Drop a file. Set the gate. Export your cuts.
Bistoury finds where sounds begin — not just where they get loud. It backtracks to the true foot of each attack, so the cut lands before the transient, not after it. Works on percussive hits, pads, bowed strings, vocals. Dense material where hits sit close together is handled automatically.
Watch it in action
Controls
GATE — onset sensitivity. High catches only strong transients; lower reveals quieter hits. Threshold is relative to the normalized peak, so it behaves consistently across files at different levels.
MAX SLICE — hard cap on exported length per region in milliseconds. The waveform shows both the active region and the material being cut off.
CHANNEL — which part of a stereo file to analyze: left, right, or mix. Useful when kick and snare live on different sides of a stem.
Playback — ▶ plays the full file, clicking any region on the waveform auditions that slice. Space bar toggles. Native audio, no resampling overhead.
Export — select individual slices or use Select All. Exported as 32-bit float WAV named after the source file.
System requirements
- macOS 11 or later
- WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3 input
- No internet connection required
Download
Bistoury is proprietary software, but it is free to download and use. No purchase, subscription, or activation is required. Mac only.
Download Bistoury for macOSOn first launch, macOS requires an extra security step.1
Please consider donating to help cover Apple's developer fees so I can sign and notarize Wandersound's free macOS software.
Questions? Contact us: info@wandersound.ca
Bistoury is not signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized because those Apple services require a paid developer membership. After trying to open the app once, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, click Open Anyway, then confirm Open. Only override this warning for software you downloaded from this site. See Apple's instructions for more information.