Disperser - Underrated?

[TritoneAddiction]

I don't see much talk about Disperser around here. Any fans of Disperser out there besides me? I feel like it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves due to all new synths coming to the shop lately.
I can see why a plugin like Disperser doesn't get much notice. It's a one trick pony. It's ridiculously simple with only three parameters (and I don't even touch the pinch knob). Its effect isn't super obvious or in your face. It couldn't possibly be worth the money right?

Well I personally love it. I use it in every project usually on several things. It's great for bringing out snap and punch to drums and other stuff in a way that compression simply doesn't do.
Even though they raised the price I'd still buy it if I didn't own it already.
Check it out if you haven't.

[KirkMarkarian]

I bought it a couple of weeks ago. It definitely made up for its cost by the results I can pull from it. It's not the only device I use to give me that effect, but it's subtly different than the others - one difference being that it doesn't raise the volume. Useful when I don't want to fiddle too much with devices placed after the Disperser. A really useful device!

[FLVZ]

I disagree I think disperser is well known amongst those of us who understand what it does. I think if I owned it, I would be using it in every single track I make and for different purposes like you said yourself. Its a bit of a speciality tool and probably you won't realise you need it until you kind of have an understanding of what the RE synths and effects can't do by themselves. To be honest, I don't see myself purchasing it anytime soon because in the last few months I've learned a trick to synthesise kicks in the same way Disperser would affect a sample, and I just prefer having that control. Obviously Disperser is useful in many contexts but I particularly would buy it for use with kick samples.

[Loque]

I dont use it much, maybe i didnt figgured out the right usecase yet. Not a real good standalone FX, only for subtle, but for that it produces too much mud. It is an overrated RE imo.

[Breach The Sky]

I use it a lot. I like "snappy" sounds and it excels at bringing transients out but att the same time takes the worst of the sharpness out of them. The thing is, if you overuse it things start to sound plastic or rubbery. But used on a few sources it can make them really stand out imo!

[TritoneAddiction]

I dont use it much, maybe i didnt figgured out the right usecase yet. Not a real good standalone FX, only for subtle, but for that it produces too much mud. It is an overrated RE imo.

Alright, fair enough. Imo the mudiness/messyness happens mostly on heavier settings. But on some sounds it simply doesn't work and it only becomes messy.

[scratchnsnifff]

I only use it on kick drums and it's great for getting some punch in a mix

[joeyluck]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

[Loque]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

[joeyluck]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

I use it on drums and bass lines. I guess a tip would be finding a good setting. I can see how it might make things muddy if the frequency isn't set in an optimal position.

[Exowildebeest]

I've been using it on bassdrums, to subtly enhance their impact.

[TritoneAddiction]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

I'll provide an example where I've used it quite a bit.

It's used on the whole drum kit, kick, snare, hats.
On the low frequency bass playing throughout the song. This was mostly to glue it together with the drums. Somehow the bass just worked better together with the drums when Disperser was on.
The metallic pluck sound 0:32-1:05.
Lead bass 1:05-1:21.

[selig]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

I'll provide an example where I've used it quite a bit.

It's used on the whole drum kit, kick, snare, hats.
On the low frequency bass playing throughout the song. This was mostly to glue it together with the drums. Somehow the bass just worked better together with the drums when Disperser was on.
The metallic pluck sound 0:32-1:05.
Lead bass 1:05-1:21.

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!


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[teddymcw]

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!

Just the way the attack is affected is unmistakably disperser immediately to my ear. Coo track too.

[selig]

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!

Just the way the attack is affected is unmistakably disperser immediately to my ear. Coo track too.

Am I hearing this correctly then; sound's like the attack is all smeared out and mushy? I'm not sure that would be my preference if that's what I'm hearing. And if the effect can so easily be identified after you learn to hear it, I'm not sure it's something I'd want to use again and again (long term cliche possibility).

I THOUGHT the idea was that this effect didn't have a "sound", that is just gave you more headroom?

Guess I should shut up and demo the dang device instead of continued speculation on my part…


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[KirkMarkarian]

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!

Just the way the attack is affected is unmistakably disperser immediately to my ear. Coo track too.

Am I hearing this correctly then; sound's like the attack is all smeared out and mushy? I'm not sure that would be my preference if that's what I'm hearing. And if the effect can so easily be identified after you learn to hear it, I'm not sure it's something I'd want to use again and again (long term cliche possibility).

I THOUGHT the idea was that this effect didn't have a "sound", that is just gave you more headroom?

Guess I should shut up and demo the dang device instead of continued speculation on my part…


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I would also recommend demo-ing the kHz Transient Attack - I'll use that sometimes instead of the Disperser.

[Majestik Monkey]

Great little track TritoneA '

Love that Phatt Groove & Barking Bass-Line

[TritoneAddiction]

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!

Thanks.
It does have a sound, but depending on the setting it doesn't have to be that obvious.
The best way I can describe it is that Disperser makes a zappy sound, a bit like a lazer shot or the way a bass drum is created, from high to low frequency.
If you overuse it it tends to sound more like the lazer shot and maybe a bit smeared, but when used more subtle it just makes the sound pop out more.

The metallic pluck in "The Temple" becomes less clonky sounding with Disperser. I don't know it just sounds "better" than without it.
Some sounds just becomes less dull with Disperser. But for some sounds it doesn't work at all.

[dana]

It makes acoustic drums sound intergalactic when put on the drums bus.

[joeyluck]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

I'll provide an example where I've used it quite a bit.

It's used on the whole drum kit, kick, snare, hats.
On the low frequency bass playing throughout the song. This was mostly to glue it together with the drums. Somehow the bass just worked better together with the drums when Disperser was on.
The metallic pluck sound 0:32-1:05.
Lead bass 1:05-1:21.

Cool track Tritone - can't really tell what it's doing without a before/after, but I DO like the track!


Sent from my crappy device using Tapatalk

This is a great track!

kiloHearts has some before and after examples:

Similar to the examples above, I use it as an obvious, less subtle effect. Here's an example I did using it on ABL3.
First dry, then with Disperser, then with Faturator, followed by Disperser + Faturator:

[joeyluck]

Some more examples:

[Faastwalker]

I was really intrigued by this RE when I first saw it. But when I hit the TRY button it was a bit lost on me. I didn't get it at all unfortunately.

[tronam]

I was really intrigued by this RE when I first saw it. But when I hit the TRY button it was a bit lost on me. I didn't get it at all unfortunately.

I find it works best on percussive sounds with a prominent transient. Here is a simple A/B example on a kick drum:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lm5lws3i9sedr ... k.wav?dl=0

This is set pretty high for demonstration, but it can be much more subtle. It's a really interesting effect that I haven't been able to fully recreate anywhere else. The Reason vocoder in EQ mode is the closest I've gotten.

[Loque]

I use it often. It is one of my favorite effects!

Maybe you can provide a good example and describe how you use it. Maybe i missed some use cases.

I'll provide an example where I've used it quite a bit.

It's used on the whole drum kit, kick, snare, hats.
On the low frequency bass playing throughout the song. This was mostly to glue it together with the drums. Somehow the bass just worked better together with the drums when Disperser was on.
The metallic pluck sound 0:32-1:05.
Lead bass 1:05-1:21.

Nice track and thx for the example. I can hear Disperser on the pluck. Sounds a bit like a chorus with short delay, but a bit snappier.

I cannot hear much on the bass lead, so i think it has a bit more subtle setting.

Maybe i give Disperser some tries on short attacked samples, if i want a bit a smeared, snappy and frequency corrupted sound. And i am gonna try it on some kicks and other percussion. But actually i mostly create my own kicks and if i want it a bit more lazer like or snappier on top, i just add another oscilator. Maybe Disperser is here another option....i give it a shot.

[househoppin09]

To be honest, I don't see myself purchasing it anytime soon because in the last few months I've learned a trick to synthesise kicks in the same way Disperser would affect a sample, and I just prefer having that control.

What's the trick? Don't leave us in suspense!