Nanopulse

Name: Nanopulse
Price: 69 USD
Author: United Plugins

by United Plugins · Transient Shaper · Transient shaper and enhancer

Not rated yet

Nanopulse from JMG Sound (sold by United Plugins) shapes transients by applying attack profiles taken from different sources, with 64 profiles to morph between.

A 3-band dynamic shaper, three detection modes and an output limiter are included, for $89.

Best for: Drums, Drum Bus, Bass, Guitars, Keys & Synths. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: drums, enhancement, multi-band, percussion, keys, punchy, synths, samples & loops, snare, spectral, bass, bus processing, cymbals, drum bus, kick, mixing, randomize, resizable UI, undo/redo.

What it does

Nanopulse is a JMG Sound transient plugin, sold by United Plugins, that adds punch by imposing the attack character of other sounds on your signal, not only by turning attack up or down. The developer aims for attacks "that will cut through your mix".

Character morphing: 64 transient profiles taken from drums, percussion, instruments and objects, such as snares, kicks and cymbals.
3-band dynamic shaper: separate attack and sustain control for low, mid and high bands, with adjustable crossover frequencies and slopes.
Detection: Smart, Spectral and Fast modes for finding transients in different kinds of material.
Main controls: six sliders for the core shaping, and per Barry Rudolph's review, pitch, tone and resonance controls for the added transient.
Limiter: a high-quality output limiter, for safety or for extra drive.
Randomizer: generates new parameter variations, with undo.
Workflow: 64-bit processing at sample rates up to 192 kHz and above, smart bypass with latency compensation and a resizable interface.

It offers a free 15-day trial with no saving limits. Updates are free for life.

Source: United Plugins product page

When to use it

Nanopulse is the better pick when you want to change the feel of a transient, not just its level. Compared with Smack Attack and Softube's Transient Shaper, which boost or cut attack and sustain, it adds 64 character profiles and three-band shaping, so a dull snare can take on a sharper, different attack. It covers more ground than the SPL Transient Designer Plus, which is quicker for plain attack and sustain moves. Against Kilohearts' Transient Shaper it is far deeper, but also costs much more.

Best for: adding punch and new attack character to individual drums, percussion and drum loops, and some keys and synths.
Genres: any; especially pop, hip-hop and electronic music with programmed drums.
Look elsewhere if: you only need simple attack and sustain moves; SPL Transient Designer Plus or Kilohearts' Transient Shaper are quicker.
Tip: leave detection on Smart for most sources, switch to Spectral for keyboards and synths, and to Fast for drum loops with sixteenth-note accents (Barry Rudolph).

What producers say

The one full review we could read recommends it highly for drums and percussion.

Barry Rudolph (New Toys review) called it an essential tool for percussion, praising the three-band shaper with its adjustable crossovers, the 64 transient types and the three detection modes.
Criticisms: he found the Listen button "fiddly" to use in the large, resizable interface.

Barry Rudolph review

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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