SoundMagic Neo Harmonic Reivew

SoundMagic Neo Harmonic Reivew

Neo Harmonic:

In this reviewer’s opinion, this pluggie is a real tasty little treat in this bundle of goodies that SoundMagic are kindly giving away. This one fits somewhere between being an EQ and a harmonics exciter.



Part of the Neo Series Giveaway, here on Reviewer's Revival! 

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According to SoundMagic, many of their Neo Series plug-ins achieve excellent results by using a technology that they coin as “sample modelling”. I haven’t all the particulars of this claim. I do know this, I really, really like the “excited” sound that this little trooper of a plug-in puts on a vocal or instrument track. As a matter of fact, it works quite well on the master bus too.

Some of SoundMagic’s product claims leave me a little . . . . well . . . skeptical. This particular pluggie is a real delight though. Just like the MacDonald’s commercial: I’m loving it”. I suspect that it “borrows” some of the same ASM (Assembly) code as NeoEQ uses, which I reviewed in depth, some time ago.

Neo Harmonic truly does bring out detail and depth in any lacklustre track. Based on an undisclosed method of modelling, some of SoundMagic’s plug-ins really do come nice and close to ‘nailing’ seriously kool, vintage, upper-class tone. (It is unknown at this time whether this is schematic-matching or actual modelling) This handy-dandy, super-duper darn dang diddley little gidget is definitely one of ‘em. There is a nice little collection of presets included to get you up and running with minimum muss n’ fuss. There is even an “SSL” preset. While I don’t own any expensive SSL hardware to directly compare this plug-in to, I have to admit that I like the tone of this preset.

Four frequency bands. The frequency points are sweepable. You get up to 18 dB of boost or cut. There is user-adjustable frequency bandwidth, allowing you to narrow or widen the frequency boost/cut. You can turn on a nifty little feature (per band) called “draw mode”. The resultant “drawing pad” allows you to ‘draw’ a curve, negating the ‘gain’ knob.

Harmonic Order: Low: 1/2  Harmonic,  Basic  Frequency ,  2nd Harmonic, 3rd Harmonic  and 4th Harmonic

Low-Middle:  1/2  Harmonic,  Basic  Frequency ,  2nd Harmonic, 3rd Harmonic  and 4th Harmonic

Mid-High: 1/4 Harmonic, 1/2 Harmonic, Basic Frequency and 2nd Harmonic

High: 1/3 Harmonic, 1/2 Harmonic and Basic Frequency.

Nuthin’ but good to say about this one. “I’m loving it.” - €49/$64 (USD)

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Brother Charles is a freelance writer, Gospel artist and minister. Charles had been a professional touring musician during the nineties; working primarily as a lead guitarist in the Canadian country music industry. Brother Charles is also involved with music production and quality home recording.

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