# Transient Shaping Plugins



## paulmatthew (Aug 6, 2014)

I'm looking for a good , quality transient designer plugin which is easy to use and gives great results. So far I've tried a few and I have mixed reactions to each of them . I'm wondering if anyone has other suggestions or thoughts about which ones you already own. I will be using one mainly with electronic kick drums.

I already have tried the following : 

1)SPL Transient Designer - My favorite so far due to ease of use and quality of sound , gives quick results and detailed effect 

2)Fabfilter Saturn - There's a video demo from Fabfilter that shows how to achieve this , and while it works , I prefer an easier method and something that can be more precise 

3)Stilwell Transient Monster - works decently but distorts quickly 

4)Plug & Mix Transcontrol - I like this one too , easy to use and effective

5)Ircam / Flux Bittersweet V3 - another good one with a good sound to it , but doesn't seem to let you shape the attack very much

So far my clearcut choice at ths point is the SPL Transient Designer . I'm curious if there are other transient shaping plugins available that I haven't come across yet or that I may want to throw in to the mix before I make a buying choice with one of these.


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## gsilbers (Aug 6, 2014)

maybe an obvious one but i loved trans-x from waves.


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## H.R. (Aug 6, 2014)

I use Native Instruments Transient Master and I'm very happy with it.


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## _taylor (Aug 6, 2014)

Alloy 2 has a nice multiband transient shaper. All around good plug-in to have.


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## re-peat (Aug 7, 2014)

MeldaProduction has two transient shapers, a single-band one and a multi-band one.
What's more, both of them are included in this week's "Eternal Madness 50% Discount" (from now on, Melda will apparently offer each week several of their plug-ins and bundles at a 50% discount.)

I haven't tried these Melda's, entirely satisfied as I am with what I already have, I'm just saying that they exist. And, knowing a few other Melda tools a bit, are very likely to be quite good.

_


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## Jem7 (Aug 7, 2014)

I'm using Sonnox Transient Modulator and very happy with it.


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## paulmatthew (Aug 7, 2014)

I forgot about the Izotope Alloy 2 Transient Shaper. I own it and it's good to have that for the multiband option ! I also have the NI Transient Designer which I can only use in Gutar Rig 5, unfortunately I have Komplete 8 Ultimate and it appears that it is not available in a stand alone alone version unless I upgrade to 9. I also took a look at the Sonnox Transmod and Waves Trans-x and they were also very good transient shapers as well.

I believe I have changed my mind about the SPL Transient Designer. I was pretty much set on it until I tried the demo for the Meldaproduction Mtransient plugin . This thing is a transient beast. It has saturation , built in limiter to protect your ears and monitors , sounds just as good as the SPL and can do so much more . The GUI is customizable with knobs , sliders , or buttons and colors. It can be made simple to use or very extensive depending on the user. You can also adjust transients for mid/side / left + right . At 50% off right now , 29€ / 38 USD , the Mtransient is a no brainer buy. 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I did consider them all and chose according to features , sound and price. Though I was holding out to get the SPL , Mtransient's features and price are just too good to pass up. It makes me glad that I waited to get some extra input and suggestions regarding this.


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## TheUnfinished (Aug 7, 2014)

I use the SPL Transient Deisgner in UAD and it's terrific. Was particularly useful on taming hugely reverbed drums on a recent ambient project, without losing any of the ambience.


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## paulmatthew (Aug 7, 2014)

Was that achieved by turning down the sustain to cut down the release time of the attack? I've noticed these plugins can really cut out some of the reverb tails on certain sounds.


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## TheUnfinished (Aug 7, 2014)

Pretty much.


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## wst3 (Aug 7, 2014)

Another SPL fan - I too use it on the UAD cards, but the native version is just as good. Come to think of it, so too is the hardware.


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## Consona (Aug 7, 2014)

Sleepy-time Transient, it's free, sounds very good, but Windows only.

http://sleepytimedsp.com/software/str-bundle/


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## woodsdenis (Aug 7, 2014)

The Alloy 2 one is great. I would check out the Melda ones too.


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## Theseus (Aug 7, 2014)

wst3 @ Thu Aug 07 said:


> Another SPL fan - I too use it on the UAD cards, but the native version is just as good. Come to think of it, so too is the hardware.



Sadly, the native version coded by Brainworx is definitely not as good as the UAD version coded by UA engineers. It has been documented at length (the gain structure is totally different, UAD one being the only one coherent with the hardware). As far as I'm concerned, the UAD SPL TD is the best buy if you're looking for uncompromised quality AND simplicity.


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## wst3 (Aug 7, 2014)

Theseus @ Thu Aug 07 said:


> wst3 @ Thu Aug 07 said:
> 
> 
> > Another SPL fan - I too use it on the UAD cards, but the native version is just as good. Come to think of it, so too is the hardware.
> ...



Really? Gotta say that surprises me. 

I didn't spend a great deal of time with the native version demo (since I already had the UAD version) but I don't remember noticing much of a difference, maybe the controls were set differently for the same sound, but that was about it. I might just have to see if I can download the demo again.

I would agree that the UAD version is awfully close to the hardware.


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## Theseus (Aug 8, 2014)

In my experience, the differences between both plugins become very obvious specifically when you boost the attack quite some. And in this configuration, they both fall apart anyway in comparison with the hardware. They lose precision and definition, and distort in a not-so-pleasant way.

That being said, both are great useful plugins for most situations, I agree!


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## paulmatthew (Aug 8, 2014)

I just came across another one , but it is windows only at Sound Magic http://www.supremepiano.com/product/trans.html

After picking up the Meldaproduction Mtransient which I am loving so far , I also grabbed the SPL Mo-Verb and SPL De-Verb to compliment the Mtransient . Together these plugins make tweaking sounds/samples that much easier and enjoyable. It allows sound character enhancement many more possibilities than before , from attack , sustain ,to bringing out natural room reverb on samples or taking some away.


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## re-peat (Aug 8, 2014)

And there's another here: LVC's Transector..


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## JT3_Jon (Aug 8, 2014)

TransRekon from EarRekon. The best one I've tried (and I've tried a few): http://www.eareckon.com/en/products/tra ... haper.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KE79pam8QQ

I must say I usually love Melda's stuff, but I couldn't get Mtransient to sound good. Probably user error.


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## chimuelo (Aug 9, 2014)

The original SPL Transient Designer that was hardware was a game changer back in those days.
I have enjoyed the SPL DSP plug in since 2001 and use it to give punch to mic'd drums and gate effects.

Recently had to get the vocal FX of an old classic from the Canadian band called Saga for their tune "On The Loose."
It used an old 480L Inverse Reverb Algo, with a Ducking Delay and the SPL dialed in the gates. 
The Reverse Reverb and Ducking Delay are active at a certain db level, then are gated into silence when at the designated threshold.

I need the DSP plug ins as I require real time parameter modulation, For recording this could be edited in overdubs so DSP isn't a biggie.




free screen capture


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## Dom (Aug 9, 2014)

I don't know what platform you are on but Logic's stock enveloper plugin is good and flexible. We had to give a tired bass drum recording some punch and tried Enveloper, SPL Transient Designer Native, and SPL Transient Designer hardware.

In this instance, the Logic enveloper easily beat both SPL plugin and hardware, probably because it can be fine-tuned.


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