PC running a Windows operating system. VST compatible DAW or VST hosting software. This plugin is 32bit but can be run on 64bit systems using jBridge. This plugin also operates within the 64bit versions of Cubase, Nuendo, Bitwig Studio, Reaper, Tracktion, Renoise, FL Studio, Sonar, Mixcraft and Samplitude using their inbuilt bridging. I’ve already covered the topic of gain staging before but since it’s been 2 years and I’m now using Pro Tools, my work flow has changed a bit.
The price of software plugins has dropped a lot over the last 10 years. The market is flooded and the amount and quality of free plugins have never been higher. Today almost all audio plugin developers use some of their marketing budgets on downscaled versions of their products for promoting the brand and plugins.
But can you make 'professional' sounding mixes with free plugins? The answer is yes!
What makes a good free plugin:
Here are a few of the best free high-quality plugins that we have tested for this article:
The plugins are list in random order and not by rank. They are all good plugins for different sounds and mixing purposes.
Valhalla Supermassive is a new free reverb plugin from Valhalla DSP. It is a new design with delays and reverbs and has a unique Warp feature for interesting sounds. It has fewer controls than the plugins from Valhalla for sale.
Valhalla Supermassive delay and reverb plugin
This is quality-algorithms for free! Try it.
This plugin is built on valuable knowledge and probably a tested framework used in the products for sale which gives the user a lot for the zero money.
Like in Vintageverb and Room the modes have names
This is one of the better sounding free reverbs. No low quality ringing and it has a nice diffusion. It does not quite have the pro feel of Supermasssive but still a good free tool for a good reverb.
The GUI looks ok though 'free' but it still easy to dial in what you want.
The early reflection and variations- and reverb variation names are just 'Variation x'. In Supermassive at least they have names.
This is one of the best free metering plugins there is. It is frequently updated and has the metering you need for a modern music production setup.
Voxengo SPAN free analyzer and metering plugin
This metering plugin has all the basics:
The contesters on the expensive pro-market are:
The knob is a simple one-knob saturation plugin with 3 modes. It creates pleasant saturation to distortion for different kinds of material.
Softtube The Knob plugin
This is a loud plugin and an output control would have been nice but like most free plugins, there often is a nag. The missing output control can be overcome with a trim plugin after in the plugin chain.
ITT is a different plugin. /free-music-mixing-software-vst.html. It is a multiband upward / downward compressor.
Xfer Records have more free plugins here
An alternative to this plugin is Waves MV2 which also has upward and down compression and limiting.
TAL Chorus LX is a plugin emulating the famous Juno 60 chorus from the vintage analog Roland synthesizer. A defining effect from a hardware synth.
Download the free TAL LX and get a high-quality effect.
This plugin has a sweet wide sound. It is simple with 2 mode buttons and a stereo width control giving it 3 stages of effect. 1, 2, and both 1 and 2.
Free TAL Chorus LX
Other Juno 60 chorus units
Izotope has released a simplified version of the imager component from the full Ozone mastering plugin. This is probably part of the marketing budget collection website profile members and setting focus on the full mastering plugin.
Free Ozone Imager from Izotope website
Faking stereo always has a downside so do not overdo it. but it can make the individual sound more interesting or widen a whole mix a but.
A free stereo imaging and analysis plugin with a nice GUI.
The free Flux Stereo Tool
Features:
The CPU usage is not directly comparable since the processing is very different but here is a list:
As shown in the CPU usage table only Saturation knob and OTT Compressor has latency and most of them have insignificant CPU load. Supermassive has surprisingly low CPU usage.
A free Bass Demo Package
It’s true that you can mix your music using stock plugins, but mastering engineers require specialized tools. Part of the reason for this is that they’re usually working with mixes that have been sent to them as a stereo track. Instead of opening up a mix session to turn a kick down 2 dB, they need to resort to other methods that will not only fix the issue but preserve the quality of the overall track.
Every plugin company mentioned in this list has had sales in the past, some offering over 80% off their products. Be patient and keep an eye out for sale announcements on the social media pages of these plugin manufacturers; you should be able to pick up a majority of these mastering tools at a heavily discounted price. Check out 'The Ultimate List of Plugin Companies' to see which plugin manufacturers are worth keeping an eye on.
I mostly use stock or analog-modeled EQs while mixing, since I’m either looking for convenience or color at that stage in the production process. Things change a little bit once I get around to mastering either my own music or the music of others. At a mastering level, I want a digital EQ full of features, with the ability to perform surgical processing; this is where the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 steps in.
This EQ offers up to 24 bands, 9 different filter types, linear phase, zero latency, and natural phase modes, the ability to toggle bands into dynamic mode, per-band mid/side processing, full surround support (up to Dolby Atmos 7.1.2), the ability to solo bands, optional auto gain, a customizable spectrum analyzer, and a resizable GUI.
/vst-plugins-mac-windows.html.
There’s a feature called Spectrum Grab included with the Pro-Q 3 that automatically identifies peaks for you and allows you to create new bands at resonant frequencies. I find this to come in handy quite often since it prevents the need to go frequency fishing. FabFilter’s Pro-Q 3 offers plenty of surgical processing options, making it ideal for mastering purposes.
Soothe is a spectral processor for suppressing resonances in the mid to high-frequency range of mixes. When the different elements of a song sum together when they reach your stereo bus, specific harmonics can sum together to create resonant frequencies that unpleasantly stick out of the mix. Soothe offers a solution to this common mastering problem, and also has several useful mixing applications.
This plugin can tame vocal sibilance, fretboard noise on acoustic guitar, whistling from cymbals, and overly bright electric guitar and piano tracks. I’ve had soothe rescue many recordings that not many other tools could have saved. This is absolutely a specialty plugin, but one with a wide range of applications. Whether you’re a mixing or mastering engineer, soothe will provide tremendous value, on top of an easy-to-use interface.
Soothe made its way into “4 Essential EQ Techniques to Get Clean Mixes,” which touches on some mastering EQ tips as well. Read the full article for more information on cleaning up your mixes and masters.
The UAD SSL 4000 G Bus compressor offers a lot of punch and does a great job of preserving the transient information of mixes, while effectively gluing together the components that make up the song you’re working on. Most of the characteristic sound that the SSL 4000 G Bus offers is due to the feedback-style approach to compression that its analog counterpart takes.
In his article on “Feedback Vs. Feed-Forward Compression: The Differences You Need to Know,” Rick Slater of SonicScoop explains that “The SSL bus compressor is designed so that faster attack release times will deliver smaller amounts of reduction while slower settings provide lots more, making for more even gain reduction as you cycle through the attack settings.” The SSL 4000 G Bus is perfect for Pop, Country, and Folk songs; it does a great job of maintaining the articulation and clarity of tracks.
If you’re looking for a bit more color, a strong alternative to the SSL 4000 G Bus is the Vertigo VSC-2 ($299). Like the SSL 4000 G Bus, the Vertigo VSC-2 is a VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) compressor, but instead of providing crisp compression, it adds an often-desirable thump and roundness to mixes. I particularly like the sound of this compressor on Hip-Hop and grungy EDM tracks.