Eiosis E2 Transienter

The latest product in the E2 series is a transient processor that works along similar lines. In other words, input audio first passes through a detection circuit, which decides whether what it's hearing is a transient or not. Transients and non-transients are then processed completely independently, before being combined at the output stage; and, as with the de-esser, it's possible to solo either half of the signal. This is useful for audibly checking the settings of the transient-detection algorithm, but also makes it possible to achieve much more radical processing: you can use two instances of the processor on two copies of the same source material to create separate transient and non-transient signals that can be routed to other plug-ins.

Once your transients have been detected, you can apply positive or negative gain to them, and there's a single-band equaliser that can operate in a variety of configurations. The most mysterious of these is Loud, which "lets you quickly increase or decrease the loudness contour of the attacks". I don't know how it works, I just know that it does! Options for processing the non-transient signal are confined to a single 'mirror' button, which applies the opposite of what you're doing to the transients; so, for instance, a high shelving boost on the transients will be mirrored by a corresponding cut to the rest of the signal.

With all these options available, Eiosis cite a number of unconventional uses for E2 Transienter, from mastering to de-noising, but it's how well it performs in more orthodox situations that will be of most concern to potential buyers: and said performance is excellent. Once you get the hang of the controls, it's straightforward to set it up so that it reliably catches the transients you want it to catch, and the ability to separate these completely from the rest of the audio opens up lots of possibilities for processing. Soloing the Transient section allows you to use it as a very effective gate on kick or snare tracks; conversely, you can duck or mute the transients in order to create a smoother signal to feed a delay or reverb. A few more options for processing the non-transient part of the signal would be nice, but you can always create your own processing chain if you want to, say, filter the 'ring' of a snare while leaving the 'crack' intact.