Beatformer by Accusonus Review
Beatformer has been released by Accusonus, it is a tool or DAW plugin to improve the sound of drum instruments, beats, and loops.
Accusonus builds next-generation audio repair and music creation software. Accusonus is based in Massachusetts (USA) and in Patras, Greece.
For more tools and plugins from Accusonus see our Regroover Pro Review. Accusonus did send a review copy with no strings attached.
Installation
You install the package after downloading the purchased product. We reviewed Version 1.0.1 on MAC (Cubase). The plugin support MAC and Windows, pls see the system requirements on the Accusonus website.
Sound
Beatformer has many uses, it can add energy to loops, glues your drums tracks, and add substance to a weak instrument track. The plugin adds color and individual character to your tracks and beats.
This plugin is when you look at it in detail a transient shaping tool, adds saturator and offers compression.
The tool is great on drums, it really help to energize drum sound. Also when you have great source martial it spices up the vibe. I did have great results for example when using it with OMG! Drums by Plugin Guru.
At a glance Beatformer Features
- Semantic Knobs
- A simple and streamlined user interface
- Tuned algorithms for quick dynamics detection
- Subtle-to-Extreme audio processing
- Excellent sound quality
- Transparent Limiter
- Low latency (4ms)
- Resizable UI
Beatformer supports the following sample rates: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz. If you do have used different rates you need to convert it first for best results.
Beatformer originates with a small set of Presets that help you to get started with a vibe you need. Through the tools available you can transform the sound further.
User interface & Usability
The UI proves access to the main controls: Boom, Punch, Squash, and Air. As the parameter has been kept to a minimum you get an straightforward access to be able to shape the sound.
The four central natural controls allow you to smooth shape the tone and vibe of drum loops and beats.
Air
You can use “Air” to excite the high end or tame excessive high frequencies. Air is a bipolar control. From 0.0 to 10.0 “Air” will dynamically add harmonics to the high frequencies of the signal. On the other hand from 0.0 to -10.0 “Air” will dampen the sound. Behind the scenes “Air” includes a transient shaper and a soft saturation unit, with different settings for M/S (mid/side) or L/R (stereo) processing, and creates an exciter-like effect for values greater than 0.0 and a subtle high-frequency suppressor for values less than 0.0.
Punch
“Punch” affects the transient of the input signal. Punch is a bipolar control. For values between 0.0 and 1.0 the attack of the signal is enhanced while for values between 0.0 and -10.0 the attack is reduced. The dynamics processing behind the scenes, using a transient shaping paradigm, adjusts the attack and sustain parts of the signal to add more “punch” (for positive values) or “flatten” the attacks (for negative values). “Punch” will affect lower frequencies than the ones “Air” controls, giving more emphasis to the mid-frequency range of the signal and sounds like snares, percussion etc.
Squash
“Squash” affects the dynamic range of the signal. It is a bipolar control. For values between 0.0 and 10.0 the signal is “squashed” by bringing the lower-in-gain parts of the signal closer to its peaks. For values between 0.0 and -10.0 this control will create more space between them. “Squash” operates after the “Punch”, on the same frequencies, to control the dynamics, after the transients have been processed with “Punch” and will follow the same Mid-Side or Left-Right processing.
High Split
The High Split control allows you to select the crossover frequency beween “Air” and “Punch”/”Squash”. You can select values between 4kHz and 12kHz. This control enables you to find the sweet spot in the frequency spectrum that will separate instruments of interest, like for example the hi-hats from the snare, the tambourine from the congas etc.
Boom
Boom smoothly enhances the low frequencies of the signal by dynamically adding extra harmonics to the low end. The drop-down menu under the control can be used to blend the created harmonics with an event-driven tone generation. The key specified will change the pitch of the effect for tuning the low-end sounds like the kick-drum, toms, etc as preferred.
Rating: Five out of five stars
Beatformer allows you to sculpt your drum beats with this plugin. This plugin shines with your instruments tracks and injects new vibe into breaks and loops you got elsewhere.
