Flux's Bitter Sweet II is a free plug-in that can be had directly from Flux's website. For a while I had the original Bitter Sweet plug-in, but recently downloaded this newer version. This plug-in is available for a number of different platforms, including Pro Tools which is what I use it on, so I don't believe that too many users will have compatible problems. You can get it in VST, RTAS, or audio units format, and for a complete list of compatible software, all you need to do is go to the download page for this plug-in. The process of downloading and installing Bitter Sweet II was quick and simple, without any hiccups at all. The whole thing only took a few minutes and I was able to load it up in Pro Tools soon after. Like the original Bitter Sweet plug-in, this one is very simple in terms of the interface's make up, as it's got a large knob to choose between bitter or sweet, as well as slider like parameters to control mode, period, and output gain. Setting it to bitter will raise the level of the transients in the sound, while sweet will reduce the level of transients. You can also set the rate, which along with the period parameter are new to the Bitter Sweet II. A manual isn't necessary, although I haven't seen one so I don't know anything about it.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I'm currently running the Flux Bitter Sweet II plug-in on a Mac Book Pro lap top that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools with a Digi 002R audio interface or a Micro Box if I'm working on the go. I've really only used this plug-in on the master fader on a session, so I've never gone beyond using one of these at a time within a single session. I've never had a problem at all doing so, but can't say how well it would run if you were to run more than one at a time. It doesn't seem like the type of plug-in that takes up much processing power, but it really just depends on the system you're running it on.

OVERALL OPINION

I've never been able to complain about a free plug-in, and I won't start with the Flux Bitter Sweet II. While I don't feel that this is necessarily the most useful plug-in to have around, for a free one it is definitely something helpful to have around just in case. You can definitely change your sound a good amount with the Bitter Sweet II, but most of the times when I use it, I use it subtly. It has a clean sound and is very simple and straight ahead in terms of user friendliness. If you've got a DAW of any type, there's no reason not to have the Bitter Sweet II in your collection!