zplane Elastique Pitch V2 Review By Ali

The German-founded company zplane is well known for providing audio products and technology for a wide range of industry leaders.

Producers who work in Ableton, Cubase, or FL Studio will have come across the zplane pitching technology as they license their algorithms for use in these DAWs. Zplane also provides technology products to Beatport, Korg, M-Audio, Native Instruments, Sony, Soundcloud, Spotify, and many more.

ElastiquePitch V2 is powered by élastiquepro, a pitch-shifting engine developed by zplane, and is one of three available pitch-shifting engines. The élastiquepro processing minimizes phasing and retains transients for results to sound more natural when processing and works in real-time.

Value for Money

The sound produced by Elastique Pitch 2 is perfect. Minimal, if any, additional mixing is needed to get a clear and crisp sound despite the pitch changes. The pro engine that powers this plugin draws on 20+ years of experience from the founders of zplane. 

The precise pitch-shifting can be done on monophonic and polyphonic sounds and will still deliver the same result with a clear distinction between timbre and pitch. This technology, combined with the plugin-specific features, puts Elastique Pitch 2 at the top of the list for quality and is worth the price tag. 

Category	Rating	Summary
GUI	⭐⭐⭐⭐	The GUI has three view options including an adjustable interface in the advanced option, catering to a range of workflows. The simple, normal, and advanced views have different functions, yet full access to the pitch-shifting section is available across all three.
Features	⭐⭐⭐⭐	The zplane elastique features include a link and unlink function for independent shifting of the pitch and timbre, delay and feedback, and voicing. There are two options for shift control, the main slider, and numeric/percentage settings, providing users with more control.
Sound	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	The élastiquepro engine produces a perfect sound that is clear and detailed when moving throughout the pitch and timbre field. The additional features also produce high-quality clear, clean audio with no unwanted harsh sound.
Value For Money	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	The engine, features, and preset menus are designed for consistent, high-quality output across a range of source inputs. This plugin is suited for industry standard-level projects and would work best with speakers and headphones at the same level.

Features

Presets

The preset menu covers a list of conversion settings for video formats when a constant pitch is needed. The presets work best for sound that is time stretched too slow or fast, and the list is labeled in frames per second.

Pitch and Timbre Field

The pitch and timbre field has a lot of space and consists of a sound grid with timbre running horizontally and pitch running vertically. The circular control is locked to the main axis and moves through click/dragging or via the two sliders providing two different control options for shifting.

Sliders and MIDI Control

The two sliders outlined above run horizontally at the bottom of the field and vertically up the right-hand side of the field. The sliders can be used in addition to or instead of the main control for more precise movement.

In addition, the slider and main controls can be moved by dragging or typing percentages or numbers into the boxes at the top and bottom of the field. This option is for shifting control when the plugin is in simple view mode which will be detailed more in the view mode section below, and parameter changes can be made at a minimum of 50% to a maximum of 500%.

Freeze, Delay, and Feedback

The input freeze switch is an interesting feature and was not expected, but it is still a welcome addition. The freeze button activates the infiniStretch-feature of the élastiquePro engine. This function, when turned on, deactivates the delay and feedback path.

The delay and feedback section consists of a delay that can be controlled by ms or synced to the beat and feedback controls that can be used with the wet/dry signal. The delay and feedback build on the shifting effects resulting in a full but refined sound. 

Link Switch

There is a link button on the bottom left of the GUI that changes the functionality so that the main controller can be moved freely throughout the field when unlinked, and when linked, locks the pitch and timbre together on the same axis. The left-hand side of the field produces more subtle aspects of the sound, while the right-hand side of the field brings out more of the detail and dynamics.

Voice Setting

The voice settings will shift formants but not pitch, with the center position of the controls being the default setting suited to most sounds. The effects of this feature will vary depending on where in the field you are working.

User interface

There are three view modes for the adjustable interface, simple, normal, and advanced. These modes can be toggled from the top left corner icons and provide options for various workflows. 

The advanced view mode (above) opens up the right-hand side panel, including the freeze button, delay control, ms and sync button, feedback control, dry/wet control, and settings and options icons. This view includes all available features, is resizable, and is still compact using less space in your workflow. 

The normal view mode opens the pitch and timbre shifting field to show the grid with the main control and sliders for two types of pitch-shiting control. Here sound shaping can be done by manually moving the main control or using the timbre slider at the bottom of the pitch slider on the right. 

In simple view mode, the plugin can be controlled by the numeric/percentage pitch and timbre controls on the right, the voicing and preset menus are available, and the link/unlink button is visible. This view would be efficient for experienced producers using numeric parameters only combined with the voicing and or presets.

Sound

Formant preserving pitch-shifting can be done on monophonic and polyphonic audio and produce the same quality results. The distinction between timbre and pitch while moving through the field is clear and detailed. 

Activating the freeze button will create dark sustained sounds, which would work well for mechanical sounds, robotic effects, spooky atmospheres, and powerful risers. The freeze button will also create interesting effects in general, depending on when and how frequently you press it while moving the pitch and timbre sliders. 

The voicing adds some depth, width, and complexity to the sound. The most variation is heard in the bottom right of the field, and the voices combined with the shifting form decays from the sound artifacts. 

The delay in sync mode pulses nicely in time and provides more control when in ms mode. The feedback is smooth and controlled, adding to the width and body of sustained sounds. As expected, the dry/wet is also controlled and moves through the processed and unprocessed sounds with perfect precision. 

How to use it

ElastiquePitch V2 is a quick and easy install, and it will automatically appear in your DAW when downloaded. For use via the plugin interface, drag directly onto the track where sliders and controls are active, and for use with MIDI, route your controller to elastiquePitch V2 and control via the Pitch Wheel or through a keyboard, with C3 playing the original sound and pitch up and down through the keys.

When the plugin is open, it defaults to link mode, and shifting is done by clicking and dragging the circular control, which is locked to the main axis for both pitch and timbre. On the bottom left, the link/unlink button can be toggled to lock the pitch and timbre together or let them run independently.

Unlinking the pitch and timbre allows the main control to move anywhere in the field, and linking locks the pitch and timbre back together, running along the same axis where the controller is placed at the time of linking. All features work together; the voicing is controlled by click and drag, the delay, feedback, and dry wet are adjusted with the dial controllers with ms and sync options, and the freeze button is activated through toggling on and off.

Compatibility

Compatibility options include TAS, VST, AU, and AAX.

Verdict

This plugin cannot be faulted; zplane has delivered a perfect design, well-selected features, and quality sound. The processing engine is what makes this plugin so nice to use. It doesn’t matter what preset you choose or what controls you are adjusting, the sound structure is clear, defined, and balanced.