Recording - November 2014 - 56

PLUG-IN OUTLET
Soundtoys MicroShift
By Paul Vnuk Jr.

Based in Burlington, VT, Soundtoys is well known for creating some of the most interesting, useful, and unique effects
plug-ins on the market. Many of the company's products, such
as EchoBoy (reviewed February 2007) and Decapitator
(February 2011) are collections, or better yet amalgamations,
of famous pieces of well-known hardware, that have been
assembled under a singular multifunction plug-in interface. For
instance, EchoBoy contains emulations and characteristics of
vintage delay units from companies like BOSS, ElectroHarmonix, Binson, and others.
Recently the company has also started to release models of
particular vintage pieces. However, rather than creating virtual models of commonly known compressors, limiters and the
like, Soundtoys has focused on rarer and more esoteric items
of yesteryear. Back in our June 2014 issue we looked at the
Devil-Loc Deluxe, which was Soundtoys' take on the Shure
Brothers Level-Loc, a simple 1960s compressor originally
made to keep vocal mics in check when used with public
address systems of the day. What made this plug-in special,
though, is that in true Soundtoys fashion, the programmers
pushed and prodded the original model into something that
was recognizably "vintage," yet also deliciously sick, twisted,
and modern at the same time.
The month we are looking at the company's latest creation,
MicroShift. It is a single-model plug-in, but this time around it
is not a model of old analog gear, but digital-and it may be
Soundtoys' most faithful recreation to date.

very well-used effect in the late 1980s, early 1990s, and
beyond. This sort of pitch shift was great for adding girth to
vocals, depth and rhythmic interest to drums, width to guitars,
and more. MicroShift faithfully lifts two of the most popular of
these algorithms from the H3000
and ports them into plug-in form
with a few simple but effective controls.
On the front of MicroShift are
three buttons. Style Buttons I and II
are preset numbers #231 and #519
from the H3000. Each one models
not only the delay and pitch properties, but also the analog saturation of
the original device. Rather than the
old alphanumeric editing found on
the H3000, here each preset is

controlled by 4 simple knobs. The first two are Mix, a wet/dry
control, and Focus, which is a 20 Hz to 10 kHz crossover that
allows you to process only the higher frequencies while leaving
the low end solid and unaffected. The last two, Detune and Delay,
control how much pitch shifting and delay occurs. These are
based on percentages, with 50% being half value and 200%
being doubled.
Wait, what about Style Button III? Nodding back to their
older "kitchen sink" plug-ins, this button is not H3000 based at
all. It's a model lifted from a well-used setting on the old AMS
(Neve) DMX 15-80 delay unit-kind of a British H3000. This
is the widest of the three; according to Soundtoys, it has different saturation characteristics, a harder sound, and a 'de-glitching' circuit. While the MicroShift controls are more of a by-feel
experience compared to the deeply editable originals,
Soundtoys notes that the overall parameters fall within the same
specs as the originals.
As an effect that is part delay-based and part pitch-based,
you might think the MicroShift imparts a sound similar to that of

History repeats itself (with slapback)
Before launching Soundtoys, most of the company's designers worked for Eventide, where they had a
hand in the creation of the Eventide H3000
Delivery: Web download only
UltraHarmonizer, a digital multieffects procesFormats: Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Windows XP/Vista/7/8; VST, Audio
sor that to this day has set the bar for what a
Units (Mac), RTAS/AAX/AudioSuite (depending on Pro Tools
harmonizer and pitch shifter should be.
version), 32-bit and 64-bit
And while the H3000 could do a whole
Copy Protection: iLok USB license key
host of effects, as the guys at Soundtoys tell the
License: multiple installs allowed; one computer in use at a time via iLok
story, "almost every time we walked up to a
Documentation: PDF Manual available on Soundtoys website
rack with an H3000 in it, it was almost always
Price: $99
set up for tiny pitch shifts." These micro shifts
More from: Soundtoys, www.soundtoys.com
were made up of a combination of delay and
minute panned pitch variations that became a
56

RECORDING November 2014

http://www.soundtoys.com

Recording - November 2014

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