Available for download, iZotope's Stutter Edit 2 is a creative mixing and sound design tool that can accomplish anything from glitchy stacatto sound manipulations to esoteric phase-distortion effects and more. Use this tool in fashioning electronic music, in creating strange soundbed tapestries for viewable media, or to process individual elements of a mix in ideosyncratic ways. With a MIDI mode that allows you to play presets with your compatible MIDI controller, Stutter Edit 2 can also be performed in a manner similar to a virtual instrument.
For a plug-in chockfull of complicated effects, the GUI is relatively simple to understand. At the top of the window your global effects are layed out, where you can implement all the glitchy, stuttering effects the original Stutter Edit was famous for and more. Below these processors is a list of other individuated effects, such as Phaser, Flanger, Delay, Reverb, and other processing options. The effects can be reordered in nearly any series configuration you wich, and selecting each effect tabs a window of parameters that you can change.
This is where the fun begins: Corresponding to each parameter is a Curve Editor, which allows you to draw in and program the exact timing of a paramter as it progresses or cycles from its minimum to maximum values. Create phasers that modulate faster over time, distortions that get less crunchy as the effect goes on. Nearly every parameter into the plug-in can be manipulated with the Curve Editor.
This is a mammoth plug-in to understand for sure. But to get you started, iZotope has included a variety of preset banks and gestures. Some of them have been designed by the famous music producer BT.
This plug-in is compatible with Mac and Windows platforms. It will operate in AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX platforms.
Auto mode is great for quickly auditioning gestures or for when you need a little instant gratification in your mix. Using MIDI mode lets you control Stutter Edit 2 with a MIDI keyboard. Setup is a breeze, with a built-in help screen that detects your DAW and gives step-by-step instructions
Stutter controls how many slices of your audio play back with your gesture and how fast they are. Buffer controls what sections of your audio Stutter Edit 2 stores and plays back. Deep customization options let you control Rate, Quantization, and more, to keep your edits in time with your session.