Smooth Sibilance V2

Silky, Controlled De-essing

Say hello to Smooth Sibilance V2, and wave goodbye to harsh “sss” sounds and piercing frequencies. This intelligent de-esser lets you pinpoint and smooth out harshness at any frequency, not just the usual vocal trouble spots. Whether it’s vocals, cymbals or bright synths, Smooth Sibilance keeps everything clean, polished and natural. V2 brings a real-time frequency display, full input and output metering, and the V2 top bar with A/B compare, Smart Gain and Link Gain.

Smooth Sibilance V2 plugin interface
Setup

Installation

Mac

  1. Open the .pkg installer.
  2. Accept the license agreement.
  3. Choose the Tuned plugins you want and the format (VST3, AU and/or AAX).
  4. Click Continue, enter your password and install.

Windows

  1. Open the .exe installer.
  2. Accept the license agreement.
  3. Choose the Tuned plugins you want and the format (VST3 and/or AAX).
  4. Click Next → Install.
After installing: restart your DAW so it rescans the plugin folders and finds Smooth Sibilance V2.
Activation

Registration

When you open Smooth Sibilance V2 for the first time, you will see the registration screen.

  1. If you already have a license key, paste it into the serial field and click Activate to unlock the full version.
  2. No license yet? Start the free 14-day evaluation from the same screen.
When the demo ends: the plugin interface and processing are disabled until a valid license is entered.
Control Layout

Controls & Features

Detection lives on the left, the frequency display and the main shaping controls sit in the middle, and level control and metering are on the right. Presets and A/B live in the top bar.

Detection

Bypass
Switches the de-esser in and out for quick before-and-after checks.
Threshold
Sets the level at which de-essing kicks in. Lower it to catch subtle sibilance, raise it to target only aggressive peaks.
Speed
Controls how quickly the de-esser reacts - snappy for fast transients, or smooth for a more natural result.
Ratio
Sets how strongly the plugin reduces harsh frequencies, from gentle to firm correction.
Bypass · Threshold · Speed · Ratio Bypass · Threshold · Speed · Ratio

Frequency Display

Frequency View
Visualizes the affected frequencies in real time, from 1 kHz up to 20 kHz.
Gain Reduction
The meter on the right of the display shows how much sibilance is being tamed.
Frequency display Frequency display

Shaping

Amount
Controls how much sibilance and harshness are reduced.
Frequency
Selects the exact frequency you want to tame - not just the high end.
Range
Sets how wide the de-essing spreads around your selected frequency, in octaves.
Monitor
Solos the frequencies being reduced, so you can hear exactly what is being tamed.
Amount · Frequency · Range Amount · Frequency · Range
Pro tip: engage Monitor and sweep Frequency until you hear the harshest part of the “sss”. Then switch Monitor off and set Amount to taste.

Input, Output & Metering

Input
Sets the level going into the processing. Use it for fast gain staging before the signal hits the plugin.
Output
Sets the final level coming out of the plugin so it sits correctly in your mix.
Level Meters
Stereo input and output meters, scaled from 0 down to −inf, so you can watch levels at a glance.
Smart Gain
Automatically matches the output loudness to the input, so louder never gets mistaken for better.
Link Gain
Links the Input and Output controls so raising one lowers the other, for effortless level matching while you drive the processing.
Gain staging tip: Smart Gain and Link Gain are two modes of one switch, so only one is active at a time. Use Smart Gain for a loudness-matched comparison, and Link Gain when you want to drive the processing harder while holding your output level steady.
Input & Output with metering Input & Output with metering
Global Functions

The Top Bar

Presets and A/B compare sit in the strip across the top of the plugin. Bypass lives at the top of the Detection panel. Smart Gain and Link Gain are covered in Input, Output & Metering above.

The V2 top bar The V2 top bar
Preset Menu
Preset Menu
Shows the loaded preset. Use the arrows to step through presets one at a time, or click the name to open the Preset Browser.
A/B Compare
A/B Compare
Holds two independent settings so you can flip between them and hear which one works, without losing either.
Tooltips: hover over any control and a short description appears in the bar along the bottom of the plugin.
Workflow

Preset Browser

The preset menu sits in the centre of the top bar. Use the arrows to step through presets one at a time, or click the preset name to open the Preset Browser.

Preset menu Preset menu
Preset browser Preset browser
Search
Type any part of a preset name to filter the list instantly.
Factory / Artists / User / All
Switch between the presets we shipped, artist presets, your own saves, and everything at once.
Save / Rename / Delete
Store your own settings as User presets and manage them without leaving the plugin.
Favorites
Click the heart next to the preset name to mark it as a favorite. The Favorites button filters the list down to just those.
Presets List
Click any preset in the list to load it. The loaded preset is highlighted.
Support

Troubleshooting

If something is not working as expected, don’t worry - most issues are quick to resolve.

  1. Re-read the Installation and Registration sections to confirm both were completed.
  2. Double-check your DAW settings, plugin folder paths, and system compatibility.
  3. Restart your DAW and try loading Smooth Sibilance V2 again.
  4. Make sure your OS and DAW are up to date.

Still stuck? Email info@tunedplugins.com with a quick description of the issue, your operating system and DAW version - and we’ll get you sorted out ASAP.