Two New Transient Designers From Surreal Machines (And One Is FREE!)

We featured Surreal Machines when they released their brilliant MODNETIC delay plugin and we’re happy to report the team has two new VST/AU transient plugins, IMPACT (€49) and ​CRACK (FREE)​, inspired to their original Max for Live counterparts.

Impact is a complete multi-band drum processing channel strip whereas its little sister Crack is a compact, easy to use transient shaper and dynamics tool (and FREE). Both plugins are designed primarily to work on drums but also excel on synths, guitars, vocals or even whole mixes or other groups.

Transient shaping is a process that allows you to quickly sculpt the sharpness of a sound and its dynamics. A transient is the short burst of energy at the beginning of a sound. With a transient shaper you can increase or decrease the beginning (attack) portion of the sound, making it more or less punchy; and you can increase or decrease the decay (sustain) portion of a sound, making the sound fade out slower or quicker (or even bloom in volume). With less sustain the sound will feel tighter and with more sustain the sound becomes fuller and even boomy.

Transient shaping is easier to use than a compressor for the same purpose and always works the same way no matter what the overall level of the signal is, as transient shaping is level independent with no need for a threshold. Think of the ​Attack and ​Sustain controls as “contrast dials” for your sound. You can quickly sharpen your sound, add more punch, make a sound more distant, take away reverb or rattle, make sounds gated in a very natural way, or even flatten your sound, smash your sounds up to make them fill the room or bend your sounds in unconventional and creative ways.

Of course both plugins come with carefully crafted presets. Both also feature comprehensive documentation, including plugin ‘walk-throughs’, ‘tips & tricks’ sections and detailed reference pages.

The plugins have been rewritten from scratch since the original Max For Live version to be fully optimized for both sound and performance in all modern DAWs, as well as reworked algorithms in key sonic areas.

The extra cool thing is that you can actually try the plugin without downloading or installing anything! Surreal Machines have a special online demo page you can visit with your (desktop) browser.

You can learn more about IMPACT and CRACK and get your copy visiting the Surreal Machines website.