Tiltshift is the most intuitive and effective way to shape your sound.

The guiding principle of EQ plugins often seems to be: more is more. More bands, more peaks, more valleys, more parameters to learn, and more metering to focus on. While we do appreciate a full-fledged multiband EQ when it’s needed, we’ve found that oftentimes, they’re not the right tool for the job. “More is more” also means more complication, more signal mangling, more phase distortion, CPU-usage, etc., and less productive mixing or mastering, less musicality and creativity.

Tiltshift is a new type of tilt EQ that does more with a lot fewer controls. More than any other EQ, Tiltshift is able to dramatically alter the tone and timbre of your audio while sticking to the first rule of mastering: do no harm. By using extremely gentle slopes (often less than 1 dB per octave), the relative phase, frequency, and transient response of the audio is preserved, making it easier to find the right global EQ curve before focusing on specifics, and Tiltshift‘s perceptual loudness lock technology makes it easier to compare EQ settings without being influenced by simple gain changes.

So what if there was less in an EQ? Meet Tiltshift: superior tone-shaping, suitable for anything from mixing to mastering.

Controls

Primary Controls

Tilt

Tilt Gain

Varies the amount of spectral tilt.

This simple slider is the heart and soul of Tiltshift. In theory, you might never need to touch another slider, because simply tilting forward or backward provides extremely musical, natural-sounding tonal variation.

Negative values tilt the sonic spectrum toward the bass.

Positive values tilt toward the treble.

Want something warm & full sounding? Try tilting towards the bass -3 dB.

Looking for something bright ala Studio 54? Try tilting towards the treble, +3 dB.

What does Tilt Gain’s decibel value represent? It specifies the exact amount that the treble & bass are boosted or cut in opposing directions. For example, for a Tilt Gain of +6dB, the treble is boosted +6dB, while the bass is cut -6dB.

  • Min -18.0dB
  • Max 18.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Tilt Range Low

Tiltshift was primarily designed for wide, gradually-sloping tilts across the entire frequency spectrum. However, there are times when you may want to tilt a smaller portion of spectrum. For this reason, we included Tilt Range Low & Tilt Range High, which control the range in which the tilt EQ operates.

For example, let’s say you’re making a bass track brighter by tilting up the treble, but you don’t want to boost anything above 2 kHz. By setting Tilt Range High to 2 kHz, you can limit the tilt range to level off above that frequency. Get this setting.

Looking to tilt just the “air” in your track? Drag the Tilt Range Low to something up high, like 10 kHz, and push the Tilt Range High up as high as it can go, 24 kHz. Then tilt up the Tilt Gain just a little — voila, more presence in your sound’s high atmospheres. Get this setting.

  • Min 10Hz
  • Max 12.0kHz
  • Default 20Hz

Tilt Range High

High frequency point for the tilt range. See Tilt Range Low.

  • Min 20Hz
  • Max 24.0kHz
  • Default 20.0kHz

Tilt Loudness Mode

Unlike a typical tilt EQ, which always boosts & cuts an equal amount in either direction, Tiltshift is smarter. With Tilt Loudness Mode set to Auto, the loudness is automatically matched for any tilt setting using our perceptual loudness locking technology. This makes comparing EQ settings much easier and makes it possible to perform more natural sounding tilt automations.

Option About
Auto

Automatically varies the gain to maintain the same perceived loudness

Standard

Functions like a typical tilt EQ: cutting and boosting an equal but opposite amount

Treble

Keeps the gain of the bass fixed while varying the treble

Bass

Keeps the gain of the treble fixed while varying the bass

  • Default Auto

Filter

Tiltshift’s Filter section perfectly complements the Tilt section: the Tilt shapes the overall frequency spectrum while the Filter further refines the extremes of the frequency range. Use it for anything from filtering out DC offset on a master, to more creative applications, like recreating the response of a guitar cab or cellphone.

Filter Listen Low

The “Listen” function allows you to audition the audio that the low cut filter is removing.

Options: Off, On

Filter Listen Low is very useful for helping to dial in the appropriate Filter Range Low & Filter Slope Low for what you’re trying to accomplish.

For example, if you’re trying to remove some low frequency pops and plosives from a vocal, use the “Listen” function to help set Filter Range Low so that you are hearing mostly plosives and not important components of the vocal itself.

  • Default Off

Filter Listen High

The “Listen” function allows you to audition the audio that the high cut filter is removing.

Options: Off, On

Filter Listen High is very useful for helping to dial in the appropriate Filter Range High & Filter Slope High for what you’re trying to accomplish.

  • Default Off

Filter Range Low

Controls the corner frequency of the low cut filter.

The frequency response at this frequency is -3 dB if Filter Resonance Low is set to 0 dB.

When Filter Range Low is at its minimum value, the low cut filter is bypassed completely.

  • Min 4Hz
  • Max 12.0kHz
  • Default 4Hz

Filter Range High

Controls the corner frequency of the high cut filter.

The frequency response at this frequency is -3 dB if Filter Resonance High is set to 0 dB.

When Filter Range High is at its maximum value, the high cut filter is bypassed completely.

  • Min 8Hz
  • Max 24.0kHz
  • Default 24.0kHz

Output

Output Gain

Varies the output gain.

Output Gain includes a level meter embedded in the slider. This meter shows the peak level of the signal both pre (lighter color) and post (darker color) Tiltshift’s processing.

If the signal peak exceeds or equals 0.0dB the meter color turns red, indicating that clipping could occur. Tiltshift will never clip internally, due to its double-precision floating-point processing, but the signal might be clipped at a later stage (by the host/DAW or DAC).

  • Min -96.0dB
  • Max 12.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Master On/Off

Bypasses Tiltshift’s processing.

Options: Off, On

We recommend using the Master On/Off instead of your DAW’s plugin bypass to avoid digital artifacts.

  • Default On

Advanced Controls

The Advanced section offers more precise control and fine adjustment options.

To access Tiltshift’s advanced controls, click the ••• icon in the sidebar.

Advanced Filter

Filter Slope Low

Continuously varies the steepness of the low cut filter in dB per octave.

  • Min 6.0dB/Oct
  • Max 48.0dB/Oct
  • Default 12.0dB/Oct

Filter Resonance Low

Controls the amount of filter resonance at the Filter Range Low frequency.

Filter Resonance Low allows you to boost at the very same frequency where the low cut begins to act. This may seem counter intuitive: why boost something that you’re intending to filter out? Because it can sound awesome.

Here’s an example: imagine you have a beefy kick drum that has too much sub bass energy around 40 Hz. To reduce the sub bass, you set Filter Range Low to 60 Hz, thereby rolling off everything below 60 Hz. You’ve effectively tamed the excessive sub energy, but you find that now the kick drum sounds a bit weak and thin. By setting the Filter Resonance Low to 6 dB, you can bring back some of the kick drum’s power and bass, while still cutting excessive sub bass. Win-win.

  • Min 0.0dB
  • Max 18.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Filter Slope High

Continuously varies the steepness of the high cut filter in dB per octave.

  • Min 6.0dB/Oct
  • Max 48.0dB/Oct
  • Default 12.0dB/Oct

Filter Resonance High

Controls the amount of filter resonance at the Filter Range High frequency.

  • Min 0.0dB
  • Max 18.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

HQ Mode

HQ Mode is our no-holds-barred processing mode where super high quality audio is given priority over CPU usage.

When HQ Mode is turned On, Tiltshift uses a higher precision algorithm, providing better spectral resolution at the expense of higher CPU usage.

Options: Off, On

We recommend using HQ Mode when you need the highest possible quality and don’t mind 2-4x higher CPU usage. An important lead instrument, vocal, or a mastering session is a great place for HQ Mode.

  • Default Off

Specs

Supported Channel Configurations

Input Channel # Output Channel #
1 1
1 2
2 2

Acknowledgements

Annlie Huang / Chris Conover / Diana Zheng / Jack Stratton / TaeHo Park

Authors

Devin Kerr / Rob Stenson / Jasper Duba / Noah Dayan

Translators

TaeHo Park / Tiago Frúgoli / Gustavo Guzmán / Reda Kermach / Noah Dayan / Gal Cohen / Sydney Bolton

About Goodhertz Plugins

User Interface

Goodhertz plugins are made to be workhorse tools that sound amazing. We’ve put a lot of thought and care into the audio quality and plugin usability, and for that reason, we’ve opted for simple and direct controls & interfaces that don’t rely on photorealistic knobs or ornamental screw heads to communicate their meaning.

We’ve also decided to only include meters and graphs when we feel they will directly lead to a better sonic result. Meters/graphs can consume significant CPU resources, and we firmly believe that if it sounds good, it is good.

Our meters can be manually enabled or disabled via the “Enable Metering” User Preference.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action Keyboard Shortcut
Enter New Parameter Value Once you’ve tapped or double-tapped a control, type in a value, then hit Enter, Return, or Tab
Increment Parameter Value or arrow keys
Decrement Parameter Value or arrow keys
Jump to Next Parameter Tab
Jump to Previous Parameter Shift + Tab or ` (backtick)
Escape Parameter Focus / Close any Open Drawers Esc
Tap Tempo t (N.B. For this to work, you must have a BPM control selected.)

Right-Click Actions

Action Instruction
Read about Control in Manual Right-Click & select “Read About [control]”
Reset Control to Default Right-Click & select “Reset [control] to Factory Default Value”
Lock a Control when switching presets Right-Click & select “Lock [control] When Switching Presets”
Copy all current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Copy All Settings as URL to Clipboard”
Paste all plugin settings Right-Click & select “Paste All Settings From Clipboard”
Reset all plugin settings to default Right-Click & select “Reset All Settings to Factory Default”
Reset all plugin settings to Preset Right-Click & select “Reset All Settings to [preset] Preset”
Save Preset with current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Save Settings as New Preset”
Update Preset with current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Update [preset] Preset With Settings”
Go to the plugin’s product page Right-Click & select “Goodhertz [plugin name]”

Right-Click Preferences

Action Explanation
Language Switch the display language of text elements in Goodhertz plugins. We currently support the following languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Arabic.
Always Open Advanced Pane By default, this is Off — i.e. when the plugins open, they do not show you the advanced controls available by hitting the ••• button in the sidebar. If you’d like to always see the advanced controls, enable this preference.
Dark Mode Allows you to choose the color palette used for displaying the interface. If you prefer the look of dark colors (or work in a darker environment) enable this option. The Auto option will automatically adjust the color scheme depending on the system preferences of your machine (Mac only).
Enable Metering By default, this is On — i.e. in normal operation, all audio meters and visualizations available in Goodhertz plugins are enabled and running. If you’d like to turn them off and disable all metering and visualization, deselect this option. And to turn them back on, simply reselect it. N.B. If you’re struggling to use a large number of Goodhertz plugins on an older processor with an integrated GPU, sometimes disabling metering can help.
Enable Scroll Input By default, all Goodhertz sliders can be scrolled in addition to dragged. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no scrolling events will be used to control Goodhertz sliders.
Enable Tooltips By default, this is On — i.e. all controls will show a tooltip on hover. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no tooltips will be shown.
Require Double-Click for Keyboard Focus By default, you can get keyboard focus on any Goodhertz control with a single click. Enable this option to ensure keyboard focus only occurs on double clicks.
Window Size Enlarge or shrink the Goodhertz plugin window by selecting an option here. This will save your preference for all instances of this plugin.

Mouse Modifiers

Action Combination (Mac) Combination (Windows)
Reset Parameter to Default Value Option + Click Alt + Click
Move Control with Coarse Precision Shift + Drag Shift + Drag
Move Control with Fine Precision Command + Drag Ctrl + Drag
Move Control with Normal Precision Drag Drag

Automation

Unintentional digital clicks and pops are the worst. They happen for lots of reasons and often end up wasting your time with needless revisions or mastering surgery. When they go unnoticed, they can make their way onto commercial albums and releases.

Plugin automation is a common cause of clicks and pops. Sweeping an EQ band, changing a delay setting, and even automating a plugin bypass can cause digital artifacts if poorly handled.

This is not true for Goodhertz plugins. Any parameter in a Goodhertz plugin, even on/off switches, can be automated freely and smoothly without clicks, pops, or zipper noises (unless otherwise noted). You can push them, pull them, LFO them — whatever you do, they’ll handle it gracefully.

Since our Master On/Off controls won’t create artifacts, we recommend that you use them rather than your DAW-supplied plugin bypass if you want to disable plugin processing.

Plugin Settings

Goodhertz plugin settings can be copied and pasted as text urls, which look like this: https://goodhertz.co/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50

To copy and paste, right click anywhere on the plugin interface and select either the copy or the paste option.

E.g. If you paste “https://goodhertz.co/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50” into Vulf Compressor it will recall the settings associated with that url. This way you can easily send an exact plugin setting to someone — in an email or even a tweet — without any guesswork or screenshots.”

System Requirements

Mac OS X ≥ 10.9

Audio Unit 64-Bit, VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host

Windows ≥ 7

VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host

Contact Support

To send plugin feedback, please e-mail us at feedback@goodhertz.com.

If you have a quick question, send us a tweet @Goodhertz. We’re often able to respond faster to tweets than emails.

If you’re having trouble, experiencing a technical issue, or you think you’ve found a bug, please email support@goodhertz.com.

Find all our contact info & bug-reporting protocol on the contact page.