Attack Softener vs BLEASS Phase Mutant

Attack Softener is an effect that fades the beginning of each note you play to remove the attack transient. This allows you to make synth-like sounds with almost any instrument (guitar, bass, piano, etc.) HOW DOES IT WORK? It functions similarly to a transient shaper. Unlike a transient shaper though, it can bring the volume of attack sounds down to near zero quickly enough to silence the pick sound of an electric guitar in very fast music. WHAT IS IT USED FOR? It works with any instrument but we really like to use it with electric guitar. We recommend the following effect chain: Guitar -> Attack Softener -> Compressor -> Reverb. The combination of the attack softener and compressor is especially nice because the compressor keeps the volume balanced when playing clean solos but heavy compression intensifies the pick click noise, making it inappropriate for many styles of music. With the Attack Softener placed before the compressor you can get a nice, even clean solo tone that doesn't have punchy hard pick sounds. This allows you to play solos with a clean tone, where normally you would have to use distortion or overdrive to get sustain, now you can get that distorted "light touch" feel without the harshness of distortion. MORE TECHNICAL EXPLANATION OF HOW IT WORKS A transient shaper creates two volume envelopes. One rises immediately and falls slowly; the other rises slowly and falls slowly. The difference between these two envelopes indicates how far the volume should be reduced to silence the attack. However, changing the volume very quickly usually causes noise in the sound because of volume changes that happen naturally during the sustain part of the notes. This plugin is different from ordinary transient shapers because it combines several new methods to help it differentiate between real attack transients and other volume changes, and it uses dynamic filters that adjust the response time to ensure that it can respond quickly without introducing audible clicking sounds when the volume changes. IS THERE ANY OTHER EFFECT LIKE THIS OR IS IT SOMETHING NEW? EHX makes a pedal called Attack / Decay that does something similar. There are several other pedals that also do swell effects. All of them are designed for long fades and slow playing except the EHX one, which can operate faster by separating each new note onto its own audio channel using spectral processing. That spectral note separation distorts the tone signficiantly. This Attack Softener plugin is the only effect we are aware of that handles fast picking while preserving the original tone of the instrument.

Developing BLEASS Omega gave us the perfect opportunity to take a deep dive into the fascinating sonic capabilities of FM synthesis, and this sparked an innovative idea: A plugin that can apply the principles of frequency modulation to literally any source material. The result is BLEASS Phase Mutant. Where existing phase distortion plugins create their effect by using an audio signal to modulate itself, BLEASS Phase Mutant takes things to an entirely new level with the addition of an oscillator that can modulate the input signal or be modulated by it. This allows BLEASS Phase Mutant to fully harness FM’s ability to create complex and colourful harmonic distortions, achingly expressive tonal variations, and fascinating sonic hooks. BLEASS Phase Mutant’s oscillator tracks the input signal’s pitch, or can be set to a factor of that input pitch. It can also produce a range of different waveforms, all of which can be spread across the stereo field by offsetting the phase of left and right channels. In combination, these abilities open up a whole new universe of unique, modern-sounding effects that are perfect for vocals, basses, arpeggios and leads. You’re going to love what BLEASS Phase Mutant can do to your drum and percussion parts too! BLEASS Phase Mutant also offers 2 LFOs, an Envelope Follower and a Motion Sequencer with multiple modulation destinations, which you can easily visualize. BLEASS Phase Mutant is also available for Mac & Windows. Find more information and tutorials on https://www.bleass.com/phasemutant/