Evenide Fission

The irst in what looks to be a new line from
audio processing pioneers Eventide, Fission
(VST/AU/AAX) is a transient design plugin that
innovates in two areas: the technology used to
separate the transient of the input signal from
the ‘tail’, and the processing subsequently
applied to both.
The story behind the irst of these, dubbed
Structural Efects, is discussed on the adjacent
page. As for the second, boosting, attenuating
and soloing transients and tails – which are
separated into two discrete audio streams,
called Transient and Tonal – is only the tip of
Fission’s creative iceberg. It also ofers a discrete
efects module for each stream, enabling, for
example, the crack of a snare drum to be treated
to a delay, while the body is run through a
reverb, with no crossover whatsoever
between the two; or for auto-panning to be
worked into the decay portion of a keyboard
line while the attack of the sound stays central;
or retuning the sustain of a tom tom in
isolation… you get the idea.
Structurally speaking
Despite the complexity of the machinery
running in the background, Fission’s interface is
very easy to get to grips with. The central
Structural Split section is where the division of
E v e n t i d e
Fission $179
A new software concept from one of the music technology industry’s
most revered institutions wrapped in a plugin that breaks a few moulds
“Despite the
complexity of the
machinery, Fission’s
interface is very easy
to get to grips with”
PRESETS
A big library of presets
by Richard Devine,
Chris Carter and John
Agnello and others
SOURCELOCK
Stop the Source Type
changing as you audition
presets on the same sound
FOCUS
Set the split point
between the Transient
and Tonal streams
TONAL EFFECTS
Apply one of seven high-quality
effects to the Tonal channel
WAVEFORM
VIEWER
The input signal is
grey, the Transient
stream is blue, and
Tonal is green
TRANSIENT
EFFECTS
Process the
Transient channel
with one of six
fabulous effects
SOURCE TYPE
Select the incoming
instrument type to
optimise the algorithm
TRANSIENT GAIN
AND SOLO
Adjust the level of
the Transient
channel or hear it
on its own
SMOOTHING AND
TRANSIENT DECAY
Adjust the transition
speed between the two
streams and extend
the Transient decay
TONAL GAIN
AND SOLO
Adjust the level of
the Tonal channel or
hear it on its own
the input into Transient and Tonal streams is
handled, while the sections above and below
house the Transient (above) and Tonal efects
modules into which each stream outputs.
The irst thing to do is give the Structural
Efects algorithm some guidance by setting the
Source Type to match the incoming instrument
– Kick, Snare, Full Drum Set, Bass, Guitar, Vocal,
etc, or General if no other cap its. The Focus
slider then sets the cutof point between what
the plugin considers to be Transient and Tonal
based on “stable or predictable patterns” in the
signal, as discerned within analysis frames of
around 40ms. Pushing Focus towards Tonal, for
example, shortens the Transients, as an
increasing proportion of each one is sent to the
Tonal stream. The Smoothing dial afects the
speed with which the signal switches between
Transient and Tonal streams, and is used to
eliminate artefacts. It needs to be handled with
care, however, as it can soften transients if over-
2
MINUTES
WITH…
VIDEO
See an in-depth demo of
Fission’s many talents:
bit.ly/CMission
HANDS-ON
VID EO
96 / COMPUTER MUSIC / June 2017
> reviews / eventide ission
CMU243.rev_fission.indd 96 3/31/17 5:19 PM