mfkne Releases Free PUNCHDUST Dynamics & Texture Plugin

Published: Aug 29, 2026, 20:27 UTC

mfkne has released PUNCHDUST, a free dynamics and texture plugin for macOS and Windows. The VST3 effect combines three processing moves in a single interface. It pushes the attack forward, trails a grainy lo-fi texture into the decay and lifts the sustain from below. As a result, thin signals turn dense and physical while the original transient peaks stay untouched.

Three coupled engines in one plugin

A single detector pass per sample on the mono sum drives all three stages. This keeps the stereo image locked. Moreover, the engine runs 48 samples ahead (1.0 ms at 48 kHz) and reports this latency to the host. Therefore, texture and lift are already in position when the hit lands. Importantly, the plugin only adds the difference between the processed and the dry signal. Consequently, the source itself is never filtered or compressed.

PUNCH, DUST, SQUEEZE and TILT

The PUNCH control is a dual-stage transient shaper that tracks its own baseline and touches the attack only. Afterwards, it pushes the signal into a soft clipper at 2x oversampling through a 97-tap linear-phase half-band filter. This keeps the highs crisp instead of aliasing.

DUST blends 5-bit rasterized crackle with warm analog hiss. In addition, it opens only in the gaps where the source falls away. The texture therefore trails the material instead of sitting under it.

SQUEEZE is parallel upward compression that pulls low-level sustain up by as much as 26 dB. Meanwhile, transients are excluded and automatic gain compensation locks the peaks to unity. Finally, TILT is a balance filter around 700 Hz that works on the added signal alone. With PUNCH and SQUEEZE at zero, the plugin turns into a true bypass.

Features

Dual-stage transient shaper with soft clipper at 2x oversampling
5-bit crackle and analog hiss texture layer with gap detection
Parallel upward compression up to 26 dB with automatic gain compensation
Balance filter around 700 Hz on the wet signal only
48-sample lookahead with latency reporting to the host
True bypass with PUNCH and SQUEEZE at zero
Built-in noise gate, 15 Hz subsonic filter and master safety soft clipper

Availability and compatibility

PUNCHDUST is a VST3 audio effect with stereo in and out. It runs on macOS as a Universal Binary with support for Apple Silicon and Intel, and on Windows as a 64-bit build. Every parameter is automatable and saved with your project. Furthermore, the plugin is real-time safe with no memory allocation on the audio thread.

Keep in mind that the plugins are not code-signed. Your system may therefore show a warning during installation, which you can ignore and continue.