Plug-In Power
Boss CE-1 & Roland Dimension D
by Dave Crane

In last month's "Plug-In Power" article, we listened to the Boss CE-1 plug-in on guitar. This month we'll listen to the Boss CE-1 again, and a video showing the plug-in is action is added. A Dimension D video is included, as well. The video soundtracks are192 kbps, and I've included a 44.1k/16-bit WAV file, as well.

UAD Boss CE-1 Chorus
As you may recall from last month's article, the CE-1 is considered by many to be the holy grail of chorus stomp boxes, and soon it will be just as desirable in the world as a plug-in. In the video below, I'm playing a guitar loop through the CE-1, which is on the master bus. Placed here, the CE-1 is true stereo out, with the chorus in both left and right channels. This is different from the way the actual pedal works. In Stereo mode, the pedal has a processed signal in one channel, and a dry one on the other. If you want to do that with the plug-in, you can simply open it as a mono-to-stereo plug-in, but I really like the sound of true stereo chorus.

CE-1 Guitar Example				In the video, I start out dry, and then enable the CE-1 in chorus mode. Then the Chorus Intensity control is gradually increased. I then switch over to Vibrato mode and adjust the parameters there. Then I switch between chorus and vibrato modes. In Vibrato mode, the effect indicator light on the left side pulses with the speed of the vibrato or chorus. A little Plate 140 was added in the mix for ambience.

UAD Roland Dimension D

With the Dimension D, I really wanted to illustrate its versatility by using it on bass, vocal, and guitar. In all three movies, I switch between the four modes, starting with mode 1. The Dimension D was placed on a mono track, and was inserted as a mono-to-stereo effect. As you can hear, the effect gets more and more pronounced, but never gets over the top. That is what people love about the Dimension D; even though there are almost no parameters to adjust, It always sounds right.

Dimension D Bass Example				On the bass, a little of the low end gets lost, as it does with the hardware, due to some slight phase cancellation. Typically, when used on bass, this effect is mixed in with the original bass, and a slight lowpass filter is applied to the original. In mono, the effect is not as pronounced, and less bass is lost.

Dimension D Vocal Example				You probably recognize this effect on vocals. No other chorus or flanger quite has the effect that Dimension D does. As with the bass, it is common to mix this signal under the original vocal. When mixed quietly under a vocal, the Dimension D track can add air and breathiness to a vocal track, which an EQ and compressor can't quite do. A little Plate 140 was added in the mix for ambience here, as well.

Dimension D Guitar Example				On Guitar, the Dimension D really widens the stereo field as the mode is changed from 1 through 4. The chorusing never gets too deep, and you don't hear any slap-back echo from pre-delay. The effect is very smooth. A little Plate 140 was added in the mix for ambience.

As you can see (and hear!) the UAD-1 Roland plug-ins are very versatile, and not just for guitarists. They can be used as effects, as well as general audio enhancement tools.