Differentiating between similar audio plugins can be hard, however some aim to bring something new. Bringing both familiar and unique audio plugins into one place, we put Flux Audio’s suite of tools to the Experts to see if it really is different.

In Summary

EVO Series Pack from Flux Audio offers a number of EVO processors across 5 audio plugins. While there are the usual suspects including compressors and EQs, the pack also brings unique Drive soft saturation, Touch envelope shaping and adjustable phase rotation processing to set it apart from the rest.

Going Deeper

When it comes to channel processing, seasoned engineers could be forgiven for thinking that they’ve seen it all before. Such a vast choice of options out there also makes things less easy for those newer engineers looking to find the right product. Certainly, both are faced with the mixed blessing of many options strewn across a crowded marketplace.

Flux Audio have gained a reputation more recently for developing a suite of tools for pros that cover all of the usual audio processing tasks comprising things like compression and EQ, with DSP versions available to satisfy those using hardware-accelerated Pro Tools rigs. Added to these are some of the company’s unique processors that include intelligent audio envelope treatments, as well as phase rotation tools that can shift phase alignment across connected instances. These latter tools promise an edge over some of the more revisionist tools from other developers that lean heavily on existing designs.

EVO Series Pack

EVO Channel

Central to the Pack is the EVO Channel. Comprising of all EVO series tools in one window, familiar processes sit alongside some of Flux Audio’s unique creations. The modules within the channel comprise EQ, compression, the Touch multipurpose envelope designer, and the Evo In phase rotation tool. With multiple stages happening in one place, the channel’s adjustable signal flow allows further customisation. All processes can also be called up as individual audio plugins detailed below.

EVO EQ

The equaliser in the EVO Channel and EVO EQ is a straightforward comprehensive 4-band parametric equaliser with an additional low/high shelf and a 6-24 dB low/high cut filter. Highlights include colour-coded ‘strings’ that appear between knobs and analyser nodes. These quickly guide the eye between controls and their effect.

EVO Comp

EVO Comp offers nine different compression modes, and a Wet / Dry control for adjusting the level of compression, allowing for parallel compression within the module. Modes include intelligent slopes designated as Start, Kick/Snare, Overhead, Drum Buss, Bass, Acoustic, Piano, Vocal, and Mix.

EVO Touch

Recognising the relationship between envelope design and de-essing, this combined tool lands with the pack as an individual audio plugin, as well as being permanently available as a module in the Channel audio plugin. The idea here is to provide finesse at the Channel’s output with seven processes that can be applied to either wideband audio or within a target spectrum courtesy of its draggable sliding ‘endstops’.

EVO In

This phase rotation and soft saturation tool can talk to other instances across tracks. With benefits in any multi-mic situation, those working especially with drum kits will appreciate the benefits of using grouped instances that can rotate phase for optimising tonal and transient focus. This lets the engineer make the same phase-related improvements as when moving the mic except that time alignment is unaffected. Polarity invert is also provided.

EVO Series Pack Compatibility

While the EVO Channel is available in AU/VST2&3/AAX Native only, the sub-module plugins land with AAX DSP/ VENUE and VS3 supplemental support. The EVO Series Pack delivers multichannel, Dolby Atmos, Ambisonics & high-resolution Support. Flux Audio elaborate:

Multichannel being at the core of FLUX:: Immersive, the EVO Series plugins are designed to support mixing and creation of multichannel surround and immersive audio production content. Each module supports up to 16 channels which include Dolby Atmos 7.1.2 / 7.0.2 Track and Bus all the way for creating and manipulating Ambisonic audio and mixes all the way to Third order Ambisonics. High Resolution DXD Audio with sampling rates up to 384 kHz is supported.

Three Unique Features Of The EVO Series Pack

See and hear EVO Series Pack below as we concentrate on three of its unique features that sit alongside its utility processing. On a drum submix we demonstrate its Drive on toms. We then move to phase rotation on snare drum duties and what effect this has on the focus of the sound in the mix. We then get to work exploring Touch for some final EVO finesse…

Russ Hughes On EVO Series Pack

Being a recent convert to Pro Tools Carbon then I’m always drawn to plugins that offer AAX DSP. Contrary to some opinions, there’s a still a lot of AAX DSP plugins available, many of them are the best in the business, from brands like McDSP, Sonnox and Plugin Alliance. Now add to the list FLUX too.

When you’ve been writing about music technology for over a decade then it’s hard not to get a bit jaded when someone offers you another X. In the case of FLUX EVO they are offering some more of the same things. However, they have been smart about it and are offering not only excellent sounding plugins you can use to both track and mix with, but also some genuine innovation.

Luke highlights some of those innovations in his video above. What FLUX have managed to do is to bring sound, innovation, and excellent workflows into attractive and sensible GUIs. Lines from knobs to the EQ plot seems simple, but it helps when mixing. The Drive, Touch, and Phase options on the channel strip are all excellent tools to have to hand when mixing. Whoever designed these plugins has spent plenty of time in front of a DAW mixing and knows what some of the pain points can be.

My only disappointment with the pack is that the Channel Strip isn’t AAX DSP, although I’m guessing that given the amount of modules in the strip and the processing that takes place, that’s an impossible task. I would have loved to use it when tracking vocals, but alas, that’s not going to happen in DSP.

With that said, anyone who is looking for an audio toolbox with GUIs that sit somewhere between the skumorphic and the Fabfilter approach should check these out. Rather than create some weird compromise, the design works well and makes for an easy user experience. I’ve hardly opened the user manual, that’s always a good sign.

They sound good, have some features not found in other plugins and they offer excellent support for various plugin formats, did I say they are also AAX DSP? Well worth downloading the demo. HIT!

Julian Rodgers On EVO Series Pack

I had no particular expectations when I installed the Flux Evo Bundle. I had questions but no more. The best approach was to use them so I started mixing a live recording to see what they had to offer. All the elements of the Evo Channel are available as separate plugins and these are available in AAX DSP, which as a Carbon user I’m pleased to see. However this being a mix task I did most of the work in the Evo Channel plugin which offers all of these facilities in a single, Native-only plugin.

Good things first, I started with the phase alignment feature, which is a point of difference between this and other channel strip products and after a little confusion I figured out that you set it by ear, I’m too used to an automated workflow, but I did find excellent results aligning the kick and overheads on my recording. The Grouping feature is there so that you can toggle the phase controls on and off across a whole group to audition the results en masse, nothing more.

I like the UI, and the lines linking the knobs to the EQ curve control points are a nice touch. Everything I could need in a utility EQ is there and the display options on the EQ graph work well. The compressor modes were a bit heavy handed at their defaults for my taste, with lots of makeup gain dialled in. I’d have preferred to have to dial it in myself. On the subject of the compressor, it didn’t drive the channel gain reduction meters in the Pro Tools UI, which I missed. The EQ also doesn’t drive the EQ curves section of the Pro Tools UI but I never use it anyway. If there is a band pass mode on EQ, I didn’t find it, I take that to be a standard feature on utility EQs these days.

As for the sound, the EQ is flexible and powerful. The Compressor offers modes by instrument type, which I’m not really a fan of. They sound good, even if the defaults are a bit enthusiastic for me. The Drive sounds good too, offering some odd order harmonic distortion, but is a little subtle. I like what it does but I’d have liked it to go further.

The Touch section has to be explored because the name of it doesn’t give much away. You’ll find transient processing, de-essing and expansion. The Transient processing is rather good and I like the way you can focus it on areas of the spectrum. Targeting the upper midrange it made an excellent alternative to EQ for bringing some focus to the kick. I don’t think the UI of the Touch section lends itself to de-essing or expansion though. It works but I have tools which do it better. There isn’t a delta option on the de-esser for example, the Listen button routes the filters to the audio path but there’s no difference option.

With all that said, the Flux Evo Collection is a good product and it offers a good sounding alternative to my regular tools but with some nice extras which are genuinely useful, particularly the phase rotation controls and the transient boost mode in the Touch module. HIT.

Luke Goddard On EVO Series Pack

As a channel-strip devotee, I was interested to soak in Flux Audio’s take on the everything-in-one-place audio plugin. Many reading this will be familiar with other strips offering a suite of processors, however some of these tend to gravitate towards evoking a hardware-like experience as opposed to an original software design. Flux Audio’s EVO Series Pack certainly falls into this latter category, and in so doing carves itself a niche in a less crowded corner of the audio plugin channel market.

Worthy of mention is the Flux Center manager which is pretty seamless to use, and doesn’t make the buyer jump through loads of hoops to get up and running… Once in, I liked the way the Channel’s models combine technical and artistic control in the same place without a single rusty faceplate or piece of tape obscuring its GUI. This manages to squeeze-in four tools and more besides into one window without any one getting crowded-out. On the subject of GUI, re-sizing one instance applies the same change to all those of the EVO Channel. I wish all audio plugins did this!

Staying on the EVO Channel (which essentially is the other tools in the pack in one window), its EQ comes across as a well-designed efficient tool with great visual feedback. I like the compressor’s selectable models which are tuned to the source in hand, as well as its auto release which always seem to be strangely absent on so many other comps. For the undeniable need to rough things up a bit from time to time, its saturation lets the engineer stay within the sanctity of the EVO interface. Other tools including the phase rotation functionality set out the EVO Series intent as a serious audio toolkit. It succeeds.

Treading a commendable line between art and science, Yves Jaget’s intelligent collection of audio utilities offer much to the engineer who values originality both in their music and in their mixer. It should certainly appeal both to new engineers, and to those who have seen one 4k clone too many. HIT.

Flux Audio EVO Series Pack gets the Experts’ Gold award

A Word About This Article

As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.