- Sound
- Features
- Ease Of Use
Boom Library Enforcer Review
Enforcer delivers a lot of sub-bass and features without really any downsides.
Pros
– Massive sub bass
– Hyper-precise trigger detection allows for great flexibility
– Impressive sidechain ducking and side chain ducking notch filter features keep the mix very clean
– Pitches are automatable
– CPU-efficient
Cons
– GUI colors are ‘Halloweeny’, but it’s perfect for night work because there’s no blue light
Enforcer from Boom Library is a software plug-in (AAX / VST / AU) that adds impressive body and low end to an audio signal. It’s basically a ‘focused bass synth’ with some pretty nifty features, and it doesn’t use any samples.
It can be used to add or replace the mid-range body of a snare, or easily replace a kick drum samples’ sub tones with low-end bass impulses tuned to the key of your song, with twelve oscillator types to choose from.
When mixing for film, Enforcer can add massive bass to sound effects and foley, and has a solid bank of presets that make for great starting points for dialing in the desired sound.
How Does It Work?
The detector portion (the big circle in the middle of the interface) allows for impressively firm control over when Enforcer should be triggered. The upper threshold parameter is the value that needs to be reached in order to trigger the Enforcer, and the lower threshold is when the audio input signal falls below before enforcer can be triggered again.
These two parameters make Enforcer really flexible, and you can reduce the amount over triggers to taste and avoid overloading trigger points.
They even added a scale adjuster to zoom the amplitude in and out so you don’t have to fiddle with gain staging. You can alternatively even use MIDI to trigger Enforcer.
The ducking feature removes the low frequencies of the original signal, great for gaining headroom and creating more space for the low frequencies produced by Enforcer.
Better still – the sidechain ducking filter is a notch filter that removes exactly the frequencies Enforcer produces, effectively abating low-frequency mud and rumbling where the frequencies conflict.
Conclusion
Overall, Enforcer delivers a lot of sub-bass and features without really any downsides. All of the huge subs you’ll add you can easily create headroom for via their sidechain ducking and filter features, and even use the plugin in sidechain mode on other tracks to reduce sub basses on entire busses, creating space in the frequency spectrum when your sub plays. Plus, there are plenty of helpful presets to start with.
Electronic music producers, game audio people and sound designers will love it!
Enforcer is available here for $121.20 (or 99€). A trial version is available. The plugin requires a free iLok account (a physical iLok USB key is NOT required, the software can be authorized on the computer).
