2nd
Warm Body
One octave above the fundamental. Adds fullness — the most euphonic harmonic. Start here for 808 sub enhancement.
Audubon · Plugins
CRN-001
·
Released v1.1
Bass Harmonic Enhancer
Crane.
Bass made loud.
Six independently sculpted harmonic bands. A phase-coherent split. Four-times oversampled. Everything below the crossover gets bigger — everything above arrives untouched.
One-time · v1.1.0
$29
Free, full plugin. The output dips to silence every 30 seconds until you enter a serial — buying removes it, no reinstall needed.
01 — Overview
A precision bass enhancer
that only touches the bass.
Crane is a six-band harmonic enhancer that adds warmth, definition, and presence exactly where you need it — below the crossover, nowhere else. Designed for dubstep, drum & bass, trap, and any production where the low end has to assert itself on small speakers.
A Linkwitz-Riley 4th-order crossover splits the signal, feeds the bass band through a Chebyshev harmonic generator at 4× oversample rate, then recombines it phase-coherently.
Six harmonic bands let you sculpt how the low end breathes, growls, or punches. Nothing is added above the crossover — the high band passes straight through, and the split reconstructs flat and phase-aligned, so there's no side-effect on the rest of your mix.
02 — The Engine
Chebyshev harmonic generation with surgical control.
The live spectrum shows Crane's output as a real-time trace (green) with a peak-hold line (blue) behind it, from 20 Hz to 1 kHz — you see exactly what Crane is building, in real time.
Chebyshev Generator
The core of Crane is a Chebyshev harmonic generator, not a static distortion curve. Each Chebyshev order synthesizes exactly one harmonic of the bass — the 2nd through the 7th — so it adds those harmonics only, with nothing bleeding between them. Each band's Level knob sets how much of that harmonic is generated — zero to full, at 0.1% resolution.
Even / Odd Order Morph
Every band has an Even/Odd control that morphs the cell between adjacent harmonic orders — its even-order neighbour (rounder, tube-like) and its odd-order neighbour (grittier, more forward). Most sounds want something in between.
Per-Harmonic Bypass
Each of the six bands has its own bypass toggle. Build harmonic texture incrementally, hear exactly what each component contributes, A/B individual harmonics during shaping without touching the Level knob.
Live Spectrum
The analyzer shows Crane's output as a live trace with a peak-hold line, from 20 Hz to 1 kHz. Harmonic bell markers rise on the display at each active band's frequency, and the purple crossover line is draggable directly on the display — set it by ear while watching the split.
03 — Per-Harmonic Control
Six bands. Six independent personalities.
2nd through 7th harmonic, each with its own Level knob, Even/Odd order morph, and bypass. Lower harmonics add body and warmth; higher harmonics add presence, shimmer, and air.
3rd
Presence
An octave + a fifth up. Midrange presence; makes bass translatable to small speakers. Defining harmonic for growl bass.
4th
Punch
Two octaves up. Adds impact and punch without as much apparent grit as the 3rd. Pairs well with the 2nd.
5th
Shimmer
Two octaves and a major third. Adds shimmer and definition — particularly useful for wobble bass and modulated sounds.
6th
Clarity
High-frequency content generated from the bass — useful for presence in dense mixes where the fundamental is buried.
7th
Air
The highest available harmonic. Adds upper-frequency extension to bass material. Use at low levels — texture, not weight.
04 — Band-Split Architecture
Touch the bass.
Leave the rest alone.
A — LR4
Linkwitz-Riley 4th-Order
The industry standard for phase-coherent band splitting. When the low band and high band are summed at the output, the crossover region is flat and phase-aligned. No comb filtering, no cancellation at the split point.
B — Range
60 Hz → 1000 Hz, log taper
From sub-only processing to almost the entire bass range, including upper harmonics of bass instruments. The control uses a logarithmic taper so fine adjustment is easy at low frequencies, where it matters most.
C — High Band
Clean High-Band Passthrough
The high-band signal runs through the complementary high-pass straight to the output stage — no harmonic generation, no saturation, nothing added above the crossover. Low and high sum back to a flat, phase-aligned response.
05 — 4× Oversampling
Clean harmonics. No aliasing.
A — Anti-alias
Aliasing Prevention
A harmonic generator produces partials that, at nominal sample rate, fold back into the audible spectrum as inharmonic artifacts. Crane runs the generator at 4× the host rate, pushing alias products far above 20 kHz before downsampling with a steep halfband IIR filter.
B — DC Block
18 Hz DC Blocker
Even Chebyshev orders carry a DC term — a constant offset that wastes headroom and can cause downstream clipping. An 18 Hz high-pass on the generated harmonics removes it before they recombine with the clean bands.
C — Zero Latency
No Reported Delay
Only the harmonic-generator path is oversampled; the clean low and high bands run on a separate zero-latency path and reconstruct exactly. Crane reports no plugin delay, so it sits on parallel buses alongside dry tracks with no time offset.
06 — Global Controls
Ten controls that shape everything else.
Drive and Boost set how hard the generator is pushed; Crossover and Focus set where it works; Fundamental, Auto Gain, Delta, and Mono refine the result; Mix and Output shape the final blend.
Drive
−12 → +24 dB
Pre-generator gain. More drive pushes more of the bass into the harmonic generator. 3–6 dB is usually enough; higher values push every harmonic band harder at once.
Crossover
60 → 1000 Hz
The split point. 80–120 Hz for sub-only (808s). 200–300 Hz for full bass-band processing. 400–600 Hz when you want the entire bass instrument range processed.
Focus
60 → 1000 Hz
A low-pass on the generator's input only — the clean output is untouched. Lowering it feeds the generator a purer sub, so complex or chordal bass produces clean harmonics instead of intermodulation. Default 1000 Hz is fully open (transparent).
Fundamental
0 → 100 %
Level of the clean low band underneath the harmonics. Keep it up for weight; pull it down and lean on the harmonics for the psychoacoustic "missing fundamental" trick — the ear rebuilds the pitch from the 2nd–5th on speakers that can't reproduce the sub.
Mix
0 → 100 %
Scales how much of the generated harmonics blend in — the clean bands stay put, so no setting combs or notches the crossover. At 100% you hear the full harmonic addition; pull back for gentler enhancement.
Auto Gain
On / Off
Automatic level compensation on the enhanced low band — as you add harmonics or drive, Crane trims the enhanced band to hold a steady level, so louder never fools you into thinking it's better. A/B honestly.
Delta
On / Off
Solos the added harmonics — you hear only what Crane is generating, at the current Mix. The fastest way to check exactly what each band is contributing and to spot harshness before it hits the mix.
Mono
On / Off
Folds the low band to mono before the generator, so the harmonics are mono too. Keeps the bottom end phase-solid and centred on club and vinyl systems while your highs stay stereo.
Output
−24 → +12 dB
Final trim. Harmonic enhancement raises RMS — use Output to compensate and maintain consistent loudness for A/B. Useful when feeding a limiter that needs a stable input.
Boost
1.5× / 2.5×
A global harmonic multiplier. Off: 1.5× scale. On: 2.5×. The quick way to shift between subtle enhancement and heavy saturation without adjusting every Level knob. Ideal for drop automation.
07 — Workflow
From insert to drop, in seven moves.
01
Insert Crane on your bass channel, 808 bus, or any channel where low-end enhancement is the goal — or load a factory preset (808 Definition, Sub Fatten, Reese Growl…) as a starting point.
02
Set the Crossover first. 80–150 Hz for sub-only, 200–350 Hz for a full bass instrument, 400–600 Hz for synths with complex upper harmonic content. On chordal or noisy bass, pull Focus down to feed the generator a cleaner sub.
03
Start with the 2nd harmonic — Level 20–40% to add fundamental warmth. The safest harmonic to push and the one that translates best on all speakers.
04
Add 3rd harmonic (30–50%) for presence and midrange definition — this is what makes your bass audible on phones and earbuds. Hit Delta to solo the added harmonics and hear exactly what you're building.
05
Shape character with the Even/Odd morph on each band — toward the even neighbour for warmth, toward the odd for bite. Every band can lean its own way.
06
Use Drive for overall saturation intensity. Switch on Auto Gain to keep the level steady while you dial, then use Output for the final trim.
07
Automate the Boost toggle on drops or transitions to instantly shift between enhancement mode and heavy saturation character.
08 — Specifications
Everything, on one page.
Format
VST3
Platform
Windows 10 / 11 · macOS 10.13+ (Universal — Apple Silicon & Intel) · 64-bit
Version
1.1.0
Harmonic bands
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th — 6 independent bands
Per-harmonic controls
Level (0–100%), Even/Odd order morph (0.0–1.0), bypass toggle
Harmonic generator
Per-order Chebyshev (T2…T8) · added harmonics only
Drive range
−12 to +24 dB
Crossover range
60–1000 Hz · logarithmic taper
Crossover type
Linkwitz-Riley 4th-order (LR4) · phase-coherent · zero latency
Focus
60–1000 Hz low-pass on generator input (1000 Hz = open)
Fundamental
0–100% clean low-band level · missing-fundamental mode
Mix
0 → 100% · scales the added harmonics only
Auto Gain
Automatic level compensation on the enhanced low band
Delta
Solo the added harmonics
Bass Mono
Fold the low band to mono before generation
Output Gain
−24 to +12 dB
Boost
Off: 1.5× harmonic scale · On: 2.5×
Oversampling
4× halfband polyphase IIR · always active
DC blocker
18 Hz high-pass on the generated harmonics
Latency
Zero — no plugin delay reported
Spectrum display
Real-time output FFT · 20 Hz–1 kHz · live + peak-hold · harmonic markers · draggable crossover
Presets
7 factory + user presets (.cranepreset)
Parameter smoothing
Ramp filter on all parameters · click-free automation
State save
Full settings saved with DAW project as XML
09 — Fine Print
Documentation.
DAW
Any VST3-compatible host — Ableton Live 11+, FL Studio 20+, Reaper, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, and others. Insert on any mono or stereo track. VST3 only — Logic Pro and GarageBand load Audio Units, not VST3, so they are not supported.
Operating System
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) — the editor uses WebView2, which is built into Windows 11 and most current Windows 10 installs. macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later — one Universal build runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Format
VST3 only. Works on mono and stereo channels — bass tracks, drum bus, anywhere low-frequency enhancement is needed.
CPU
4× oversampling means roughly 2× the CPU of an EQ on the same channel. On a modern processor, Crane uses a small fraction of one core. Multiple instances are practical.
Recommended Setup
Insert on bass or 808 channel. Load a factory preset (e.g. 808 Definition) to start, or dial in by ear from Crossover 250 Hz, 2nd harmonic 30%, Even/Odd 0.15, Drive 0 dB.
Updates
Current release 1.1.0. Free updates for all future 1.x releases.
v1.1.0 — Update check, from the logo
The Audubon Audio wordmark in Crane’s header is now a button. Click it and Crane asks audubonaudio.com one question — which build is current — then shows that number beside the one you are running, with a link straight to the members area if there is something newer and a plain “you have the current version” if there is not. If it cannot reach us it says so rather than claiming you are up to date. This is the only moment Crane touches the internet, it happens only on that click, and nothing about you goes with it — no serial, no licence, no machine id, not even your version or operating system. The comparison happens on your own machine.
v1.0.0 — Initial Release
First public release. Six independently sculpted harmonic bands via a per-order Chebyshev generator, phase-coherent LR4 band split, 4× halfband-IIR oversampling, Even/Odd order morph, per-band bypass, Focus, Fundamental, Auto Gain, Delta solo, Bass Mono, global Drive/Mix/Output, and 7 factory presets.
Full User Guide
Step-by-step walkthrough of the spectrum display, harmonic cells, the global controls (Drive, Crossover, Focus, Fundamental, Mix, Auto Gain, Delta, Mono, Output, Boost), presets, and workflow tips for getting the most out of Crane on bass, 808s, and sub instruments.
Open User Guide →
Personal & Commercial Use
Use Crane in any project — music production, mixing, sound design, post-production, broadcast, and live performance. No royalties, no project restrictions.
Single User
One license per user. Install on the computers you personally own or operate.
Serial Activation
Your license includes a unique serial number tied to your email. Your serial and download are permanently accessible in your Members Area.
Free Updates
All 1.x updates are free. Your serial activates the current version and all future updates in the 1.x line.
No Redistribution
The plugin binaries may not be shared, resold, or redistributed. Each user must obtain their own license.