Put the equivalent of 12 signal processors into your PC

Over the past years, Power Technology has gained a solid reputation as a developer of high-quality effects processing software. Known as the DSP FX Virtual Pack, the company's collection of software based DirectX plug ins for the PC/Windows environment is currently released as Version 6.2 The DSP Virtual Pack includes a full array of processors, including Parametric EQ, Auto-Pan, Tremolo, Multi-Element Chorus, Analog Tape Flanger, Stereo Pitch Shifter, Acoustic Verb, and Multi-Tap Delay. Recent additions to the software suite include the Optimizer, Studio Verb, Aural Activator, and support for Nullsoft's Winamp MP3 player. As an added bonus. Version 6.2 adds a new Stereo Widener that enables you to enchance and manipulate the stereo content of both full mixes and individual tracks that have been recorded with stereo miking techniques.

As DirectX compatible plug ins, this collection of signal processors will be accessible from within any program that supports Microsoft DirectX. Thus, if you use (for example) Sound Forge and Cubase VST as your 2-track and multitrack digital audio programs, the DSP FX Virtual Pack will be available from within both applications. Other compatible programs include Cakewalk Audio, Steinberg Wavelab, Emagic Logic Audio, Cool Edit Pro, Sonic Foundry ACID, SEK'D Red Roaster, and all 32-bit versions of Innovative Quality Software's SAW (Software Audio Workshop). The software uses true 32-bit floating point processing, and will operate as a stand-alone collection of processors, thus enabling you to process your sound card's "live" stereo inputs and send the processed signal to your sound card's stereo outputs.

System requirements are quite modest. You'll need a Pentium-class PC, 10 free megabytes of disk space, a mouse or other pointing device, a VGA display with at least 640 x 480 resolution, and a sound card.

As this is a comprehensive suite of software processors, we'll look at some of the new and unique aspects of the DSP FX Virtual Pack. Trust me when I say, "There's a hell of a lot of software here."

One particularly interesting aspect of the DSP FX Virtual Pack is its ability to be controlled remotely through common MIDI Controller messages. This capability enables you to have tactile control over the various parameters from an external MIDI controller. With little effort, I was able to use my trusty Yamaha MCS2 MIDI control station (anybody remember that?) and control pan position on the Multi-Tap Delay. As most recording professionals hate using a mouse for this type of common function, the MIDI support is really a welcome addition.

The DSP FX Virtual Pack provides two reverbs: the Acoustic Verb and the New StudioVerb. The Acoustic Verb is particularly useful for adding ambience to a recording, while the Studio Verb is a more dense, warm reverb effect reminiscent of high-end systems such as those from Lexicon. With each reverb, as I rotated the on-screen room size knob, a box representing the room would change in size of what I was doing in addition to hearing the changes. This type of visual feedback is indicative of virtually every processor in the collection, and can be a valuable aid in assisting you with the many intricate aspects of shaping your sound.

The Aural Activator and the Optimizer are new to this version of the DSP FX Virtual Pack. The Optimizer, intended for use as a mastering tool, combines a look-ahead peak limiter with high-quality dithering algorithms. It is best used as the final processing step on a stereo mix or individual track. This processor can significantly enchance the impact and perceived sound level of all PC-based audio production. The Aural Activator Adds carefully generated high-frequency loss, such as older recordings or those from cassette tape.

INDIVIDUAL AND MULTIRACK PROCESSING

With an application like Sound Forge, using the DSP FX Virtual Pack is about an easy as it gets. The processor of your choice is accessible via the drop down DirectX menu and impacts the active window on screen -- regardless of whether this is a mono stereo file. With multitrack applications, you'll need to learn how to use the track insert capability of your program if you wish to process an individual track. Think of this as though you were patching an insert cable into the insert jack on a conventional mixer. If you wish to process multiple tracks such as a group of percussion instruments, you'll access the DSP Virtual Pack via one of the aux sends/returns of your program.

What's so cool about this is the fact that all "patching" takes place without you ever once crawling around on the floor with a flashlight or getting frustrated by a dirty patchbay. No added noise or ground hums to contend with; just clean, easy to use, sophisticated, virtual signal processing.

Power Technology's DSP FX Virtual Pack is like having a rack of 12 dedicated signal processors at your disposal. For anyone using a Windows PC for audio work, it's difficult to imagine not taking a keen interest in this product.