Spectral Transient Shaper

Parameters

Attack — Gain (in dB) applied to the attack portion of each frequency band, −24 to +24. Positive values emphasize attacks per-band — sharper, more present transients. Negative values soften attacks — smoother, more sustained sound. Because shaping is per-band, you can sharpen percussive top-end while leaving low-end thump alone, or vice versa.

Sustain — Gain (in dB) applied to the sustain portion of each frequency band, −24 to +24. Positive values emphasize sustain — longer-feeling notes, more body, more room sound coming through. Negative values cut sustain — drier, tighter, more rhythmically articulated. Combine with attack for surgical transient/sustain balance per frequency.

Sensitivity — How aggressively the per-band attack/sustain split is computed, 0–100%. Low values produce a soft, slow distinction between attack and sustain — gentler shaping. High values produce a sharp, fast distinction — more aggressive shaping. Adjust to fit the source material: percussive sources tolerate (and benefit from) high sensitivity; smooth sustained material works better with lower values.

Output Gain — Output makeup gain in dB, −12 to +12. Compensates for the level changes from attack/sustain shaping.

Additional controls

Fast Time — Fast envelope follower time constant in ms, 0.1–10. Sets how quickly the “attack” envelope tracks per-band level. Shorter values catch sharper transients (closer to “click” detection); longer values track broader attacks (closer to “note onset” detection). The fast/slow envelope difference is what defines attack vs. sustain — fast catches what slow misses.

Slow Time — Slow envelope follower time constant in ms, 10–200. Sets how quickly the “sustain” envelope tracks per-band level. Should always be substantially slower than fast_time — that’s how the shaper distinguishes attack from sustain. Longer values produce a more pronounced split.

Bands — Number of frequency bands processed independently, 1–32. More bands = more surgical shaping per frequency range. With 32 bands you can boost transient attack on snare hi-frequencies while leaving bass body untouched and softening cymbal sustain — all simultaneously.

About Spectral Transient Shaper

Most transient shapers are broadband: they detect transients across the whole signal and boost or cut them globally. A spectral transient shaper does this per-band. The result is fundamentally different: you can sharpen the click of a kick drum without sharpening the body, or extend the air of a cymbal without extending the thud of the kick underneath it. The fast/slow envelope difference per band is what cleanly separates attack from sustain — adjust fast_time and slow_time to fit the source’s natural transient/sustain ratio. For broadband transient processing, see Phase 7’s TransientExtractor (event-based) or the time-domain Compressor with fast attack.

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