Now, a static EQ doesn’t work because it takes too much life out of the signal. Sometimes an acoustic guitar or a piano comes my way and it’s just too bright for the mix. For mellowing overly bright pianos or acoustic guitars When pushed, however, it may not sound natural, so do be tasteful.įor an example, check out this drum loop.ģ. No matter what unsubtle sound you’re going for, the transient shaper can get you there quickly. Decreasing the release will have the opposite effect, excising the room. If you crank that release, you’ll feel more roomy presence after that slice. If you crank that attack knob, each kick, snare, and hi hat will feel like it’s slicing you more. You could also parallel-process it in the “New York” style.īut for a quick-to-achieve in-your-face face sound, try reaching for a transient shaper first. If you’re given a drum loop and you want to make it sound livelier and more dynamic-something with more attitude, sure, you could compress it in all manner of ways. So without further delay, let’s cover six times a transient shaper just might beat a compressor. Also, don’t let relative easiness lull you into thinking they accomplish simple feats transient shapers can either engender or serve as the basis of complicated and rewarding sounds. They may have simple controls, but don’t let their ease of operation fool you: it’s just as easy to foul up a sound with a transient shaper as it is to serve the music at hand. “Snap” and “smack” are words often used in conjunction with transient shapers, though the process can also have the opposite effect, dulling the impact of a sound, or enhancing its sustain. Personally, I like to think of transient shapers as sound sharpeners-processors that create a sense of dynamic excitement. Instead you’re often presented two rather simple knobs: attack and release. You won’t find a threshold or ratio control. However, transient shapers do not boast the typical controls you’d see on a compressor. Transient shapers involve similar principles you’d see in compression and expansion in fact, the original hardware transient shapers were composed out of VCA circuits-the same circuits found in many of your favorite hardware compressors. Think of a drum hit, a guitar strum, a vocal consonant, or anything else with a hard beginning. So when we talk of transients, we usually mean sounds with sudden, initial bursts of energy. There is, by definition, an envelope to every sound-a signal must always go from silence to an amplitude for it to be audible-but a transient is more of a sudden burst than a gradual onset. They don’t have the magic of doing the job for you, but they will definitely help shape the tone in the best way possible.In layman's terms, the transient is the initial part of a sound, its arrival. The sonic character is the main thing you should consider when pulling the trigger on the buy button.Īll these tools will make your mix sound the way you want. They require some commitment to your wallet, but the number of features and the quality of performance they offer is among the very best you can find around nowadays. These are the elite of the digital realm. Get it at Plugin Boutique Honorable mentions The same goes for the Classic, Natural, and Smooth modes.Īlso, the Mojo knob is an optional plus that can help achieve a more authentic and rich sound. Having three different modes for Kick, Snare, and Bus multiplies the value of this plugin by 3. It features a lot of options all packed in an easy-to-use interface. This is probably the best-designed transient shaper GUI-wise. ![]() However, this doesn’t make them not worthy of your attention. These plug-ins are all available for free. The following list gathers reviews based on personal experience, peers experience and reviews by other creators found online. Given the nature of the processing, some transient shapers come with a built-in limiter or soft clipper to prevent the signal to get over 0dBFS. Its main application is on drums, but it can actually be used on whatever percussive or plucked kind of sound.Īlong with compression and gating, transient shaping can help make a sound fit nicely in the mix. So, traditional transient shapers don’t come with time settings like most other dynamic processors, but most recent plug-ins on the market offer some more control over the envelope curve and also multi-band processing. The main purpose of a transient shaper is either increasing or attenuating the attack and/or sustain of a sound. A transient shaper is a tool designed to tweak the envelope of a sound, generally coming with two main parameters (Attack and Sustain), plus other optional ones.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |