Two smart-EQ problem-solvers that do opposite jobs, surgical resonance suppression versus broad tonal rebalancing.
Written and reviewed by Kasper Nods. Updated June 2026. How PlugPick reviews
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effectoeksound
The industry-standard dynamic resonance suppressor: it tames harsh, ringing frequencies only when and where they occur, surgical de-harshing for vocals, busses and masters without dulling the source.
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effectSoundtheory
An intelligent EQ that listens to your audio and rebalances the spectrum in real time, bringing out clarity and detail while preserving natural dynamics. Two controls, instant results, a mix-bus and mastering favourite.
At a glance
Genres
Artists who use it
Soothe 2 is the surgical de-harsher. It finds and ducks harsh, resonant frequencies dynamically, in real time, and it gives you fine manual control over exactly which transients or frequency ranges to tame. If you keep wincing at sibilant vocals, piercing cymbals or ringy guitars, engineers describe it as a godsend that replaces hours of manual EQ automation.
Gullfoss works at the opposite scale. Instead of fixing one resonance it continuously rebalances the whole spectrum for clarity and openness, more like an automatic mastering-grade EQ. Used in small doses on a mix bus, engineers call it a smart enhancer that instantly makes a dull or cluttered mix sound clearer and better glued, like a fresh pair of ears.
These get compared constantly but actually solve opposite problems, which is why so many engineers run both: clean up a source with Soothe 2, then sweeten the whole mix with Gullfoss.
Reach for Soothe 2 when something specific is too harsh and you want to tame it precisely. Reach for Gullfoss when a mix simply sounds dull or unbalanced and you want it to open up.
Pick Soothe 2 if you need to surgically tame harshness, sibilance or resonance on a specific source.
Pick Gullfoss if you want broad, automatic tonal balancing to add clarity to a full mix or master.
Soothe 2 dynamically suppresses specific harsh or resonant frequencies on a source, surgically. Gullfoss continuously rebalances the whole spectrum for clarity, broadly. One fixes a problem, the other enhances overall tone.
Yes, and many engineers do. A common workflow is cleaning harshness from individual sources with Soothe 2, then sweetening the full mix on the bus with a light touch of Gullfoss.
Used gently, Gullfoss can add clarity and balance to a master, acting like an automatic tone-balancing EQ. Heavy settings can over-process, so most engineers use small amounts.