Plugin interface — screenshot pending
Enhancement

Bus EXCITER-104

Arturia

Where to get itAvailable from Arturiaarturia.com

Bus EXCITER-104 is a faithful emulation of the Aphex Aural Exciter Type C2, model 104, which adds harmonics, transient detail, and air to audio without affecting throughput gain. Built around two main modules—the Big Bass parallel compressor for low-end enhancement and the Exciter for high-frequency harmonic generation—it offers extensive controls including adjustable filter frequencies, resonance, and output EQ. The plugin combines the original hardware's character with modern digital conveniences like stereo width control, saturation, and a frequency visualizer.

Written from the manual and checked against it. How we check

Key Features

01Big Bass parallel compression with adjustable low-pass frequency and resonance
02Exciter with harmonics control and high-pass filtering for air and detail
03Adjustable Slope control (50% to 100%) for half-wave to full-wave rectifier behavior
04Output EQ with synchronized high and low shelving bands (±12 dB)
05Big Bass or all bass frequencies below cutoff can be summed to mono
06Stereo width control for Exciter (0% to 200%)
07Big Bass Saturation for intentional overdrive character
08Solo and On/Off toggles for independent Big Bass and Exciter control
09Mix Lock to retain dry/wet mix when changing Presets

Things to Try

  • 01Set Drive so the red LED in Big Bass slightly pulses with the loudest bass peaks for optimal compression engagement
  • 02Use Resonance at the cutoff frequency to accentuate a specific bass or midrange frequency you find too faint in your mix
  • 03Increase Slope above 50% for more aggressive harmonic generation on atonal transients like snare hits; use half-wave (near 50%) for pitched or melodic sources
  • 04Activate Mix Lock to audition different Presets without hearing unnatural jumps in the amount of processing applied
Formats
VSTVST3AUAAX
User Manual↗

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