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Key Features
The Soundtoys Devil-Loc 5 is an audio level destroyer plug-in, emulating a vintage hardware compressor originally used for public service announcements. The unique blend of audio-levelling and excess saturation and distortion has lead to this unit being used by industry professionals to create massive, punchy and gritty drum tones and vocal sounds and with Devil-Loc, 5 Digital Delivery, all of the character and 'mojo' from the hardware counterpart has been retained and brought to life through immaculate, proprietary modelling techniques.
Many modern music production techniques derive from experimentation and repurposing of audio processors to achieve the desired effect within the context of your mix. With Devil-Loc 5, Digital Delivery, this continues the tradition by giving you an immaculate recreation of a vintage hardware compressor that will send your sound to new sonic territories in an intuitive and user-friendly two-dial plug-in.
Not for the faint of heart, Soundtoys Devil-Loc is an extreme effect and must-have for all mixing engineers to lift your tracks up to new heights. Create crushed drum tracks and make your snare drums explode in your room microphones or transform electronic drums in saturated, lo-fi loops as well as adding a layer of distortion and character to your electric guitars and of course sending your vocals into a frenzied overdrive with complex harmonics and overtones that help you cut above the mix. Anywhere you need dirtier and punchier sounds, Devil-Loc will take your mixes to the next level.
Product Ref: 188767
While vintage hardware contains the secret 'mojo' that gives classic records their character and tone, they are often extremely difficult to source, costly and limited in their functionality. This is where Soundtoys take advantage of the possibilities of the digital realm by adding features to improve workflow and functionality, blending the best of both worlds. Taking things beyond the capabilities of the hardware, Devil-Loc adds new tools to control the response and tone of both the internal compression (Crush) and saturation (Crunch). The original hardware that inspired Devil-Loc featured only a single input level control with a distance control that altered the level of internal limiting depending on the proximity of your microphone. Now, with Devil-Loc 5 this limiting control has been provided to you in a sweepable dial, allowing you to find the sweet spot for your signal source, giving you much more flexibility than a rudimentary dial.
Designed around the circuit of a vintage audio limiter from the '60s, the original purpose was in public address systems. To ensure an announcers voice could be heard loud and clear in large public spaces, very aggressive compression circuits were used to level the voice so that any dip or peak in volume would be levelled out to be ultra-consistent. This then became assimilated into the world of music production and was used as a secret weapon for creative sound engineers looking to add character and distortion to their sound.
As the original unit was optimised for human speech, Devil-Loc 5 performs flawlessly on vocal performance, evening out any fluctuations in volume to keep a steady level to cut your performance above most mixes, including heavy mixes with a wall of instruments.