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DeFX Multi-effects processor Plug-in for XMMS |
| DeFX effects description and samples |
The current version of DeFX includes 6 effects that can be activated simultaneously and
configured separately. For each effect I've included a little demo (22Khz mono)
using an extract of one Dream Theater's song called New Millenium. After each description you will find a link to donwload the sample file with the effect applied to it. But, before that, you must download the sample file without effects to note the difference. |
| 1. Chorus |
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This effect is mostly used on voices or basses. It adds an aditional voice, so you
hear like there are two sound sources. Most people have difficulty to recognize it, but
most musicians will appreciate it. The chorus effect uses a varying delay that make the second voice sound somewhat different from the main voice. An additional delay is added to the varying delay to avoid flanging. There are seven parameters for chorus.
Hear the second voice: Download sample file with chorus |
| 2. Flange |
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This is another delay based effect. Its use is more common, surely you have heard it
before. It's hard to descibe how it sounds, but you can do the following experiment: take an
empty cup of tea (make sure it's empty :) and put it over one ear, like if you would
hear the void. That sound is similar to flange. Flange uses the same algorithm than chorus except that the additional delay is removed, so you can easily have amplifications and cancelations of the original waveform. The parameters of flange are the same of chorus. Feel the waves: Download sample file with flange |
| 3. Phaser |
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Some people tend to confuse about this effect. It's very similar to flanger but with
a really distinctive sound. It's a varying filter wich make some frequency cancelations
and amplifications. It's very weird at hi feedback settings!! There is no sample for this effect yet |
| 4. Voice Removal |
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This is one of the simplest and most popular effect. It removes the mono channel on stereo
sounds. Most singers record their voice on the mono channel, so, if you remove it,
you can remove its voice. The bad thing is that the voice cannot be removed if it is not recorded at the mono channel, another bad thing is that any other sound that lies in the mono channel will be removed also. I figured this effect a long time ago, while I was pluging my phones to the radio, there was a position when the signal turns to mono and some of the vocals and another sounds were removed, that make me think about this way to do it. But nobody believed me that it could be so easy!!! (hey CesarHM). To remove the center channel I add the inverted left to the right and vice-versa, using that, all the sound that is common to both channels is cancelled out!. I mean the folowing. If L is the left channel and R the right, the sound is in the form of: L = X * Z R = Y + Z Where X is the Left component, Y the right and Z the mono component. Them Voice removal do: VR = (L-R) = (X+Z) - (Y+Z) = X-Y With the parameter AMOUNT you indicate the volume of the mono channel, higher values give you the lowest volume. In the sample, you will not hear the center channel, that includes bass and main drums, while the funky guitar (right channel) and additional drums (left channel) are amplified. Download it |
| 5. Reverberation |
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This effect tries to simulate the sound that is reflected by the walls or objects
that sorround the sound source. For example, if you clap your hands on an empty hangar,
its not the same that doing it at you bedroom, the first will sound 'fatter' than the
second. My reverb uses a simplified algorithm (4 combos, no ER) to reduce the amount of CPU power needed. Previous versions of DeFX also used floating point math, but the poor performance obtained on some CPU's (like AMD K6), make me rewrite the routine to use fixed point math. That reduced the CPU use from 70% to 30% in my P200MMX. You can change 3 parameters:
Now we are playing on a bigger room: Download sample file with reverb |
| 6. Balance |
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This another simple effect. It lets you hear any of the two channels (left and right)
on both ears. I made it to transcribe some songs where keyboards were recorded on left
and guitars on right. Hope you find an use to it too:)
The only parameter you change is the amount of presence of one channel on both speakers.
On the Center position you have a normal output. The file now is splitted on left and right channel. Notice that left channels contains some drums while right channel contains the guitar: Download left channel of sample file, download right channel of sample file |