Overview

SPL revolutionized the recording and live sound industries with their introduction of the Transient Designer. For the first time ever you could control dynamics, independent of the levels!

The analog Transient Designer and its plugin counterpart both use SPL's Differential Envelope Technology for just that.

Unlike compressors, the SPL Transient Designer can transparently shape the attack and sustain characteristics of any sound, no matter its level - super loud or whisper quiet, constant or fluctuating.

No more fiddling with Threshold, Hold Times, etc.

In fact, Transient Designer uses only two primary controls - Attack and Sustain - to process dynamics.

Make trap drums slam harder. Tame a ringing snare drum. Reduce excessive cymbal bleed into tom mics. Increase sustain on soaring guitar solos. All with the twist of just two knobs.

More Powerful and Versatile - TD Plus!

In Transient Designer Plus, the Output Gain control is placed before a new soft-clip limiter in the audio path. Say goodbye to lowering the fader for your track every time you boost the Attack or Sustain knob - the built-in limiter prevents digital clipping. And it is latency-free! German engineering at its best.

Parallel processing has been integrated. And Transient Designer Plus also adds powerful side chains, internal and external!

VENUE AAX format is no longer available for this product. As of May 24th, 2018, the VENUE AAX format will not be part of the license. Current VENUE users don't need to worry, everything that currently works will continue to do so. Only further development and support will end.

Features

  • Separate controls for Attack and Sustain
  • Soft-clip limiter helps prevent digital clipping
  • Internal & External Sidechain
  • Parallel Mix control
  • An essential mix tool endorsed by the world's finest professional engineers

Audio Examples

Industry Reviews

  • Jody Wisternoff

    Jody Wisternoff

    Way Out West

    SPL Transient Designer does exactly what I hoped it would do and lives up to its hardware equivalents famous status . Super useful on the drum buss for increasing bite/impact  ,… Read More

  • Thomas Gold

    Thomas Gold

    Producer/DJ (Armada, Axtone, Protocol, Revealed)

    Sound is awesome, the original plugin version goes into a lot of my productions. PLUS version: I love the new parallel mix feature. I can crank up attack or sustain and just blend in the amount I… Read More

  • Rogerio Jardim

    Rogerio Jardim

    Drummer/Singer/Producer (Infected Mushroom)

    By far one of the easiest and most efficient tools out there. I am using not only on my drums, but on a lot of different instruments. I recommend the Transient Designer Plus to every… Read More

  • Toby Pitman

    Toby Pitman

    Paul McCartney, David Arnold, Sonos

    The TD+ is just fantastic! The SC function adds an extra level of power and control to your sound shaping. Love it!

  • Jason Goldstein

    Jason Goldstein

    Mixing & Mastering Engineer (Beyonce, The Lonely Island)

    I've been using the SPL Transient Designer since the hardware unit came out and the plugin version is every bit as good. Punch on demand, what more can you ask for!

Customer Reviews

  • Amazing control tool

    ★★★★★

    by jota garcía

    I use this one to shape my drum tracks and also in podcast tracks to fix problems like excess of reverb.
    It´s amazing how quick you can get just what you want, makes a big difference in drums.… Read More

  • Go-To-Plugin

    ★★★★★

    by Gerhard Schoener

    Kicks and Snares are important, but they are also loud. In order to be able to push the whole mix, I often find myself clipping them. Sometimes that changes the perceived attack Of the sound and… Read More

  • graet

    ★★★★★

    by googoori

    very good~~~!!

  • simple and effective

    ★★★★★

    by ben son

    More advanced transient shapers may be available, but the great advantage of SPL's Transient Designer Plus is that it is easy to use and very effective. You get the results in seconds. Not only for… Read More

  • Best

    ★★★★★

    by Arrowhead mixing

    That's the best transient shaper ever made for real

Awards

  • SPL Transient Design Plus Nominated for 2017 TEC Award

    SPL Transient Design Plus Nominated for 2017 TEC Award

    Champagne corks were popping at SPL headquarters in Niederkruechten, Germany, as well as here at Plugin Alliance, when we recently learned that the SPL Transient Designer Plus plugin was nominated for the 2017 TEC Award in the category of Sound Processing Software (DYNAMICS/EQ/UTILITIES).

    The original Transient Designer was one of the most popular plugins in the Plugin Alliance, and the Plus version, released early this year, is not only a major advance in realism, but provides an array of new features like a wet/dry mix control and side chain.

    Congratulations to Alliance member SPL for this great and well deserved honor. If you haven't checked out the new Transient Designer Plus, find out for yourself why the TEC committee was so impressed by downloading a free, full function 14-day demo today, and stay tuned for more info on how you can cast your vote for the TD Plus!

  • Gearslutz 5 Star Review Award

    Gearslutz 5 Star Review Award

    "I have some other transient shaping tools, but Transient Designer Plus takes the cake. It's easy to use, sounds great, and solves problems quickly. These SPL folks really know what they're doing when it comes to transients." - Funkybot

Specification

Supported Plugin Formats
AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU, SoundGrid, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 10.9 through 11
Windows 7 through 10

Mac
Intel CPU only (minimum 2 GHz recommended)

PC
x64-compatible CPU

System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM

Downloads

With the Installation Manager, you can select, download and install just the Plugin Alliance products and formats you need for your system.

ChangeLog

Transient Designer Plus

SPL Transient Designer Plus - Changelog

Version 1.8 (Mar 22, 2021)
- General: Compatibility with Logic on Apple Silicon devices via the Rosetta-2 layer
- General: Fixed possible artefacts when freezing or bouncing tracks in Pro Tools
- General: Fixed automation highlighting disappearing in Studio One
- General: Improved license dialog visibility in dark mode
- Improved metering behavior

Version 1.7 (May 27, 2020)
- General: Qualified for use with the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
- General: VST3: Fixed potential hangs in a DAW upon loading
- General: Fixed logical issues in undo / redo behavior
- General: Fixed UI resizing issues in Ableton Live on Windows
- General: Fixed audio processing initialization issues on amp and delay products
- Added scalable UI feature

Version 1.6 (Nov 06, 2019)
- General: Qualified for use with macOS 10.15 Catalina
- General: Qualified for use with Windows 10 November 2019 Update
- General: Fixed plugin validation in Logic under macOS Catalina
- General: Fixed preset name restore in Logic when reopening a session
- General: Fixed opening authorization dialog triggering automation
- General: Improved instantiation times for plugins
- General: Improved license functionality and branding for subscription
- General: Removed 32-bit support on macOS and Windows

Version 1.5 (Jul 10, 2019)
- General: macOS 10.14.5 Update compatibility
- General: Windows 10 1903 Update compatibility
- General: Fixed activation issue in Windows hosts set to non-English language (e.g. Cakewalk)
- General: AU: Fixed issue with increased CPU and memory on reopening UI
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with adapting to host knob mode, and now prioritizing linear
- General: VST3: Fixed issue with VST3 preset permissions
- General: VST3: Improved synchronization between parameter states and some UI functions, e.g. toolbar reset

Version 1.4 (Nov 16, 2018)
- General: macOS Mojave compatibility
- General: Windows October 2018 update compatibility
- General: adding Windows High DPI support for VST2/3 plugins
- General: Fixed potential crashes in Cubase and other VST2 / VST3 DAWs
- General: Fixed potential CPU spikes and audio dropouts
- General: Fixed rendering in Pro Tools on the start of a session
- General: Fixed missing presets in Wavelab and other VST3 DAWs
- General: Improving keyboard control, fixing issues with catched keys preventing it from passing through to DAW
- General: Fixed parallel use of host sessions (e.g. with Live)

Version 1.3 (May 24, 2018)
- General: Microsoft Windows Redstone 4 compatibility
- General: Added computer keyboard control for plugin parameters
- General: Fixed Mouse scroll wheel not working in Windows 8
- General: Fixed an issue where plugins will not validate or load after a certain amount of plugins have been loaded (Windows)
- General: Fixed visual GUI freezes when adjusting DAW parameters, meters, analyzers (Mac)
- General: Fixed possible issue with Pick Pack licenses
- General: Small licenser stability fix

Version 1.2 (Oct 23, 2017)
- General: Mac OS High Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed possible crash on online activation (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed Logic Pro X not validating AU plugins (Mac OS High Sierra)
- General: Fixed CPU spikes and crashes with Cubase (Windows)
- General: Fixed bug that could lead to "AAE -6 error" in ProTools (Windows)
- General: Fixed crash with FL Studio
- General: Fixed crash when cross-opening plugins in various hosts
- General: Fixed crash when using mixdown in Audition
- General: Fixed crash in Final Cut Pro
- General: Fixed delayed parameter handling and crackling issues in Cubase with VST3
- General: Fixed bug where plugin settings were not saved in Harrison Mixbus
- General: Fixed bug that led to AAE error -9317 in ProTools when instantiating plugin
- General: Fixed bug where plugins did not render properly when "x ray" option is enabled in Sonar
- General: Modifications to factory presets were lost when reopening session
- General: Fixed mouse wheel behaviour with second monitor setup (Windows)
- Some plugins: Value labels do not appear every time when clicking on parameter in UI
- General: Faster instantiation time for plugins (Windows)
- General: Adding support for automation highlighting in Presonus StudioOne
- Fixed bug that caused Waves LV1 Mixer to hang

Version 1.1.1 (Dec 20, 2016)
- General: Mac OS Sierra compatibility
- General: Fixed automation issues in AU and AAX
- General: Fixed license dialog use of special characters
- General: Improved AU preset support
- General: Performance improvements

Version 1.1 (Apr 1, 2016)
- Added SoundGrid support
- General: Major UI codebase update
- General: Fixed possible crash when authorizing plugin
- General: Added gain reduction meter support for StudioOne 3
- General: Installers show version info in Windows "Programs And Features"
- Improved EUCON pagetables

Version 1.0 (Jan 18, 2016)
- Initial Release