Over the past few months I've had the pleasure of getting used to a new way to work in the studio thanks to the new Townsend Labs Sphere L22 Microphone and the Sphere three-dimensional DSP modeling plugin.
So what is Sphere exactly?
For starters, the Sphere L22 is a large-diaphragm single-point dual-channel microphone combined with the Sphere UAD DSP plugin for using with Apollo and ultra-low latency, as well as a Native version for after-the-fact processing with any system.
It's also a system that's much more forgiving of mic placement than any microphone in existence, with tunable polar dead zones, and even the ability to change the mic, pattern and angle/axis to a large extent after tracking. Beyond that, it's an infinitely creative tool allowing a mic to be used beyond the physical limitations of the target mic by exaggerating or removing aspects and polar patterns associated with the placement and modeled microphone. We didn't even get to the fact that it can simultaneously be two mics at once in either mono or stereo configurations. Yeah, it's a lot to take in, but, fortunately, it's quite intuitive and even provides the option of a no-nonsense plugin interface, if you'd prefer that to the bells and whistles version.
I am finishing up a full review and more. Townsend Lab's founders Chris Townsend (the power behind AVID Eleven's exceptional modeling technology) and Erik Papp will also be able to add detail and would be happy to answer some questions on here as well.
The mic itself is a pretty great and versatile beast. It's well-made and very attractive. It also has some very cool features to help you calibrate your preamp levels (very important for the level of precision the Sphere is capable of).
Here's some info from Townsend Labs:
The Sphere L22 microphone system from Townsend Labs models the characteristics of the most sought-after large-diaphragm condenser microphones with amazing accuracy, and allows selection of different mics and patterns even after tracking.
The Sphere system consists of an extremely high precision dual channel microphone, which when paired with the included SphereTM DSP plug-in (UAD, VST, AU, AAX Native) accurately models the response of a wide range of mics, including transient response, harmonics, proximity effect and three-dimensional polar response.
Now You Can:
Be sure to sign up for their email list for more info here - Townsend Labs
Here's a thread for user reports and experiences - http://uadforum.com/general-discussion/26983-townsend-sphere-user-reports.html
So what is Sphere exactly?
For starters, the Sphere L22 is a large-diaphragm single-point dual-channel microphone combined with the Sphere UAD DSP plugin for using with Apollo and ultra-low latency, as well as a Native version for after-the-fact processing with any system.
It's also a system that's much more forgiving of mic placement than any microphone in existence, with tunable polar dead zones, and even the ability to change the mic, pattern and angle/axis to a large extent after tracking. Beyond that, it's an infinitely creative tool allowing a mic to be used beyond the physical limitations of the target mic by exaggerating or removing aspects and polar patterns associated with the placement and modeled microphone. We didn't even get to the fact that it can simultaneously be two mics at once in either mono or stereo configurations. Yeah, it's a lot to take in, but, fortunately, it's quite intuitive and even provides the option of a no-nonsense plugin interface, if you'd prefer that to the bells and whistles version.
I am finishing up a full review and more. Townsend Lab's founders Chris Townsend (the power behind AVID Eleven's exceptional modeling technology) and Erik Papp will also be able to add detail and would be happy to answer some questions on here as well.
The mic itself is a pretty great and versatile beast. It's well-made and very attractive. It also has some very cool features to help you calibrate your preamp levels (very important for the level of precision the Sphere is capable of).
Here's some info from Townsend Labs:
The Sphere L22 microphone system from Townsend Labs models the characteristics of the most sought-after large-diaphragm condenser microphones with amazing accuracy, and allows selection of different mics and patterns even after tracking.
The Sphere system consists of an extremely high precision dual channel microphone, which when paired with the included SphereTM DSP plug-in (UAD, VST, AU, AAX Native) accurately models the response of a wide range of mics, including transient response, harmonics, proximity effect and three-dimensional polar response.
Now You Can:
- Record with the sound of microphones many have only dreamt about
- Change mic type, polar pattern, and other microphone characteristics, even after tracking!
- Audition the sound of different microphones without tiring the vocalist
- Reduce bleed, undesirable room coloration, and other common issues using Off-Axis CorrectionTM
- Record in stereo from a single microphone
- Much more
Be sure to sign up for their email list for more info here - Townsend Labs
Here's a thread for user reports and experiences - http://uadforum.com/general-discussion/26983-townsend-sphere-user-reports.html
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