Forward Audio has introduced a multi-mic alignment, phase EQ and gate plugin for Windows and Mac (VST/VST3, AU and AAX).
Load one instance per mic track, press Align. faSmartAlign sees every mic in the session as a single system — not one track at a time. It measures cross-instance bleed, finds your alignment reference automatically, flips snare bottom polarity when the data says to, and derives gate thresholds from actual hit energy and decay. Phase EQ applies on top of time alignment to catch the frequency-dependent differences that a delay correction alone misses.
faSmartAlign features
- Every mic shares one session: Gate thresholds, polarity decisions, and alignment references are all computed across every instance at once — no mic is analyzed in isolation.
- Alignment, Phase EQ, and Gate from one pass: A single analysis run produces time alignment, frequency-domain phase correction on top of it, and gate settings — all from the same measured audio.
- Four modes, per instance: For drum kits, four alignment modes — Balanced, Transient, Energy, and Wide Stereo — each prioritize a different part of the signal. Each instance picks its own mode; run Transient on close mics and Wide Stereo on overheads within the same group.
- Knows what it’s looking at: Snare bottom polarity flips when the data says to; kick is recognized as the natural timing reference; overheads, room mics, and hi-hats are auto-bypassed from gating.
- Thresholds from measurement, not presets: Gate open threshold is set from the actual bleed measured across all mics; release time scales with each hit’s energy and decay — not a starting point you then adjust by ear.
- Safe to re-run any time: Re-analyzing the same session produces consistent alignment and gate values — results are stable across multiple passes, so re-aligning never becomes a destructive or unpredictable operation.
faSmartAlign is available at a launch price of $139 USD through July 19th, 2026 (regular $179 USD). A free demo is available (full quality, watermark only, no time limit).
More information: Forward Audio
