5 FREE Plugins We Love
Plugins are essential to taking your Pro Tools or Logic rig to the next level. Stock plugins have come a long way over the years, but there are still ones that will take your mixes to the next level and make your job easier at the same time. Unfortunately, some of those a pretty expensive. We know a lot of you are just starting out with your audio engineering and producing dreams so to help out, we’re making a list of our favorite free plugins. These are made by the same companies that make some of our favorite go-to plugins. Make no mistake, while these plugins are free and sometimes simple, they are still very powerful. Let’s get started:
Brainworx bx_solo
Brainworx is a great company who’s specialty is altering the stereo field. Ever wondered how your favorite mix engineer gets those mixes to sound so huge? By processing the middle and sides of your audio fields. We’ll get into the specifics of stereo fields in another post but using this plugin will help with your understanding. It’s also great for soloing different aspects of your mix and spreading the stereo image to sound wider. Download here: Brainworx bx_solo
BOZ DIGITAL LABS PANIPULATOR
You’ll hear mix engineers talk about the importance of a mix that “translates” well. This means it sounds great on a variety of speakers, from high-end studio monitors to tiny, tinny, laptop speakers. It’s extremely difficult to do, and great mix translation is one of the hallmarks of a great engineer. This plugin, placed on your master fader, will instantly simulate what your mix sounds like on a variety a speakers, including the dreaded elevator… Download here: Boz Panipulator
SLATE DIGITAL REVIVAL
Steven Slate has been turning the plugin world on it’s head. His company offers some great plugins at prices well below what others charge. The Revival plugin is priced even lower than that…free! This plugin emulates two sought after sonic qualities usually imparted by analog equipment. Use it to make a vocal pop out of the mix or fatten up your drums. Download here: Slate Revival
KLANGHELM IVGI – SATURATION & DISTORTION
The engineers at Dark Horse Recording have quickly become huge Klanghelm fans. All of his plugins are second-to-none and really cheap too. This plugin is not your regular distortion plugin, it uses light saturation and distortion to add presence and body to a vocal or instrument. Harmonic saturation is a ‘secret sauce’ for getting your vocals to pop out of a mix. Experiment with extremely useful tool and check out the rest of the Klanghelm plugins while you’re at it. Download here: Klanghelm IVGI
THE OBXH VIRTUAL ANALOG SYNTHESIZER
From EDM to Rap to Metal to Country, synths are everywhere in music today. Get the hang of how synthesizers work, from oscillators to filters to attack curves with this free and very convincing sounding emulation of classic and highly sought-after Oberheim synthesizers. Download here: OBXH Synthesizer
