Working with founding partner JMG Sound, United Plugins has released the DarkFire ‘analogue-like’ preamp and saturator plug-in.
DarkFire enables users to sculpt its harmonic treatment before blending it with the original audio signal, ‘adding depth, width, and movement for a more dynamic and expressive sound’.
The signal is first sent through the plug-in’s Input Filter for processing – HP controlling the frequency of its high-pass filter and LP controlling the frequency of its low-pass filter – before being sent through the saturator; this generates additional harmonics that are then separated from the original signal for further processing.
DarkFire’s Harmonic Shaper offers low, mid and high EQ, all modelled on a passive tube equaliser for warm and musical tone shaping. Input Drive controls the amount of gain applied to the saturator’s input, Harmonics Level controls the level of processed signal added to the dry signal, Comp applies dynamic compression, modelled on classic FET and VCA compressors known for their fast attack times and distinctive tones), Stereo controls the amount of stereo content, Depth controls the amount of ‘3D depth’, based on a multiple short delays-driven psychoacoustic trick, and Mod controls the depth of the modulation effect.
The Output Filter– also featuring HP controlling the frequency of its high-pass filter and LP controlling the frequency of its low-pass filter –is used to process the added signal further before being combines with the dry signal.
An Adv (advanced) feature on the toolbar at the top of the GUI introduces additional Input Filter and Harmonic Shaper settings.
Slope selects the filter types for each filter (also available as additional Output Filter settings); Tape/Tube selects the saturation type; 60/100, 300/700, while 4K/10K selects the frequencies for the three-band EQ. Press On/Off enables a compander that applies more saturation to the quieter levels; VCA/FET selects the compressor type; Full/High selects if the stereo widening is applied to the full frequency range or only the HF; Tight/Deep selects the delay length for the depth effect; and Slow/Fast selects the modulation rate.
