You would think that every analog device from the past has already been emulated, but now we’re digging down to the more obscure “secret weapons” that hit engineers of the past used. One of the most obscure is the little known one-off box known as the Frequency Translater that was hand-built by Abbey Road tech Keith Adkins back in the 70s. This device was used to great effect on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon recording, especially on the song “Time.” Now the Frequency Translater has been simulated in a new plugin from PSP and famed engineer Alan Parsons called the Wobbler.
The Wobbler is sort of a phaser, vibrato, pitch shifter and Leslie speaker all in one box. It’s not any of those effects, but a combination of all of them. What really happens is that the plugin uses frequency shifting to create non-harmonic phase differences that form its unique “wobble” sound.
Controls
The effect is driven by two large controls in the middle called Rate and Feedback. Above each one is a number display that shows the amount of each. The Rate control turns into a Note control if the Note mode button below it is selected. This allows you to time the wobble to the track using note values that appear on the above display. Sync mode will automatically sync Wobbler to the tempo of the track.
The other controls on the upper panel include Drive, Age, Wobble, and Output. Drive simulates the tube grit of the original analog device when the input signal is increased, while Age is basically a low-pass filter that simulates the rolloff that naturally develops with acoustic feedback. Wobble is really a balance control between the effect and the dry signal. A lower panel provides controls to fine tune the effect.
The price of the PSP Wobbler plugin is $99 but there’s an introductory price of $49 currently offered. There’s also a 30 day trial period available if you want to try it out first.
Needless to say, the plugin works on both Mac and PC and in all the popular plugin formats.
You can find out more here, or watch the video featuring Alan Parsons himself below.
