Sharpen

Parameters

Amount — Sharpening intensity, 0–5. 0 is no effect; 1 is moderate sharpening (subtle definition boost); higher values progressively exaggerate spectral edges and contrast between adjacent frequency bins. Above 3 the result starts to sound artificial, “buzzy” or grainy as the algorithm over-emphasizes thin spectral features. Push high for sound-design crunch; keep low (0.5–1.5) for transparent definition enhancement.

Additional controls

Kernel — Convolution kernel size for the Laplacian filter:

• 3x3 — small, fast, more aggressive sharpening. Punchier edges, more obvious effect.
• 5x5 — larger, smoother sharpening. More gradual emphasis, less artifact-prone, slightly higher CPU.

Use 3x3 for surgical sharpening on dull material; 5x5 for a more polished, transparent enhancement.

Phase — How phase information is handled when reconstructing the sharpened signal:

• Preserve — keeps original phase intact (cleanest, recommended default for most content).
• Blend — interpolates between original and modified phase.
• Dominant — uses the loudest bin’s phase for surrounding bins.
• Complex — sharpens the complex spectrum directly (can produce phase artifacts on tonal material).

For most use cases, Preserve gives the most natural results.

About Sharpen

Sharpen applies a Laplacian convolution kernel (the same image-processing filter used to enhance edges in photos) to the spectral magnitude. In the spectral domain this means frequency edges — bins that are louder than their neighbors get pushed further above, bins that are quieter get pushed further below. The result is increased spectral contrast: tonal content becomes more defined, dull source material gains clarity and presence. Pair with Smooth (the inverse operation) to compare different spectral textures, or use Sharpen + heavy mix on “boring” sources to add sparkle and definition. The visual analogy holds: sharpening makes spectral edges pop, just as it does pixel edges.

Generated 2026-05-05 from K2K_Dev@96730bdc by scripts/gen_lexique.py. Edit _intros/ or _overrides/, not this file.