Free ATKTransientShaper VST/AU Plugin By Matthieu Brucher

Matthieu Brucher has introduced ATKTransientShaper, a freeware cross-platform transient shaper effect in VST and AU plugin formats for PC and Mac based host applications.

Matthieu Brucher’s plugins are created using the Audio Toolkit (a BSD licensed DSP library for real-time processing of audio material) and are generally well made, as well as quite efficient in terms of CPU usage. ATKTransientShaper is no exception to this rule, packing all the basic transient shaping functionality you may need in a simple (if not a bit too wide) user interface, optimized for use on less powerful hardware.

The user interface features a set of twelve controls which are clearly labeled, but also slightly confusing (at least they were for me). After spending some time with the plugin, what each knob does becomes quite obvious. Still, it’s a good idea to at least read the developer’s description of the controls first, so that you figure them out before testing ATKTransientShaper in your DAW. Going from left to right, there’s the RMS knob, the Attack and Release time and ratio knobs, Threshold, Slope and Softness controls, Color knob (which increases or decreases the gain around the threshold), Quality (the amount of color), Make-up and Mix parameters.

ATKTransientShaper can be downloaded directly from the developer’s website. It is completely free to download and use, with optional donations if you want to support the developer’s future work. You can download the plugin as a simple DLL file, or an EXE installer which will extract the plugin files to a designated directory on your hard drive.

ATKTransientShaper is available for free download via Matthieu Brucher’s website (761.9 kB download size, DLL file, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU plugin format for Windows & Mac OS).