I got rhythm, I got rhythm…
…who could ask for anything more?

How about asking for a rhythmatizing filtration sound machine that can take the most staid of audio tracks and trick them up to create gated, evolving patterns, the likes of which your daddy could only have dreamed of, all for just $85 (USD)? The target market for CamelSpace seems to be the trance/dance crowd, but I think that anybody looking for some fine rhythmic control over their audio should take the time to check it out.

Yeah, I know what you are thinking:

"…I got me some filters here that can do that sorta thing already, my synth has a sequencer built-in, and hey isn't that what a gate plug is supposed to do? and anyway, I got more natural rhythm than you and your sista put together… yadda blah, yadda blah, yadda blah…"

You may very well have all those things, but if you've got CamelSpace, you will have all those things (sans your sista) built into the one plug-in. CamelSpace has got 7 different effects modules, including a Trance Gate, Enhancer, AutoPan, Multi-Mode (MM) Filter, Flanger, Delay and Reverb. Its also got a Filter Modulator which allows you to modulate the cutoff parameter of the MM Filter. And last, but most of all, its got a Step Sequencer, and what a step sequencer it is!

Will that be one hump or two?
How about 128? Unlike the common Dromedary, this Camel (Space), has a whole lotta humps. Its Step Sequencer can store 8 patterns, and each pattern has (up to) 16 steps. The patterns can also be looped and their length can be set in multiples/divisions of your host's tempo. Did someone say tempo? Oh, that was me. That's what CamelSpace's sequencer is all about, including as it does, provision for triplet and dotted note values. There is a nice-n-clear panel on the bottom of the interface for managing all of these (and more) settings. It gives you good visual feedback for setting the volume of each step via clickable-dragable columns. It also has buttons for chaining steps that are easily accessible/legible running along the bottom of the sequencer's display area. Independent envelopes (Attack, Sustain, Decay) can also be set for each step.

The Cameleers have also set up the Step Sequencer for MIDI control. Among other MIDI options, if you want to, you can use the notes in the octave below middle C to change between patterns. I don't do the whole take-my-power-book-to-the-club-and-trance-out thing, but if I did, I bet this feature would come in very handy.

What makes using the Step Sequencer especially fun to play with is its relation to the other modules in CamelSpace. Each pattern in the Step Sequencer can be targeted to control up to three different parameters in other modules. You can choose to have it drive the Filter Cut-off, Pan, and/or TranceGate parameters, (more on those in a minute) as long as the module with the parameter you are trying to control is switched on. To turn a module on so that the Step Sequencer can drive it, just click the relevant 'On' button. Once the relevant module is 'On', you can go nuts with the Step Sequencer. If you want to have your panning bounce from ear to ear in a complex synced rhythmic pattern, its just a few clicks of the mouse away. There is a mini-tutorial in the manual that explains how you can set up the Step Sequencer to do things like that, but if you aren't too hung-over from last night's gig, you should be able to figure it out without even reading the pdf.

There are a pile of pre-sets that come with CamelSpace that make good use of the Step Sequencer and they are all very tweakable, giving you a great head-start in setting yourself up to win top prize in the international rhythm method championships. For example, after just a few minutes of clicking around I had taken a simple drone note and twisted into a pretty interesting groove track. Hell, even my younger, hipper, better-looking neighbor said, "Wow BK, I never knew you made such cool music!" If you also want to impress my neighbor, grab the CamelSpace demo and you'll be bustin' a groove in no time.

And another thing…
Among the other effects that come with CamelSpace is the TranceGate. This is a simple on/off gate control, but because you can drive it (as mentioned above) with the Step Sequencer, you g-g-g-get th-o-o-o-se stuttering, pulsing sounds that will make all the kids shake their booty thangs. (People do still shake booty thangs, don't they?)

There is also an Enhancer module that has an Xcita and Softsat effects. The Xcita does what you would think it does, adding harmonic distortion mostly in the higher frequencies, giving a bit of a 'lift' to most sounds. I've actually had more fun playing with the Softsat on some pad-like sounds. For those kinds of sounds it warms them up nicely, because it emulates the effects of over-driven analog hardware. Think that soft fuzzy sound you got after you blew out your speakers that time…

The Auto-Pan will not fry up your eggs, but because it can be driven by its built-in LFO (or if you so choose, the Step Sequencer) it will help you cook up some mean sound spatialization effects. CamelSpace only knows about left and right channels – which is unfortunate for me, because I work only in surround. I reckon stereo is sooooo 20th century! But 98.789% of musicians and engineers won't mind this limitation because there are controls (Shape for waveforms, Depth and Rate) that will let you stereo-heads ping-pong sounds around in a myriad of different ways.

The Flanger, Delay and Reverb are straight-forward and perform without surprises. Each has the controls that you would expect, and like just about everything else in CamelSpace, you can assign them to the MIDI control signal of your choice. You can use some, all or none of these modules, in a fixed effects chain order. Because they are together in the one plug, you can create some fairly complex audio-mangling effects chains without too much fussing around. The Reverb isn't going to replace your $500 convolution 'verb plug-ins, but it does nicely add fairly clean space to your sound.

The Multi-Mode Filter follows essentially the same configuration as the one in CamelPhat, so if you have read that review, you can save yourself 1 minute of reading time by skipping this paragraph. The MM filter has Low, Band, and High Pass filtering, as well as Peaking, Notch, Comb and Ring Modulation. All of these do what you would expect them to do, with controls that all pretty common and straight-forward. The controls for the MM Filter allow you to manage its envelope followers, cut-off and resonance settings. CamelSpace's MM Filter also has special Low, Band and High Pass Filters with added fat – that is, they produce a slightly edgier sound compared to their no-fat siblings.

While we are talking about commonality between CamelSpace and CamelPhat, you should note that for more information pricing and installation, as well as a couple of glitches that I came across, have a quick read of the CamelPhat review, because in many areas, these two plug-ins are pretty similar.

Do I think you should buy this plug?
What kind of stupid bloody question is that?? How the hell am I supposed to know if its right for you? I can tell you that its very good value and it brings together a whole bunch of effects into one neat package, so sure, you should buy it, but first you should check it out for yourself. Grab the demo that Camel provides, that's why they have made it available, right? Head Camel Ben Gillett has made a very good effort with this multi-award winning plug-in, and he knows that if you try it, you will most likely buy it. (Can you can see the confidence in his eyes in the candid snap we got of him at one of his recent gigs?)

The Verdict (5 star system)
GUI/Interface… 5/5 (What you see is what you get/need.)
Stability… 4/5 (1-2 little problems, see CamelPhat review.)
Manual/Tutorial... 4/5 (Short, to the point.)
Sound... 5/5 (It will help you practice your rhythm method.)
Value For Money... 5/5 (Buy the bundle, you will be glad you did.)
X Factor... 5/5 (It’s a great combination of different effects!)

For more information, see www.Camelaudio.com

Review set-up:
OS X 10.3.9
Digital Performer 4.12 (As an Audio Unit)

Bye-line
BK is justa guy trying to make his way in the universe by making dangerous modern art.

Apart from access to a review copy, the Camel train has never stopped at my station.