If harsh, resonant mixes are your problem, the soothe2 vs Gullfoss question is one worth getting right, because these two plugins solve overlapping problems in very different ways. Both are “intelligent” spectral processors that react to the audio in real time, and both can rescue a brittle vocal or a clashing guitar in seconds. But soothe2 is a targeted resonance suppressor, while Gullfoss is a broad, automatic tonal balancer. Buy the wrong one for your workflow and you will fight it. This guide explains exactly what each does, with concrete settings, so you can match the tool to the job.
What soothe2 actually does
soothe2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor. It scans the spectrum thousands of times a second and drops narrow, momentary dips exactly where and when a frequency spikes. That makes it surgical. When a vocal has a piercing resonance around 3-4 kHz that only jumps out on certain words, soothe2 catches those peaks and leaves the rest of the signal untouched. The key controls are Depth (how much it cuts), Sharpness (how narrow the notches are) and the Soft/Hard character switch.
A reliable starting recipe on a harsh vocal: set the range to focus above roughly 2 kHz, pull Depth to around 6-10 dB, keep Sharpness moderate, and solo the “delta” (the audio being removed) so you hear only the harsh resonances it is grabbing. If you hear breath and tone in the delta, you are cutting too deep. soothe2 shines on sibilance, honky electric guitars, boxy room tone and cymbal harshness.
What Gullfoss actually does
Gullfoss is an automatic EQ that continuously rebalances the whole spectrum to improve clarity and perceived detail. Rather than notching specific resonances, it makes hundreds of small adjustments so masked frequencies come forward. Its main knobs are Recover (brings out detail), Tame (reduces harshness), Bias (weights the balance toward Recover or Tame), and Brighten. On a dull, cluttered mix bus, pushing Recover to around 30-50 percent and Tame to 20-30 percent can open the top end and clean the low mids without you touching a single frequency by hand.
The trade-off is control. Gullfoss decides where to work; you only steer the overall behaviour. That makes it fast and often magical on a full mix or master, but less precise than soothe2 when one specific frequency is the villain.
soothe2 vs Gullfoss: choosing by the job
- One nasty resonance: soothe2. A ringing 800 Hz on a snare or a 3.5 kHz stab on a vocal is exactly what it was built for.
- Overall harshness and dullness: Gullfoss. It smooths the entire tonal picture and adds clarity across the board.
- De-essing: soothe2 handles sibilance more transparently than most dedicated de-essers because it only cuts the exact peaks.
- Mix-bus glue and polish: Gullfoss, in small amounts, on the stereo bus or master.
- Individual tracks in a busy arrangement: soothe2, to carve masking clashes between, say, a vocal and a synth.
Pros, cons and CPU
soothe2 pros: surgical, transparent, brilliant on sibilance and resonance, delta monitoring lets you hear exactly what you remove, per-band control and side-chain. Cons: it is a subtractive tool only (it never adds), it is fairly CPU-hungry across many instances, and overdone it can make sources sound thin and lifeless.
Gullfoss pros: incredibly fast results, excellent on full mixes and masters, minimal knobs to learn, adds perceived detail you cannot easily dial by hand. Cons: low control (it is opinionated), can pump or sound unnatural if pushed hard, and it is not the right tool for hunting one specific resonance.
The verdict
Most engineers who can afford both end up using them together: soothe2 on problem tracks early in the chain, Gullfoss for gentle balancing on groups or the master. If you must pick one, choose based on your recurring problem. Constantly fighting harsh, resonant individual tracks means soothe2. Constantly fighting dull, cluttered full mixes means Gullfoss. Whichever you buy, use it gently: both are strong enough to strip life out of a track if you overcook the settings. To practise spotting resonances by ear before you commit, try the EQ tools in our free browser toolkit, and read our walkthrough on fixing harsh and muddy mixes. When you are ready for the last stage, our mastering guide shows where a balancer like Gullfoss fits.
