Brainworx LISA (Plugin Alliance)

[moofi]

Just got LISA yesterday via the 29 forever option at Plugin Alliance (for actually 30+ dollar )
And while just having started exploring her, I felt like sharing anyway.

LISA is a dynamic mastering EQ (including M/S) built after the hardware unit from Tomo Audiolabs with six parallel bands of opto compression per channel. On top (or in this case at the bottom) there is the Brainworx module including the TMT section emulating the tolerances of components appearing in hardware units. And while I don´t have any listening insights into the actual hardware unit so far, the results I got from an intital playaround with the plugin are quite impressive here.

The layout and everything seems to be a bit daunting at first, though it´s bascially quite easy to understand. Watched a video where someone said it was overwhelming when looking at it initially, then it took him like a quarter of an hour to figure it out and also get it rolling. I can confirm mentioned experience. Even more so it instantly delivered quite some joy, realising what an extremely pleasant unit LISA is, not only functionality but soundwise. Today I put her on a song for a video I´m working on for a freelance project. The song is bascially an ongoing piano piece with a chilled drumbeat beneath. Been using ID8´s Grandpiano. The smooth clarity and fullness I got with LISA after sitting down with her for the first time today besides some quick knob-turning yesterday are very much satisfying and she´s not even finetuned to the song.
It´s been something like that quarter of an hour when I got the hang of her with already soothing results. Just mentioning this once again because the difference between initial visual impression and the actual ease of use of the layout/functionality is quite immense

I love the "Auto Listen" function within the Brainworx module that when activated and turning a knob LISA solo previews the raw knob channel´s output. Saying you automatically solo listen to that specific channel while tuning the parameter and switching back to all bands once the knob is being released. So it´s possible to hear how the changes effect the band´s sound very easily. Might be an already quite know conecpt, then it was the first time here seeing it.

Anyway, I would be interested if anyone has already worked with LISA (plugin/hardware) and how she feels to you. Like said, I just started exploring her and naturally have merely taken a quick glimps. Just opened the manual and read a bit while writing here.

Btw LISA uses 40% CPU-power of an i3770k here, saying, not the lightest device, then being a mastering element and especially for given sound qualities, it doesn´t matter much.

https://plugin-alliance.com/en/products ... _lisa.html

EDIT: Removed "bascially a multiband compressor" bit because there are differences. A dynamic EQ uses the compressor merely to detect and alters the gain of the EQ while a multiband compressor actually compresses the signal through the compressor besides the difference in processing the signal and filtering (see Shoukz´explanation below).
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LISA.jpg (420.64 KiB) Viewed 895 times

[Shoukz]

"LISA is a dynamic mastering EQ (bascially a multiband compressor, including M/S)"


dynamic EQ and multiband compressor are 2 differents processing,

a dyn EQ is an EQ where the gain (cut or boost) is driven by the gain reduction of a compressor, the audio signal you listen is just processed by the EQ but the compressor just act as a detector on a specific frequency to determine how and when the gain of the EQ is modulated . it's a serial audio processing driven by a parallel audio detection

With multiband compressor the audio signal you listen is first affected by the filters used to create the multitiband processing, then affected for each band by the compressor since the signal you listen pass thru the comp too, it's a parallel audio processing with a serial audio detection

Dyn eq is way more surgical and transparent than mutiband comp.

[moofi]

Ah, interesting, felt there was difference yet didn´t know what and was too lazy to read it up Thank you for the info

"LISA is a dynamic mastering EQ (bascially a multiband compressor, including M/S)"


dynamic EQ and multiband compressor are 2 differents processing,

a dyn EQ is an EQ where the gain (cut or boost) is driven by the gain reduction of a compressor, the audio signal you listen is just processed by the EQ but the compressor just act as a detector on a specific frequency to determine how and when the gain of the EQ is modulated . it's a serial audio processing driven by a parallel audio detection

With multiband compressor the audio signal you listen is first affected by the filters used to create the multitiband processing, then affected for each band by the compressor since the signal you listen pass thru the comp too, it's a parallel audio processing with a serial audio detection

Dyn eq is way more surgical and transparent than mutiband comp.

[dvdrtldg]

Here's a photo of me getting an acid flashback from that GUI

[moofi]

Looks like a small flashback

You can turn down the red LED around the knobs if that helps any
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LISA knob-LED off.jpg (370.91 KiB) Viewed 754 times

Here's a photo of me getting an acid flashback from that GUI