transhape vs transientcontroller vs other transient processors

zappazapper · 03-02-2015, 01:25 AM

Hello all, first time poster here... relatively new to REAPER and certainly new to the idea of users writing plugins... very cool... too bad I'm dumb

if I knew what I was doing I'm sure I'd have some great ideas :P

Anyway I've recently been experimenting with transient processors and have a few questions about the js:loser plugins "transhape" and "transientcontroller" (I'm not smart enough to tell the differences just by reading the plugin code)... my first experiments were with the transhape plugin on drums to increase the attack, which invariably runs the output volume into clipping... then I noticed that the transientcontroller plugin had the same controls as transhape except it had a volume control... the thing is that, at least to my ears, the two plugins don't sound the same when the attack and sustain are set the same and the volume on the transientcontroller is at unity... was I wrong in assuming that transientcontroller was just transhape with a volume control?

Also, I'm curious as to the intended use of the transhaper plugin versus some of the other transient processor plugins I've found and played around with in the last few days (NI Transient Master, Stillwell Transient Monster, Waves TransX). I find the effect of transhape to be much more pronounced, to the point of being quite harsh at very high settings. This is not a criticism - I actually find the transhape plugin with the attack set to 100 to be perfect for feeding the sidechain of the ReaGate plugin just because the effect is so pronounced. I don't have enough experience with transient processing to claim that the other plugins sound more "musical" or anything like that, but they certainly are more subtle. Was transhape designed to be more of a "technical solution" kind of a plugin vs a "character" type of effect? Or am I letting JSFX's lack of slick graphics affect my perception?

Anyway, any responses are appreciated... thank you...

zappazapper · 03-03-2015, 12:53 AM

Is this the wrong place for this question?

DarkStar · 03-03-2015, 01:50 AM

Hello zappazapper and welcome to these forums. You'll find many helpful people here and a lot of useful information.

Right forum, but I guess you'll need LOSER or another DSP developer to comment on the differences between the 2 JS FX and the comparisons with third-arty products.

As for graphical JS FX - it is possible but takes quite a bit of work.

zappazapper · 03-03-2015, 02:05 AM

Thank you DarkStar... it occurred to me that maybe this particular section of the forum was for discussions about actually PROGRAMMING these effects (which is well beyond my understanding), and not about actually applying them... I'm glad that this indeed the right place...

I'm really just unaware of how much progress the community has made on figuring out how to program these things, so I don't know if, say, the transhape plugin is intentionally designed to function the way it does or if the theory behind the effect has not yet been completely worked out and so the plugin is more of a "proof-of-concept"... I mean, if you look at the code, it's an incredibly small program... the NI installer was over 50 Mb, and that can't be all graphics, right?

Anyway, it's more my lack of experience with what transient processors are "supposed to" sound like than it is any kind of judgement call on my part. So far the transhape is the most useful transient processor I've tried, but my lack of experience makes me think that maybe I'm missing the point with these other plugins that I'm assuming had more resources behind the development.

Anyway, thanks, I'll be patient now that I know I'm in the right place