Growl Audio updates gFractor Spectrum Analyzer Plugin to v1.2.0

Growl Audio has updated gFractor, its spectrum analyzer plug-in, to version 1.2.0. The update adds a new waterfall view, band audition, a split spectrum layout, smoothing and tilt controls, draggable curve ordering and a mono-sum channel mode, alongside a reorganised settings layout, a reworked light theme, a new about dialog and performance work across the oscilloscope and analyzer.

New in this version:

• Waterfall view: a third main view alongside spectrum and oscilloscope, built on a reassigned spectrogram that snaps energy to its true time and frequency location, so a pure tone paints a single line rather than a smeared band. It offers selectable FFT size (2k, 4k, 8k), a freeze control, a reassignment on/off toggle and low-level gating to suppress phantom-harmonic stippling.
• Band audition: click any of the seven frequency-band tabs to solo that band (band-pass), Cmd-click to latch it, or right-click to cut it (notch). Solo and cut are visually distinct and colour-blind friendly.
• Split spectrum view: stacks the primary channel in the top half and the secondary in the bottom half to compare them without overlap, the same way the split scope works.
• Spectrum smoothing: fractional-octave smoothing (off, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12).
• Spectrum tilt: a slope control (0, +1.5, +3, +4.5, +6 dB/oct) to match common analysis curves.
• Curve ordering: drag to choose which analyzer curves draw on top.
• Spectrum interpolation: smooths the spectrum and ghost-spectrum curves between bins, especially at lower FFT sizes.
• Hover readout toggle: a show-tooltip option turns the crosshair, glow dots and frequency, dB and note balloon on or off.
• Adjustable dB range for the spectrum's vertical scale.
• Mono-sum (L+R) channel mode for quick mono-compatibility checks, alongside the existing mid/side, left/right and transient/tonal modes.
• Spectrum fill modes: none, gradient or solid, with a per-display high-DPI option.
• Larger FFT sizes up to 16384, plus additional overlap options.
• CRT scope filter with a denser grid graticule for the oscilloscope.
• A new about dialog with the product brand mark, a product link and credits.
• The standalone application now uses the native OS title bar, and audio device settings have moved into the Help menu.

Other refinements include settings reorganised into six themed tabs, a reworked light theme with curve colours now driven by the active theme, additional LUFS meter modes, hint-bar filtering with a new band-hints toggle, removal of the watermark from the spectrum and oscilloscope views, and OpenGL now off by default (still available in the preferences) for broader stability.

The release also brings performance work: the oscilloscope now decodes and draws incrementally in sync with the transport for smoother scrolling and lower CPU use during playback, and spectrum curve rendering is cheaper. A number of bugs have been fixed, including the Windows build.

Availability

gFractor 1.2.0 is a free download for macOS (10.13 or later, universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows (10 and 11), in VST3, AU and standalone formats. It is fully compatible with sessions and presets saved in earlier 1.0.x and 1.1.x versions, and can be installed over a previous version.