The world’s first transparent mastering exciter: Softube releases Weiss Exciter & Weiss Complete Collection 2 - News

News Center|2025/06/05

The world’s first transparent mastering exciter: Softube releases Weiss Exciter & Weiss Complete Collection 2

A technological leap in harmonic excitation that is true to the Weiss name
Adds harmonic content so naturally it feels like part of the original sound
Advanced processing and mastering features with intuitive operation

Can an exciter be considered transparent? Developed through the collaboration between Softube and Weiss Engineering, Weiss Exciter does what no other exciter plug-in can: it adds harmonic content so naturally it feels like part of the original sound – no overcooked distortion or exaggerated EQ in sight. The result is the subtle, transparent enhancement of vibrancy and crispness and preservation of the integrity of the mix. The harmonics sound so organic, it’s like they were always there.

Transparent how?

Traditional exciters often overdo it by overemphasizing bright EQ or applying harsh multi-band distortion. This results in an overprocessed sound that compromises the original character. The Weiss Exciter offers a more refined solution, enhancing audio with musically relevant harmonics and minimal EQ coloration. This is achieved through four key features: adaptive non-linearities to generate consistent harmonics at any level, a mastering mode that reduces fundamental frequencies in distortion, sharp phase-compensated filters, and four mathematically defined harmonic modes. Weiss Exciter is a technological leap in harmonic excitation that is true to the precision and transparency of the Weiss name.

Easy to use, with expert mastering features

Despite its advanced processing, the Weiss Exciter is intuitive to operate. A frequency visualization lets users define a focus band for excitation and an output band for where harmonics are added. Users control four harmonic modes, stereo width, filter types, and the unique Mastering switch. For professional mastering engineers, an expert panel offers deeper control over harmonic shaping for precision and transparency at the highest level.

Subscribe to Flow® or buy perpetual

Weiss Exciter is available at an introductory price of 99 USD/EUR until July 3, 2025, after which the price is 199 USD/EUR. It is also available as part of Weiss Complete Collection 2 with an intro price of 699 USD/EUR until July 3, 2025, and a list price of 999 USD/EUR (upgrade pricing available).

Weiss Exciter is also available as part of Flow® Mastering Suite: a subscription that offers perpetual ownership of Softube plug-ins over time for just 14.99 USD/EUR per month. Current subscribers of Flow® Mastering Suite get access to Weiss Exciter at no additional cost.

Finally, a transparent exciter.

We've added several features that make Weiss Exciter truly transparent and help to battle the traditional issue of excess EQ-ing or too much distortion. Adaptive non-linearity ensures the harmonics are relevant and consistent regardless of the signal level. The Mastering switch reduces the amount of the fundamental frequency in the distortion, thereby reducing the EQ effect. You can also use precise pre- and post-filtering to target specific areas of your mix. We mathematically designed four different Harmonics Modes to ensure an elegant sound with enough harmonics to create the exciter effect. And the filters are phase-compensated to avoid phase-cancellation effects between the added harmonics and the original audio. The result is a "high-end sparkle" that sounds vastly different from standard EQs, saturators, and other tricks.

Adaptive non-Linearities

To get a transparent excitement, you need constant control over the generated harmonics. Too little harmonics, and there is no effect at all. Too many, and the audio will start to sound grainy, distorted, or harsh. Adaptive Mode will always keep the harmonics in the sweet spot.

Red curve: Adaptive Mode On, blue curve: Adaptive Mode: Off.

The graph above shows the difference between Adaptive Mode on and off. With Adaptive Mode on (red curve), you will keep your audio in the sweet spot, creating harmonics without hard clipping. With Adaptive Mode turned off, the audio will start to clip when you increase the signal level.

Similarly, if you look at the harmonic spectrum from the Weiss Exciter, you will see that with Adaptive Mode turned off (blue lines), a lot of harmonics are created when the audio reaches high audio levels (when the Harmonics LED turns red). With Adaptive Mode on (red lines), the harmonics are kept in their sweet spot. For these graphs, we gain staged the levels so that the harmonics would be equal at -30 dBFS (black lines).

Rduced EQ Effect

Engaging the Mastering switch will dramatically reduce the amount of EQ you get from Weiss Exciter. The fundamental frequencies are mathematically reduced from the harmonics so that only the newly generated harmonics will affect the sound.

Harmonic Modes

Exciter offers four types of harmonics with different sounds: Soft and Hard for predictable and smooth results and Poly 3 and Poly 5 for maximum transparency.

Additive Processing

Weiss Exciter uses a parallel signal path with a completely unaffected “dry” path. The integrity of the original audio is preserved without unwanted side effects. It is distortion without coloration, without “box tone.”

Linear Phase Operation

Weiss Exciter can operate in linear phase mode, with no phase shift throughout the algorithm, for pristine audio.

In minimum phase mode, all internal audio paths are phase compensated so that the blend between dry and wet happens without phase warping or cancellations. It’s like having linear phase calculations internally, but without latency!

Mastering features, intuitive operation.

Despite its advanced processing, Weiss Exciter offers straightforward operation. The Frequency visualization lets you define a focus band for excitation and an output band for where the harmonics are added. You also control the four harmonic modes, stereo width, filter types, and the unique Mastering switch. Professional mastering engineers will appreciate the expert panel where you can get deeper control over harmonic shaping for precision and transparency at the highest level.

This product supports Extended Features

We love VU meters, Bakelite knobs, and analog quirks. But we want modern precision and workflow. The answer? Softube Extended Features. Easy-access panels with the innovations you need close at hand.