Beyond Perfection” certainly rings true for D16 Group Audio Software with plugins such as Lush-101 and their various effects. Sigmund, the brand new addition to their extensive range of high-quality products is without doubt a game changer when it comes to delay plugins.
Sigmund is a flexible delay unit which offers four independent delay lines. Yes, that means you don’t need to add 4 delay plugins to your effects chain. Great, right? That’s just the start though. Along with four independent delay lines, it also features a versatile filter, overdrive unit, stereo spread, and LFOs, along with many more features which we’ll discuss.
Alright, that’s enough of a delay (Ha..ha…), let’s dive in!
Features and Uniqueness
The one thing I like about this plugin is that it has a multitude of features. Most plugins that contain a large number of features fail to deliver in terms of quality and usefulness.
Often, features can be a distraction from the main purpose of the device, whether it’s to create space in the mix using reverb, or create atmospheric delay tails. This is simply not the case with Sigmund. The extra features on this device (such as the LFO, overdrive, routing, etc) are not only necessary but incredibly beneficial.
D16 Audio have done a great job of capturing convenience, versatility, and creative freedom all in one plugin.
Delay Parameters
The first thing you’ll notice, and the most important section of the plugin is the Delay Parameters section. This includes:
- Pre/Post overdrive selection
- Multimode filter
- Free or tempo sync delay time (including pre-delay)
- High quality overdrive section
- Delay feedback
- Delay modulation
- This is the meat of Sigmund and you can instantly recognize the quality and effort that D16 have put into this.
Pre/Delay Time
The delay parameter I’d like to dig into is the delay time section. This is, of course, the most necessary component of any delay. You want to be able to adjust the time of your delay in unison with your song, or be able to create some atmospheric, spacey effects with weird timing. Simply put, it’s essential, and therefore it helps that it’s built well, right?
Sigmund allows you to have a delay time from 0.1ms up to 1.0s in the non tempo sync mode. Why you’d want a 0.1ms delay I’m not sure, but it’s possible.
The vibrant orange display is very vivid and helpful when it comes to visually setting your delay time. I’m not sure about you, but I often get frustrated when having to set delay times while staring at a 8px font in the corner of my screen. We’ll get more into the interface later, but all you need to know for now is that this section is very intuitively designed.
The delay time section has a Join Channels feature which basically means the left and right side are synced together. This is a common feature on most delay plugins and I’m glad Sigmund have included it.
This section also allows you to switch to pre-delay, which can be useful if you’re sending to another delay line.
What about tempo sync?
More often than not, you’ll be using tempo sync delay times in your tracks, especially if you’re producing electronic dance music. Fortunately the tempo sync section in Sigmund is plain and simple with no complicated options. Each numerator and denominator can be set anywhere from 1-32 allowing for incredibly long delay times as well as much shorter ones.
The tempo sync section also features different timing values including full (standard), Dot, and Triplet. Because let’s be real here, there’s nothing worse than trying to form a good delay when you’re writing in triplets!
Unique Factor: Sigmund’s delay time isn’t necessarily outstandingly innovative, but it doesn’t need to be – it just does the job, simple and convenient.
Multimode Resonant Filter
Although having filters on delay plugins is nothing new, Sigmund have kept it simple and just offered what’s needed, which is absolutely great because it allows you to actually get on with what you need to do instead of waste time looking for that 36/db double notch, make me a coffee, filter type.
The multimode resonant filter features your three standard High-pass, Low-pass, and Bandpass filters, utilizing simple cutoff and resonance parameters which ultimately allow you to shape your delay sound within seconds.
Unique Factor: Ease of use, simplicity, and convenience.
Overdrive
Want your delay lines to have a bit more grit and dirt? Sigmund has an overdrive module featuring just three parameters, so if you’re unaware of different types of distortion then you don’t need to worry too much about the logistics.
This is a simple overdrive module which features preamp (distortion amount), color, and overall gain. It’s a great way to beef up your sound and I found that I use it a lot in subtle ways when using multiple delay lines.
Unique Factor: Great sound quality, easy-to-use, and effective
LFO and Modulation
The LFO’s in Sigmund are used to modulate a few of the delay line parameters such as delay time, cutoff frequency, and output signal volume.
Each LFO allows you to choose sync or free (Hz), along with 6 different wave shapes.
This can be a great way to create more interesting sounding delays. I found this worked well on pads, atmospheric plucks, and even put a nice twist on vocals! The Sigmund manual explains in depth how it works, but this is pretty easy to get going with.
Unique Factor: Extensive modulation options, intuitive, and well designed
Delay Lines Mixer
If there’s one thing that I absolutely love about Sigmund, it’s this.
Sure there are other delay plugins that allow you to use multiple delay lines – take Fruity Delay Bank for example. But, the ease of getting a good ‘delay mix’ is a lot harder in other plugins compared to this one.
The mixer features a few parameters, the most obvious being the amplitude or volume of each delay line. This is easily adjustable and above each fader lies a VU-meter which indicates the signal level of each line and if it’s clipping or not. You’d be hard pressed to find a visual read out like this on other delay plugins.
Copy and Paste
Sigmund allows you to copy and paste delay lines, which is pretty cool. If you’ve got a delay line that you really like, but want to make a small difference and duplicate it – then it’s never been easier to simply copy the settings onto the next line and play around.
Panning
You’d expect this to be a feature on any delay plugin, so it’s great they’ve included it. I’m a huge fan of panned delays and I think it’s the easiest way to give your song a bit of complexity and atmosphere. There’s not much more to add… I mean, it’s panning.
Unique Factor: Logically set-up, attractive, and encourages speedy workflow
Routing
I’m not going to go too in-depth here, because it would call for a separate blog post in itself, but the routing section is great for when you want to dig deeper into Sigmund.Routing
By default, the routing is set to parallel. This means that the audio signal is running through all delay lines simultaneously to the output. Almost all delay plugins do this, but Sigmund takes it a step further and offers nine different routing configurations including modified serial connections, and mixed connections.
Master & Limiter
Finally we’ve got the master and limiter section. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here, but I quite like the way it’s set up.
The master section gives you the main volume control with two clip meters (left & right), alongside a wet and dry fader.
This all sits next to the Limiter which contains only a threshold knob (automatic release). When used in unison with the wet/dry and main volume control, the limiter can prove very beneficial for achieving a more consistent sound.
- Price - 7/10
- Ease of use - 7/10
- Sound quality - 9/10
- User interface - 10/10
- Uniqueness - 10/10
Overall Rating - 8.6/10
Original Source - EDMPROD
