MusicRadar

• Review

With its separate dynamics and EQ sections, you might at first glance be mistaken into thinking that the Dynamic Spectrum Mapper is a multi-band compressor, and in some ways, it's potentially the simplest multi-band you have ever used. But, how it processes goes way beyond how most multi-bands work.

The big difference between the DSM and everything else is the magic Capture button. Press this with audio playing through and the DSM analyses the frequency and dynamic spectrum of the source. It then processes the sound dynamically in relation to the audio spectrum you captured.

As it's working with lots of compression bands and a map of the material, you can use really extreme settings without pumping effects, and then make radical changes to the overall sound without losing its inherent character. For sound sources that have problems like sibilance or bass boom you just capture a good passage and then apply it to the whole thing.

As you work more with the DSM you build up a library of your own presets that you can then call up when you have a similar need.

In use

First up, let's consider sibilance. De-essing can be time consuming and pretty tedious. With the DSM, it's a simple matter of inserting the plug, loading a preset and curing the problem. This spoken word example provided on the DVD sounds pretty nasty but all we did to correct it was exactly that.

Vocal before

Vocal after