Transformer X

Name: Transformer X
Price: 49 USD
Author: Three-Body Technology

by Three-Body Technology · Saturation · Neural transformer saturation

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A Deep Vintage plugin that models a custom "color box" built around a vintage US audio transformer, adding warmth, body and low-end girth.

It is trained with Three-Body's APNN 2.0 neural network on the real hardware, and lets you set harmonics independently of the rest of the tone.

Best for: Mix Bus, Drum Bus, Bass, Vocals. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: transformer, AI/machine learning, vocals, bus processing, bass, enhancement, full mix, vintage, warm, drum bus, oversampling, tube, undo/redo, A/B compare, clean, colored, drums, inspired by, mix bus, mixing.

What it does

Transformer X is a transformer coloration plugin in Three-Body Technology's Deep Vintage series. The developer notes that, after tubes, the transformer is the most tone-defining part of a hardware circuit, and this model is inspired by a custom 'color box' using a vintage US transformer to add "warmth, body, and low-end girth."

APNN 2.0 modeling: a neural network trained on audio run through the real unit, learning both waveform and spectrum; the developer cites error signals of -40 dB to -75 dB depending on the hardware model.
Iron sound on demand: the low-frequency transformer saturation can be switched on or off, giving a transformer or transformer-less version of the sound.
Independent harmonics: the amount of harmonics can be set separately from the other tonal characteristics, so you can keep the tone of a high drive setting while staying cleaner.
Sample-rate agnostic: a redesigned resampling algorithm keeps the model accurate at any sample rate, with up to 8x oversampling against aliasing.
Deep Vintage extras: independent Harmonics control, a toggle for the transformer's low-frequency "iron" saturation, adjustable noise floor, up to 8x oversampling, plus A/B, undo/redo, mono mode, LR/MS processing and GUI scaling.

Part of the Deep Vintage 2.0 series. Latency is 26 samples (about 0.6 ms at 44.1 kHz). A free trial mutes for 2 seconds every minute and disables save/load.

Source: Three-Body Technology product page

When to use it

Transformer X is a narrow, one-job color box: it adds transformer weight and low-end thickness rather than obvious distortion. Compared with it, Black Box Analog Design HG-2 and Softube Harmonics Analog Saturation Processor cover a wider range of tube and harmonic flavors, Soundtoys Decapitator goes much further into grit, and FabFilter Saturn 2 is the more flexible multiband option. Pick Transformer X when you want subtle iron-style weight on a bus or source at a low price.

Best for: adding body and low-end girth to drum buses, bass, vocals and full mixes.
Genres: general-purpose; the developer's demos cover vocals, drum bus, orchestra and EDM bus.
Look elsewhere if: you want heavy distortion or many saturation styles in one plugin; Decapitator or Saturn 2 suit that better.
Standout: the switchable low-frequency 'iron' saturation paired with independent harmonics control.

Where to buy

Best Service: $49
Three-Body Technology: $49 (regular $99)
AudioDeluxe: $49
Plugin Boutique: $99

Tutorials and reviews

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