Transient Shaper plugin

[TWU]

Does anybody uses a transient shaper plugin? Any recommendations on this?

I'm looking for a (free) plugin that takes the harshness out of the mix, without the drums losing their 'snap'...

ATM i'm using Auburn Sounds Couture, although it's free i'm not a big fan because it kind of flattens the mix.


Also, do you guys use it on the master or just the high freq instruments that needs to be shaped?

 

[2GooD Productions]

Does anybody uses a transient shaper plugin? Any recommendations on this?

I'm looking for a (free) plugin that takes the harshness out of the mix, without the drums losing their 'snap'...

ATM i'm using Auburn Sounds Couture, although it's free i'm not a big fan because it kind of flattens the mix.


Also, do you guys use it on the master or just the high freq instruments that needs to be shaped?

I think if a mix is harsh then its best to go back to the offending tracks and take it away from the individual tracks.
A transient shaper, Ive never used one, but I know they are for reshaping the transient, taking away the peak and allowing the tail to be more prominent, like a compressor would. Would be more suited to kicks and snares I would think.

 

[YannFer]

Does anybody uses a transient shaper plugin? Any recommendations on this?

I'm looking for a (free) plugin that takes the harshness out of the mix, without the drums losing their 'snap'...

ATM i'm using Auburn Sounds Couture, although it's free i'm not a big fan because it kind of flattens the mix.


Also, do you guys use it on the master or just the high freq instruments that needs to be shaped?

I use transient shapers to increase /adjust the attack of a sound. If your sound has enough attack and you want to tame the harshness in the tail, then your best bet is to use a compressor with the proper attack setting to let the snap through.

I don't use it on high freq instruments really, mostly on my kicks.

And I have never heard about people using transient designers on the master bus. I wouldn't.

But if you want to put something on your master to tame high frequencies in your mix, an "exciter" might be what you're after. I don't personally use these... I'd rather process tracks individually before they hit the master bus.

 

[OGBama]

Try @Andante 2B Played Shaper, I got it for free

 

[YannFer]

Try @Andante 2B Played Shaper, I got it for free

Well, it's not a transient shaper, right?

 

[YannFer]

Fresh out the oven, this one seems promising :

Quantum | Beyond the transient shaper | VST/AU/AAX | Audio plugin

www.wavesfactory.com

NOT free though.

 

[2GooD Productions]

I think dynamic eq might be what you are after, it can duck certain frequencies if they go over a certain level, more transparent than multiband compression, far more transparent than just compression.

 

[YannFer]

This free dynamic eq seems to be praised by many :

TDR Nova | Tokyo Dawn Records

A dynamic equalizer in parallel configuration. Precise tone control paired with powerful dynamics processing.

www.tokyodawn.net

Not free, but this may be worth a try as well :

BABY Audio - Smooth Operator - Resonance Suppression Plugin (VST / AU / AAX)

Get Smooth Operator - or download the free demo. Smooth Operator by BABY Audio is an intelligent spectral processing plugin that uses a combination of resonance suppression, spectral compression and equalization to add shine and clarity to your tracks. It's one of the best vst plugins for achieving

babyaud.io

 

[TWU]

You guys are awesome! I'll deffo give these dynamic eq's a try...

Ozone 9 had one implemented which I really liked, too bad it was a trial version. €500 for advanced version is a bit much... Maybe it miraculously installs by itself one day...

 

[2GooD Productions]

You guys are awesome! I'll deffo give these dynamic eq's a try...

Ozone 9 had one implemented which I really liked, too bad it was a trial version. €500 for advanced version is a bit much... Maybe it miraculously installs by itself one day...

Try using one on the drum bus first, try to avoid using on the master bus unless really necessary.
Also you might want to put a bell eq cut on certain resonant frequencies that are combining to sound harsh, start looking at the snare and hats first, they sit in the harsh area of the frequency spectrum

 

[TWU]

This free dynamic eq seems to be praised by many :

TDR Nova | Tokyo Dawn Records

A dynamic equalizer in parallel configuration. Precise tone control paired with powerful dynamics processing.

www.tokyodawn.net

Not free, but this may be worth a try as well :

BABY Audio - Smooth Operator - Resonance Suppression Plugin (VST / AU / AAX)

Get Smooth Operator - or download the free demo. Smooth Operator by BABY Audio is an intelligent spectral processing plugin that uses a combination of resonance suppression, spectral compression and equalization to add shine and clarity to your tracks. It's one of the best vst plugins for achieving

babyaud.io

SO the TDR Nova does the trick. Turns out I already had it installed but never used it for some reason...

 

[Space_The_Face]

Does anybody uses a transient shaper plugin? Any recommendations on this?

I'm looking for a (free) plugin that takes the harshness out of the mix, without the drums losing their 'snap'...

ATM i'm using Auburn Sounds Couture, although it's free i'm not a big fan because it kind of flattens the mix.


Also, do you guys use it on the master or just the high freq instruments that needs to be shaped?

Dude..
I use a transient shaper on my entire drum bus. It cleans them up and makes them really tight and punchy.
Sometimes I remove a track, like the snare or OHH if they start to sound funky, but for the most part I rely on it heavily.
You could use a compressor and probably get the same or similar results, but so far using this in conjunction with a compressor on my kick, has gotten me the results that I've been most happy with.

Btw I use "Transient" by Sleepy Time

PLUGINS4FREE

PLUGINS 4 FREE - Free Audio Plug-ins and Archives

plugins4free.com

 

[Iron Keys]

I wouldn't use a transient shaper on a mix.

If ever it did call for it would have to be mega subtle.

On a mix you're probably better off using a compressor or multiband compressor, particularly for the issue you face.

Alternatively, maybe ideally, go tackle the offending sounds at source.

 

[Iron Keys]

but so far using this in conjunction with a compressor on my kick, has gotten me the results that I've been most happy with.

What sort of setting do you use on your compressor with it? What are you trying to achieve with this ?

 

[Space_The_Face]

What sort of setting do you use on your compressor with it? What are you trying to achieve with this ?

Well I'm not going to pretend like I really know the science behind it, but I like really punchy kicks. I like to feel them break out of the mix a little, just to the point where you can feel them thump the speakers.
The transient shaper really helps with that, but one day I just felt like I could get the kicks a little tighter. I tried messing with my settings on the shaper, I tried giving it some more low end in EQ, and I tried stand alone compression, but none of it really gave me that perfect amount of "punch" that I was looking for.
After that I threw my stock compressor on it (with the shaper still active) and found a preset called "death metal kick". It had a slow attack with fast release (don't really remember the ratio), and it just worked. It gave me the exact effect
I was looking for.
Since then I've tried different combinations but nothing else has really given me the same balanced effect. Basically it just sounds good so I roll with it.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Well I'm not going to pretend like I really know the science behind it, but I like really punchy kicks. I like to feel them break out of the mix a little, just to the point where you can feel them thump the speakers.
The transient shaper really helps with that, but one day I just felt like I could get the kicks a little tighter. I tried messing with my settings on the shaper, I tried giving it some more low end in EQ, and I tried stand alone compression, but none of it really gave me that perfect amount of "punch" that I was looking for.
After that I threw my stock compressor on it (with the shaper still active) and found a preset called "death metal kick". It had a slow attack with fast release (don't really remember the ratio), and it just worked. It gave me the exact effect
I was looking for.
Since then I've tried different combinations but nothing else has really given me the same balanced effect. Basically it just sounds good so I roll with it.

i dont use presets, every sound is different, so needs different settings. Just eq alone used to make my kicks cut through the mix, I have advanced my technique over the years by using parallel and side chained compression, now I use sidechained dynamic eq.

 

[Space_The_Face]

i dont use presets, every sound is different, so needs different settings. Just eq alone used to make my kicks cut through the mix, I have advanced my technique over the years by using parallel and side chained compression, now I use sidechained dynamic eq.

Yeah I will admit I'm still farely new to producing. I get hung up on compression a lot so sometimes I will start with a preset and tweak it until it does what I need it to do. I plan to wean myself off of that at some point.

 

[Iron Keys]

Well I'm not going to pretend like I really know the science behind it, but I like really punchy kicks. I like to feel them break out of the mix a little, just to the point where you can feel them thump the speakers.
The transient shaper really helps with that, but one day I just felt like I could get the kicks a little tighter. I tried messing with my settings on the shaper, I tried giving it some more low end in EQ, and I tried stand alone compression, but none of it really gave me that perfect amount of "punch" that I was looking for.
After that I threw my stock compressor on it (with the shaper still active) and found a preset called "death metal kick". It had a slow attack with fast release (don't really remember the ratio), and it just worked. It gave me the exact effect
I was looking for.
Since then I've tried different combinations but nothing else has really given me the same balanced effect. Basically it just sounds good so I roll with it.

nice. you use the transient shaper to make more attack?

 

[Iron Keys]

i dont use presets, every sound is different, so needs different settings. Just eq alone used to make my kicks cut through the mix, I have advanced my technique over the years by using parallel and side chained compression, now I use sidechained dynamic eq.

Yeah I will admit I'm still farely new to producing. I get hung up on compression a lot so sometimes I will start with a preset and tweak it until it does what I need it to do. I plan to wean myself off of that at some point.

me neither really. but lately found some one preset on one of my plugins that just seems to make my mix more punchy.

As 2Good said tho,every sound/mix is different, so sometimes it hits my mix too hard, but i kinda 'notice' when it does, then have a look to see which settings to dial back on a bit.

But the preset seems to just lift the mix, make it punch / pop a bit more.

 

[Space_The_Face]

nice. you use the transient shaper to make more attack?

Yeah I use it for more attack mainly. I also use it to hone in the transients on the high hats. Just makes everything sound more solid and tighter.