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Tonalux

@tonalux.bsky.social

Curated plugin deals, free audio tools, and deep-dive articles on DSP, sound design & plugin development. Built by professional sound designers for film, games & music production. tonalux.org

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Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 2h ago

A de-esser is not one thing. Three fundamentally different algorithms tackle sibilance and knowing the difference explains why some de-essers pump the low mids, some introduce phase shift and one can attenuate a single FFT bin...

De-essing Under the Hood: Wideband, Split-Band and Spectral Algorithms

A de-esser is not one thing. Three fundamentally different algorithms tackle sibilance and knowing the difference explains why some de-essers pump the low mids, some introduce phase shift and one can attenuate a single FFT bin without touching anythi

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · yesterday

Every MP3 encoder runs a psychoacoustic simulation before it compresses. Understanding that model tells you why cymbals fall apart at 128kbps, why AAC handles transients better and exactly what to check before delivery.

Masking Thresholds and Pre-Echo: What MP3 and AAC Actually Do to Your Audio

Every MP3 encoder runs a psychoacoustic simulation before it compresses. Understanding that model tells you why cymbals fall apart at 128kbps, why AAC handles transients better and exactly what to check before delivery.

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 2d ago

The blurriness you hear when grain size drops below 20 milliseconds is not a design flaw. It is physics. Dennis Gabor derived the mathematical boundary in 1947 and every granular synth still operates within it.

The Uncertainty at the Heart of Every Granular Synth

The blurriness you hear when grain size drops below 20 milliseconds is not a design flaw. It is physics. Dennis Gabor derived the mathematical boundary in 1947 and every granular synth still operates within it.

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 2d ago

Raw 16-bit audio delivers 96 dB of dynamic range. Noise shaping pushes that to 120 dB perceived, not by adding resolution, but by redirecting quantization error into frequencies you cannot hear.

How 16-Bit Audio Achieves 120 dB Performance Through Noise Shaping

Raw 16-bit audio delivers 96 dB of dynamic range. Noise shaping pushes that to 120 dB perceived, not by adding resolution, but by redirecting quantization error into frequencies you cannot hear.

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 4d ago

When a saturation or distortion plugin sounds unexpectedly harsh, aliasing is often the culprit. Here is the math behind it and why oversampling solves the problem for some processors but is completely pointless for others.

Aliasing in Nonlinear Audio: What Oversampling Actually Fixes

When a saturation or distortion plugin sounds unexpectedly harsh, aliasing is often the culprit. Here is the math behind it and why oversampling solves the problem for some processors but is completely pointless for others.

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 5d ago

Most engineers use Mid/Side processing to tweak stereo width. Few realize it rests on a 1931 linear transform that provides a mathematical guarantee, not an approximation, that the mono fold is lossless.

The M/S Matrix: How a 1931 Patent Made Mono Compatibility a Solved Problem

Most engineers use Mid/Side processing to tweak stereo width. Few realize it rests on a 1931 linear transform that provides a mathematical guarantee, not an approximation, that the mono fold is lossless.

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 6d ago

Every mastering engineer knows the -14 LUFS Spotify target. Almost none can explain how LUFS is actually calculated, the K-weighting filter, the gating algorithm, why inter-sample peaks spike after AAC encoding.

What -14 LUFS Actually Means: The Signal Processing Behind Streaming Loudness

Every mastering engineer knows the -14 LUFS Spotify target. Almost none can explain how LUFS is actually calculated, the K-weighting filter, the gating algorithm, why inter-sample peaks spike after AAC encoding. Here's the signal processing underneat

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · last wk.

This week's standout releases include a wavetable-driven spectral filter that treats EQ curves as animation frames, a free monosynth from Grammy-winning producer Mike Dean, a Phonogène-inspired rotating tape delay with eight...

Weekly Plugin Roundup: April 27, 2026

This week's standout releases include a wavetable-driven spectral filter that treats EQ curves as animation frames, a free monosynth from Grammy-winning producer Mike Dean, a Phonogène-inspired rotating tape delay with eight independent playback head

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · last wk.

Every compressor needs a threshold. In 1998, Ruben Tilgner at SPL built a dynamics processor that needed none, by measuring the derivative of the signal envelope instead of its level.

No Threshold Required: The DSP Behind Transient Shapers

Every compressor needs a threshold. In 1998, Ruben Tilgner at SPL built a dynamics processor that needed none, by measuring the derivative of the signal envelope instead of its level. Here is how Differential Envelope Technology works and why it matt

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · last wk.

A pitch shifter multiplies every frequency in your signal by the same factor. A frequency shifter adds the same number of Hertz to every frequency.

The Hilbert Transform: Why Frequency Shifting Isn't Pitch Shifting

A pitch shifter multiplies every frequency in your signal by the same factor. A frequency shifter adds the same number of Hertz to every frequency. They sound completely different and the second one only became practical because of a 90-degree phase

tonalux.org

Tonalux@tonalux.bsky.social · 2w ago

"Every time you load a 44.1 kHz sample into a 48 kHz session or enable oversampling on a saturation plugin, a polyphase filter runs silently.

Polyphase Sample Rate Conversion: The Algorithm Behind Every Rate Change in Your DAW

"Every time you load a 44.1 kHz sample into a 48 kHz session or enable oversampling on a saturation plugin, a polyphase filter runs silently. The algorithm it uses determines whether you get 97 dB or 144 dB of dynamic range in the output."

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