Many day to day production tasks can be accomplished perfectly well with free plugins. But there's hundreds on offer nowadays. Which ones are the true gems? Musicproduction-pro selects the best.
EQ
TDR Nova is an equalizer. But not your average EQ: it is dynamic, and can work in parallel too. Besides regular EQ tasks, Nova allows setting a threshold for a specific band. Only when the signal crosses that threshold, the band can be either set to boost or attenuate. Which is great when you want to tame harshness in the high, loud notes of a vocal, without touching the softer, low notes. Or when you want to tame the level of the cymbals in the room mics.
Although these tasks are traditionally accomplished with multiband compressors, dynamic EQ has the advantage of slightly less intimidating looks.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Compression
Xfer Records OTT. Xfer Records is a brand that specializes in plugins for electronic musicians. It already has a few classics on its sleeve, like "Serum" (wavetable synth), "LFO Tool" (sidechain) and OTT (multiband compressor). Although the latter is regarded as a Swiss army knife in the electronic scene, it can be of great use for traditional mix tasks too. For instance, if you want to apply Over The Top compression on a snare, guitar or vocal, then OTT can give you results that are hard to achieve with other tools. Another great advantage: compared to common multiband compressors, this plugin has way less controls.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Vladg Sound Molot. Compression won't get much more vintage than with Molot. Forget transparency, and do not expect setting this unit quickly. But anyone who takes the effort will be rewarded with "vibe."
Windows/Mac VST, AU.
Klanghelm MJUC jr. This is the free, junior brother to the larger MJUC, inspired by the famous Fairchild F670 compressor. It is probably best loved as a final touch on just about any instrument that needs to come forward in the mix. Or the mix itself of course.
The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music" has detailed information on the Fairchild and its settings. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Audio Damage Roughrider. is a personal favorite for (parallel) compression on drums. If you turn the ratio knob all the way to the right, ratio increases to 1000:1.
Windows/Mac VST, AU.
Flux Bittersweet. If regular compression fails to add sufficient attack (or sustain), a transient shaper can give you the most ferocious transient on a snare, kick. Although SPL's Transient Designer is the traditional processor of choice in this field, Bittersweet has the added advantage that it can work in MS-mode. Which means, when mastering for instance, it's possible to add attack to kick and snare (commonly in the Mid channel) while leaving the Sides (keyboards, guitars, backing vocals) untouched.
The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music" has other applications for transient shapers, and tells you where to be aware of when using them. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Saturation - Distortion
Mercuriall TSC 808. "808" is not only the name of Roland's legendary TR drum computer, but also the number of the famous stomp box by Ibanez, the TS808 Tube Screamer. A known by-effect of distortion, is that it usually causes low end to disappear. The "Mod"-switch provides a solution for this problem, as low frequencies will pass untreated. Provided "Drive" isn't set too high. In combination with this other legend of Roland, the TB303, the TSC808 can yield screaming results.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Tritik Krush. Tritik is a relatively new brand with some excellent plugins. Echorus for instance, is one of the best choruses around, although it will set you back a free bucks. "Krush" on the other hand is free and offers an LFO that can rhythmically modulate distortion parameters like "drive," "crush" and "dwsp" (downsampling). Dry/Wet allows dialing in the effect to taste.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Audio Damage Fuzzplus 3. Again, this is a good but simple plugin from Audio Damage. Its distortion colors are quite pleasing (can one say that?) while any excessive overtones can be tamed with the on board lopass filter with optional resonance control. For more outrageous effects, the feedback knob will turn any signal into mayhem. The settings from the screenshot can serve as a good starting point for Fuzzplus 3 in the parallel bus of a drumkit. Although saturation and distortion are indispensable for hot and appealing mixes, care is needed when applying these effects.
The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music" contains many tips and tricks to apply saturation and distortion without its associated problems. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Softube Saturationknob. Softube is a relatively small Swedish company that has a big name when it comes to virtual modeling. They license their technology to some of the biggest names in the industry, like Avid and Universal Audio. Quite refreshingly, Saturation Knob is not a model of just another famous vintage device, but rather a fantasy processor that can add great sounding saturation to just about any source: from bass, drums and vocals to electronic sounds, all with one knob. There is a certain strength and immediacy to processors with only a limited number of controls. You'll make quick decisions, allowing the project to move forward. To my taste, Softube ticks all the boxes with this one!
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
Voxengo Tube Amp. This plugin mimics distortion that traditionally enters the signal when using a tube microphone pre-amp. Colors range from anything "warm" to fuzzy distortion. There's also a lopass filter to simulate lower quality tubes and an output stage for additional overdrive.
Windows/Mac VST, AU.
Spectrum analyzers
Although a professional will never treat an instrument just because of its looks, the picture of a spectrum analyzer can be of invaluable help in music production. For example, for preventing plain mistakes during recording, when sculpting the exact right bottom end in a mix, or when establishing the tonal balance of a master. This requires learning how to "read" the picture of a spectrum analyzer. The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music," contains all the relevant information for this.
So which free spectrum analyzers are good? To my taste, Logic Pro has the best, it's called "Multimeter" (in "Utility"). In general, I find bar-type displays more informative than the curve-type displays.
For those of you who work with other DAWs, the following spectrum analyzers work best to my taste:
Voxengo Span: Of the curved displays, this one is one of the better. If you approach the curve with the mouse, a detailed reading of the corresponding frequency pops up.
Melda Productions Manalyzer This plugin's display can be tailor made in almost every respect, although it may take you some time to find out how. In the corresponding "Free"-bundle, Melda has other interesting plugins too.
Utilities
Brainworx bx_solo. On first sight, this plugin category doesn't contain the most sexy plugins. But many recurring tasks couldn't be accomplished without them. bx_solo for instance, allows swapping channels left-right in the stereo image, mono them, or solo one of the stereo sides.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Voxengo MSED is a tool that roughly gets bx-solo tasks done, but it also allows Mid-Side processing in mastering. By first choosing "Encode" as a "Mode," the Mid and Side channels can be processed independently with plugins that normally allow stereo processing only. Just add a second instance of MSED following this plugin and choose "Decode" as a "Mode".
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Effects
Izotope Vinyl lets you dial in sound degradation per decade, and it can also add the buzzes, noises and crackle of vinyl to the mix. Also useful whenever you want to take off that hifi digital edge of modern keyboards or synth sounds.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Izotope Vocal Doubler is essentially a harmonizer. Not for generating fourths, fifths or octaves, but rather for detuned doubles. It only has two controls: "Variation" and "Separation." Although there's no manual, the first seems to control delay time, while the latter seems to control detuning. This is modulated by an LFO. Vocal Doubler not only behaved well in a test situation, but also in several of my mixes. It was sometimes outperforming paid options in the same category, including Eventide H3000, Waves Doubler and DMG PitchFunk. Want a stronger doubling effect? Try adding multiple Vocal Doublers!
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
Metric Halo Thump. During the mix, it's by no exception that drum signals like kick, snare or tom lack true bottom end. This is sometimes due to faults in the recording, like the wrong microphone or the accidental activation of a hipass filter. EQ won't help you in this case, as it can't boost frequencies that weren't there in the first place. Engineers in the 70s already found a great solution for this problem: they used the ill-recorded drum signal to trigger a noise gate on a sine wave oscillator. Now, Metric Halo's Thump automates this process.
Read the book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music" on how to achieve better results when adding sine waves. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac 32bit/64bit VST, AU, AAX.
Mastering
TDR VOS SlickEQ is a mixing/mastering EQ with switchable American, English, German and Soviet characters. There's also several types of saturation that can be dialed in at the output stage. Another great feature not often seen on vintage devices is the "Auto Out Gain"-setting: EQ-settings will be automatically loudness compensated. A small touch, but nevertheless handy.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
TDR Kotelnikov is another great plugin from the brand that goes by the illustrious name of Tokyo Dawn Records. This mastering compressor is designed for what's often needed in mastering: compression without a sonic signature. This "stealth"-behavior can be achieved with two independent release settings; one for peaks and one for RMS events. An on-board hipass filter prevents the compressor from grabbing low end energy such as bass or kick drums. Refreshingly, this compressor isn't an imitation of some famous vintage device, but rather a "true original."
The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music," has all the relevant information on how to set compression when mastering. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, AAX
LVC Audio Clipshifter. Are you struggling to get your master level up to par with other music? ClipShifter allows squeezing that last dB out of your mix. In comparison with limiting, wave clipping has the advantage that there's no attack and release involved in the process. So there's no pumping artifacts. And there's another advantage too: a wave clipper boosts the level by taking off the edges of the waveform. This generates extra overtones that will slightly brighten the signal. The paid version of ClipShifter adds professional features such as oversampling.
The book "Music Production, learn how to Record, Mix and Master Music," contains all the information on how to achieve a loud master without the typical problems. Get it now at Amazon or Routledge.
Windows/Mac VST, AU, RTAS, AAX.
