XILS-lab Launches Le Masque: Delay Plug-In
XILS-lab, a French concern, has released its first effects plug-in, for Mac and PC. Le Masque: Delay, a collaboration with Laurent Bourgeon aka Le Lotus Bleu, is a polymorphic timeline-driven delay effects plug-in. Available in 64- and 32-bit versions, it can behave like a regular digital delay, and inherits XILS-lab’s filtering and audio effects technology, to allow users to quickly and intuitively perform unique delay-based effects.
Le Masque: Delay lets users accurately specify the part(s) of the dry signal – based on their time position and/or frequency content – that will be processed by the delay itself; its associated LFO, envelope, and filter components; and various modulators — masked zones within the grid area are processed by the delay while any audio data outside those masked zones remains untouched.
Features:
» True stereo signal path (with independent right and left delay).
» MIDI Sync and Stereo Link (delay modes).
» Sync grid zone (with up to eight custom masks, each with independent length and level). • One multimode filter (zero-delay, self-oscillating, feedback design with drive).
» Two independent envelopes (loop-able ADSR and AR with three trigger modes).
» One synchronisable multi-waveform LFO (with three reset options).
» Snap-to-grid function (to quantise mask locators on musical values).
» Swap masked/unmasked function (in realtime).
» Four clock modes (DAW, FIX,TAP temp, IN).
» Realtime temp analysis function (for live performance)
A mask is defined by its two locators: the left locator specifies the start point, the right its end; when the current transport locator enters a mask, the audio is sent through a full modulated filter into an accurate, fat-sounding delay. Unlike some other delays, the filter section is a crucial part of Le Masque: Delay — it uses XILS-lab’s warm and smooth analogue filter models’ precision to perform tasks, such as extracting and modifying existing parts of a drum loop (or any other loop), or transforming delayed kick drums into Simmons toms, for example.
The delay area offers five dual-concentric knobs to control the delay settings (left and right FEEDBACK TIME, DRY/WET GAIN, and left and right PAN LEVEL), together with a synthesiser-type modulation wheel, while the LFO and ENVELOPE settlings can modulate the filter frequency and volume applied to the signal entering the delay.
Users can create up to eight independent masks (or zones) in the grid, each with different lengths, quantized or non-quantized locators, plus a specific level parameter; the grid can be synchronised to a DAW or its own internal clock for added flexibility.
XILS-lab Le Masque: Delay is available from January 10 for €59 (including VAT for EU countries) from the XILS-lab Store. Mac (OS X 10.4 and later; Audio Unit, VST, RTAS — Pro Tools 7.0 and later) and PC (Windows XP, Vista, and 7; VST, RTAS — Pro Tools 7.0 and later).
