A transient shaper is a powerful tool that can be used to shape the attack and sustain of a sound, allowing you to adjust its character and impact. With a transient shaper, you can make a sound more punchy, increase its sustain, or even reduce unwanted noise. While there are many paid transient shaper plugins available, there are also some great free options that can be just as effective. In this blog post, we'll take a look at some of the best free transient shapers that you can add to your toolkit.
Here are the Best FREE Transient Shaper VST Plugins:
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Transient Shaper by Kilohearts.
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Bitter Sweet by Flux.
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Couture by Auburn Sounds.
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Crack by Surreal Machines.
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Transprec by Apisonic Labs.
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Transpire Sonic Anomaly.
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TRAX by Analog Obsession.
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TRANSIENT by Sleepy-Time Records.
Transient Shaper by Kilohearts
Kilohearts Transient Shaper is by far one of the best free transient shapers out there The plugin provides the usual controls that you would expect from a transient shaper like Attack, Sustain, Speed, Clip, but what makes it special is the Pump control and the option to sidechain an external signal.
The Attack control determines the amount of amplification or attenuation of the transient, allowing users to shape the intensity of the initial hit. The Pump control, on the other hand, emphasizes the transient without increasing the level by adjusting the amount of attenuation directly after the transient.
The Sustain control enables users to adjust the amplification or attenuation of the sustained sound. The Speed control adjusts the speed of the transient modification, with higher values resulting in snappier sound and lower values resulting in smoother curves.
It also comes with a clipper , when enabled, ensures that the output signal is clipped to 0dB. Lastly, the Sidechain control enables the detection of transients based on a secondary input, and the effect is then applied to the main input, adding an extra level of control to the plugin's functionality.
Overall, Kilohearts Transient Shaper is an effective tool for transient shaping.
Bitter Sweet by Flux.
Bitter Sweet is a transient processor developed by Flux:: that enables you to easily edit the transients in your audio tracks. With a simple turn of a knob, Turning the knob to Sweet will reduce the transients, while turning it to Bitter will magnify them.
Bitter Sweet has three different modes for processing transients: fast, medium, and slow. This allows you to choose the mode that best suits your audio material and desired processing speed. Additionally, Bitter Sweet has three different operation modes: Main, Center, and Stereo. The Main mode processes the regular stereo signal, while the Center and Stereo modes engage an internal Mid/Side encoder to process only the Mid or Side channels, respectively. This makes Bitter Sweet particularly efficient for processing snare and kick drums in the Center mode, and panned rhythmic instruments in the Stereo mode.
The Period control in Bitter Sweet sets the range of the time window used to detect transients that will be processed. This gives you fine control over the processing of your audio material and allows you to tailor the effect to your specific needs. Finally, the Link to Output Gain feature in Bitter Sweet compensates the output gain, resulting in a nearly constant gain level.
Overall, Bitter Sweet is a simple and powerful tool that is used by hundreds of thousands of producers.
Couture by Auburn Sounds.
If you're looking for a powerful tool to shape the transients in your audio tracks, then look no further than Coutrue transient shaper. With its intuitive controls and advanced features, it's the perfect solution for adding punch to your sounds.
The Sharpen knob allows you to emphasize or de-emphasize the attacks and releases of your audio signals. Turning it to the right will emphasize the attacks and de-emphasize the releases, while turning it to the left will do the opposite.
The x1 / x2 / x3 controls affect the quantity of transient sharpening or softening, giving you even greater control over the shaping process. The Speed control, on the other hand, affects how long the effect applies after a transient, allowing you to fine-tune the sound to your liking.
Another important feature of Coutrue transient shaper is the Front/Back knob, which affects where in the transient the effect applies - the start of the initial hit or the sustain part of the sound. The Off/20 Range control limits the possible gain change to +20 dB or -20 dB, making it useful for extreme settings that could otherwise have a dramatic effect on dynamics.
To adjust the wet/dry mix of the effect, you can use the Amount knob. A lower value will let some of the unmodified signal through, giving you greater control over the final sound.
The Detector Settings also offer great flexibility. You can choose from three different modes - Flat, Sybil, and Human - to treat the energy in the detector differently based on their perceived loudness or to affect harsh frequencies. Bass Detect, meanwhile, allows you to change how much the transient shaper reacts to bass.
Overall, Coutrue transient shaper is a powerful and versatile tool that can help you shape your audio signals in creative ways. it's a must-have tool in your arsenal.
Crack by Surreal Machines.
Crack is an interesting transient shaper plugin It provides two main controls, the Attack and Sustain knobs, which allow you to adjust the attack and sustain characteristics of your audio, respectively.
By moving the Attack knob to the right, you can emphasize the transient, making it more pronounced and punchy. moving it to the left will reduce the transient, resulting in a smoother and more sustained sound. Similarly, adjusting the Sustain knob to the right will increase the sustain portion of the sound, while moving it to the left will reduce it.
The plugin also includes a Dynamics section, which offers four different types of processing to choose from, including Thru, Clip, Limiter, and Maximizer.
The Dry/Wet knob allows you to blend between the original signal and the affected signal, giving you further control over the final sound.
Overall, Crack is a nice tool for shaping the transient response of your audio.
Transprec by Apisonic Labs.
Transperc is a powerful transient shaper plugin that can help you shape the transients and sustain of your percussive material or any sound that requires precise transient processing.
With standard transient shaper controls for Attack and Sustain, Transperc offers precise control over the envelope of your sound. Additionally, the plugin features a Speed Control that allows you to adjust the reaction time of the transient processor, giving you even more control over the shaping process.
Transperc also has an optional Filter section that can be used after the transient shaping. While it would be more useful if the filter section was for the detection of the transient, it can still be a useful to cut unwanted frequencies. The plugin features separate controls for Wet and Dry signal, allowing you to balance the original and processed signal to your liking.
The plugin also offers an Overall Gain control, Additionally, there's an optional Hard Clipper that clips anything that peaks above 0dB.
Finally, Transperc has a resizable GUI, which can be adjusted to fit your screen size and workflow preferences. Transperc can be a valuable addition to your audio processing toolkit.
Transpire Sonic Anomaly
If you're looking for a powerful yet straightforward way to enhance the transients and sustain parts of your audio, the Transpire transient processor plugin might be just what you need. Designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, this plugin features only four main controls, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced producers.
The Attack knob is the key to enhancing or dampening the transient part of your audio material, allowing you to make it punchier or smoother depending on your needs. Meanwhile, the Sustain knob can be used to adjust the sustain part of the sound, giving you more control over its overall shape and character.
To fine-tune the amount of detail that Transpire processes, you can use the Sensitivity knob. This is particularly useful for non-percussive material, as a lower sensitivity setting will make it react less to quitter transients resulting in a more natural and transparent sound.
It also comes with a built-in clipper that can be toggled on and off by clicking on the clip indicator. Finally, Transpire has resizable GUI that allows you to adjust the size of the plugin to fit your screen.
In summary, if you're looking for a powerful and easy-to-use transient processor plugin, Transpire is definitely worth checking out. With its simple yet effective controls, built-in clipper, and resizable GUI, it provides everything you need to take your audio material to the next level.
TRAX by Analog Obsession.
TRAX by Analog Obsession is a decent transient shaper that allows you to enhance or dampen the transient and sustain parts of your audio. With a simple GUI design, TRAX features only three main control knobs - Attack, Sustain, and Output gain, making it easy to use. Additionally, TRAX offers a 4X oversampling feature that can be toggled on and off by clicking on the Analog Obsession label. The only downside is that the GUI cannot be resized.
TRANSIENT by Sleepy-Time Records
