AYAIC Mix Monolith & Soothe2

[Briz]

I ran a quick search for AYAIC Mix Monolith and it returned zero results. I'm curious if anyone has used this plugin. If so, what are your thoughts?

I'm also contemplating picking up Soothe (which I was able to find posts on).

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Drew Stephenson]

Not heard of Monolith before but sound like it's doing similar things to Izotope's Neutron.

I think we'll see a lot more of this kind of thing in the next few years and I think it'll be really useful for creators who aren't interested in the engineering side and just want to get their songs out there.

[sonics]

I'm intrigued by these tools, but there seems to be a general rule for me. The more work I let the plugins do, the less I seem to like the results. But sometimes you don't have time to cook and order take-away, right?
However, if a plugin like Monolith can replace years of experience, then why not, if it seems right for you?

I'm not in the position of having to crank out mixes; maybe it would help those poor souls, as well as the inexperienced.

I'd love to see what a seasoned pro would get out of them, but you may have a hard time getting them to use it. Maybe the last 10% is where the magic is, anyway? (Monolith "gets you 90% of the way there", says Butch Vig.)

Tools like Soothe have their place. I did go and listen to the before and after versions on the website, and felt that lots of interest was lost in the processed versions. I wouldn't use it for music sources; I prefer the more traditional approach of using EQ and compression etc.

I have used Baby Audio's Smooth Operator a couple of times and liked it for what I needed. I've tried it on some music and it just removes too much character for me. It's a fix tool, not a mix tool...something like that.

[Briz]

Sonics, "intrigued" is spot on for me as well. I'm not interested in having a tool completely mix for me, but I do wonder when real AI (not just an analyzer) will be able to get close.

I found this plugin in The Mix Engineer's Handbook. I was just curious if anyone has actually used it.

As for Soothe2, I'm also curious for the same reasons.

[sonics]

Have a look at Smooth Operator. Currently only $39 if you do like it. I'm happy to have it in my arsenal at that price.

[ore_terra]

Are those 2 not completely different tools?

[sonics]

Are those 2 not completely different tools?

Mix Monolith and Soothe2, yes. Soothe2 and Smooth Operator, no.

[Briz]

Have a look at Smooth Operator. Currently only $39 if you do like it. I'm happy to have it in my arsenal at that price.

Thank you for the recommendation. I'll definitely check it out.

[beej65]

This relative newbie's advice for Mix Monolith: You'd have to willing to set up a template to use it, it requires an instance on every track and bus so to add that to a project every time would defeat what I would think is one purpose: to make gain staging easier. I picked it up on sale a year ago and have used it a few times but frankly I have a few easier methods to get to that initial rough balance first: including Bobby Owsinski's 'mix by peak DAW meter," and most lately Stav's Line Trim.
I too have not gone down the Soothe2 path as I have picked up other 'smart EQ' type tools along the way, including the aforementioned Smooth Operator; the even less expensive HoRNet ThirtyOne MK2; and Soundtheory's Gullfoss which is the more expensive but quick workflow makes it worth it.

[Briz]

This relative newbie's advice for Mix Monolith: You'd have to willing to set up a template to use it, it requires an instance on every track and bus so to add that to a project every time would defeat what I would think is one purpose: to make gain staging easier. I picked it up on sale a year ago and have used it a few times but frankly I have a few easier methods to get to that initial rough balance first: including Bobby Owsinski's 'mix by peak DAW meter," and most lately Stav's Line Trim.
I too have not gone down the Soothe2 path as I have picked up other 'smart EQ' type tools along the way, including the aforementioned Smooth Operator; the even less expensive HoRNet ThirtyOne MK2; and Soundtheory's Gullfoss which is the more expensive but quick workflow makes it worth it.

Thanks for your input. Quick question - I took a peak at Soundtheory's Gullfoss. I've had the IZotope Music Production Suite since its first version. Is Soundtheory's Gullfoss comparable to Neutron? Thanks.

[Drew Stephenson]

Not really. Gullfoss is closer to Soothe probably.
It's a polishing tool rather than a mis-authomation tool. Kind of.
Have a listen to the demos on their site and it'll give you a good idea of what it's for.

[beej65]

This relative newbie's advice for Mix Monolith: You'd have to willing to set up a...

Thanks for your input. Quick question - I took a peak at Soundtheory's Gullfoss. I've had the IZotope Music Production Suite since its first version. Is Soundtheory's Gullfoss comparable to Neutron? Thanks.

I believe the latest version of Ozone has an AI driven multiband EQ similar to Gullfoss called "Stabilizer" I am still on Ozone 9 so cannot speak to Stabilizer myself.