| Second Opinion |
Do It with One Box: McDSP FutzBox
by Alex Oana
It's that moment in the song for the telephone voice. It's the camera perspective of the dialogue coming out of the intercom. Instead of hooking up filters, distortion, EQ, and gating to simulate speakers and electronics, do it with one box: the McDSP FutzBox.
I've chatted with McDSP chief rocket scientist Colin McDowell at tradeshows, and I've found that he thinks on a different level than most of us. McDowell said, "Futz you!" to typical convolution, instead creating SIMS (Synthetic Impulse Models), a format claimed to be more flexible and DSP-lite. FutzBox SIMs include cellphones, radios, TVs, walkie-talkies, speakers, headphones, and electronic toys. I often found inspiring presets then tweaked the filters, distortion, lo-fi, noise generator, and gating to suit.
"Dial 9 to Get Out" by the Minneapolis hip-hop outfit, the Spectaculars, provided a perfect specimen to illustrate FutzBox's phone SIMs. I placed each instance of the vocal line, "XO XO," a lyric reference to texting, on a dedicated FutzBox track and called up a cell phone preset. The low bit rate, distortion, and narrow bandwidth smacked of cell phone, but I had to turn off the distortion to retain intelligibility. As a result, insertion of a limiter was required. FutzBox should have a limiter built into its output stage, but it does include a convenient wet/dry mix control. Futz-a-doodle-do.
I gave the guitar solo a unique texture by flying it on to the FutzBox track. Wow. Next, I simulated an answering machine. FutzBox allows one to audition the SIMs only, with no added filters, distortion, or noise. "Business Speaker Phone" followed by an L1 nailed the sound. I certainly hope McDSP continues to add more cool SIMS to its library.
One of the most powerful controls made possible exclusively by the SIM approach as opposed to if impulse response samples were used is the "Tune" control. In the case of the "metal washtub" SIM, for example, one can change the resonant frequency of the tub. I used the "Tune" control to adjust the business phone's resonant peak to work more favorably with the tone of the singer.
The ability to alter the tone of a track to make something distinct is a quality I prize in a plug-in. FutzBox is a shortcut to real-world electronic and object effect simulations. So, go Futz yourself. | |