The Sound Board

At Sonnox headquarters, I imagine they probably cursed quite a bit and filled the conference room with the sound of gnashing teeth when they learned that Sonible had released their Smart EQ, because if any EQ (other than the Sonible) deserves to be called 'smart', it is without a doubt the new one from Sonnox which, 'Smart' being already taken, they called 'Claro'.

You will probably think (I thought so too): “oh please, not another EQ, no matter how clever it is”, but the Sonnox Claro is much more than just another high-end digital EQ: it’s also a fount of very useful information about the material you’re mixing, it shows you “the energy fields” in your mix (strong concentrations of frequencies), it gives very helpful visual feedback on what you’re doing and, not the least of its powers, it shows you where you might want to EQ or what to watch out for in case your ears or perhaps a lack of self-confidence stand in the way of making the right decisions. Claro not only operates on single tracks, but can also be set up to monitor your entire mix (which is when it can tell you about potentially conflicting energy fields in different tracks.) Which, I think you'll agree, is quite impressive.

Do, please do, watch this video. It’s not too long (not even 4 minutes), but you get a really good idea of what the Claro is all about:



Introduction price £74,25, full price £99,99. (iLok required.)

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Looks good. Well conceived.

I got the email about it from Sonnox; but I watched the video because of your post, Piet. Thanks!

Best,

Geoff

This looks really really awesome. Great for those who are extremely graphically adept and love the descriptives. Very intelligently put together especially for the MIX. It feels a less complicated in its setup and routing within DAW environment.

It does look well done. The two things that look most appealing to me are auto-gain - I don't have this on a pure EQ module - and that visual display of the energy levels of the whole mix. Neutron EQ is my weapon of choice (combined with Tonal Balance) which covers most of this territory however, it has masking features too. To make the most of the features you have to use it on pretty much everything so that the plugins can talk to one another, so CPU usage comes into play - I wonder how Claro does on this.

For that reason I'm semi-reluctant to give it a proper airing despite a very reasonable price, it would mean changing the template(s) yet again to base it around Claro not Neutron. If I didn't have Neutron I'd probably jump at it... still might, will be interested to read user reports here.

Guy Rowland wrote: ↑Oct 13, 2021 3:48 am To make the most of the features you have to use it on pretty much everything so that the plugins can talk to one another, so CPU usage comes into play - I wonder how Claro does on this.

Great points. I think if I were not using Neutron I’d give it a spin. Actually, I think , (if I have some time) I would do the demo on submixes. I usually automatically know where my potential mix problems are going to be and instantiating a CLARO on submix channels would reduce CPU load. Still…. You have to break out your mix into more channels.

I’m posting Michael White’s take below. He goes into more detail, if you’re interested.



Best,

Geoff

Thats very helpful Geoff. Thanks for posting that.

That looks great. I like the different stages of EQing during the mix and the communication between different instances of Claro. The only thing that makes me wait: I could imagine Fabfilter would bring some or all of these ideas into their next version. But maybe I will buy this during some sale.

Plugin Boutique are running a sale that appears attractive. Are “we” still loving this plugin?

Edit: purchased! This indeed appears to be a smart EQ. First impressions are good.

I never bought it at the time, but I'm pretty sure that if I had, I would like it very much (as is the case with everything else from Sonnox that I have).
Thing is, my folder with EQ plugins is bulging already more than is healthy for any plugin folder to bulge and it includes some outstanding EQ software, so I didn't really see any reason to add another one, no matter how good and useful it is.
That said, €36.30 is tempting. Very tempting. Even if only for Claro's analyzing features.

We've got the whole of November to make up our minds, haven't we?

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We do. I happened to have some tokens and other rewards in my PB account so it was a €22 purchase. I do also use the Sonible smart:eq -which is actually smart- and since I am a completely untalented mixer this is a welcome feature. My current understanding of Claro is that this one may even be a wee bit smarter. Anyway - I think you may end up stretching that bulge a bit ;-)

Hm-m, well while it appears "smart" in many useful ways, it doesn't appear to do what SmartEQ and some others do, and analyze an audio track and then make a suggestion re. EQ'g it...an "EQ Assistant" if you like. Am I missing something here? In any case, like many, my toolbox is overloaded with EQ Plugins, so guess I'm reluctant to purchase this one...even at a reduced price...until I learn a little more about it. Watching the videos now.

It doesn’t do that, but it does connect multiple instances of the plugin across tracks and visually signals areas where there are clashing frequencies and that is smart in and of itself. So I’d argue this one is smart in other areas of interest ;-)

this could be useful for one like me who doesn't have a great ear and the equipment (monitors) to check mixes... mmm

RobS wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 3:35 pm this could be useful for one like me who doesn't have a great ear and the equipment (monitors) to check mixes... mmm

You gotta be kidding.

Lawrence wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 4:03 pm

RobS wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 3:35 pm this could be useful for one like me who doesn't have a great ear and the equipment (monitors) to check mixes... mmm

You gotta be kidding.

nono I'm dead serious... I mean I have a good musical ear, but not so good an ear for colors/frequencies... not remotely close to the ear our Piet has, just saying...

FYI there is a general Sonnox sale through other resellers too eg https://www.jrrshop.com/computer-softwa ... e=1&type=2

Still think Neutron is too close to Claro to make it worth the faff of switching everything out.

RobS wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 4:45 pm

Lawrence wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 4:03 pm

RobS wrote: ↑Oct 25, 2022 3:35 pm this could be useful for one like me who doesn't have a great ear and the equipment (monitors) to check mixes... mmm

You gotta be kidding.

nono I'm dead serious... I mean I have a good musical ear, but not so good an ear for colors/frequencies... not remotely close to the ear our Piet has, just saying...

Impossible comparison.

A great aid, I imagine, if you feel you can no longer trust your hearing completely, is ADPTR MetricAB, sold by Plugin Alliance. This plugin tells you everything about your mix that matters (in merciless detail, if you want) and allows you to compare it with up to 16 reference tracks of your choosing. Frequency spectrum, correlation, stereo image, dynamics, loudness … MetricAB reads it all and presents you with a very informative visual and numeric analysis.

Say you wanna mix a jazz trio, then you load up your song, insert Metric AB as the last plugin on the StereoBus, fill it with a handful jazz trio recordings that you know you like the sound of and start mixing. The idea is to switch often enough between your own mix and those references, and this for two reasons:
(1) those references “lay out the land”, so to speak, and you can use MetricAB’s visual and numeric translation of their sound as a reliable guide for your own work,
(2) they also refresh/reset you ears and brain. Skewed hearing, as a result from listening for too long to the same thing — which is when the brain will start to auto-EQ and does it completely beyond your control — is detrimental for a good mix.

Even if one’s hearing is still in pretty good shape, MetricAB can still be terribly useful to help you better understand “the frequency anatomy” of certain sounds or mixes that you like. And in my case, I also use it to help me address the bass issues of the room where I make music.

There are other tools very much like MetricAB of course — the Izotope bundle, I’m sure, includes something similar — but the ADPTR really is very, very good. (It also includes ’target profiles’ for dynamics and loudness.)

I’ve just checked and ADPTR Metric AB is currently a rather expensive purchase ($199), but as with all PA plugins, there will soon come a time when you can buy it for $29. If you’re interested, check the PA website regularly, I’d say.

Everything you need to know about the plugin can be found here:



And if it’s any consolation: you don’t need to hear too far above 10k, let alone have the full hearing range of a younger person, to still be able to make great sounding mixes. Case in point: Gregory Scott from Kush Audio. (Yes, ironically, the developer of the Clariphonic.) In one of his videos, he confesses that much of what happens above 10k sounds mostly foggy to him, and yet, if you listen to the music he produces for the demonstration videos of his plugins, those pieces rank, in my opinion anyway, among the better sounding music on YouTube. Nice, full, warm, lively sound that has all the frequencies it needs, in near-perfect balance. (If I find that video again in which he talks about this, I’ll post a link.)

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Thank you very much for your post Piet, it seems to fit my situation exactly...

Here’s a link to the video Piet was speaking of. I learn a great deal from his discussions.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8NDOjtly ... J&index=20

Yes, that's the one. Thanks, Kayle!

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I picked Metric AB on a sale some time ago, and I have used it several times.

Generally speaking I'm not a fan of mixing with my eyes, but some days - be it age or fatigue or whatever - the ears just aren't working, and that's when a tool like this really comes in handy.

Most of the time I am just interested in the report in a general sense, but when I need help I need help, and so far this has been pretty effective. But it is all the measurements that have me curious. Well worth having this or something similar.

$28 on everyplugin.com

13$ now at Sonnox with the promo code FLASH-CLARO-90:

https://www.sonnox.com/toolbox/claro