Sounda

Name: Sounda
Author: Acustica Audio

by Acustica Audio · EQ · Artist EQ

Not rated yet

Sounda is an artist plugin from Acustica: an EQ with analog character and controls tuned for drums, vocals and bass.

It is meant for quick mixing and mastering moves; the shop page did not show a price.

Best for: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Mix Bus, Mastering. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: bass, vocals, analog-sounding, kick, snare, beginner-friendly, drums, mastering, minimal controls, mixing, full mix, metering, built-in mix knob, modern, oversampling, bus processing, colored, mix bus, parallel processing, single knob, static.

What it does

Sounda is the first Artist plugin in Acustica's Fire series, made with multi-platinum engineer Salvatore Addeo and producer Don Joe (Club Dogo, Marracash, Måneskin) together with the Italian portal Improve your Mix. It condenses their EQ and clipping moves for the core parts of a modern mix into a few controls, so that "the leg work has already been done".

Four source modes: Kick, Snare, Vocal and Bass, each tuned for that part of the mix.
Signal chain: audio runs through an EQ, then a clipper, then the dry/wet mix, so it shapes level and transients as well as tone.
Force: the main processing control, in a layout built around one knob.
Wet/Dry Mix: an up-front blend knob for parallel processing.
Input Trim and Output Gain: set how hard the signal hits the chain and match the level coming out.
Metering and oversampling: input and output meters, with oversampling from 4x to 32x.
Analog colour: Acustica's sampled analog character, which the developer pitches as "rich analog vibes" for pop, EDM, hip-hop and trap.

Source: Acustica Audio product page

When to use it

Sounda is a shortcut tool rather than a general EQ: four source modes, a Force knob and a clipper replace bands and curves. Compared with Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova it gives up all precision and visual feedback, but it can take a kick, snare, vocal or bass to a finished, modern sound in seconds. Unlike the PuigTec EQs, which add broad passive curves, it also clips, so it controls peaks and adds density at the same time. It suits producers who want fast decisions and analog colour more than surgical control.

Best for: quick, coloured processing of kick, snare, vocals and bass, especially for beginners and intermediate producers.
Genres: pop, EDM, hip-hop, trap and other electronic styles.
Look elsewhere if: you need precise or surgical EQ (Pro-Q 4, or the free TDR Nova) or gentle broad tone shaping on a bus (PuigTec EQs).

Where to buy

Acustica Audio: see store

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

IIEQPro by DDMF · 24-band parametric EQ · $39
Blue Cat's Liny EQ by Blue Cat Audio · Linear phase EQ · $93.08
Clariphonic Mk3 by Kush Audio · Parallel high-shelf EQ · $199
Claro by Sonnox · Mixing/mastering EQ · $134
LP10 by DDMF · Linear-phase EQ · $39
MIXVAULT by Mastering The Mix · Assisted tonal-balance EQ · $79
Custom Series Lift by Slate Digital · High/low tone shaper · $99
EQ4 MS by Mäag Audio · Mid/side mastering EQ · $125
MH Sonic EQ by Metric Halo · 6-band mastering EQ · $99
Filtek MK3 by Antelope Audio · Broadcast 3-band EQ · $199

All EQs