Listen
Hear TCX-1, not a description of it.
The idea
Most transient shapers stop at the envelope. TCX-1 sends the shaped signal straight into a console stage, so the punch you add hits the iron the way it would on a real desk.
TCX-1 · How it works
- 01
Detect
Opto, Diode or VCA. Three envelope followers that charge and release like the parts they're named after.
- 02
Shape
Attack and Sustain across eight bands. Push the hit, pull the ring, and Focus decides where it happens.
- 03
Saturate
The shaped signal hits a console: gain stage, output iron, a sagging rail. British or German.
- 04
Listen
Crosstalk and drift glue the channels the way a desk does. Then press play, below.
Try it now
This is the real interface.
Drag the knobs, flip the switches, browse the presets. This is the prototype interface with a simulated signal; details may change before launch.
What's inside
6 reasons, measured.
- 01
Three detector circuits
Opto, Diode and VCA envelope followers, each with its own attack, release and memory. Opto breathes, Diode snaps, VCA tracks.
- 02
Eight bands, one gesture
Attack and Sustain act across an 8-band crossover. Focus tilts the work toward the lows or the highs without a single band editor.
- 03
A console after the shaper
Drive, Iron and Sag model a channel's gain stage, output transformer and power rail. British leads with even harmonics, German with odd.
- 04
Crosstalk and drift
Real desks bleed and wander. Crosstalk sets the L/R bleed in dB, Drift the phase wander, and Unit A/B/C picks three channels with their own tolerances.
- 05
Screens that tell the truth
An 8-band envelope heat map shows every boost and cut. The harmonics screen reads H2–H7 and THD from the actual curve, with a correlation meter under it.
- 06
Musical or Surgical
Zero-latency, phase-matched bands for tracking, or the surgical mode with 1.5 ms lookahead for mixing. 72 samples of latency at 1× oversampling.
Specifications
- Bands
- 8 (Linkwitz-Riley crossover)
- Detectors
- Opto · Diode · VCA
- Console models
- British · German, Unit A/B/C
- Latency
- 72 / 121 / 133 samples (OS off / 2× / 4×)
- Formats (planned)
- AU · VST3 · Standalone
- System
- macOS 12 or later, Apple silicon and Intel
- Interface
- Resizable 75–150 %, presets with folders, A/B, undo
Questions about TCX-1
01Is it a transient shaper or a saturator?+
Both, in series. Each stage has its own on/off LED, so you can use either half on its own.
02Does it work on the mix bus?+
Yes. Keep Drive low and Crosstalk around −48 dB for glue; Surgical mode keeps the bands phase-aligned.
03Can I buy the plugins yet?+
Not yet. All five are in development and the interfaces and sound you see here are prototypes. We'll announce the launch shortly; the waitlist hears first.
04What does the waitlist get me?+
Launch pricing (20–25 % below the normal price), the free PRE-1 on day one, and a chance to beta test the prototypes.
05How do I become a beta tester?+
Tick "I'd like to beta test" when you join and tell us your DAW. We'll pick testers across hosts and roles.
Next · Ambient Reverb
HALCYON
TCX-1 Transient Console
$79$59