When using plugins, it would be very usefull to be able to ear exactly what the plugin is doing. Not the global result on the sound, but the difference between the sound before and after the plugin. Some kind of advanced "null test" that would not only be "silent" if the plugin does nothing, but also let us ear exactly the added, or substracted, audio.
An explanation of this feature in the context of the other DAW : https://iddqdsound.com/blog/rfrt/91/
This feature is implemented natively in some plugins that allows us to ear what it is doing. For instance, by earing the removed audio when filtering, or added audio when boosting some EQ, removed audio by a compressor, added harmonics, etc.
For 2 years, another DAW has implemented this feature natively in the plugin windows. This allows the user to do "solo" this "delta" on the signal before and after any plugin. This is really usefull during mixing. Good practice is to use our ears, and there are plugins to allow A/B comparisons, we can bypass/disable the plugin to compare. But still there are bias, and sometimes misclicks. Being able very quickly, with one click, to check what is happening with one plugin can make life easier, and sometimes helps realize a plugin is just doing nothing, or not what we expect. We "ear" something weird but cannot point what it is. One click : we can ear the real impact of the plugin.
There are ways to do this already, but this is not efficient. The purpose of this request is not to get a tool for testing plugin or making experimentations, this is for actual mixing on a real projet without spending too much time for these "delta" checks.
To make things more explicit, a workaround today with S1 would be the following :
- insert a splitter on your track
- put a mixtool on the first path with phase invertion
- put the plugin you want to use on the second path
- you will hear the delta
- mute the first path : you have your "normal" sound
Or you could simply duplicate one track and invert the phase of the copied track, but this is not possible with bus.
What would be nice : add a button just after the "bypass" button that would do this trick and gives the "delta" of the plugin.
Regards.
