RysUpSmooth vs Smooth Operator Pro: Why Pay $129 When $19.99 Gets You More Control?
RysUpSmooth vs Smooth Operator Pro: Why Pay $129 When $19.99 Gets You More Control?
Spectral processing plugins have become essential mixing tools. Whether you are cleaning up resonant vocals, taming harsh guitars, or smoothing out a full mix bus, the ability to identify and suppress frequency buildups in real time saves hours of tedious manual EQ work.
Two plugins sit at the center of this conversation in 2026: Baby Audio's Smooth Operator Pro at $129, and our own RysUpSmooth at $19.99. Both target spectral issues. Both use real-time frequency analysis. But one gives you dramatically more hands-on control for a fraction of the cost.
This is not a hit piece. Baby Audio makes solid plugins and Smooth Operator Pro has its place. But if you care about precision, flexibility, and keeping money in your pocket, the comparison speaks for itself.
What Is Spectral Processing?
Before diving into the comparison, here is a quick primer for anyone newer to this category of tools.
Traditional EQ works by boosting or cutting fixed frequency ranges. You pick a frequency, set a bandwidth, and apply gain. It works, but it is static. If a resonance shifts as a vocalist moves on and off the mic, your EQ cut stays in one place and either over-corrects or misses entirely.
Spectral processing analyzes audio in real time using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. Instead of a fixed EQ curve, the plugin continuously reads which frequencies are peaking, resonating, or building up and applies targeted gain reduction only where and when it is needed. Think of it as dynamic EQ taken to an extreme — operating across hundreds or thousands of frequency bins simultaneously rather than a handful of EQ bands.
The result is smoother, more natural-sounding frequency control. Resonances get tamed without the dullness or over-processing that comes from static cuts. Your audio retains its character while losing the parts that hurt.
Smooth Operator Pro: What It Does Well
Credit where it is due. Baby Audio's Smooth Operator was one of the first plugins to popularize the "spectral balancing" concept in a user-friendly interface. The original version gained a loyal following, and the Pro update added meaningful improvements.
Here is what Smooth Operator Pro gets right:
- Intuitive visual interface — The spectral display makes it easy to see what the plugin is doing at a glance
- Per-node controls — You can set individual targets for different frequency ranges
- Mid/Side processing — Lets you process the center and sides of your stereo image independently
- Sidechain input — Useful for ducking or frequency-dependent sidechaining
- Auto-gain compensation — Attempts to match output level to input level automatically
If you want a plugin that makes broad, opinionated decisions about your spectral balance with minimal user input, Smooth Operator Pro does that job. It pushes your audio toward a particular "commercial" character, and for some workflows, that is exactly what you want.
Where Smooth Operator Pro Falls Short
Here is where things get uncomfortable for the $129 price tag.
No Delta Monitoring
Delta monitoring lets you solo exactly what the plugin is removing from your audio. This is not a luxury feature — it is a diagnostic necessity. Without it, you are mixing blind. You have no way to confirm whether the plugin is surgically targeting resonances or quietly eating transients, harmonics, and detail you actually want to keep.
Smooth Operator Pro does not offer delta monitoring. You can watch the visual display, but you cannot listen to the removed material in isolation. For a plugin that costs $129 and markets itself as a precision tool, that is a significant gap.
No Attack and Release Controls
This is a big one. Smooth Operator Pro gives you no control over the time characteristics of its processing. You cannot set how quickly the gain reduction engages or how fast it recovers.
Why does that matter? Because fast attack times catch transient resonances but can squash punch and energy. Slow attack times preserve dynamics but let short resonant spikes through. The ideal setting depends entirely on your source material — aggressive vocals need different ballistics than a sustained pad or a drum bus.
Without attack and release controls, you are stuck with whatever time constants Baby Audio decided were "right." For a surgical mixing tool, that is an unacceptable amount of guesswork forced onto the user.
Single Processing Mode
Smooth Operator Pro offers one processing algorithm. It sounds the way it sounds. There is no option to switch between different processing characters — gentler or more aggressive — depending on the source material.
No Oversampling
Oversampling reduces aliasing artifacts that can occur during nonlinear processing. This matters most at higher frequencies and on transient-heavy material. Smooth Operator Pro does not provide an oversampling option, which means you are accepting whatever aliasing the processing introduces.
The Price and the Upgrade Tax
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Smooth Operator Pro costs $129. If you already owned the original Smooth Operator, Baby Audio charged a $29 upgrade fee to move to Pro. And multiple users have reported UI readability issues with the updated interface — cramped controls and small text that is hard to read on standard resolution displays.
$129 for a spectral processor with no delta monitoring, no time controls, and no oversampling is a hard sell when alternatives exist.
Enter RysUpSmooth
RysUpSmooth was built to answer a simple question: what if a spectral smoothing plugin gave you full, transparent control over every aspect of its processing — and cost $19.99?
Here is what you get.
Real-Time FFT Spectral Analysis
RysUpSmooth uses continuous FFT analysis to identify resonances and spectral buildups as they happen. The real-time visualizer shows you both the incoming spectrum and the gain reduction being applied, so you always know exactly what the plugin is doing to your audio.
6 Interactive Sensitivity Bands with Bidirectional Control
This is where RysUpSmooth separates itself. You get six fully interactive sensitivity bands that you can place anywhere on the frequency spectrum. Each band controls how aggressively the spectral processor targets that region.
The key word is bidirectional. You can increase sensitivity in problem areas (making the plugin work harder to suppress resonances there) or decrease sensitivity in areas you want to protect (telling the plugin to leave those frequencies alone). This gives you surgical precision that a single global control simply cannot match.
Delta Monitoring
Hit the delta button and listen to exactly what RysUpSmooth is removing. If you hear transients, harmonics, or tonal content you want to keep, dial back the sensitivity in that region. If you hear only the harsh, ringy resonances you are targeting, you know the plugin is doing its job cleanly. This feedback loop is essential for professional mixing and RysUpSmooth includes it as a core feature.
Attack and Release Controls
Full control over how fast the gain reduction engages and recovers. Set a fast attack to catch sharp resonant transients on a snare or vocal consonant. Set a slow attack to let the initial punch through while still catching sustained resonances. Adjust the release to control how quickly the processing lets go — short for transparent operation on fast material, longer for smoother behavior on pads and sustained tones.
These are not set-and-forget parameters. They fundamentally change how the plugin interacts with your audio, and having direct control over them means RysUpSmooth adapts to any source material instead of forcing everything through one set of time constants.
Soft and Hard Processing Modes
Two distinct processing characters. Soft mode applies gentler, more gradual gain reduction — ideal for mix bus work, vocals, and any source where you want transparent smoothing without audible artifacts. Hard mode applies more aggressive reduction with a sharper knee — better for problem-solving on individual tracks where a resonance needs to be eliminated, not just tamed.
Up to 4x Oversampling
RysUpSmooth offers 1x, 2x, and 4x oversampling options. Run at 1x for minimal CPU load during tracking and arrangement. Switch to 2x or 4x during mixing and final rendering to eliminate aliasing artifacts and achieve the cleanest possible processing. This is a quality control that serious engineers expect, and RysUpSmooth delivers it at every price point — because the price point is $19.99.
Mid/Side Processing
Full Mid/Side support lets you target resonances in the center image separately from the sides. Tame a vocal resonance in the mid channel without affecting the stereo width of your reverb tails and room sound. Process the side channel to clean up harsh stereo elements without touching your centered lead. This is standard in RysUpSmooth.
What Else Is in the Box
- Near-zero latency — Usable for tracking and live monitoring, not just offline mixing
- VST3 and AU formats — Compatible with every major DAW on macOS
- Apple Silicon native — Built for M1, M2, M3, and M4 Macs with zero Rosetta overhead
- Simple serial key licensing — No iLok, no dongles, no subscription. Buy it, activate it, use it forever
- Free lifetime updates — Every future improvement is included at no additional cost
- A/B comparison — Toggle between two different settings instantly to compare your processing decisions
- Undo/Redo — Full undo history so you can experiment without fear of losing a good setting
- User presets — Save your own configurations for instant recall across sessions and projects
Head-to-Head: RysUpSmooth vs Smooth Operator Pro
| Feature | RysUpSmooth ($19.99) | Smooth Operator Pro ($129) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $129 |
| Real-Time FFT Analysis | Yes | Yes |
| Interactive Sensitivity Bands | 6 bands, bidirectional | Per-node controls |
| Delta Monitoring | Yes | No |
| Attack/Release Controls | Yes (fully adjustable) | No |
| Processing Modes | Soft + Hard | Single mode |
| Oversampling | 1x / 2x / 4x | None |
| Mid/Side Processing | Yes | Yes |
| Sidechain Input | No | Yes |
| Auto-Gain | Manual trim control | Automatic |
| A/B Comparison | Yes | No |
| Undo/Redo | Yes | No |
| Apple Silicon Native | Yes | Yes |
| Formats | VST3, AU | VST3, AU, AAX |
| Licensing | Serial key, no subscription | Serial key |
| Lifetime Updates | Yes, free | Paid upgrades between versions |
Who Should Choose Which?
We are not going to pretend Smooth Operator Pro has zero advantages. Here is an honest breakdown of who each plugin serves best.
Choose Smooth Operator Pro If:
- You need sidechain input for frequency-dependent ducking workflows
- You want auto-gain compensation and prefer the plugin to handle level matching for you
- You need AAX format for Pro Tools
- You prefer a more "set it and forget it" approach where the plugin makes opinionated spectral decisions
- Budget is not a factor in your plugin purchases
Choose RysUpSmooth If:
- You want full control over how the spectral processing behaves — attack, release, sensitivity per band, processing mode
- You need delta monitoring to verify exactly what is being removed from your audio
- You want oversampling for the cleanest possible processing quality
- You mix vocals, instruments, or buses where different material requires different time characteristics
- You want both Soft and Hard processing modes to match the tool to the task
- You value A/B comparison and undo/redo for faster workflow
- You do not want to pay $129 for a tool that gives you less control than a $19.99 alternative
- You want free lifetime updates instead of paid version upgrades
The Verdict
Smooth Operator Pro is a competent spectral processor with a strong visual interface and a few unique features like sidechain input. But at $129, the missing controls are hard to justify. No delta monitoring. No attack and release. No oversampling. No processing mode options. And a paid upgrade path that charges existing customers for improvements.
RysUpSmooth costs $19.99 — less than one-sixth the price — and delivers more hands-on control in every category that matters for precision spectral work. Six interactive sensitivity bands with bidirectional control. Full attack and release adjustment. Delta monitoring so you can hear exactly what is being processed. Soft and Hard modes. Up to 4x oversampling. A/B comparison. Undo/redo. Apple Silicon native. Free lifetime updates.
This is not about cutting corners to hit a lower price. RysUpSmooth was engineered from the ground up to give engineers and producers transparent, controllable spectral processing without the premium plugin markup. Every feature exists because it solves a real mixing problem — not because it looks good in a marketing bullet point.
The math is straightforward. More control. Better diagnostic tools. Cleaner processing options. One-sixth the price. If you are looking for a Smooth Operator Pro alternative in 2026, there is no closer comparison and no better value.
Get RysUpSmooth for $19.99 and hear the difference yourself. Or explore our full vocal mixing plugin collection to see what else Rys Up Audio builds for producers who refuse to overpay for professional tools.
Got questions? Hit us up here — we are always happy to talk mixing.