2019-07-01_Computer_Music

Thedebutpluginfromthenewlyformed

softwaredivisionofaudiotrainingproviders

pureMixisa ‘sweetening’effect(geddit?)foruse

onmixes,bussesandindividualinstruments.

Sugar‘intelligently’appliescompression,EQ

transientshapingandotherprocessesacross

fourfrequencybands,withnouser-accessible

parametersforthembeyondtheamount

broughttobear.

PoursomeSugar

EachofSugar’sfourbands(Low,Medium,High

andAir)offerstwodifferentprocessingmodes–

seePutyourbandstogether– a Bypassbutton,

and,inthedefaultStereosetup,a faderfor

rampinguptheeffect.InMid/Sideconfiguration,

thelastbecomesa pairoffadersforMidand

Side.Simplyraisethefaderfortheband(orits

M/Schannel)youwanttoenhanceuntilyoulike

whatyouhear,flippingbetweenthecoloursfor

twodifferentvibes.Theprocessisentirely

additive,andthebigWetInjectknobinthe

middleraisesandlowersallfourbandstogether.

Thisisaneye-candyalternativetoa bandlink

button,really,butit’scertainlyconvenientasa

global‘more/lessprocessing’control.

TheFXOnlybuttonletsyouhearthewet

signalinisolation,whileactivatingLevel

Managementcompensatesforlevelchangesby

automaticallymovingtheOutputGainsliderup

anddown.Thespectrumanalyser,meanwhile,

visualisestheeffectintermsofinputandoutput

levelsacrossthefrequencyrange.

Thebandcrossoversarelinearphase,but

thiscanbedefeatedwhenminimallatencyis

requiredorif youjustpreferthe(noticeably

different,especiallyinthehigherfrequencies)

soundwithout.Thecrossoverfrequenciesare

fixeddependingonthemodeselectedforeach

band,andwhileweunderstandthethinking

here– thattheirpositioningisintrinsictothe

tuningoftheprocesses– theabilitytomove

themwouldbewelcomenonetheless,evenif

onlyforcreativeexperimentation.

Anyexcessesatthetopandbottomcanbe

reinedinusingtheonboardHigh-andLow-pass

filters,whichareswitchablebetween12dBand

48dB/octaveroll-off,withcutofffrequencies

rangingfrom10Hzto22kHz.Thefiltersalso

followthelinearphasesetting,changingtoan

IIRminimumphasealgorithmwhenit’sdisabled.

Finally,attheveryendofthesignalpath,the

Saturationmoduleoffersthreeincreasingly

strongstylesofaudiopunishment:Drive,Distort

andCrush.Oncetheamountofsaturation

dialledgetspastabout40%,evenDriveis

anythingbutsubtle,sothisparticular

componentneedstobehandledwithcare.

Sweettreat

Sugardoesexactlywhatit setsoutto:making

stuffsoundmorepresent,focused,coherent,

saturatedandpowerfulviaa minimalsetof

controls.TheAirband,inparticular,ispure

magicinitsliftingeffect,andit’salwaysworth

tryingbothmodesforeveryband,asthe

differencesbetweenthemcanbeprofound.We

findit mosteffectiveonbussesandmixes–

partlyduetotheunadjustablecrossovers,and

partlybecauseofthefairlyhighCPUusage.

Withthecaveatthatit couldeasilydomore

harmthangoodif deployedwithoutthe

guidanceofa well-trainedear,wecanheartily

recommendSugarasa beautifullycalibrated

andsonicallyimpressivemultibandenhancer

formixingandmastering.

Webprocess.audio

Process.Audio

Sugar £119

Thisone-stop enhancementplugin packsanarsenalofbehind-the-

scenes effects intoa deceptively straightforwardinterface

Verdict

ForSoundsfantastic

Intuitiveandeasytouse

Twomodesperbandforvariation

Low-andHigh-passfiltersarehandy

Linearphasecanbedeactivated

AgainstCan’tadjustcrossovers

Nowet/drymixcontrol

Sugarboilsa raftofcomplexengineering

processesdowntoa simplefour-band

plugin,andsoundsgreatdoingit

8/10

Alternatively

ZynaptiqIntensity

261 »9/10»€379

Almostsupernaturalinitsmix/bus/

channel-improvingeffect

WavesInfectedMushroomPusher

236 » 8/10 » $49

Very similar and much cheaper, but

doesn’t sound quite as good

Sugar’s eight band modes provide a

significant measure of variability when it

comes to the processes at work under the

hood. Each of a band’s two modes loads a

completely different effects chain, drawing

on compression, EQ, phase rotation,

harmonic excitement and more.

In the Low band, Thick mode adds weight

and fatness to the bass and sub bass

frequencies, while Punch enhances

transients for impact and focus.

The Medium band’s two settings – Warm

and Broad – differ in the amount of midrange

thickening they work up, Broad being more

expansive in its frequency coverage.

The High and Air bands are where Sugar is

at its tastiest and most useful. The Excite High

band mode adds new harmonics to the upper

frequencies, while Shine emphasises those

that are already there; and the Yin and Yang

Air modes present two flavours of very high

frequency shelving and enhancement.

Put your bands together

94 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019

reviews / process.audio sugar