Transient Shaper: Dual-Band Transient Processor by Softube

Transient shaping lets you sharpen or soften the onset of a sound and lengthen or shorten its decay. Transient Shaper adds a dual-band layer to this technique. Softube says this lets you affect only the treble or bass portion of a sound, with separate controls for Sustain and Punch, while leaving the rest untouched.

The crossover frequency is user selectable, so you decide where the split between bands falls. The Punch behavior can also be set to Fast or Slow, which changes how the processing responds to the transient.

On drum overheads, you can raise Sustain with the frequency control set to Wide to stretch the room sound and cymbals together. Setting the switch to Hi limits the Sustain processing to the high frequencies, so the cymbals and room change while the toms stay as they are. Setting it to Lo applies the effect only to the low end of the toms.

The same frequency focus applies beyond percussion. Softube suggests adding high-frequency Punch to a vocal track for more presence, or reducing Punch for a darker, rounder tone. The developer lists piano, bass, guitar and electronic drums among the sources it works on.