Eplex7 DSP has released the T42N plug-in, a VST plug-in emulation of a vintage isolation transformer from the 1960s, that can add gentle vintage colour, harmonic distortion and saturation through to heavy saturation and bass saturation/distortion to an audio signal with intensive peak limiting.’
A transformer is a passive electrical device that transfers electrical energy from one electrical coil to another that are not physically connected together,’ the company explains. ‘When you input electric signal to the first coil it is “absorbed” by the secondary winding and it is again “transformed” into an electric signal. So the audio signal “goes through air” not wires.
‘This can be when you need to connect two devices with different impedances, like tube amplifier and speakers, microphone, console etc. It also helps to eliminate DC, balance inputs, and eliminate unwanted electric signals and artifacts like ground loops.
‘Bur transformers sound very good and soft. When you clip input it creates very pleasant saturation instead of ugly digital/transistor clipping, when signal is so high that no more magnetic flux can be created/absorbed it behaves as hard limiter. Transformers are also nonlinear and produce nice higher harmonics. It also limits frequency bands so unwanted ultra high frequencies and subbass is little bit attenuated.’
There are many types of input/output transformer, made from materials including steel, nickel and cooper, and with various types of winding.
‘We realistically re-created audio signal behaviour of transformer in digital world – we used our more than 17 years of experiences and knowledge in analogue electronics and digital coding – and created the T42N.’
Key features:
- Realistic coil isolating transformer emulation algorithm.
- Input trim 0.7-1.3x.
- Transformer input drive (emulates preamp driving coil transformer).
- Output trim 1-2x.
- Hard bypass.
