A very exciting UAD product that may change the way you record - Townsend Lab...

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
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:



  • 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


Screen Shot 2016-07-20 at 10.57.35 AM.png



Here's a thread for user reports and experiences - http://uadforum.com/general-discussion/26983-townsend-sphere-user-reports.html
 
Last edited:

DJ Hellfire

Established Member
Any pricing info yet? And how does this compare/differ to Slates similar offering?
 

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
Any pricing info yet? And how does this compare/differ to Slates similar offering?
I'm sure that's a question that will come up a lot initially. Sphere has the ability to have a near infinite amount of polar-pattern control and the ability to do two simultaneous microphones in stereo or dual mono! It also runs on Apollo for superior latency to almost any native solution. It's unsurpassed as a microphone creative tool, really.

It's probably not my place to say on pricing, so I'll let Townsend Labs answer that part.
 

Hoenerbr

Hall of Fame Member
WoW! Matt I guess since you've been allowed to announce this, it should be coming soon?
Time to start saving for this one!


I'm sure that's a question that will come up a lot initially. Sphere has the ability to have a near infinite amount of polar-pattern control and the ability to do two simultaneous microphones in stereo or dual mono! It also runs on Apollo for superior latency to almost any native solution. It's unsurpassed as a microphone creative tool, really.

It's probably not my place to say on pricing, so I'll let Townsend Labs answer that part.
 

Daviskenn

Established Member
Yeah. Guess it's coming soon. Nice. I'd be more willing to do this than the Slate, honestly.
 

billybk1

Shareholder
Hi Matt, this is quite exciting news for the UAD platform! In the context of the Apollo Console, where does the Sphere sit in relation to other UAD plug-ins for the most sonic control in a traditional mic setup (Mic->Mic Pre->Compressor)? Unison? Looking forward to learning more about this new product.

Cheers,

Billy Buck
 

DJ Hellfire

Established Member
WoW! Matt I guess since you've been allowed to announce this, it should be coming soon?
Time to start saving for this one!
Also that we are probably gonna be seeing 8.7 soon, and without Console 2 FW I'm sure.
 

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
Hi Matt, this is quite exciting news for the UAD platform! In the context of the Apollo Console, where does the Sphere sit in relation to other UAD plug-ins for the most sonic control in a traditional mic setup (Mic->Mic Pre->Compressor)? Unison? Looking forward to learning more about this new product.

Cheers,

Billy Buck
My experience is Unison pre is perfectly fine, but EQ and compression should take place after the Sphere plugin. I've used it running through various preamps as well. Results have been excellent. Because of the creative possibility, I suggest only monitoring from it, however, rather than committing.

The production microphone has a great calibration feature that sends identical signal to both outputs (remember this is a dual-channel mic, so two preamps) so, when using a pair of Great Rivers, for example, I was still able to get within the level parameters for accurate modeling.

Even before I had experienced the product Chris had shared a white paper/document with me that put many of my concerns to rest and answered many questions. Everything has been done right.

I can honestly say that I can't think of a single tracking session since I got my hands on a Sphere prototype where I haven't use it on something during the session. So versatile.
 

Chris Townsend

UA Senior Software Architect
Matt, thanks for the great introduction. Much appreciated.

I just wanted to check in with the rest of you and let you know that we will be here to answer questions, although as you might imagine we're very busy right now getting everything ready for launch. I should also let you know that a lot more information will be forthcoming in the next couple weeks on our website and elsewhere, which should answer most of your questions. And we will have audio example tracks and direct audio comparisons with vintage mics also coming soon.
 

jjnssn

Active Member
I am curious Matt/Chris when you say Sphere DSP and have UAD, VST, Au, and AAX Native in parenthesis is the DSP a separate device that is part of the system, (similar to eleven rack architecture)? I use my eleven rack a lot and I like its integration with pro tools.

My first thought when I started to read Matt's note was Unison integration.

Like the others I am looking forward to learning more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
DSP is referring to the plugin (digital signal processing). Unison relates to mic preamps. The Sphere system can certainly be used with Unison preamps (I quite like the 1073 sans EQ) with it.
 

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
Matt, thanks for the great introduction. Much appreciated.

I just wanted to check in with the rest of you and let you know that we will be here to answer questions, although as you might imagine we're very busy right now getting everything ready for launch. I should also let you know that a lot more information will be forthcoming in the next couple weeks on our website and elsewhere, which should answer most of your questions. And we will have audio example tracks and direct audio comparisons with vintage mics also coming soon.
Thanks, Chris!
 
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