.
[00:01:17] We can't resize the plug in.
[00:01:19] That's not possible but we have here this button where you can change it from small up to extra
[00:01:26] large.
[00:01:27] You can't change the color.
[00:01:29] It's pink.
[00:01:30] That's it basically.
[00:01:33] So yeah, there's one big downside or two big downsides of this plug in, in my opinion.
[00:01:38] And the first one is actually the price.
[00:01:41] So the price is 200 bucks, which is my opinion is way too expensive for an EQ or for a tone
[00:01:48] shaper.
[00:01:50] And then you need to have I lock installed also for the trial version.
[00:01:55] So if you want to just demo this, you need to have I lock installed, right?
[00:02:00] Yeah, and it's also here described as an EQ.
[00:02:05] And you can bring in all the, you know, the usual marketing words, your warmth, clarity,
[00:02:10] brightness and so on.
[00:02:12] You can do this just with the normal EQ also.
[00:02:14] But this one is back to base so you don't introduce a lot of phasing issues.
[00:02:18] If you have a lot of problems with that, then maybe this is something for you.
[00:02:23] But it's more like a tone shaper in terms of that you can bring in some warmth and some
[00:02:27] wipes, some feels, get some harshness out of the mix.
[00:02:31] I think for that it's the right tool.
[00:02:34] But still, it's for me, it's too expensive.
[00:02:37] I would say 150 bucks or maybe 100 bucks would be fine for this kind of tool.
[00:02:44] And then also without I lock, I'm not a big fan of I lock.
[00:02:49] I put you a link in the description to this website.
[00:02:51] You can read it for yourself.
[00:02:54] So yeah, let's actually apply this here to the mix.
[00:02:59] Let's use it here on.
[00:03:03] Pull us down to zero.
[00:03:06] And maybe try it out on the high end.
[00:03:34] So this is actually not a split frequency.
[00:03:43] So it's not the multi band, right?
[00:03:44] It's a multi band in terms of that you have pan best filters.
[00:03:49] It's more like a center frequency.
[00:03:50] And then it takes some upper and lower frequencies with it.
[00:03:58] If it makes sense to the plug in.
[00:04:00] So it's content aware.
[00:04:02] At least that's what the website says it's content aware.
[00:04:04] I don't know what this means.
[00:04:07] Maybe they have some AI in the background to actually recognize certain instruments or
[00:04:13] types of instruments.
[00:04:14] I have no idea how this works.
[00:04:17] So this is more like center frequencies and not like band pass filters.
[00:04:33] So it also looks like you can't widen here the range, right?
[00:04:37] It's always in the same range.
[00:04:40] It's just a center frequency.
[00:04:43] So what is this your calibrate squash gain stage and compensate high input levels?
[00:04:47] With lower values and vice versa.
[00:04:49] We have a wet trim.
[00:04:51] It's the output probably the mix.
[00:04:56] Oh, yeah, I see.
[00:04:59] Okay.
[00:05:00] Quality and that's basically it.
[00:05:02] A B setting here.
[00:05:04] If that's important to you and we have a lot of presets, of course here.
[00:05:08] So yeah, let's try out some presets maybe.
[00:05:16] So bus, mix bus.
[00:05:28] Oh, this only changed the side channel here.
[00:05:42] So the mid channels actually on zero.
[00:05:44] Okay, I see.
[00:05:45] Mix bus side widener.
[00:05:48] Smiley curve.
[00:05:49] This is for the ODT fans here.
[00:05:55] The smiley curve.
[00:06:07] So, yeah, I would say this plug in is actually more for subtle changes in terms of changing
[00:06:21] the vibe of something.
[00:06:23] It's not an EQ or mates, you know, to actually apply big EQ changes.
[00:06:30] It's more like really a tone shaper.
[00:06:33] It's an EQ, but it's more like a tone shaper.
[00:06:35] So it's not it's not an EQ, but it looks like an EQ and it works like an EQ, but it's
[00:06:39] more for shaping the tone, the overall vibe.
[00:06:43] If this makes sense to you.
[00:06:45] So I have to gain a bit more experience with this here.
[00:06:48] Apply it to multiple different sounds to actually gain a real final opinion on this.
[00:06:56] But I think just, you know, the price point for me, it's actually a let down and the eye
[00:07:03] look is actually very big let down for me.
[00:07:08] So yeah, let me know in the comments down below what you think.
[00:07:10] If you already tried this out, maybe if you have some experience with it, what you think
[00:07:15] about it, let me know in the comments.
[00:07:18] I think that's it for this video.
[00:07:19] Leave a like if you liked the video.
[00:07:21] Subscribe to the channel.
[00:07:22] Thanks for watching and I see you in the next video.
[00:07:24] Bye.