Some didn’t really get what Flux free plug-in Bitter-Sweet actually do and gave up on trying it. Honestly, the first time I tried it on something I didn’t hear a difference at all. The trick is to use it on something where it actually makes a difference because it’s a pretty unique plug-in. I had my first really good experience with it yesterday.

The explanation given to Flux can be hard to understand for some but all you need to know really is in there:

Turning the central button on the sweet side, decreases the transients amplitude. On the bitter side, the transients amplitude is magnified. Bitter-Sweet also features a control for the signal to be processed. When the main position is engaged, the process affects the stereo signal. If Center is engaged, only the M signal of the internal MS matrix is processed. If stereo is selected, only the S signal from the MS matrix is processed.

If we forget about the whole MS thing for a second, while interesting, you can just experiment with that on your own. So on what material does Bitter-Sweet matter? Drums is the way to go and particularly the kick. Real or machine doesn’t really matter, I like to slap it on the kick and make it pretty bitter, it can really make it bite without having to squash it with a compressor. Try it on snares as well.

While I pretty much only have used the bitter side of it you can use the sweetener as well of course. Again, drums are where you want to use it. Bitter-Sweet is really designed for percussive material, and this is why some haven’t heard it make a difference because they most likely have tried it on something that isn’t. If you’re making urban or mixing urban music where claps, snares and kicks are important you should definitely give it a go. Good luck.