Couture by Auburn Sounds: A Versatile Transient Shaper and Saturation Plugin for Precise Dynamic Control

Couture is a versatile transient shaper and saturation plugin developed by Auburn Sounds that provides exquisite control over your dynamics, especially attacks. Available in VST, AU, and AAX formats for compatible digital audio workstations on PC and Mac, Couture has been praised for its versatility, precise control of transients and sustain, and unique distortion section.

Two Main Sections: Transient and Saturation

The Transient section allows you to increase or decrease the signal's dynamic range and sharpen or smooth transients with the Sharpen control. It has three detection types: Flat, Human (equal loudness), and Sybil, for different use cases. You can also boost the detector circuit's sensitivity to bass, regardless of the detection type.

The Saturation section offers six different distortion types (Bit, Rect, Fuzz, Sin, Bass, and Tube) and a pair of filters (HP and LP) that can be applied before or after the saturation circuit. This section is only available in the full version of Couture.

Fully Volume-Independent and Example Use Cases

Couture is fully volume-independent, meaning that you can change the gain of a signal before it hits Couture without affecting the transient shaping or the distortion processing. Some example use cases for Couture include:

1. Emulating a nostalgic tape-style sound
2. De-essing and de-clicking harsh percussion
3. Making buses, groups, or an entire mix punchier or smoother

Pricing and Availability

Couture's Full Edition is available at an introductory price of €39 (instead of €49), and the plugin is available in AAX, AU, and VST2 formats. The Free Edition removes the saturation modules but has no other time limitations, making it a generous offering for users who want to try the transient shaping features.

In Conclusion

Couture is a powerful transient shaper and saturation plugin that offers precise control over dynamics in a user-friendly interface. With its 100% program-dependent behavior, it accurately captures and processes transients, making it an effective tool for shaping drums, percussions, and adding punch or snappiness to tracks. The Full Edition of Couture is available for purchase at an introductory price, while the Free Edition offers a generous option for users wanting to try the transient shaping features without the saturation modules.