THE BASICS
TLDR... I JUST WANT STUFF NOW: Purchase a license. Then, consider purchasing one of the specialized computer hardware options that come with the non-activated plugin pre-installed. Otherwise, you can download the non-activated plugin by clicking the "download" button on this website and run it on your own machine. If you do buy our recommended hardware, at least read through "When the hardware arrives, what do I do?" in this FAQ. It is mono only, Windows VST3 only, and runs in trial mode with audio drop-outs unless activated. No plugin calibration or live operation required. License sales are final. Hardware sales adhere to the terms and conditions of each supplier. Cannot ship computers to Russia or Ukraine, and cannot ship the Option 1 computer to India.
WHAT IS THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS PLUGIN? Version 1.0.0
WILL THERE BE A MAC COMPATIBLE VERSION? We're working on it.
WILL THE LICENSE WORK WITH BOTH MAC AND WINDOWS? Yes, the license is universal.
WHAT IS A PERPETUAL LICENSE? It lets you keep Verion 1 forever without having to go back online, but you only get access to free patches, not version upgrades.
CAN I TRANSFER THE LICENSE TO ANOTHER MACHINE? Yes, but keep in mind that this will require an internet connection on both machines.
IS THERE AN OFFLINE ACTIVATION/TRANSFER OPTION FOR MACHINES WITHOUT INTERNET? Not yet, but we're working on it.
HOW DO I RUN PATCHES AND VERSION UPGRADES? When we release a patch or upgrade, simply download it from our site, delete the current .vst3 file on your machine and replace it with the new file in the same location, then restart the DAW or your machine. Make sure the file name is "Defeeback.vst3" at all times.
WHAT EXACTLY AM I BUYING? The plugin itself is free and fungible, it will operate on any Windows machine in trial mode with periodic drops in audio without an active license. The paid license is tied to the specific machine you choose to run the plugin. The license is offered through Fastspring and run by Softwarekey.com. Our recommended hardware computer options are offered and fulfilled through Simply NUC, but you'll also need to purchase the recommended audio interface separately through Sweetwater via the link provided on our site in association with the specific computer hardware option (unless you already have an identical interface). You can also purchase a different Focusrite Scarlett Gen4 interface, but some custom setup will be required.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ORDER ONE OF THE RECOMMENDED HARDWARE COMBO OPTIONS? After you correctly fill out the computer request form (including the billing address of your payment method if different than the shipping address), you will receive a confirmation email for a successful form submission, and Simply NUC will then send you a direct payment link with applicable tax and shipping costs included. After payment, you will receive a tiny computer in the mail. Then, you will also receive any associated analog USB interfaces in the mail that you ordered through Sweetwater.
WHEN THE HARDWARE ARRIVES, WHAT DO I DO? First, plug the interface into any of the computer USB ports (the 18i16 requires USB-C on both ends), then plug in the computer power cable. It will boot automatically. You'll need an HDMI screen and USB keyboard/mouse and a hardwired or wifi internet connection to activate the pre-installed plugin by clicking on the "plugin edit" button just to the right of the blue info button inside any plugin instance window, which is inside of the DAW (VST Host) which automatically opens after startup, and then choose Show Menu > License Management. The first time you run things, you need to open Focusrite Control 2 and apply any updates to the interface firmware that are available while connected to the internet, then also go to Settings > System > Sound > More Sound Settings and then go into the Properties of the Focusrite interface on both the Playback and Recording tabs and make sure the use of the device is "disabled" so that the computer itself doesn't send any alerts out that interface during use. Then you can disconnect and turn off your internet, restart the unit and run it in offline mode after that. Press the power button to power off, but if the machine accidentally loses power, when it comes back on or when you plug it back in, it will auto boot and continue running the last saved plugin "performance" (the machine comes with a default performance). Always make sure the interface is connected and turned on before powering on the computer; if it gets unplugged or turned off during use, plug it back in and turn it back on, then restart the computer. Sometimes if there is a very short power outage (less than two seconds), the unit will not startup properly; best practice is to have a battery backup power supply. We recommend disabling the wifi/Bluetooth and disconnecting the Ethernet, screen and keyboard/mouse immediately after activation and during normal usage not only to cut down on CPU load from graphics rendering, but because basically all antivirus protection has also been turned off in order to prioritize audio processing.
THE DETAILS
WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE RECOMMENDED HARDWARE OPTIONS? There is a very long and complicated list of things we have done to the machine BIOS, operating system and the various apps and settings to maximize performance for our particular plugin using these specific audio interfaces. Even if you have a great audio interface that is at all different from the one in the Sweetwater link, we recommend sticking to the exact products in the links because we have designed the entire system around them. Also, do not run any additional programs or make any unapproved changes to OS or app settings, as this will increase the chances of disruptions in audio.
CAN I USE MY OWN COMPUTER HARDWARE TO RUN THIS PLUGIN? Sure, have at it! It's just an audio plugin. But since most people don't have hardware capable of running super CPU intense plugins reliably for live sound applications at low latency, we spent about a year testing and verifying two options that are simple and cost-effective and we recommend trying them.
HOW MANY INSTANCES OF THE PLUGIN CAN I RUN ON MY COMPUTER? As many as your machine CPU will handle, given a certain buffer size.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOSE OR MESS UP MY PLUGIN? Just redownload the latest version from our site and put it in the same place or folder it was before. If you have an active license, it’ll work fine again. Don’t change the file name of the plugin, and don’t move or delete any of the folders or files that the plugin creates on your computer. Also, don't rename the computer or the account.
CAN I HAVE OR RUN MULTIPLE PLUGINS/VERSIONS? Don't try it, because having multiple of this plugin of either the same or different version or sub-version on your machine at the same time could crash the plugin. We recommend deleting the current version from your machine before downloading or placing a new version of any kind on that machine. We designed the licensing system to work with only one plugin on a machine at a time, and we don’t know what could happen when there are two or more. It might cause a black hole, don’t risk it.
WHAT DOES THIS PLUGIN DO? It helps get more gain before feedback from your live microphones, and largely removes room reverb, and reduces some background noise. It does this at zero added latency beyond your hardware I/O configuration.
DOES IT WORK FOR BIG AND SMALL SHOWS/VENUES? Yes, it works for all sizes and kinds of shows and venues, however we do notice that if the mic is too close to the speaker, as in less than 6ft, anti-feedback performance can begin to lessen.
DOES IT WORK BOTH INDOORS AND OUTDOORS? Yes, it works in either case.
DOES IT PREVENT ALL FEEDBACK? No, this first version helps to mostly prevent feedback, but if you push the gain high enough, you can potentially defeat the algorithm and things will still go into feedback. Future versions will be more aggressive, but this is hard to do without changing the sound of the vocals. We're working on it!
DOES THIS CURRENT VERSION OF THE PLUGIN CHANGE THE SOUND OF THE VOCALS? No, the plugin should not change the sound of the vocals under normal conditions. We do notice that with really high gain settings, this version can have some short "ringy" sounding artifacts that future versions will aim to avoid.
DO I STILL NEED TO EQ THE VOCALS? Yes, you'll need to EQ the vocals to sound good, but this plugin will largely reduce the need to burn EQ bands to fight feedback. In extreme situations, you can still use some bit of EQ to "ring out" the first few frequencies that want to feed back without the plugin inserted just to maximize overall performance.
IS THE PLUGIN LINEAR PHASE? No, the plugin is not technically linear phase, although we tried our best to keep the phase shift to a minimum, and it shouldn't be noticeable under normal usage. Also, the small bit of phase shift is not always static, it randomly changes as the AI removes the feedback.
DOES IT CHANGE THE DYNAMICS? No, it should not change the dynamic range of the vocals. We do notice however that under some circumstances where there is considerable background noise in the signal, the vocal level could be slightly reduced mometarily as it becomes mistaken for noise to be eliminated. Future versions will aim to avoid this.
IS IT FULL QUALITY? Yes, it can operate at all the normal sample rates from 44.1k to 96k with any bit depth allowed by the DAW. The effective operational range is from 100-20,000Hz.
DOES IT HAVE LATENCY? No, the plugin runs at zero latency. The only latency you need to worry about is the latency introduced by your audio I/O method.
HOW MUCH LATENCY DOES THE AUDIO I/O INTRODUCE? It depends. If you buy the cheaper hardware combo we recommend, it can do one instance at around 5ms roundtrip. The more expensive combo can do one to four instances at about the same latency. Some third party options (especially those with native Dante) might have lower latencies, but we haven't fully tested everything out there. We're also working on a native Dante version but this will take time.
IS THERE A REASON TO BUY THE PRO HARDWARE OPTION IF I ONLY NEED TO USE ONE INSTANCE? Maybe. We notice that the act of connecting a screen/peripherals and opening/moving windows on the cheaper machine can cause temporary audio glitches, whereas this does not happen with the more expensive machine. If for some reason you absolutely need to be accessing the desktop during live usage without audio disruptions, buy the more expensive machine. Also, the more expensive machine is better about performing well under physical stresses like heat and humidity.
CAN I BUY THE CHEAPER INTERFACE TO GO WITH THE MORE EXPENSIVE COMPUTER FOR RUNNING JUST ONE INSTANCE? Sure, that's totally fine, but you will need to get into the routing section of VST Host to make it work right. You're on your own for that. What wouldn't make sense of course is to buy the more expensive interface for the cheaper computer because it can't handle more than one instance anyway.
CAN I USE A DIFFERENT FOCUSRITE INTERFACE SUCH AS 4i4 or 18i20? Yes, any of their Gen4 products will work fine, but you will need to make the apporpriate patching and then bypass or insert the input summing plugins as necessary.
CAN I RUN MORE THAN 4 INSTANCES IF I USE THE 18i20? Yes, but you will have to increase the latency. For example, we tested up to eight instances on the more expensive computer with just under 9ms total latency.
IS IT MONO OR STEREO? For now, it is mono only. Stereo is actually really hard to get right but will be available soon. Keep in mind that it won't necessarily work to simply use two mono instances on a stereo pair of channels, because the stereo imaging may be lost due to lack of phase synchronization.
WHAT CAN I USE IT ON? This version is calibrated best for singular human vocals, not for choirs or instruments. Those will come later.
HOW CLOSE DOES A PERSON NEED TO BE TO THE MIC? The input content can't be too ambient, it needs to be more than 50% direct sound as opposed to ambient, "roomy" or background noise.
WHAT KIND OF VOCAL CONTENT DOES IT WORK WITH? Talking and singing are fine, but vocal sound FX may not always be handled perfectly. Future versions will aim to improve this.
DOES IT HAVE A THRESHOLD? No, anything from whispering to shouting will work fine.
DOES THE PLUGIN HAVE ANY USER DEFINED PARAMETERS? There is a strength level, where 0% is unprocessed and 100% is fully processed. We recommend leaving it at 100% for normal use.
ARE THERE OTHER PLUGINS LIKE THIS? Not that we know of, that's why we made this one. We got tired of waiting around for the "big" companies to solve the problem of feedback without destroying the sound through ridiculous EQ dips and annoying volume thresholds/gates and such. It was obvious that A.I. was the only answer, and this plugin is a good start.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Magic.
NO BUT REALLY? It works by training our boutique A.I. model with many terabytes of customized audio data, telling it to listen for feedback, room reverb and background noise, and then eliminate those from the vocal signal in real time. Easier said than done of course.
WILL THERE BE MORE VERSIONS? Yes, we're already working on them, but A.I. tech is hard and we're only comfortable releasing what has proven to be stable and reliable. We plan to come out with about one new version per year if we manage to raise the funds necessary to continue, with patches to existing versions along the way.
HOW MUCH BETTER WILL FUTURE VERSIONS BE? It depends. If tons of people buy this first version, we'll have the funds to reinvest into a better and faster A.I. training computer, and we'll be able to hire more staff and generate more training data, etc. The degree to which we can progress is highly proportional to the amount of new training data we can compile and the time it takes to create and train new models.
HOW CAN I HELP THIS PROJECT SUCCEED? Tell everyone you know about it! Post success stories on social media and tag Alpha Sound, our partner company. Also, let us know privately how we can improve the plugin, and be honest.
WHAT IS ALPHA LABS? Alpha Labs LLC is a software company partner to Alpha Sound. The plugins Alpha Labs develops were firstly intended for use by Alpha Sound, but are now available for sale to the public. Enjoy!
TIPS AND TRICKS
WHERE IN THE SIGNAL CHAIN SHOULD I INSERT IT? We recommend creating a subgroup on your mixer that has the plugin inserted, and then you can throw vocal channels into it. Be aware that too many vocals happening simultaneously can trick the plugin into thinking the input content is more like noise than vocals, so we recommend having minimal discrete vocal signals running through any individual instance at once, and this may require the use of individually inserted plugins per vocal channel. Technically the plugin works best with the raw uncompressed vocal signal, but for most situations it is fine to run a post-EQ/dynamics and/or post-fader signal into the plugin. In either case, just be careful not to clip the inputs of the interface.
USING YAMAHA USB: To connect the computer to a Yamaha console via USB, download the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver and select the Yamaha ASIO device in the DAW, then go to the ASIO control panel and set the latency to the lowest setting. On your Yamaha console, select the USB as the I/O. A good arrangement is to send channels to a mix instead of to the stereo bus, then send that mix to the stereo bus, but insert the mix through the USB going to the computer. This way, you can run multiple vocal channels through a single instance of the plugin, but be sure that no more than two or three vocalists are talking/singing at the same time.
CAN I USE MIC AND/OR LINE LEVEL INPUTS ON THE RECOMMENDED OPTIONS? Yes. On the Solo, you can plug into either the XLR or the 1/4" inputs and they will be summed together into the one plugin instance, and the plugin output is mirrored on both interface outputs. On the 18i16, each of the channels 1-4 inputs are summed with the corresponding channels 5-8 inputs, and eached of the four summed pairs goes into its corresponding plugin instance and then out to the corresponding output. Be aware that the +48V Phantom Power on the 18i16 defaults to off when the unit is fully power cycled... we've asked Focusrite to fix this.
