LSR Audio has announced the release of VLB 902, a faithful emulation of the classic dbx 902 de-esser effect.
The dbx® 902 de-esser was introduced in the early 80’s. It was available as a module for the 9000 series racks, which can be compared to the now more popular 500 series format.
Its ability to remove the harshness without degrading the overall tone made it very popular, you’ve heard it on countless hits. It became a classic and most studios still have 902 de-essers in their racks today.The 902 doesn’t use a threshold setting to trigger de-essing. Instead, it compares the selected de-essing frequency level to the full bandwidth level, and uses this ratio to detect the amount of required de-essing on the input signal.
As a result, the unit is able to detect “esses” independently to the material level. No calibration is required when a voice goes from whispering to loud singing.
VLB 902 features
- Faithful circuit emulation algorithm.
- Wide band / high frequency only gain reduction.
- No threshold, detection works at any level.
- Adjustable frequency.
- Range – amount of “ess” reduction.
- Gain reduction meter.
- Different listen modes, not present on the original hardware.
- Retina displays compatible.
VLB 902 is available for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/RTAS/AAX), priced at $99 USD.
