Taffy off, then Taffy on. Same loop, ATTACK and SUSTAIN pulled in, then ROUND smoothing out the distortion when the transients get pushed too hard. Real session, real audio.
What Taffy does
Every drum hit has two halves: the crack at the front and the body that follows. Taffy lets you grab each half and pull. Turn ATTACK up and the kick punches through a busy mix without touching the fader. Turn SUSTAIN up and a dry snare stretches out like it was cut in a real room. Turn either one down and the hit tucks back under the beat. It is not only for drums: put it on a plucky synth and ATTACK makes every note bite, SUSTAIN gives a short pluck a tail it never had. It is the fastest way to change how a sound feels without changing how it sounds.
Why it is called Taffy
Because that is what it does to a hit. The stretch bar across the top is the sound being pulled: it bulges on every transient, and the harder you push ATTACK and SUSTAIN the further it stretches. ROUND turns the glow up as it softens the sharp edges. You can watch the shape of your drums change in real time.
Six knobs, one job
ATTACK. Plus or minus 12 dB on the first few milliseconds of every hit. Up for punch, down to tuck a loud snare under the vocal. Centre leaves it alone.
SUSTAIN. Plus or minus 12 dB on everything after the hit. Up for room and ring, down to dry a loop out so it sits tighter.
LENGTH. How long the attack window lasts, 5 to 80 ms. Short for clicky hats, long for a kick with a tail.
ROUND. Softens the peaks after shaping so a big ATTACK boost never turns spiky. The stretch bar glows amber as you turn it up.
MIX and OUTPUT. Parallel blend and output trim. BYPASS switch with an amber LED in the header for honest A/B.
Get started in 3 steps
1. Put Taffy on a drum or a pluck. Kick, snare, a full loop, a drum bus, or a plucky synth lead. It opens on Init, which is close to flat.
2. Turn ATTACK up until the hit pokes out. Then back it off a touch. That is usually the whole fix for a kick that disappears in the mix.
3. Shape the body. SUSTAIN up for room, down for tight. LENGTH tunes which part counts as the hit, ROUND keeps it smooth, MIX blends it with the dry signal.
Make it yours
ATTACK. The front of the hit, plus or minus 12 dB. Centre is untouched.
SUSTAIN. The tail of the hit, plus or minus 12 dB. Centre is untouched.
LENGTH. Attack window, 5 to 80 ms.
ROUND. Peak softening after the shaper, 0 to 100 percent.
MIX and OUTPUT. Parallel blend and output trim.
PRESETS. Preset stepper in the header, save unlimited of your own. Zero latency, safe on the way in or at mixdown.
Presets
10 to start: Init, Snap, Punch, Soft Hands, Room Grab, Gate-ish, Smooth It Out, Round Drums, 404 Butter and Parallel Crack. From a clean snap to full stretch, plus unlimited slots for your own.
Common questions
How much is Taffy? $15, one-time. Instant download after checkout. Full version, no locked knobs, no subscription.
What is a transient shaper? It changes the shape of a sound over time instead of its tone. Every hit gets split into the attack (the first few milliseconds) and the sustain (everything after), and you turn each one up or down on its own. A compressor reacts to level; Taffy reacts to the hit itself, so it works the same on a quiet take and a loud one.
Does it work on things other than drums? Plucky synths are the other big one: ATTACK up makes every pluck bite through the mix, SUSTAIN up stretches a short pluck into something that rings. Also plucked guitar, piano, bass and percussion loops, anything with a front edge.
What DAWs does Taffy work in? Any DAW that loads VST3 or AU plugins: Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, GarageBand, Reaper, Studio One and more.
Is there a Windows version of Taffy? Yes. Taffy ships for macOS (VST3 + AU) and Windows (VST3). One purchase covers both platforms.
How do I install Taffy? Run the installer and it puts the plugin files in the right folders. Restart your DAW, rescan if needed, done.