Techivation have introduced T-Puncher, an innovative transient shaper which has been designed to control punch and impact whilst maintaining a natural and musical sound. Also equipped with a variable saturation control, T-Puncher promises to offer results that range from subtle to dramatic, either on individual sources or across entire mixes.
The GUI follows the same clean, intuitive layout as Techivation’s previous offerings, with the key shaping functionality provided by a large central Punchiness knob that ranges from -100 through to +100 %. The level of transients is reduced by negative values and increased by positive ones, whilst the plug-in’s default value of 0% applies no processing at all.
Two operation mode buttons modify the behaviour of the Punchiness control: a Soft setting provides a subtle result, whilst more aggressive sounds are achievable by switching to the Hard mode. A Filter control allows users to target a specific frequency range for transient processing to be applied to, and ranges from 40Hz to 20kHz.
T-Puncher's GUI follows the same format as Techivation's other plug-ins, sporting a clean and intuitive design. An Attack knob provides further control over transients, offering a way either increase or decrease their presence within a mix, and a Soft Clip mode can be engaged to help prevent unwanted distortion when using more aggressive settings. In terms of more welcome distortion, saturation can be introduced to the signal via T-Puncher’s Smoother control, which Techivation say is a great way of rounding off aggressive transients.
In addition to being used as a stereo processor, two additional modes (Mid and Sides) are available, which enable processing of just the mid or sides elements of a stereo signal. A Solo button allows users to audition just the processed audio signal, and its placement after the plug-in’s Filter section makes it a useful tool when choosing a range to apply processing to. The plug-in is also equipped with a mix control to allow for parallel processing.
T-Puncher also features the same useful functionality found in Techivation’s other offerings, with an A/B comparison tool and undo/redo functions built into the plug-in itself. The GUI is scalable between 80 and 150 %, and a preset menu offers a selection of built-in presets as well as allowing users to save and recall their own settings.
T-Puncher is available in VST, VST3, AU and AAX formats, and is supported on Windows 7 and above, as well as macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) and above. It also natively supports Apple’s M1/M2 processors.
Pricing & Availability
T-Puncher is available now from the Techivation website for an introductory price of $39 until 10 October 2022, after which the price will rise to $79. During this same period, owners of other premium Techivation plug-ins are able to purchase T-Puncher for a special loyalty price of $29.
