TIMBRE

Real-time poly formant shaper plugin

Reshape the Character of Any Sound

TIMBRE is a real-time formant-shifting plugin for producers, mixing engineers, and sound designers. Reshape the character of vocals, instruments, loops, and full mixes without affecting pitch. 

Unlike EQs that boost frequencies or pitch shifters that change notes, TIMBRE transforms the formants that define a sound's identity, offering an entirely new approach to mixing, vocal production, and creative sound design. TIMBRE delivers immediate, musical results with an ultra-low latency of just 23ms.

Use the built-in noise generator for whisper-like textures, or feed any external sidechain signal into TIMBRE for expressive formant vocoding with remarkable intelligibility.

TIMBRE gives you a level of control over sonic character that's simply not possible with EQs, pitch processors, or other formant-shifters.

What can TIMBRE do?

ADD WEIGHT

Shift the formant of fundamental frequencies with complete control and transparency. Add weight to kicks, accentuate the body of snares, or thicken instruments with ease.

TRANSFORM VOCALS

Add growl, breathiness or presence to vocals, or tame sibilance by shifting their formants across any part of the frequency spectrum.

CREATIVE MIXING

Make instruments sit naturally in a mix by shifting their timbral centre instead of carving space with a traditional EQ. Use the Resolution and Dry/Wet controls to refine your processing, from subtle to extreme.

VOCODING MADE SIMPLE

With internal and external sidechain carrier modes, TIMBRE lets you create entirely new sounds with the built-in noise generator, or transfer complex envelopes from one sound to another.

Key Features

Real-time Formant Processing
Reshape the character of vocals, drums, individual instruments and full mixes without affecting their pitch
Wide Timbre-shift Range
Go from subtle adjustments to extreme transformations with ±36 semitones of timbre-shifting
Flexible Architecture
Use Unlinked Mode to independently process High and Low Bands, plus per-band On and Solo controls
Linked Processing
Link the High and Low Bands for simple one-knob timbre-shaping across the entire frequency spectrum
Dedicated Carrier Section
Create unique textures and formant-vocoder effects using the built-in noise generator or an external sidechain signal
Fine-tune the Processing
Use the Resolution control to adjust processing detail, or use the Dry/Wet control to blend in the dry signal
Low-latency Operation
Process audio in real-time with 23ms of latency @ 44.1kHz

Videos About TIMBRE

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Introducing TIMBRE

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TIMBRE Overview and Tutorial

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What is TIMBRE by zplane?

Technical Specifications

  • Audio Format:
    - 1-2 channels (I/O)
    - 44.1-192kHz sample rate
  • Plugin Format:
    - AAX, AU, VST3
  • Plugin Latency:
    - 23.2ms @ 44.1kHz
  • Minimum System Requirements:
    - Apple: Intel Core i7
  • Supported Operating Systems:
    - Windows 10 & 11 | 64bit
    - macOS 13 or later | 64bit Intel & Silicon

FAQs

More Answers

TIMBRE General Operation

Can you use TIMBRE in a single-band configuration?

Yes! There are several ways to use TIMBRE with just one band:

  • Link the High and Low Shift controls - this applies the same processing to the entire frequency range
  • Unlink the High and Low Shift Controls and only apply processing to one band - this allows you to leave one band unprocessed, while processing the other band
  • Use the independent High and Low Band Bypass button to disengage processing for the corresponding band

Why does TIMBRE have two bands?

Two independent formant-shifting bands allows you to apply processing to only one frequency range, or independent processing to two different frequency ranges.

What is the different between formant and timbre?

In the context of the TIMBRE plugin, the terms formant and timbre are interchangeable - the plugin can be used on any audio source. In technical terms, formant refers to the resonant frequencies produced by the vocal tract. Timbre refers to the tonal qualities of a sound. 

TIMBRE Troubleshooting

Why isn't TIMBRE outputting any audio when Sidechain Carrier Mode is engaged?

If TIMBRE isn't outputting audio when Sidechain Carrier Mode is engaged, please ensure that you have selected the correct external sidechain signal and it is outputting audio. Full instructions on how to operate both the Sidechain Carrier and Internal Carrier modes can be found in the TIMBRE user manual.