Zynaptiq UNVEIL De-Reverberation Plug-in
by Barry Rudolph

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Zynaptiq Unveil Signal Focus And De-Reverberation Plug-in

The 'reverb sponge' is here! Zynaptiq's UNVEIL is a plug-in that effectively separates out the components of reverberation from the direct or dry sound within mixed signals--recorded monaurally or stereo or in multi-channel surround. It comes in all the popular formats: RTAS, AU, AAX, VST for both MAC and PC. I tested ver 1.6.2 AAX Native here in Pro Tools 10 HD Accel.

Based on your own settings of the GUI's control knobs, you may freely attenuate or boost reverb and also shape its character in many interesting ways. Zynaptiq points out that UNVEIL is not a gate or transient modifier or any other dynamic processor that removes soft or low level sounds during gaps in program audio. UNVEIL actually removes reverb while audio is playing.

Zynaptiq tells me that it uses "artificial intelligence technology to recognize reverb and other perceptively insignificant components and then uses this knowledge to de-mix/separate those components from the signal."

UNVEIL does this with minimal latency--fast enough to be called real time these days--UNVEIL does require 4,096 samples of stereo, mono or surround audio files to work its magic. Modern DAW software and fast computers are more than capable of compensating for any perceived latency. But it does preclude using it in live sound--you'd need a ride in the Delorean in Back To The Future for that trick!

I found UNVEIL to work well to dry up finished mixes, excessively wet drum track recordings, or vocal or dialog tracks recorded in over-reverberant rooms. UNVEIL is an excellent tool for film/post mixing for processing dialog tracks recorded way off-mic or in overly ambient spaces.

In my music mixing work, I'm just starting to "get" UNVEIL and how to make good use of it. It is unlike any other plug-in I've used before. There are helpful, mouse-over tool tips that explain each control's purpose and useful range of operation. I like the tool tips' caveats that warn of the effect of pushing certain parameters too far.

UNVEIL is useful as an automatable effect to change the relative stereo reverb or room size of various song sections easily. UNVEIL's Focus control is like a wet/dry knob for a recorded track's overall reverberation/ambience. I like the Focus Bias faders--faders that 'tailor' the Focus to emphasize or not, 10 frequency bands from 100Hz to 14kHz. This feature works well to tame fizzy stereo pads.

There is much more to this technology to learn and use in my mixing and I'm please to finally get it into my Pro Tools rig!

UNVEIL is available directly from resellers in North America for $369. Check: eleven dimensions as well as select international retailers, with a list price of $399.

For more information please visit: www.zynaptiq.com/unveil/


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