SF Pro 18 Suite - Spectral Layers

Howard-Vigorita wrote on 9/4/2024, 3:35 PM

I have Sound Forge Pro 16 perpetual and am thinking of upgrading to Sound Forge 18 Pro Suite perpetual to get Spectral Layers 10 Pro which I understand is part of the Suite. I'm mostly interested in SL unmix functionality. The US region page indicates the offer expires on Sep 15, 2024... anyone know what happens after that if I wait? I'm wondering if waiting might get me SL11 Pro instead, which I understand has more unmix functions.

I've don't own any older Spectral Layer or other Steinberg products so the price of the SF18 upgrade looks pretty economical... $199 US price to get SL10-Pro with SF18. Same price to buy lesser SL11-Elements directly without an upgrade discount.

Comments

SP. wrote on 9/4/2024, 4:45 PM

@Howard-Vigorita After the current offer runs out, the next one will start. Maybe it's the same price, maybe cheaper or more expensive. Usually it goes up and down $50. But yes, $199 is good for SpectraLayers. And after that you can get new versions much cheaper directly at Steinberg.

Regarding SpectraLayers' version, you'll get a separate serial number you need to register at Steinberg. Steinberg will always give you the newest version via a grace period update, depending on the date you register your software. Since SL 11 is already available, you'll get that. If you don't register the serial number until SL 12 comes out, you'll get SL 12 instead. This is how it worked in the past and I don't think that Steinberg will change that.

If you are interested in a good unmix software, you can also use the free Ultimate Vocal Remover. SpectraLayers has the advantage to separate saxophone and brass stems with a separate pass, but usually UVR should deliver the same quality.

xman_charl wrote on 9/4/2024, 7:37 PM

SL11 Pro instead, which I understand has more unmix functions.

been using sl 11 for coupled of months, does have more junk, compared

to sl 10

 

my 2 cents

 

 

Howard-Vigorita wrote on 1/5/2025, 8:57 AM

I started a transfer project this past weekend of a vintage vinyl Blues/Rock compilation that was never remastered for US-released CD and decided to take a shot on doing it myself. So I finally pulled the trigger on getting the sf18 bundle with SL11 and am quite impressed. SL11 took 5 hours to unmix a double-lp to six 96k-24bit wav tracks at it's highest quality setting with just cpu-powered AI. Which was great for vocals, drums, and guitar. It was reasonably accurate for bass on the more recent recordings. But not so much on piano. Or other which includes everything else in the recording. Before doing the unmix, I cleaned up the sides in SF18 then pulled all the tracks into the latest Vegas for remixing, mostly to reorient the vocals and bass. Amazed at how it was able to pull vocal nuances out of the weeds which I doubt few people ever heard before. My impression is that the 32bit mixing engines in Vegas and SF are fine for vinyl unmix restoration... moving the mixdown to a daw with a 64bit mixing engine did not make a difference that I could hear.

rraud wrote on 1/5/2025, 10:42 AM

SpectraLayers Pro's 'unmix' function works well.. depending on the source quality and content . The learning curve for spectral editing is rather steep though but experience with photo editing software like Photoshop helps some. 'Unmix' and many other tools are automatic though. As I have stated in other conversations, SLP was a game changer for me and IMO is worth the SF Pro Suite upgrade price alone. I have been regularly using SLP since v7 and had experimented with it some when it was originally published by SCS (Sony), but gave up on it due to the steep learning curve. The original developer Robin Lobel is still involved and active on the Steinberg SLP forum.

xman_charl wrote on 1/5/2025, 8:38 PM

selected area is breath...there are 6 or more throuout the audio file.

SL works very well to eliminate them

 

my 2 cents