New Music Gear Monday: Relab Sonsig ACE Dimensional Expander Plugin

Musicians, engineers and producers love the chorus effect. Ever since Roland introduced it in the early 1980s, we can’t seem to get enough of it. But most chorus plugins offer only a couple of variations and sometimes that’s not enough. Enter the Sonsig ACE Dimensional Expander by Relab Development, a powerful new tool designed to give you not only a better chorus sound, but one with more variations as well.

Sonsig ACE is not your average modulation plug-in. It’s a sophisticated, multi-voice, dual-engine device that allows you to craft lush, immersive soundscapes with ease. Unlike traditional chorus units that often trap you into only a few predictable effects, the plugin’s proprietary ACE modulation technology provides rich textures without the typical comb filtering artifacts, preserving the clarity of your mix.

The secret to ACE’s sound is the six hand-tuned custom LFOs that deliver lush modulation without muddying the mix. These LFOs remain locked, avoiding traditional phase problems and syncing hassles common with standard chorus effects. This allows for a smooth, immersive modulation experience that can range from subtle stereo enhancements to deep, swirling textures.

Interesting Parameters

When you first look at ACE you’ll find that it looks quite different from any chorus plugin you’ve seen before. The first parameter control on the upper left is VOICES, which, as the name would suggest, selects the number of voices and their routing. It’s divided into three sections – Single uses just one chorus engine selectable between 2 and 6 voices. Serial uses two chorus engines placed one after the other, and Parallel also uses the two engines in parallel.

To the right of VOICES is RATE, which sets the modulation rate from Subtle to Intense. This is a better way to display this parameter instead of a number, like on most chorus plugins.

In the center of the plugin is COLOR, which simulates the filter of different D/A convertors and has 8 different sections. Natural has the low and highs rolled off, Thick has only the high-frequencies rolled off, Fat emphasizes the midrange, and Dark features a low-pass filter that starts rolling off in the midrange. Then we have Lo-Fi, which has a rolled off top with some resonant mid-frequencies, Edgy is basically Lo-Fi with more high end, Soft has a smooth and gentle high end, and HD has an extended high end with a midrange boost.

And There’s More

An interesting additional parameter is ENRICH, which introduces additional delays into the effect to smooth out the chorus sound and enhance the stereo image. LOW CUT decreases the low end of the effect to keep the low frequencies out of the way. There are also BLEND, WIDTH, STERO MOD and VINTAGE parameters, along with an Output control and stereo input and output displays.

ACE also has a wide range of presets that cover just about any musical instrument.

I have to say that the GUI of this plugin is beautiful. It’s clean and clear and easy to read. I know that the trend for many plugins these days is to go dark, and that’s okay, just make it so the parameters are readable like what you see here.

The Sonsig ACE plugin is available at an introductory price of just $79 (regularly $99), with a full money-back 30 day guarantee. Yes, it’s available for both Mac and PC and in all plugin formats.

For more information and to take advantage of the special introductory offer, visit Relab Development’s Sonsig ACE page. Also, check out the video below to hear the sounds and see how it works.

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