Mister Focus Sound Clips
Click on one of the tabs below to select the Mister Focus for which you want to audition sound clips. To download WAV files click on the more options icon on the audio player and then click "Download". The streaming playback may be slow for some of the larger 24-bit files depending on your internet connection. In that case we recommend downloading and playing in your DAW.
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The following audio clips are processed through Mister Focus - STAGE II. The front panel and internal settings are given in the right column.
Drums
Ambient Kick
This is an ambient kick drum clip designed to work in an indie “stomp-clap” style rhythm track with no drums—just stomps and claps. Kind of in an X Ambassadors direction. I needed this drum to round out the middle and add hugeness to the stomps, which were pretty trashy and a little thin sounding—they needed some size. It should be noted that the dry drums are actually 0.1dB louder than the processed drums. The processed drums are about 10 dB louder RMS, which is a testament to Mass Drivr and Super Filter's ability to elegantly clip transients and increase RMS levels.
Dry Ambient Kick
Mister Focus - STAGE II Ambient Kick
Settings
DRV: 4:30
MIX: 3:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 9:00
PRE-STAGE II: IN
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Super Filter Module Settings: SAT, HPF = 23 HzTwangy Electric Guitar
These revisions are subtle, but, mellow out the attack of the notes in a beautiful way. I wanted to add a little weight and heft to the sound of this twangy electric guitar. You can really hear the pentode tube doing its work on the twangy attacks, and the sustained notes. Subtle, but nice.
Dry Twangy Electric Guitar
Mister Focus - STAGE II Twangy Electric Guitar
Settings
DRV: 1:30
MIX: 4:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 8:00
PRE-STAGE II: IN
Pentode Module Settings: n/a
Super Filter Module Settings: SAT, LPF, HPF = 23 HzAcoustic Trio
The original recording is nice, but I wanted to add some chime to the guitars and some overall weight, while also shaving off some of the transients that were not allowing me to get the recording as “loud” as I’d like. Stage II really helped out in this regard. Even though the peaks on the dry track are higher, the track processed with Mister Focus sounds significantly louder. The final result has more chime, a more solidified weight, shaved transients, and sustain across the strings.
Dry Acoustic Trio
Mister Focus - STAGE II Acoustic Trio
Settings
DRIV: 3:00
MIX: 3:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 11:30
PRE-COMP: OUT
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost IN
Super Filter Module Settings: LPF, HPF = 23 HzBass
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Vocals
Male Vocals
The dry vocal is spikey and kind of thin for my tastes. I wanted to take it into more of a thick, indie-rock direction and put some hair on it. The peaks on the dry signal limited me from taking the dry signal any louder. Pentode is capable of going much further, however. By setting the Colour Mode jumper on the main PCB to BOOST, the Pentode colored track could be driven into the Super Filter saturation circuit to increase the RMS level signficantly. The amount of RMS gain is substantial enough such that I couldn’t even really get the files matched. But the differences are pretty evident in terms of thickness, sustain, transient limiting, added harmonics.
Dry Male Vocals
Mister Focus - STAGE II Distorted Male Vocals
Settings
DRV: 1:30
MIX: 5:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 10:00
PRE-STAGE II: IN
Super Filter Module Settings: SAT, LPF, HPF = 23 Hz
Colour Mode Jumper: BOOSTSynths / Keys
Destroyed Electronica
My goal in this clip was to “lo-fi” the music, increase the RMS punch of the track, and take the “fizz” off the extreme HF and move it down into the High Mids range. I chose Stage II with Mass Drivr for the task. This clip really shows off what Stage II acan do. The dry track peaks 1.7 dB louder than the processed track, while the Stage II track has RMS levels 7.5 dB louder. Amazing stuff—no compressors harmed in the process. The increase in level was achieved more effectively here than with a compressor, and with less artifacts. I also like where the “fizz” moved down to in the track. Meaty and punchy. Quite different from a completely ITB Electronica track.
Dry Destroyed Electronica
Mister Focus - STAGE II Destroyed Electronica
Settings
DRV: 5:00
MIX: 5:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 1:30
PRE-STAGE II: IN
Super Filter Module Settings: SAT, LPF, HPF = 23 Hz
Colour Mode Jumper: BOOSTMixes
Trailer Music
This Trailer Music track was murky. It needed to cut better and could stand a little more sub extension on the extreme bottom. To do this, I chose the Stage II RB / SF combination. The Treble boost on Royal Blue helped open up the top end, along with a tilt of the Focus Filter towards a brighter mix. The resonant filter setting of 23 Hz on the Super Filter really lets the bottom shake. This is especially noticeable with a subwoofer. Adding a touch of saturation with the Sat setting on the Super Filter will help it cut thru the SFX onslaught when it gets mixed in with the SFX pre-mix.
Dry Trailer Music
Mister Focus - STAGE II Trailer Music
Settings
DRV: 10:30
MIX: 5:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 2:00
PRE-STAGE II: OUT
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost IN
Super Filter Module Settings: SAT, HPF = 50 Hz -
The following audio clips are processed through Mister Focus - COMP. The front panel and internal settings are given in the right column.
Drums
Tribal Drums
The initial track was sounding good, but I wanted to further bring out the tribal drums here. The MF Comp effectively brought up the ambience of the track, added more distortion and aggression, and generally gave more sustain to the drums themselves. As is evidenced by just looking at the waveforms, there is some significant transient clipping and shaping going on. The end result is purposefully blown out in a fun way.
Dry Tribal Drums
Mister Focus - COMP Tribal Drums
Settings
INPUT: 5:00
MIX: 1:00
COMP: IN
MEGA: IN
FOCUS: 12:30
PRE-COMP: IN
Implode Module Settings: 4:1, slow attack, fast releaseDrum Room
This stereo drum room track is from the "In the Mix" Indie Rock Song demo. I really wanted to bring out sustain of the drums and make them sound thunderous and explosive. The FET compression set to Implode ("all buttons in") achieved that easily.
Dry Drum Room
Mister Focus - COMP Drum Room
Settings
INPUT: 1:00
MIX: 12:00
COMP: IN
MEGA: IN
FOCUS: 12:30
PRE-COMP: IN
Implode Module Settings: IMP ratio (all buttons in), "Dr. Pepper" attack and releaseGuitar
Mandolin
This mando really needed to compete. I chose Implode for a longish attack and shortish release, bringing the spank right out. Add Focus to bring the entire part right into, well, just what it’s named for, focus.
Dry Mandolin
Mister Focus - COMP Mandolin
Settings
INPUT: unknown
MIX: unknown
COMP: IN
MEGA: IN
FOCUS: unknown
PRE-COMP: unknown
Implode Module Settings: 4:1, slow attack, fast releaseBass
Rock Bass Sample
This is a nice little sequenced/ sampled rock bass line. Initially it was a little flaccid. The MF Comp track felt hugely louder, but the peaks were actually identical. So I RMS matched, lowering just 3-4 dB. While listening, I had to lower another 6dB to get them close. The MF Comp bass still sounds twice as loud, and more aggressive with the comp/drivr combo. The Mass Drivr was useful here for transient clipping, and I left some distortion hair on it because it sounded great in the track.
Dry Rock Bass
Mister Focus - COMP Rock Bass
Settings
INPUT: 3:30
MIX: 3:00
COMP: IN
MEGA: IN
FOCUS: 3:00
PRE-COMP: IN
Implode Module Settings: 4:1, Dr. Pepper attack and releaseVocals
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Synths / Keys
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Mixes
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The following audio clips are processed through Mister Focus - EQ. The front panel and internal settings are given in the right column.
Drums
Drum Overheads
This stereo drum overhead track is from the "In the Mix" Indie Rock Song demo. Mister Focus - EQ was used to clean up the boxy room tone and add some shimmer to the cymbals.
Dry Drum Overheads
Mister Focus - EQ Drum Overheads
Settings
DRV: 2:00
GAIN: 10:00
EQUALIZR: IN
SHEEN: IN
FOCUS: 11:00
PRE-EQ: OUT
FET Filter Module Settings: FET IN, Mid Freq = 500 Hz, Mid Gain = full CCW
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost INGuitar / Strings
Funk Guitar
This sample is super thin and really sounds digital. Maybe it seemed like a good idea when they made it, but it didn’t work for me. I used the FET Filter and Royal Blue in EQ to punch it up, bring out some grit, and kill the Digititus. Worked for me. Again, Mister Focus showing off its ability to use a great analog signal path to up RMS levels without compression.
Dry Funk Guitar
Mister Focus - EQ Funk Guitar
Settings
DRV: 11:00
GAIN: 4:00
EQUALIZR: IN
SHEEN: IN
FOCUS: 10:00
PRE-EQ: IN
FET Filter Module Settings: FET = IN, DIRTY, Mid Gain = full CW, Mid Freq = 800 Hz, HPF = OFF
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = BYPViolin
A nice warm violin track that I needed to cut a little more, and to make a little more muscular to stand up to the rest of the 8-9 piece Bluegrass band. This is the sort of thing Mister Focus - EQ handles nicely.
Dry Violin
Mister Focus - EQ Violin
Settings
DRV: 3:00
GAIN: 12:00
EQUALIZR: IN
SHEEN: IN
FOCUS: 1:00
PRE-EQ: IN
Rogue-Tec Air Module Settings: 16 kHz, HF Boost = max
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = OFFBass
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Vocals
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Synths / Keys
Dark Pad
I wanted to brighten up this dark pad and bring out the beautiful “air” that I knew was hiding in the dark synths. Rogue-Tec Air and a touch of Focus Filter did just the trick. Royal Blue did a nice job of solidifying the track.
Dry Dark Pad
Mister Focus - EQ Dark Pad
Settings
DRV: 9:30
GAIN: 3:30
EQUALIZR: IN
SHEEN: IN
FOCUS: 1:00
PRE-EQ: IN
Rogue-Tec Air Module Settings: 12 kHz, HF Boost = max
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = BYPMixes
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The following audio clips are processed through Mister Focus - RGB. The front panel and internal settings are given in the right column.
Drums
Simple Drums
I really wanted to process these very simple drums to illustrate how awesome the custom transformers and op amps sound. There is no EQ, no verb, no compressors or anything else on these tracks. Not even on the Mr. Focus tracks. Just the raw drums — faders up and roll. Between the two clips, the peaks have been matched exactly. However the processed file is two to three times as loud: RMS shows 7.5 dB louder. This brings out the room, and adds punch, and gives the impression the drummer is now playing more forcefully.
Dry Simple Drums
Mister Focus - RGB Simple Drums
Settings
C-DRV: 5:00
C-MIX: 5:00
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS: 12:00
PRE-C: IN
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = BYPGuitar / Strings
Banjo
A great performance, but I think it was recorded with a ribbon mic, and it just didn’t cut in the track with enough authority. I wanted more aggression, and an overall brighter sound. I tried an 1176 and an EQ, but ultimately ended up with an RGB configuration of Mister Focus. Hitting Mass Drivr hard to shave some transients into Royal Blue to add some HF lift and heft ended up working better than the compressor and EQ. Sometimes transformers just work better. And then other times, two work even better.
Dry Banjo
Mister Focus - RGB Banjo
Settings
C-DRV: 11:00
C-MIX: 3:00
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS: 1:30
PRE-C: OUT
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = INElectric Guitar
This clip should have everything going for it. A great guitarist. Amazing guitar. Killer vintage amps. But unfortunately it’s suffering from crappy converts and being recorded at 16-bit. Disappointing. Even after going through my usual solution for guitars like this - the Manley Vari Mu - it still wasn’t quite cutting it. I wanted to add some size, some sustain, some aggression, and a little harmonic goodness to this track. I used one of my secret weapons on this Mister Focus guitar Clip. It delivered exactly what I was after.
Dry Electric Guitar
Mister Focus - RGB Electric Guitar
Settings
C-DRV:
C-MIX:
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS:
PRE-C:
Top Secret Module Settings: n/a
Top Secret Module Settings: Treble Boost = INBass
Funk Bass
Much like with the mid-range boost / cut of the Dark Pad, I wanted to try something similar on this bass. I left the mid cut at 330 Hz, but added back in the saturation via the "dirty" jumper setting. It’s subtle, but puts a little edge on this bass. The 5th, 6th, and 7th notes of the clip come to life with huge vibrant bottom on the MF RGB clip.
Dry Funk Bass
Mister Focus - RGB Funk Bass
Settings
C-DRV: 10:00
C-MIX: 4:00
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS: 9:00
PRE-C: OUT
FET Filter Module Settings: FET = IN, DIRTY, Mid Gain = full CCW, Mid Freq = 330 Hz, HPF = OFF
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/aVocals
Female Vocal
This vocal suffers a bit from what I like to call “digititus.” Some tubes and transformers were called for, and Pentode and Royal Blue delivered. The final mix is sweet, more harmonically complex, better sustain and just all around smoothed out.
Dry Female Vocal
Mister Focus - RGB Female Vocal
Settings
C-DRV: 12:30
C-MIX: 3:30
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS: 9:30
PRE-C: IN
Pentode Module Settings: n/a
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost = BYPSynths / Keys
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Mixes
Tension TV Cue
When making a TV Underscore, I’m not a huge fan of heavy compression / limiting. It makes it difficult to get the music to sit right under dialogue and narration. So I use some other tricks. I decided to try Mister Focus in its RGB config with some of my special secret sauce, and it turned out great. This track was 100% ITB, and using Mister Focus added some bottom, depth, and made the little percussion stuff come alive and start dancing. I’m quite happy with the result. MF is the only Analog piece on this cue. And it’s pretty obvious what it’s doing if you a/b back and forth. The peak levels are actually higher on the dry clip, but the RMS punch is obviously louder on the MF clip.
Dry TV Tension Cue
Mister Focus - RGB TV Tension Cue
Settings
C-DRV:
C-MIX:
COLOUR: IN
TWO-TONE: IN
FOCUS:
PRE-C:
Top Secret Module Settings:
Top Secret Module Settings: -
The following audio clips are processed through the Focus EQ only. The clip starts out with the dry track. The next three repeats demonstrate the Focus knob being turned to the right towards "TREB". The clip will return to the dry track agin. Then the final three repeats demonstrate the Focus knob being turned to the left towards "BASS". The dry clip is provided separately for reference.
Drums
50's Drums
These two clips present an unprocessed dry clip, and a processed series that first emphasizes treble, and then emphasizes bass. The meaty, yet balanced frequency spectrum of these drums really shows off how radically Focus can re-balance the energy of your tracks. As the Focus knob is swept different parts of the kit are highlighted without the overall level changing as would occur with a more traditional EQ.
Dry 50's Drums
Mister Focus - FOCUS Sweep 50's Drums
Settings
FOCUS: IN
Guitar
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FOCUS: IN
Bass
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FOCUS: IN
Vocals
Airy Vocals
These two clips present an unprocessed dry clip, and a processed series that first emphasizes treble, and then emphasizes bass. The simplicity of the Focus EQ understates how powerful it is for completely re-balancing the warmth and air of the source material. A little goes a long way, but it always sounds natural and organic. As the Focus knob is swept the body and breath of the track is pushed and pulled forward and backward in the mix without any noticeable difference in RMS level.
Dry Airy Vocals
Mister Focus - FOCUS Sweep Airy Vocals
Settings
FOCUS: IN
Synth / Keys
Rhodes
These two clips present an unprocessed dry clip, and a processed series that first emphasizes treble, and then emphasizes bass. This demonstrates how effortlessly the Focus EQ can gently reshape your source to have the vibe that benefits your mix most. As the Focus knob is swept different timbres of the Rhodes are brought into the foreground.
Dry Rhodes
Mister Focus - FOCUS Sweep Rhodes
Settings
FOCUS: IN
Mixes
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FOCUS: IN
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The following audio clips feature the individual elements of a complete production. Each track is processed through a specific Mister Focus configuration, as noted. Submixes and the final 2-bus mix are presented to contrast and compare the dry and processed sounds in the context of the mix. The front panel and internal settings are given in the right column for each track or submix.
Indie Rock Song
This brief demo song was written and recorded by Rogue Planet Command's very own Tone Elf, Michael Craver in his home studio using pretty basic gear. All commentary is provided by Michael.
Drums
Drums are a very basic set up: the usual suspects on close mic duties, large diaphragm condensers, stereo room pair. Silver Bullet on overheads, with Audient pres on everything else. I tend to track pretty clean so that I can color later on as the arrangement comes together. Starting with drum room mics, I blew them up with Implode modules on stun driving into Mass Drivr modules for weight. Snare got the Stage II treatment with Mass Drivr into Super Filter. Super Filter has this magical tendency to make stuff sound, dare I say, ‘tapey’ in a very very natural way. No gimmicky noise floor/hiss emulations here, just very very pleasing saturation, and a nice resonant bump at 45 Hz (from the 23 Hz HPF setting) - snare sounds better now. Kick gets the same Stage II treatment with the resonant bump coming from Super Filter. Sub content that does nothing but rob our precious headroom gets the axe, and suddenly my kick sounds heavier. I dial in some Focus at 10 o'clock to get a bit more knock from the beater. Overheads are doing that boxy overhead thing, so I give it the EQ treatment via FET Filter cutting 500 Hz pushing into a Royal Blue module with the top end boost on to make the cymbals shine. Drum Bus of summed processed elements now has a massive, heavy quality to it. More vibe in the room mics, low end has a tight, authoritative sound, and snare sounds like how you always want snare to sound without reaching for a sample.
Drum Overheads
Dry Drum Overheads
Mister Focus - EQ Drum Overheads
Settings
DRV: 2:00
GAIN: 10:00
EQUALIZR: IN
SHEEN: IN
FOCUS: 11:00
PRE-EQ: OUT
FET Filter Module Settings: FET IN, Mid Freq = 500 Hz, Mid Gain = full CCW
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost INDrum Room
I really wanted to bring out sustain of the drums and make them sound thunderous and explosive. The FET compression set to Implode ("all buttons in") achieved that easily.
Dry Drum Room
Mister Focus - COMP Drum Room
Settings
INPUT: 1:00
MIX: 12:00
COMP: IN
MEGA: IN
FOCUS: 12:30
PRE-COMP: IN
Implode Module Settings: IMP ratio (all buttons in), "Dr. Pepper" attack and releaseKick
The dry kick sounded rather wimpy. Driving STAGE II and tilting towards the bass with the Focus EQ fattened up the sound.
Dry Kick
Mister Focus - STAGE II Kick
Settings
DRV: 3:00
MIX: 5:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 10:00
PRE-STAGE II: OUT
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Super Filter Module Settings: LPF IN, HPF = 23 Hz, SAT INSnare
Mister Focus - STAGE II really brings out the sustain of the drum and the rattle of the snares while evening out some of the dynamics of the playing.
Dry Snare
Mister Focus - STAGE II Snare
Settings
DRV: 2:00
MIX: 5:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 1:00
PRE-STAGE II: OUT
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Super Filter Module Settings: LPF IN, HPF = 23 Hz, SAT INDrum Submix
The following are "faders at zero" mixes of the all the dry drum tracks and all the Mister Focus processed drum tracks. There is no additional processing on the drum bus.
Dry Drum Submix
Mister Focus Drum Sumbix
Settings
n/a
Bass
Bass is a Fender P-Bass running into a Rupert Neve Designs DI box. This is being powered by 48V from my Apollo, and some clean gain to bring it up to a workable level. A nice, big, round sound right out of the gate, but now that drums are kicking ass, bass wants to get in on the action as well. I drive the clean bass aggressively into a Stage II config which is Mass Drivr into Super Filter. I’m looking for a sort of overdriven SVT type sound, without needing to reach for a plugin. On Super Filter, the Vintage LPF is enabled, as well as SATURATION, and that awesome resonant 23 Hz HPF setting. Bass sounds pissed off now, and I like it. Sounds almost like an overdriven SVT amp in a room now.
Dry Bass
Mister Focus - STAGE II Bass
Settings
DRV: 4:00
MIX: 3:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 10:00
PRE-STAGE II: OUT
Mass Drivr Module Settings: n/a
Super Filter Module Settings: LPF IN, HPF = 23 Hz, SAT INGuitars
Here’s where things get cool for the modern home studio workflow. I am using a Helix guitar amp sim/FX processing unit. The emulations are the real deal (IMHO), they were in need of some analog love. I reached for the Stage II treatment with Royal Blue for its smooth top end boost, and Super Filter doing its thing. Guitars now have a more convincing analog quality to them, and I will live to see another day as an engineer who uses amp sims. Focus at 1 o’clock because if I weren’t trying to make my guitar tones brighter than everything else, I wouldn’t be a real guitarist.
Dry Guitars
Mister Focus - STAGE II Guitars
Settings
DRV: 11:00
MIX: 12:00
STAGE II: IN
FILTER: IN
FOCUS: 1:00
PRE-STAGE II: OUT
Royal Blue Module Settings: Treble Boost IN
Super Filter Module Settings: LPF IN, HPF = 23 Hz, SAT INMix
The following are "faders at zero" mixes of the all the dry tracks and all the Mister Focus processed tracks. There is no additional processing on the mix bus. The processed elements mixed together have an undeniable vibe when compared to the dry source elements I started with. The width enhancement is especially noticeble. I've traded the boxiness, honkiness, and digital haze for smooth top end, and tight analog bottom end. The narrow, two-dimensional raw capture has transformed into a wide and punchy mix that sounds like it was mixed on a console.
Dry Indie Rock Mix
Mister Focus Indie Rock Mix
Settings
n/a
All music and sound clips © 2018 Louder Than Liftoff