Styx Audio – Chakra v1.1.9 for WiN

Trusted by GRAMMY Award-winning engineers. Chakra is a multi-engine analog tone masterer: saturator + passive mastering EQ, shaping mids/sides across the spectrum for depth, clarity, and rich timbre – easy to customize.

Possibilities

Chakra? Chakra is an analog amplifier built around a multi-stage harmonic engine and a smooth, musical tonal curve. It combines three harmonic colors: a tube-like warmth with rich even harmonics, a cantilevered density and midrange focus with balanced odd/even content, and a Germanic, airy ambience with delicate upper harmonics.

Use it on individual tracks for quick analog color or on the master bus as a mastering parallel EQ and saturator. The Chakra knob combines a harmonic engine with a wide analog EQ, and the balance can be fine-tuned using the BASS, MID, Tone EQ, and Mix knobs.

Want pure saturation without changing the curve? Keep the Chakra knob at 0 and adjust the THD; the tone remains virtually the same, but the harmonic content increases. Easy to adjust, very musical, and flexible enough to work on every track or the final mix.

Typical use: mix bus/mastering

Place it in the chain

• Put the Chakra on the mix bus before the limiter
• Keep your usual EQ + compressor, the Chakra adds harmonics and a wide timbre, does not replace the main processors

Start with the default state

• Load Chakra and save default settings:
• Mix: 100%
• Chakra: 0
• Tonal EQ: Center
• THD: Minimum
• BASS: ON
• MID: ON

Find the optimal location using the chakra handle

• Play the full mix and gradually increase the chakra
• A good starting range is 15-20% for added glue, weight, and openness while still keeping it natural
• If it feels better than bypassing without sounding like an effect, this is your main mode

Match the tone with the equalizer

• Match levels and compare to references
• Use a tonal EQ:
• Slightly to the right = more openness and air
• Slightly to the left = warmer, rounder mix

Fine-tune the contour

• If the low frequencies increase too much when raising the chakra, turn off the BASS
• If you want the mids to be more direct and even, turn off MID OFF

Add density and drive

• Increase THD to enhance lamp/console/LED harmonics
• THD works even with chakra at 0, so you can add harmonics without changing the curve

Parallel main sweetener (optional, powerful)

• Load Chakra + THD a little more
• Use Delta mode (press OUT) to hear exactly what Chakra is adding
• Turn Delta off, then reduce Mix from 100% until the master sounds natural again

The result: an intensely processed interior, mixed as you please or boldly, perfect as a master sweetener.