moosers
Published on 04/26/10 at 23:07
Digidesign's AIR (Advanced Instrument Research) Enhancer is a plug-in that comes free with Pro Tools 8, the newest and best version of the industry standard recording software. You can't use it on any other platform or even any other version of Pro Tools. You don't need to take any action to install the plug-in beyond installing Pro Tools 8, as during this initial process it takes care of installing all of the free plug-ins as well. The interface of the plug-in is simple, simply containing parameters for high gain, low gain, depth, low and high tune, output, and a button for phase. So while it isn't your one or two knob typical exciter make up, it is still easy to use and offers up a lot of control. I don't believe that they make a manual for this software, but even if they do make one I don't believe that you need it.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I upgraded to Pro Tools 8 in the last few months, and I'm glad that I did because it comes with a whole slew of AIR plug-ins including the AIR Enhancer plug-in. I run the software and this plug-in on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB while I run Pro Tools LE 8 with a Digi 002R audio interface. This plug-in really doesn't take up much processing power, and generally isn't the type of plug-in that you're going to be using on too many tracks at a time, so I don't believe that most users will have an issue running this plug-in on their systems.
OVERALL OPINION
I don't believe that any exciter or enhancer plug-ins were available free with any previous version of Pro Tools, so it's definitely a nice thing to have the Digidesign AIR Enhancer added to suite. It isn't the cleanest or even most effective exciter that I've used to date, but it will certainly get the job done in most situations where you might be looking for a bit of extra life. If you don't have Pro Tools 8 you can't run this plug-in, but for those who do have Pro Tools 8 I'd highly encourage you to check out this plug-in if you are in need of an exciter/enhancer plug-in before looking elsewhere.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I upgraded to Pro Tools 8 in the last few months, and I'm glad that I did because it comes with a whole slew of AIR plug-ins including the AIR Enhancer plug-in. I run the software and this plug-in on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB while I run Pro Tools LE 8 with a Digi 002R audio interface. This plug-in really doesn't take up much processing power, and generally isn't the type of plug-in that you're going to be using on too many tracks at a time, so I don't believe that most users will have an issue running this plug-in on their systems.
OVERALL OPINION
I don't believe that any exciter or enhancer plug-ins were available free with any previous version of Pro Tools, so it's definitely a nice thing to have the Digidesign AIR Enhancer added to suite. It isn't the cleanest or even most effective exciter that I've used to date, but it will certainly get the job done in most situations where you might be looking for a bit of extra life. If you don't have Pro Tools 8 you can't run this plug-in, but for those who do have Pro Tools 8 I'd highly encourage you to check out this plug-in if you are in need of an exciter/enhancer plug-in before looking elsewhere.