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Flash Is A FREE Transient Shaper Plugin By Wavesfactory

By 30 Comments2 Mins Read
Wavesfactory Debuts Flash A FREE Transient Shaper Plugin

Wavesfactory releases Flash, a freeware transient shaper plugin for Windows and macOS.

Good quality freeware transient shapers are a little hard to come by.

You have great examples, like the formerly paid Kilohearts Transient Shaper. However, it does lack some key functions. Wavesfactory has decided to take its own crack (sorry) at things with the introduction of Flash.

Flash is a handsomely designed plugin with the same slick interface you can expect to find in the rest of Wavesfactory’s catalog.

At first glance, you have a simple attack and sustain knob. These are fairly common for folks used to a transient shaper. Turning the attack to the right greatly increases the perceived volume of the initial sound of your signal, and turning it to the left softens it.

This likewise goes for sustain, with the sound being far bolder as the knob goes right and the duration of the sound shortening with turning it to the left. It works quite well, and if that was all this transient shaper could do, it would still be worth a look.

Thankfully, Wavesfactory has opted to add a little more functionality to Flash.

You can blend your unaffected dry signal with the mix knob, so parallel processing is easily done. You can also decide whether to place the affected transients in the mid, side or some blend thereof. This works quite well for kick and snare, and I found some utility for it on clean guitars, too.

Probably the most immediately crucial feature is the inclusion of a clipper into the output path.

Affecting transients can greatly alter the gain of your signal and may result in overages. Engaging the clipper leaves it at a nice level without fear of going past 0 on the master.

All said, Flash is a wonderfully designed transient shaper plugin that’s well worth your time. It certainly does great on drums, but can also do some good work on guitars, keys, and other elements with a percussive element to them.

Flash is available for Windows and Mac computers. Supported plugin formats are VST, VST3, AAX, and AU. Apple Silicon is natively supported, as well as older Intel-based Macs.

Download: Flash

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Liam is a producer, mixing engineer, and compressor aficionado. When not mixing, he can be found pretending to play guitar, as he has been doing for the last 20 years.

30 Comments

  1. Neytcev

     on

    i can’t find the minimum system requirements, even on the dev’s site,
    but Sustain parameter stops the sound if any value different from 0,
    probably everything else is working well. Logic 10.1, Mac OSX 10.10.

    Reply

    • alex

       on

      System requirements
      macOS:
      – 10.9 or higher.
      – DAW with sidechain functionality.
      – Intel and M1 supported.

      Windows:
      – 7, 8 or 10.
      – DAW with sidechain functionality.

      Reply

      • alex

         on

        Sorry, DAW with sidechain functionality isn’t a requirement for all of their plugs :) I copied it from the Trackspacer product page which does need it. The rest is the same for all of the plugs.

        Reply

  2. alex

     on

    Thx! Nice and simple as all other Wavesfactory freebies. Even though I already have several transient shapers, free and paid, I can see myself using it a lot.

    Reply

      • mx

         on

        i also use it regularly and dont regret buying it, its a good tool to have in the repertoire, but i think it has to be used with care. sometimes its action can be heard and theres a thin line between helping and doing too much in a bad audible way. that can already happen between 10 and 13 percent or so, also with adjusting all parameters there are (filters and attack & release times).
        generally i find myself not exaggerating with it and rather do some other things on top to help the problems i use trackspacer for, like volume automations and eq moves that help and so on.

        Reply

  5. shane

     on

    chaining 2 seems to work well to ‘biggify’ drums buss
    first instance- sustain control up for the mid
    second one – the attack 100%- for the sides

    Reply

  7. human

     on

    It’s so bloated for a basic transient shaper. Transpire and Transperc are also free, faster and have a speed control which is great for modulation. Of course, Transgressor remains king.

    Reply

    • Brenny C

       on

      There is absolutely nothing about Wavesfactory’s Flash that is “bloated.” It’s as simple as can be and it sounds fantastic. Incredible free plugin! It might just be my favorite transient shaper!

      Reply

    • JOP

       on

      The production of drivel is stimulated whenever the felt obligation to speak out becomes greater than the knowledge of the facts.

      Reply

  8. Oliver

     on

    8Dio Flashsale: 15$ off for using this code – Code Link: http://8diocom.refr.cc/oliverniess

    I don’t usually do this kind of thing. But the BAZANTAR is absolutely great! Anyone looking for a string orchestra should check out Anthology Strings. Both are on sale right now and there is a $15 discount with the code. If you use the code, I’ll get a credit as well.

    Bazanter: https://8dio.com/products/the-new-bazantar?variant=41309997334728
    Anthology Strings: https://8dio.com/products/anthology-vst-au-aax-samples-kontakt-instrument?variant=41309980491976

    Win win :)

    Reply

    • Nick

       on

      “FRIEND-JRNBH8J discount code isn’t available to you right now”, even on items that aren’t on sale. But thanks.

      Reply

      • Oliver

         on

        Maybe its because you bought something in the past? This code is for new custumers only as I can see :(

        If you made a account to get the freebies in the past, you can make another one to buy something… like I do. The code should be accept then.

        Reply
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