Mercurial Tones
Ultimate Referencing & Analysis Workstation
The Interface
Six specialized views for spectral analysis, reference matching, bass monitoring, oscilloscope, loudness metering, and stereo imaging — in one plugin. Plus Reference Capture for anything playing on your computer.
Works With Your DAW
01 · New
Reference anything you can hear. Capture the music playing on your computer — a streaming track, a video, a DJ set — and turn it into a reference target in seconds. No routing, no DAW sidechain.
Captures your computer’s playback output directly. Press Capture, play the track, and Scepter’s Reference Capture app does the rest.
Saves the averaged spectrum and, if you want, the track’s LUFS — so you can match tonal balance and loudness together.
Captures appear in Scepter’s Reference menu. A capture preset loads the reference and its loudness target in one go, without touching the rest of your setup.
Preview, rename, and delete captures in a built-in library. Scepter stores analysis targets only — no audio is recorded.
02
See your mix like never before. Fluid, real-time spectral analysis designed for the way modern producers actually work.
Buttery-smooth spectrum visualization that moves with your music. No stutter, no lag — just clarity.
Instantly reveal what's in the center and what's in the sides. Stereo problems become obvious.
Intelligent slope correction gives you a flat, intuitive reading — so you mix with your eyes as confidently as your ears.
Hover anywhere for instant frequency, level, and musical note. Every detail, one glance.
03
A completely new way to reference. Match any track's frequency balance, stereo image, and dynamics — all in real time.
Load any reference track or route live audio. Loudness is automatically aligned so you're always comparing tone, not volume.
A dedicated difference view highlights the exact frequencies where your mix sits above or below the reference — a clear map of what needs attention.
See exactly how your stereo image stacks up against your reference across the full spectrum.
Per-band compression comparison reveals where your mix is over-processed — or not processed enough.
04
Built for low end. Tempo-synced bass monitoring that shows you exactly what's happening below 250 Hz.
Perfectly synced to your DAW. Watch your kick and sub unfold beat by beat.
A living heat map of your low end. See sub energy, harmonics, and movement over time.
Know your low end is mono-compatible before it hits the club system.
Visual breakdown of where your bass energy sits. Instantly compare against any reference.
05
Master with total confidence. See exactly what's eating your loudness — and fix it.
A first-of-its-kind color-coded loudness view. See low, mid, and high energy at a glance — nothing like it exists.
Techno, hip-hop, pop, ambient — built-in loudness profiles for the genres you actually make. Modular meters let you build your own metering layout.
Instantly see which frequencies are eating your headroom. Stop guessing, start fixing.
Broadcast-standard metering with real-time history. Master to any target with precision with True-Peak enabled.
06
Two modes, one mission. Classic waveform view with sidechain comparison, and a spectral mode that splits your signal into three bands.
Clean, precise waveform display. See transients, phase, and stereo movement in real time.
Route a second signal and overlay it on your waveform. Instantly compare shapes and timing.
Splits your waveform into low, mid, and high bands. See exactly which frequencies drive each transient.
Color-coded frequency separation on the scope. A view that no other oscilloscope offers.
07
A folded mid/side vectorscope with phosphor persistence. See your stereo field in real time, catch mono compatibility issues before they reach the listener.
Folded mid/side display with phosphor persistence. The stereo image rendered as a living, breathing shape.
Real-time stereo correlation from -1 to +1. Instantly spot phase issues and mono compatibility problems.
Energy distribution between left and right channels. See if your mix leans before your listeners do.
HP and LP filters for frequency-specific stereo inspection. Isolate how your low end or top end sits in the field.
What’s New in Scepter 1.7
The Full Walkthrough
From producers
Unedited comments from producers on YouTube, Instagram and Reddit. Follow any link to read the original.
Best plugin I've found for referencing is scepter from mercurial tones. They did a really good job with that.
Level matching the reference(s) is key. Scepter does that, lots of different metering as well.
Alice made an AMAZING plugin. This is better than most of the other ones I have. Mini meters when producing and then this when I do mix & mastering
This is definitely the most comprehensive and useful end of chain tools - also runs super smooth 👏 definitely going to upgrade
This tool is made with the mind of a very seasoned techno producer and it already made my life way easier. This tool has it all.
I’ve been using lite and it’s amazing. But think finally time to upgrade!
This analyzer is definitely geared toward EDM and it works amazingly well. The purpose of the bass analyzer is so you can identify if you're getting either constructive or destructive interference with your bass and kick. It really helps with dialing in your sidechain ducking a breeze. The workflow is highly efficient. I purchased it with my own money btw!
This has set a new standard.
I own every analyser under the sun, but none of them are as finely tuned as this one.
This is the Pro Q of analyzers. Wont need anything else.
being able to see exactly what your plugins are doing is something I have wanted for so long, no more snake oil just real time visuals
I bought it yesterday and spent already hours with it, comparing to a number of analysers.
Simplicity combined with options and always just a click away from precise listening of what You inspect, perfect!
This is a really amazing plugin, more like 10 different plugins in one (some of them didn't even exist before).
Bought the pro version yesterday, very impressed with all of it!
This is literally everything I needed. Took it for a spin already and omg THANK YOU 🥺
Love your plugins! ❤️🔥 so simple and intuitive to use.
Got mine and it’s already in my flow 👏🔥
Game changer 👏👏
Plugin of the year🔥
Instant buy. I promised myself not to buy plugins anymore, because I have everything already. But this one really adds a lot, I love every single feature.
I've been waiting 10 years for a plugin like this. Perfect.❤️
This is what happens when an artist with a true passion for creating music creates a plugin!
So, soooooo much good stuff for this price; but mostly love the convenience not having to alternate between different (reference) plugins and analyzers.
I'll definitely buy it; I've been looking for something like this for years, and the price seems very fair.
Technical
System Requirements Windows 10 64-bit or macOS 11 or later · 64-bit Intel/AMD or Apple Silicon · 8 GB RAM
One payment, every update.
Scepter and every other Mercurial Tones plugin in your sessions, every update, every new release — plus 100 credits every month.
or €14,99 month to month
Worth €609,80 a year bought separately