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It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty…
Bxmasterdesk The creation of Brainworx owner Dirk Ulrich, bxmasterdesk perfectly reproduces a high end analog mastering system in a single plugin. Containing every component you need to create professional results bxmasterdesk allows you to master your own material with a minimal learning curve. The Analog Way of Mastering in the Box.
…again.
Oops.
And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin…
(You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?)
It’s probably not a good idea.
But if you’re still looking to expand your plugin library, don’t worry.
Sometimes, the best things in life are free…
Here are 7 of my favorite free plugins. Each of them offers something new and unique (no boring EQs or compressors). Download them all to extend your sonic palette and ultimately, craft better-sounding tracks.
And if you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of five plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.
1. iZotope Neutrino
Neutrino is the baby brother of Neutron—iZotope’s newest channel-strip plugin. While Neutron has a number of innovative features, Neutrino spins off the best of them.
Neutrino tames undesirable resonances caused by poor room acoustics, cheap gear, and heavy-handed processing. iZotope calls the effect “spectral shaping,” and it can sound similar to gentle, low-ratio multiband compression. This can make tracks sound smoother and more polished—like sanding the rough edges off a freshly cut piece of wood. I find Neutrino particularly useful on electric guitar tracks, which often have lots of harsh resonances.
2. Voxengo SPAN
People say “don’t mix with your eyes.”
Meh.
The truth?
Tools that provide visual feedback, when used properly, can help you make better mixing decisions.
A spectrum analyzer is one of these tools. It plots the frequencies of sounds out on a graph, which allows you to “see” what tracks are comprised of.
SPAN is my favorite spectrum analyzer. You can control the ballistics and response of its graph, which makes it flexible enough for a wide variety of tasks. You can even route multiple tracks into SPAN and compare their frequency content.
(P.S. Voxengo has a few other free VST plugins. They’re worth checking out too, but SPAN is my favorite.)
3. Brainworx bx_solo
Bx_solo is a no-frills, stereo-imaging plugin. While it’s the least sexy of this bunch, it can still be pretty useful.
I like to add bx_solo to my mix bus. While I rarely push the stereo width past 100%, collapsing it to zero is an easy way to check for mono compatibility. The mid and side solo buttons are also useful. It’s great to have this one around—you never know when you might need it!
Brainworx Vst
4. HOFA 4U Project Time
Mixing is a race against time.
The more time you spend on a mix, the more attached you become to what it sounds like. This makes it progressively harder to make good mixing decisions. Given enough time, even the worst mix will start to sound decent.
This is one reason I recommend mixing quickly and impulsively. You’ll get to the finish line faster, retain more objectivity, and ultimately, craft better mixes.
The first step towards more efficient mixing is to track how much time you spend doing it. Without this information, it’s easy to get lost in a black hole of endless tweaking.
Project Time makes this easy. Add it to a track, and it will start counting. The timer automatically stops when you close the session, and starts when you open it up again.
Keep an eye on Project Time, and you’ll train yourself to mix faster and more efficiently. It’s also an invaluable tool if you bill by the hour!
5. MeldaProduction MFreeFXBundle
MeldaProduction makes some great plugins. They’ve earned the praise of many notable engineers, including mastering guru Ian Shepard.
The MFreeFXBundle contains 30 free VST plugins. They range from workhorse tools like a compressor and EQ, to less common effects like a ring modulator, flanger, and oscilloscope.
If you’re looking to fill some holes in your plugin library, this is a great place to start.
6. Flux BitterSweet
BitterSweet is among the best transient shapers out there. It can produce results on par with studio mainstays like SPL’s Transient Designer and Waves’ Trans-X.
This simple plugin can achieve a wide variety of effects. Turn the knob to the right to add punch to drums, enhance the pluck of an acoustic guitar, or boost the consonants in a vocal performance. Turn the knob to the left to soften tracks and push them back in the soundstage.
7. iZotope Vinyl
Sometimes a little crackle is a good thing.
Vinyl will make tracks sound like they’re being played on a turntable. You can vary the intensity of the effect by controlling the volume of different types of noise, the degree of wear and tear, and the decade your sound is from. The results range from subtle filtering to Edison phonograph.
This plugin is great for special effects, like filtering down a vocal or making an intro sound tiny.
Moving Beyond Free Plugins: My Favorite Plugins
I hope these 7 free plugins help you craft tracks that sound fresh and unique.
If you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of 5 plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.
Before you go—what’s your favorite free VST plugin? Share your pick in the comment section below.
Bonus: 3 More Free Plugins for Mixing
3 Free Plugins I Use in Every Mix
It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty… …again. Oops. And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin… (You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?) It’s probably not a good idea. But if you're still looking to expand your plugin library, don't worry. Sometimes,
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There’s something magical about the sound of a large-format Neve console that you just couldn’t get from your DAW until bx_console came along. Brainworx’s revolutionary plugin delivered a startlingly realistic model of the rare 72-channel Neve® VXS™ analog console owned by producer/engineer Dirk Ulrich, Founder and CEO of Brainworx.
Thanks to Brainworx’s pioneering Tolerance Modeling Technology, every one of bx_console N’s selectable 72 channels simulates a different Neve VXS channel by modeling the slight channel-to-channel variances in the values of its analog components. Strap a bunch of bx_console N plugins across your mix, and you get the deep, wide and punchy multi-channel analog sound of the classic Neve VXS—inside your DAW!
No Two Channels Sound Exactly Alike — Just Like with Analog
Typical channel strip plugins only model ONE channel of a mixer. No matter how many instances of that one-channel plugin you use, you get the same equalization curves, compression times, and frequency & phase responses.
Even if you use different control settings for the plugin on every track, you end up with flat, narrow, two-dimensional digital sound.
In contrast, each channel on a large-format, analog mixing console sounds a little different, creating a much more complex and dimensional sound. That’s what bx_console N does too. The plugin uses Brainworx’s proprietary, patent-pending Tolerance Modeling Technology (TMT) to accurately replicate variations in the values of over 150 individual electronic components specified by the original Neve console designer, giving you the deep and wide “mixed on a big Neve analog console” sound your DAW has been starving for.
The Sound, Feel and Workflow of a Neve VXS Console—In Your DAW!
Each instance of bx_console N includes meticulous models of the comprehensive Compressor/Limiter, full-featured Expander/Gate, powerful 4-band EQ, and wide-ranging High Pass and Low Pass filters in the Neve VXS analog mixing console. But because bx_console N was designed using TMT, the EQ and Dynamics curves for these processors are a little different on each and every channel - like in a real VXS console. These slight variations add the complexity, nuance, depth and width that only analog could give you - until now.
More Powerful Than the Original
bx_console N adds many Brainworx modifications and new, contemporary features lacking in the original Neve VXS console, greatly increasing the plugin’s flexibility. The Compressor/Limiter’s new Mix (Dry/Wet) control is your ticket to crafting monster drum sounds and in-your-face guitar tracks using parallel compression.
Unlike with the original VXS console, you can adjust the threshold for the Compressor’s secondary release time to keep it from pumping and whipsawing delicate acoustic guitar tracks. Raise the dedicated HPF control in the Compressor’s sidechain — another plugin-only feature — to keep heavily compressed drum and electric bass tracks sounding punchy, and leveled male vocals sounding warm and round.
Brainworx Plugin
One mouse click switches the EQ from post- to pre- Compressor, helping you to craft a huge but controlled bottom end on bass tracks and full mixes. Boost the THD control to lather vocals, bass, electric guitar and drum tracks with lush saturation, independently per channel, adding girth and density.
While you’re mixing, simple mouse clicks in the plugin toolbar let you alternately solo mid and side channels on stereo tracks, helping you to hunt down undesirable distortion and phase problems in a heartbeat. bx_console N is a Neve VXS console on steroids!!
No, this is not just a 'channel strip' model.
bx_console N is a complete 72-channel analog console inside your computer!
Brainworx Vst Plugins Plugin
If you own bx_console N you can buy the SSL 4000 E/G consoles for just $99! Just make sure you are logged in and you will see the $99 price for these products.
Brainworx Bx_bassdude
Legal Disclaimer: bx_console N was developed by Brainworx using its own modeling techniques, and one of the products studied was the Neve VXS. Neve, 88R, and VXS are registered trademarks of AMS/Neve Inc., which is unaffiliated with Brainworx. AMS/Neve have not licensed any intellectual property for use in the bx_console N, nor have they endorsed or supported the bx_console N in any manner.