HoRNet Butterfly 1.0.2 update

We have just updated ButterFly, a highly versatile and powerful master processor, to version 1.0.2. This update brings with it several improvements and fixes, ensuring that ButterFly remains one of the most reliable and efficient tools in your audio mastering arsenal. If you’re working on your stereo mix or a mastering project, HoRNet Butterfly provides all the necessary tools to add the perfect finishing touches, making sure your track sounds polished, dynamic, and well-balanced.

HoRNet Butterfly is designed to deliver high-quality audio processing that meets the demands of both professionals and hobbyists alike. It’s an all-in-one mastering solution with some serious power under the hood, but still remains user-friendly and intuitive. This plugin combines sophisticated features such as an equalizer, compressor, clipper, and limiter, giving you full control over your final mix, whether you’re working on a single track or an entire album.

One of the standout features of HoRNet Butterfly is the equalizer. Built with the same cutting-edge technology as our TotalEQ, this module offers precision and flexibility to shape your sound. The TotalEQ technology provides you with a range of frequencies to tweak, and with its transparent and musical response, you can make subtle adjustments to boost or cut certain frequencies without affecting the overall tonal balance. This makes the equalizer in ButterFly a vital tool for ensuring that each element of your mix sits well together, giving you the clarity and definition needed for professional-quality sound.

The compressor in ButterFly is equally impressive, built using the same technology as our SyncPressor. This compressor is designed to control the dynamics of your audio, ensuring that no part of your mix gets too loud or too soft. Whether you’re dealing with vocals, drums, or synths, the compressor ensures that everything is balanced and cohesive, making sure your track doesn’t become overwhelmed by sudden volume spikes. The SyncPressor technology excels in providing transparent compression that doesn’t squash the life out of your sound but still delivers the control needed for a smooth and controlled mix.

The clipper module is another essential tool in HoRNet Butterfly, designed to introduce gentle clipping when your levels are getting too high. A clipper is used to limit the maximum peak level of your audio, ensuring it doesn’t distort or create unwanted artifacts. This module can add a bit of coloration to your sound, offering a slight saturation effect that can make your mix sound more vibrant and lively. The clipper in ButterFly provides clean clipping, making it a perfect tool to add the final bit of polish to your audio without compromising its integrity.

The limiter in HoRNet Butterfly is based on the same high-quality technology found in our Magnus MK2, ensuring that your final output stays within the desired volume range without clipping or distortion. This is particularly crucial during mastering, where you need to ensure that your audio will sound great across all platforms and speakers. The limiter effectively prevents clipping while preserving the dynamic range of your track, providing a transparent and powerful tool to finalize your audio. The Magnus MK2 technology gives the limiter superior precision, ensuring that every bit of your track’s energy is maintained, while still keeping the levels in check.

One of the major advantages of HoRNet Butterfly is its flexibility. The plugin allows you to rearrange the order of the effects at any time. You can easily drag and drop the modules into different positions within the top tabs control section. This means that you have full control over the signal flow, allowing you to experiment with different processing orders to see how they affect the overall sound. This flexibility is crucial for mastering, where every decision you make can impact the final output, and gives you the ability to fine-tune your processing chain to match your artistic vision.

On the left side of the interface, you’ll find a handy LUFS metering section, which displays the input and output levels. The LUFS meter gives you important insight into the overall loudness of your track, and it includes readings for momentary, short-term, integrated, and true peak levels. This allows you to monitor not only the loudness of your audio but also its dynamic range, ensuring that your track is both punchy and balanced. The LUFS meter in HoRNet Butterfly is a critical feature for those who want to ensure their track adheres to the loudness standards commonly used in professional mastering.

While HoRNet Butterfly is primarily designed to work on stereo buses, it can also be used on mono channels, transforming it into a powerful channel strip. This gives you the flexibility to use ButterFly in a variety of situations, whether you’re working on a full stereo mix or just processing individual elements like vocals or drums. The ability to process both mono and stereo signals makes it a versatile tool for any audio engineer.

Another important feature is the ability to independently disable each module, saving CPU power when you don’t need certain processing. Even though HoRNet Butterfly is a powerful plugin with several modules, it’s designed to be efficient and lightweight on your CPU. You can safely add multiple instances of the plugin to your session without worrying about overloading your system. This is especially useful in larger projects where you may need to process several tracks or buses simultaneously.

The new 1.0.2 version of HoRNet Butterfly is a maintenance release, and it includes several improvements and bug fixes. These include:

• Fixed crash on mono tracks in Pro Tools

• Fixed crash with Hindenburg

• Fixed input gain not working

• Fixed denormals issue in limiter

• Slight performance improvements

These fixes enhance the stability and performance of the plugin, ensuring that it works smoothly across different DAWs and setups. The update is free for current owners of the plugin and can be downloaded directly from the user area on the HoRNet website.

In conclusion, HoRNet Butterfly is an indispensable tool for anyone involved in audio mastering. Its combination of powerful processing modules, flexible workflow, and high-quality sound makes it an essential addition to your mastering chain. Whether you’re mastering for stereo mixdowns or using it as a channel strip, HoRNet Butterfly provides all the tools you need to achieve professional-quality results.