BFM vs Ridgewalk

BFM or Big F*ing Meters is a macOS, Windows, and soon to be iOS compatible Metering plug-in designed exactly how the name sounds... really f*ing big. With the main goal of readability we wanted to bring a meter that you can see from across the studio and keep your records clip-free. BFM currently offers 6 Modes with RMS, LUFs, Peak, and Peak Hold values, to give you a variety of views to keep your signal under control. The Text, Bars, Waves, VU Meters, Spectrum, & Time  let you decide how you want to keep track of your signal with multiple fonts/formats to view them in. Text gives you a quick look at just the values easy to see from across the room. This view offers the most values with RMS, Peak, Peak Hold, and LUFs (Short Term & Momentary with Maximum values and LUFS range) values available. Controllable sensitivity & peak hold time for all pages. Reset Peak Hold with a click off the value. Bar offers a more traditional meter for seeing the range of values showing RMS, Peak, Peak Hold, and LUFS. Correlation & Balance meters included to set your stereo image and phase response. Peak Hold resets on value click. Sensitivity changes on bar click. LUFS readings select on click. Included reference points for -24 (EBU), -16 (Apple Music), & -7 as a suggested maximum for most genres. Wave view gives you a look at your waveform after your channel effects with the ability to quickly mark in dB where you want to see your signals peak. To freeze click the waveform. To reset Peak Hold click the value. VU Meter Designed for a quick look at your overall levels. Featuring controllable Attack, Release, Minimum, and Maximum value control. Left/Right, Mid/Side, PPM, and LUFS options available. Click VU to enter dark mode. Spectrum is a simplified frequency spectrum view with 3 quality modes. Great for getting an overall look at where your frequencies are when mixing or editing. Tap to freeze and inspect. There is also the PEAK value displayed on this page. To reset Peak Hold click the value.

Ridgewalk is a standalone app and AUv3 plug-in. Ridgewalk lets you explore sound in unique ways not possible before. Meander between microscopic moments in a sample to create an infinite soundscape, or stretch or compress audio in realtime, all while recording and reacting to new input instantly. Ridgewalk is both a looper and a granular engine. Output is generated by a set of independent microloopers that traverse a single buffer of audio. The audio buffer can be freely recorded to, overdubbed over, and reverted to a previous version, and the microloopers will transition smoothly and instantly. With control over the microloopers’ size, behavior, and movement throughout the buffer over time, you’re free to reimagine and reinterpret audio like never before - all in realtime. Ridgewalk is designed as a modular tool for flexible usage. It is equally comfortable at the heart of your composition, collaborating with you as you perform, or as a finishing touch to provide a unique complementary atmosphere to deepen your mix. Ridgewalk is fully compatible with modulators such as Ableton CV or Bitwig LFOs to broaden horizons even further. Ridgewalk has the following controls available: Recording: Record via your choice of two unique techniques. Choose between automatic recording via input volume detection and a classic latching recording technique that can record infinitely. Buffers can be up to 60 seconds or 16 bars. Overdubbing: Freely overdub on top of existing audio with two methods. Choose between a traditional feedback dub or a unique sidechain dub which compresses existing audio against new input. Playback will smoothly transition to new recordings instantly. Layers: Each overdub creates a new layer, which you can then move between smoothly and revert to previous versions of audio. Full recall: All recorded audio will be saved and reloaded when reopening a project. Sample importing: Rather than record, Ridgewalk can import samples directly. Volume controls: Independent volume trim controls for dry and wet volume. Playback: Looper playback can be played and paused independently of input and recording. Playback will instantly reflect any changes to recorded audio. Hold time: Looper playback can be automatically paused after a defined time since starting. This allows Ridgewalk to act like a strange reverb or delay. Reverse: Playback can be reversed and audio can be recorded in reverse as well. Looper size: Loopers can span from microscopic fragments of the buffer to the full size, and can be synchronized with your BPM. Looper amount: Up to 7 microloopers are available, which move together in concert with one another. Drift: Looper size and positioning can be randomly and independently desynchronized to add variations and unpredictability. Blur: A one-stop-shop for increasing ambience: this controls looper crossfading as well as introduces reverb. Repitch: Playback can be repitched from ±2 octaves. Random movement (Wander): Looper positioning can be set to randomly wander the sample over time via Brownian motion. Sequential movement: Looper position can move linearly through a sample over a time defined in seconds or synchronized to your BPM. Manual looper positioning: Loopers can be positioned manually via tap or click, turning Ridgewalk into a performative instrument. Instant playback: Ridgewalk can start playing back from recorded audio as soon as it is able, turning its granular looping algorithm into a live effect. Transport syncing: Ridgewalk can be synced with your DAW’s transport to automatically start/stop playback or recording.