Tone Projects has announced the release of its new audio plugin Kelvin Tone Shaper, an effect that combines flexible dual-stage saturation with powerful push/pull equalization in an inspiring new way to shape sounds.
Deceptively simple to use, Kelvin offers detailed saturation models, mastering-grade performance, and vast sonic possibilities with just a few parameters. Pick your favorite combination from several transformer, tube, and diode circuits to bring tracks to life with rich harmonic coloration and warm saturation, or get creative with frequency specific distortion and beautiful analog-style tone sculpting.
“Kelvin has quickly become my ‘go to’ saturation and distortion plug-in. With a remarkable range of tones, it’s been in every single mix since I first opened it. Exactly what you’d expect from Tone Projects.”
– Craig Bauer, GRAMMY-winning mixing/producer (Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran)
What started out as the idea to offer “Hygge” (the acclaimed saturation circuit from the Unisum Mastering Compressor) as a simple dedicated plugin has grown into something that greatly expands on the original. One of the beautiful aspects of designing audio gear is to explore how different components interact with each other and how internal gain staging can change the tone of a device. Tone Projects to surface this exploration to musicians and engineers in an easy-to-use and musically relevant way.
The ability to pair up different transformer, tube, and diode circuits and explore the rich sonic interactions from the saturation stages placed in series, allows you “design your own tone box” and reach a broad range of authentic tones with a minimum of tweaking.
Kelvin features
- Dual-stage saturation with separate control of gain and model for each stage.
- Freely combine 8 highly detailed models of transformer, tube, and diode saturation circuits.
- Flexible tone shaping filters to adjust saturation per frequency and overall tonal balance.
- Beautifully sounding analog style filters, including passive Pultec style low and high bands.
- Unique harmonic “Spread” feature to create width by introducing subtle harmonic variances.
- “De-Fuzz” feature to reduce mid-high frequency saturation and clean up artifacts.
- Optional soft clipper on output to discreetly shave off peaks or add a 3rd stage of crush.
- Auto-gain on output tuned to keep loudness balanced while still allowing musical crescendos.
- Smooth audio rate modulation of main parameters.
- Dry/Wet control for easy parallel processing.
- 4 quality modes, ranging from Low Latency to Pristine using high fidelity linear phase oversampling.
- Option to always use highest quality for offline rendering.
- A/B preset switching.
- Integrated reference level system to automatically adjust input level to match loaded presets.
- Presets by experienced artists and engineers.
- Native support for both Intel and Apple Silicon processors.
Available for Windows and macOS in VST3, AU and AAX plugin formats, Kelvin has an introductory price of $74 USD until July 9th, 2021 (regular $99 USD). A free trial version is available to download.
More information: Tone Projects
