Soothe 2 Alternatives: VSTs for Free, Cheaper, and Even Better?
More affordable options to get that Soothe sound.
3,9 / 5,0 | 
Few other VSTs have gotten so popular as Soothe 2 from Oeksound. And it has been doing so for 10 years! The plugin offers AI-supported resonance attenuation at almost unmatched quality. But the plugin is not exactly cheap, it relies on iLok for copy protection, and some are not the biggest fans of its sound and workflow. Reason enough to look for alternatives to Soothe 2 alternatives.
What is Soothe 2?
Soothe 2 from Oeksound is an intelligent resonance suppresor. This means that the plugin can be used to automatically attenuate room resonances in recordings and filter resonances in synthesizers, for example. This can be cesessary, because these overbearing frequency bands can sound too dominant in the mix. They might also overlap with other instruments.
But can’t you just solve this with a normal dynamic EQ? If you’re lucky enough to only have to dampen one resonance at one constant frequency in a recording, then yes. But most recordings have resonances in far more than one place. And they also vary in volume. This can quickly become a sea of EQ bands. Soothe 2 “finds” the resonances automatically.
Its algorithm detects resonant frequencies in ranges specified. Soothe 2 then attenuates them depending on how you have set it up. Since its release, its fan base among producers and audio engineers has grown rapidly. And exactly 10 years ago today, the plugin was released and began its triumphal march.
So what do Soothe 2 alternatives need?
What must Soothe 2 alternatives offer?
Automatically detect and attenuate resonant frequency ranges, settings to determine the speed and depth of attenuation, sidechain triggering: Soothe 2 is incredibly versatile. The VST also offers up to 4x oversampling and can be used in mid-side mode. Why would you even want to look for alternatives to Soothe 2?
The main reason is probably the price. At $199, Soothe 2 is one of the more expensive plugins. The manufacturer occasionally runs sales, during which the plugin is usually available for $139. But even that is a lot of money!
In addition, there are quite a few producers who avoid anything to do with iLok copy protection. Although the iLok version of Soothe 2 is only software-bound, meaning that a physical dongle is not required, this will still deter some people.
Add to that its bright blue interface, the not always clear workflow, and its very neutral sound which may not be to everyone’s taste. So let’s take a look at the best Soothe 2 alternatives. But before that, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the full 20-day demo of Soothe 2.
Baby Audio Smooth Operator Pro
Many plugin manufacturers jumped on the Soothe bandwagon in recent years. Hardly anyone has come as close as Smooth Operator from Baby Audio. That’s because the VST works almost identically. It attenuates resonant frequency ranges in real time, so it moves along with the muffled or harsh frequencies as they change. Unlike Soothe 2, Smooth Operator offers less detailed settings, and no oversampling.
In addition, the manufacturer recently released Smooth Operator Pro, one of the best Soothe 2 alternatives. It even has something Soothe 2 doesn’t! With its Resonance Suppression 2.0 technology, different attenuation settings can be made for multiple frequency ranges!
Compared to Oeksound’s VST, Smooth Operator Pro is a bit cheaper. In addition, the plugin generates far less latency in “Classic” mode. At Thomann*, the full license is available.
Fabfilter Pro-Q4: Fighting resonances with Spectral Mode
Fabfilter’s Pro-Q 4 might not be the first plugin that comes to mind when thinking of Soothe 2 alternatives. But since its latest update, the most popular EQ on the market also features the powerful new Spectral Mode. Like the dynamic mode, it can be activated per-band. Pro-Q 4 then attenuates all resonances spectrally in the selected range, similar to Soothe!
Pro-Q 4 also offers a new instance view, which also works with the latest update of Pro-C 3. This gives you a single overview of all Fabfilter instances and allows you to control them remotely. Super handy! Check out the plugin at Thomann*.
Izotope Neutron 5 and Ozone 12 – Spectral Shaper, Sculptor and more
Ozone 12 has been released recently with expanded mastering functions such as Stem EQ. In version 11, the Spectral Shaper was added to the mastering suite. In addition, Izotope Neutron 5 features the Sculptor module as an AI-powered mixing assistant. Both work in a similar way to Soothe 2, using spectral analysis and AI to make the entire mix or individual tracks sound clearer and to dampen resonances.
All of the modules mentioned are available as individual plugins only in the Advanced versions of Neutron 5* and Ozone 12*. However, you can also use each as part of the plugins in their respective Standard editions. Both VSTs are among the most comprehensive Soothe 2 alternatives in terms of their range of features, and you can get them at Thomann*.
Soothe 2 Alternatives: Waves Curves Equator
Resonance suppressors can be a blessing, especially when you’re not recording in perfectly optimized studio rooms. Tools such as Curves Equator from Waves can be a big help here as affordable alternatives to Soothe 2. With its linear phase filters, you can isolate and reduce room resonances in a signal.
In addition, the plugin’s “Learn” function analyzes the incoming signal and automatically generates a suitable curve for attenuation. This function also comes with a sidechain option, allowing you to use external signals to highlight specific parts of your mix. And the special Rider function attenuates in line with the sidechain input, plus, Curves Equator attenuates on three separate bands. You can get it at Thomann*.
TBProAudio DSEQ3
Not quite as many spectral bands, not quite as sophisticated a workflow, but in terms of functionality and concept, DSEQ3 from TBProAudio comes pretty close to Soothe 2. Comparisons often show that once the VST’s AI has been trained on the source material, it can actually be even more accurate in terms of attenuation and detection. The plugin also features an M/S mode and up to 4x oversampling.
In terms of features, DSEQ3 Soothe 2 comes very, very close in many respects. In terms of price, the tool ranks in the middle of our list of the best Soothe 2 alternatives.
Other Soothe 2 Alternatives
The success of Soothe 2 has sparked a wave of spectral EQs.
- Trackspacer from Wave Factory is extremely useful as a spectral sidechaining tool between kick and bass (available at Plugin Boutique*).
- RESO from Mastering The Mix is one of the most affordable alternatives to Soothe 2.
- Sonible SmartEQ4 doesn’t dampen resonances quite as precisely as Soothe, but it also improves the sound using AI (at Thomann*).
Some of you may be wondering why I didn’t mention Gullfoss from Soundtheory as one of the Soothe 2 alternatives. The plugin also works with AI support and automatic raising and lowering of many frequency bands simultaneously. However, it is not suitable for the targeted attenuation of resonances.
Free Soothe 2 Alternatives
Anyone looking for a free alternative to a plugin as versatile and high-quality as Soothe 2 will inevitably have to make some compromises. However, there are a few plugins that come close to doing what Soothe 2 does. If you’re looking to dynamically attenuate a single static frequency range and need a dynamic equalizer, take a look at TDR Nova.
If you own FL Studio, you should take a look at Mitigate. Last but not least, Vastaus from Wavegrove also goes in the direction of Soothe 2, but only for dampening high frequencies. However, these Soothe 2 alternatives may also be worthwhile, depending on what you have in mind.
Conclusion
Soothe 2 is one of the most popular plugins of recent years. And that comes at a price. Whether it’s worth paying that price or whether one of the suggested Soothe 2 alternatives is better is ultimately up to you.
Which alternatives didn’t make it onto the list? How do you use Soothe 2 in your production workflow? Let us know in the comments!
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2 responses to “Soothe 2 Alternatives: VSTs for Free, Cheaper, and Even Better?”
TDR Nova GE and TDR Slick EQ GE and Master have Special Operations that can find resonances and help a lot.
Not to mention, they both are parallel EQ and one of them Dynamic comp/expand.
I thing they are worthy a try…
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