Flux:: – BitterSweet v3 | HONEST review (Free Transient Processing Plugin 2020)
Transient Processing – A Hidden Gem?
Transient processing is an often overlooked audio processing effect that can result in drastic changes to your sounds.
The transient of a sound is the short amplitude change at the beginning of a waveform (or the “attack”). Processing this element of a sound can completely transform the timbre and character of the end result.
For example, processing the transient of a kick drum can be used to smooth out the audio peaks, allowing the kick drum to sit back within the mix. Alternatively, it can give a sharper, crisper kick sound, depending on how the transients are processed.
Transient processing is, in many ways, similar to audio compression. However, sometimes it can be more effective than compression due to the simplicity and speed of transient processing plugins.
For some strange reason, transient processing isn’t as well known as effects such as reverb, compression, delay, EQ etc. This is particularly surprising given how easy and straight-forward this effect is to understand and use effectively.
A Piece of Cake
One transient processing plugin that stands out from the rest is Flux’s BitterSweet v3.
This free plugin is a wildly popular choice for both beginner and advanced producers looking for simple, no-nonsense transient processing.
Bittersweet’s engine is incredibly easy to use, with a large, central knob allowing you to dial between “sweet” and “bitter” transients. Adding more of the “sweet” value creates a softer, smoother sound with more gentle transients. The “bitter” value gives harsher, more impactful transients.
In order to really test the power of BitterSweet, I tested this plugin on a variety of sounds. Snares and clap sounds worked particularly well, giving balanced results of rounded, understated “sweet” hits, to dynamic, more defined “bitter” snare sounds. Kicks and toms also sound fantastic, and Bittersweet is clearly able to process the transients of a bass-y sound without giving a muddy low end. Even certain instrumental samples such as piano samples work really well with BitterSweet too, especially for slightly smoothing the transients of harsher notes or chords.
There’s a certain tendency with other transient processor plugins for the boosted transient function to sound considerably better than the decreased transients (in this case, adding more “sweet” to a sound). Thankfully, this is not the case with BitterSweet v3. The “sweet” function can give some really remarkable results, and genuinely rivals other commercial transient processors in terms of sound quality and consistency.
Additional Controls
BitterSweet has a very stripped-back design, but there are a few additional features around the central knob that are worth mentioning.
In the top left, you have fast, medium and slow attack controls, which can be attributed to either the “sweet” or the “bitter” transients.
Under the bitter/sweet knob, you have a period control, which essentially determines how fast the plugin senses and reacts to incoming transients.
There’s a really useful Link button on the right hand side that, when activated, links the transient processing attack to the gain of the sound. Therefore, increasing the attack will increase the gain.
The Mode control in the bottom left of the interface allows to the choose whether you are editing the sides or the center of the sound. This can be particularly useful for processing large, spacious stereo pads.
Short and Sweet
Flux’s BitterSweet v3 is an ideal option for fast transient processing with a basic, intuitive interface. It’s no doubt missing a few features, such as a split frequency option, but bear in mind this is a free product, so it’s bound to be fairly rudimentary.
It has to be said, in terms of sound quality and ease of use, downloading this free plugin is an absolute no-brainer.
You can download this free plugin over at flux.audio.
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