A true one of a kind, Transgressor goes beyond the limits of standard transient designers. It gives you the ability to shape the sound of drums and other instruments not only in terms of attack and sustain, but also in terms of timbre. Transgressor combines a transient designer with two equalizers. Sounds great, doesn't it? Will any EQ plugin do? Au contraire mon frère. Transgressor not only lets you EQ the attack and sustain portions of the instrument envelope individually (yes, you read that right; the attack can be EQ'd differently from the sustain), but it also lets you shape specific low, mid, and high frequencies independently on each. What if you need a brighter attack but want to keep the dark resonance of the toms or kick drum? Maybe you need more midrange attack but want to brighten the resonance of a hi-hat? Perhaps you're happy with the overall sound of the snare, but the attack is too bright. The answer is Transgressor (you should have seen it coming). Only Transgressor gives you the ability to control transients and sustain without compromising one for the other.

Just the facts:

• Hybrid transient designer with two 3-band equalizers with selectable slopes
• Gain controls let you boost or cut transients and sustain independently
• The mix knob lets you adjust the dry/wet signal
• The adjustable transient detector lets you control sensitivity and eliminate false triggering from bleed
• Internal or external detector sidechain control
• Sidechain EQ lets you shape the frequencies that trigger the detector
• Three sidechain modes with a "listen" function to monitor the sidechain signal
• Retrigger controls the time between triggered events
• A/B preset comparison
• Factory presets to get you started

Individual transient and sustain EQ

EQ plugins only make global changes to an instrument; anything you do to the transient is also done to the sustain and decay. Even dynamic equalizers change the entire envelope, even if only momentarily. Transgressor gives you 2 equalizers. One for its attack and another for its sustain, allowing you to shape exactly how you want your attack to sound. There are three bands in each EQ section (low, mid, and high) with variable frequency selection and gain for each band. Each band also gives you three selectable filter types that are particularly suited for each band. For example, the low band has high pass, low shelf, and bell, while the mid band has bell, band pass, and tilt, which boosts the highs while cutting the lows and vice versa.

EQ applications

Want to add bite to your snare without increasing the snare's ring? Transgressor is your go-to plugin. Need to reduce the timbre of your snare without changing the tone? No problem. Transgressor does it easily. Transgressor is also a great tool for reamping a snare. The high-frequency attack coming from a speaker will not sufficiently excite the head. It needs midrange information for that to happen, which requires a transient designer and dramatic EQ. Transgressor's ability to boost the gain in the low and midrange portion of the attack while cutting the sustain lets you do it in a simple process. Even better, it gives you the ability to easily create the sound of a reamped snare with on-the-fly adjustments.

If you've ever fallen asleep on the control room couch while the producer and drummer went through every snare in the known universe to find the right one, only to be replaced in the mix by CPU-hungry software, Transgressor can save you both time and CPU resources. Don't like the snare the client sent you? Forget time-consuming snare sample hunting. Transgressor's powerful EQ and resonance and transient modeling capabilities can transform the sound of any drum to fit the song and your taste.

Not only for drums, Transgressor can also bring out the snap and pop of a funk bass without turning it into a baritone guitar. Furthermore, you can get really smart and create drums and instruments with a unique sound that will have other producers calling you to find out how you got that sound.

Sidechain wizardry

In addition to giving you full control over the sound of your transients, Transgressor adds another layer of creativity by allowing you to use the detector with an external sidechain. This lets you adjust the EQ and sustain of any instrument triggered by another. For example, some engineers use room mics just to create ambience. However, if you mix like Chris Lord-Alge and derive the body of your drum sound from the room mics, you might find that you need to boost the attack on the snare hits. Put Transgressor on your room mics and route the snare to the sidechain. Then, the transients will only be triggered when the snare is hit, but they will affect the sound of the room mics. This is very effective for getting big percussion sounds without washing them out in the reverb.

Whether it's punchy tight drums or big, sustaining drums, Transgressor lets you shape them exactly the way you want. Download the demo now and be forgiven for all your transient sins.