HitStrip

Name: HitStrip
Price: 99 USD
Author: Swivel Audio

by Swivel Audio · Channel Strip · Modular channel strip

Not rated yet

HitStrip is a modular channel strip from Swivel Audio with nine processing modules and three EQ styles on a single page.

It ships with presets modeled on chart records DJ Swivel has worked on; it is $169 at Plugin Alliance or $99 on sale from Swivel Audio.

Best for: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Mix Bus, Mastering. Genres: Pop, Hip-Hop & Trap, R&B & Soul, Electronic & EDM.

Keywords: wide, bass, drums, live performance, vocals, drag-and-drop routing, dynamic, full mix, keys, modern, sidechain input, advanced, bus processing, downward expansion, enhancement, external sidechain, hardware emulation, mastering, mid/side, minimal controls, mix bus, mixing, modular, polish, subscription, surgical, tape, tempo-synced, visual feedback.

What it does

HitStrip is Swivel Audio's modern channel strip, built by producer DJ Swivel to put a full processing chain on one page. Nine modules can be combined in more than 61,000 ways, and the developer pitches it as "the channel strip where hits are made."

EQ: a 24-band node EQ with bell, shelf, high/low-pass, notch, band-pass and tilt shapes, slopes from 6 to 96 dB/octave and mid/side control. Each band can be static (Tonal), Dynamic or Transient, with spectrum grab and a note-select keyboard.
Compressor/Expander: threshold, ratio, attack, release, knee and make-up gain, with an external sidechain or an internal timed sidechain for beat-synced pumping from whole notes down to 16th triplets.
Gate and De-Esser: a gate that can be run from two knobs or an advanced panel with ratio, range, knee and filters; the de-esser is a dynamic cut-only bell or high shelf.
Color: tape saturation with a Color knob, plus a two-band exciter for low and high harmonics, shown as a heat map on the main display.
Transients and Width: a transient shaper with adjustable detection length, gain and filtering, and a stereo width module with mono-fold monitoring.
Routing and output: drag-and-drop module order, an output limiter and auto make-up gain.
Presets and display: global and per-module presets, including settings based on hit records, and processing from every module drawn on the main EQ graph.

Version 1.3.0 arrived with the Plugin Alliance release in August 2025. Plugin Alliance offers a 14-day trial, and it is included in the CORE and PRO subscriptions.

Source: Swivel Audio product page

When to use it

HitStrip is the better pick for producers who want a fast, modern chain with a strong EQ at its centre, rather than a console sound. Compared with the Waves Scheps Omni Channel, it also lets you reorder modules, but its 24-band dynamic EQ and per-band transient mode go further on the EQ side. Compared with iZotope Neutron 5, it trades the Mix Assistant for presets based on hit records and keeps everything on one page. Unlike console strips such as SSL Native Channel Strip 2 or bx_console SSL 4000 E, it does not model a specific desk, so it sounds cleaner and more flexible than coloured.

Best for: vocals, drums and bass that need polish, control and width from a single plugin.
Genres: pop, hip-hop, R&B and electronic.
Look elsewhere if: you want a faithful analog console channel (SSL Native Channel Strip 2, API Vision), assistant-led setup (Neutron 5), or a lower price.
Tip: use the virtual keyboard in the EQ to find and cut ringing harmonics by note, and fold to mono to check width and saturation moves (Sound On Sound).

What producers say

The main published review sees it as a quick, well-designed strip that could become a go-to on every channel.

Sound On Sound (Matt Houghton, 2025) said "you could easily make this your go-to channel strip", praising the rich EQ, the visual feedback on the main graph, the width and monitoring tools and the documentation.
Workflow: the review liked the modifier-key shortcuts and lasso selection of EQ nodes for fast edits.
Criticisms: the GUI looks busy at first, and there are fewer right-click options than in rivals such as FabFilter Pro-Q 4.

Sound On Sound review

Where to buy

Swivel Audio: $99 (regular $169)
Plugin Alliance: $169

Tutorials and reviews

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