Soothe2 Review: Does This Great EQ Do Its Job Too Well?

Resonant frequencies in music production can be a real challenge, especially for new producers who haven’t spent enough time in the studio training their ears to identify them. These frequencies can subtly ruin a mix, making them a hidden obstacle. Thankfully, various plugins have emerged to help detect and manage these resonances, either by removing them entirely or by dynamically suppressing them to smooth out the sound and save your mix.

Soothe2 has established itself as an industry standard for this purpose, but it’s not the only option available. Plugins like Reso by Mastering the Mix, Gullfoss EQ, and others are also strong competitors. I did an in-depth review of Soothe2 to determine if it stands out among these dynamic, resonance-suppressing EQs.

During my interviews with top-level producers and testing in my own studio, I found much to appreciate about Soothe2—perhaps even too much. I’ll discuss all the pros and cons of this plugin and everything you need to know. We’ll also share some case studies from professional producers who use Soothe2 in their productions, helping them get signed to major labels. So, you don’t just have to take my word for it; you’ll also hear from the pros.

But first, let’s dive into what this plugin is all about.

What Does Soothe2 Do?

Soothe2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor designed to remove harshness from any sound source, manage sibilance in vocals and dialogue, and treat uneven tonal balance from suboptimal recordings. Unlike traditional EQs, Soothe2 automatically identifies problematic resonances and applies precise reduction only where needed, preserving the original sound’s timbre. This makes it an invaluable tool for addressing muddiness, boominess, and proximity effects, ensuring a smoother and more balanced sound. The plugin’s intuitive interface allows users to quickly adjust settings, such as attack and release parameters, to tailor the level of correction needed, making it suitable for beginners and seasoned professionals.

Beyond its ease of use, Soothe2 offers advanced features like mid/side and left/right processing, external sidechain input, and different quality settings for real-time and offline use, allowing “optimal” CPU management during mixdowns. The plugin’s versatility suits individual tracks, buses, sound design, post-production, and mastering applications. With its extensive functionality and transparent processing, Soothe2 has become a staple in the mixing process for many producers and engineers, including Grammy-winning professionals. The generous 20-day free trial further highlights its effectiveness and flexibility, allowing users to fully explore its capabilities before committing to a purchase.

Soothe2 Review – The Pros

It Does It’s Job INSANELY Well

These self-diagnosing surgical EQs are becoming increasingly popular. While there aren’t millions of them on the market, there are enough options to give Soothe2 some stiff competition. I say “may” because I’ve tried several other plugins, and honestly, it’s no wonder Soothe2 is considered an industry standard. Producers frequently mention it, especially those we interview on the site and those highlighted later in this article, and I can see why. I’ve done a TON of interviews at this point, and many of them repeatedly praise Soothe2 for its surgical and transparent way of removing resonances.

I’ve tested other self-diagnosing EQs that remove resonant frequencies, and they often over-diagnose certain nodes and are too aggressive in their cuts. While you control the amount of reduction and which nodes to activate, Soothe2 excels at pinpointing the smallest bands that make the most significant difference. It manages to be transparent without hollowing out the sound or altering the timbre, to remove a slightly resonant frequency band.

I think it really crushes this job and does it exceptionally well, making it one of the best and coolest features of this plugin.

User-Friendly Interface

There’s a lot packed into this plugin, and the amount of advanced features would be enough to satiate pretty much anyone. However, you don’t need to dive deep into these to get the most out of it. This is largely thanks to the user-friendly interface, which is highly functional right from the moment you drag it onto a channel. You don’t need to navigate through menus or tackle anything overly complex to access its core functionality. While there are additional features and customizable settings for adjusting frequency response and sensitivity that you could easily get into the weeds with, the essential aspects of the plugin are straightforward to use.

This ease of use is almost entirely due to the intuitive interface, which is also visually pleasing. It’s calm and relaxing, making it enjoyable to work with.

Effective Problem Solving

One of the toughest aspects of becoming a mixing engineer and improving your mixing skills is the time you need to spend in the studio to train your ears to pick up on minute details in sounds. Resonant frequencies are especially tricky, requiring precision and surgical attention. It took me many years of studio work and countless internships to feel confident in identifying these frequencies but Soothe2 simplifies this process by essentially handling that task for you.

This functionality opens up a TON of creative problem-solving opportunities, making it useful on almost any channel. I’ve found it particularly helpful on ride cymbals. When I adjust the pitch of ride samples, it often introduces artifacts and resonances. Soothe has been one of the best tools for transparently removing these issues. It’s also effective on vocals, guitars, and other instruments. In essence, it’s a versatile problem-solving tool, especially regarding EQs.

The beauty of Soothe2 is that it spares you from spending decades in the studio fine-tuning your ears to detect these details, as it assists you in identifying them. However, this ease of use can sometimes feel almost too … easy, but I’ll touch on that later.

Trial Availability

What I really appreciate about this plugin, and the company behind it, is the generous 20-day free trial they offer. This is much longer than the usual industry standard, where you’re typically given a week to try out a plugin. This extended trial period gives you plenty of time to experiment with it in the studio and get a good feel for how it works before deciding whether to commit to the $200 price tag.

It’s a great opportunity to see if the plugin fits your needs and workflows without any pressure. If it turns out not to be what you need, you can simply uninstall it with no commitment. But if it does meet your expectations, then you can go ahead and purchase it. It’s a really user-friendly approach that gives you ample time to make an informed decision.

What I Wasn’t Crazy About

It Can Quickly Become A Crutch

This brings us to the headline point of this article: the sheer ease of use that this plugin offers. With just a few clicks and a short analysis, it can quickly identify and reduce resonant frequencies, making it a convenient tool for producers. However, this convenience can also be a double-edged sword. The plugin’s efficiency can easily turn it into a quick fix that producers rely on too heavily. While it has a lot of built-in functionality and can be incredibly useful, its effectiveness can lead to overreliance.

There’s a risk that producers might skip the critical learning process of identifying resonant frequencies themselves, relying instead on the plugin’s algorithms and analysis. Some might use it on everything without doing the necessary work to train their ears. Ear training goes beyond just spotting frequencies; it’s about developing a nuanced understanding of how a mix sounds, recognizing various issues, and learning how to address them. This kind of comprehensive ear training is crucial for becoming a skilled mixer.

It’s essential not to overuse tools like this, especially for newcomers. While they offer great value and can significantly help in specific situations and on various channels, relying too much on them can hinder your development as a producer.

It Can Be CPU Heavy

I’ll keep this point brief since the subheader covers it well.

Soothe2 can be somewhat CPU-intensive. This isn’t much of an issue in smaller projects, but it can start to add up in larger, more complex projects—especially those nearing completion with a lot of plugins and channels. The CPU load from Soothe2 can slow down the entire project and strain the CPU more than other plugins, particularly compared to other EQ plugins.

Case Studies

We’ve conducted numerous production-based interviews where producers discuss the plugins they use to create music for top-level labels. Soothe2 consistently comes up in these conversations.

As I mentioned earlier, this section will cover the insights and tips these producers have shared about this plugin. We’ll use these as case studies to explore creative ways you can incorporate Soothe2 into your own productions.

Dada Life & DEXTER KING – See What I See

In this track, I used Sooth2 in many places. One of them is the demon vocoder, which is layered with a synth sound. The synth sound is wide, and the vocal is almost mono. I put Sooth2 on the synth sound and put it on the sidechain towards the vocoder. I put it in mid/side mode and used link:0. So, on the stereo synth, the vocoder pushes the mid down spectrally.

I use Soothe2 for a lot of different stuff, one cool thing is to use it as a spectral sidechain. Add Sooth2 on the bass and sidechain it towards the kick, then you don’t have to sidechain it as much as you would normally do.

Jauz – Chains

A lot of you might be familiar with Oeksound’s most popular plugin, Soothe, which has been touted as a “secret sauce” to just throw on any track or group to make it instantly sound better. I think that’s partly true – Soothe is great for getting rid of specific harsh frequencies and making everything a bit more polished, giving you more room to push volume, etc. However, like all good things in life, a little goes a long way!

It’s especially important not to overdo it, as you can end up with tons of frequency clashing all over your mix, making nothing fit together anymore. Each sound needs to fit a specific band of the frequency spectrum, and when used properly, Soothe can help you fit that sound in the exact pocket you need it to be in, and make it sound great at the same time

Modera – Covered

Soothe2 is a great plugin for so many different applications in our mix. It’s a dynamic resonance eq that removes frequency resonance in a given band. It also is a great tool for identifying multiple layers that are clashing in the mix by removing a specific frequency in one to make room for the other.

You will find Soothe2 on most of our group channels as a way to eliminate frequency stacking. We tend to use a top down mixing approach, starting with a master bus eq fixing large problems in the mix after setting levels, and then moving onto the group buses before getting to individual channels. If we have 3 pad layers that sound different but are playing the same notes, we have found that the fundamental frequency of those pads will clash and the low end will rise on the overall group and Soothe2 helps us with that problem. Our favorite preset to help with that is “Hard Piano”.

There are very few must-have plugins. That being said, Soothe2 is one of them. When dealing with real recorded instruments like the acoustic guitar in this track or vocals, it’s a way to help clean up the record without having to do a ton of work. The interface is really user-friendly, and all you have to do is select the range and how much reduction you want.

Is Soothe a good plugin?

To wrap things up, let’s give a final verdict on Soothe 2. At the end of the day, it’s an excellent plugin, and frankly, one of the best on the market. It does its job so effectively that my main critique is that it can be so good, new producers might start relying on it too heavily.

That’s a testament to its quality in and of itself.

There aren’t many dynamic resonance-removing EQs available, and the 20-day free trial is a fantastic opportunity to explore its capabilities. EQing is one of the toughest aspects to master in music production and becoming a competent mixing engineer. Soothe 2 not only saves you time but also reduces the headache of dealing with problematic frequencies.

I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and top-level producers frequently mention it in our How It’s Made features. There’s no reason not to download the free trial and see how much it can enhance your mixes.