Favorite Free VST Plugins and Where to use them.

[Tim Kowalski]

There hasn't been much activity in this section, so I'd like to see if we can get a conversation going.

First, I need to say that I have no issue with purchasing plugins - I have spent hundreds of dollars on them. Some are not worth a dime. On the other hand, there are some excellent plugins that are free.
I would like to see if anyone has one or two favorites that they would like to mention and how they are using them.

I'll kick it off with one of my favorites called M-ST by WOK. It is a stereo effect that can be used on stereo or mono tracks to create a beautiful separation with very little phasing artifacts (unless you really max it). I use it mostly on mono acoustic guitar tracks for a nice wide sound. If your signal is mono, be sure to flip the switch in the UI to MONO mode.
It's totally free and malware free. It also works better than any stereo effect that I have purchased.

I am interested in hearing about what others have found.

Have a great day,
Tim

[Jack Stoner]

Ii haven't found a "free" VST that I would recommend. But the VST's that came with the old Sonar Platinum were very adequate. I did add Melodyne and Izotope Ozone but nothing else. I now have the Cakewalk by Bandlab (really Sonar Platinum) and it uses all the old Sonar Platinum plug-ins.

I also have Studio On 4.6 Pro that I bought when Sonar was axed by Gibson and we thought it was the end for Sonar. But with its revival by Bandlab I haven't found the need for another DAW.

[Rick Campbell]

I've spend a lot of money on plugins. I bought EZMix about a year ago and I find it to be the best plugin money I ever spent. Why? It has presets for most anything you can imagine from instruments to various vocals. The mastering presets are very good and you dont have to spend a lot of time tweaking with the parameters. You basically click on a preset and then you can adjust how much the effect is applied to the track. It you need more, for example eq adjustment, you can just drop an eq in after the EZMix plugin. I rarely use anything else.

RC

[Tim Kowalski]

I also use EZ Mix on some projects. As you say, the presets allow you to try many chains quickly.

Melodyne is awesome, Jack, if you need to make a mono track sound nice and wide, this is a good free VST.

Thanks for the posts!

[Brett Lanier]

Hi Tim, good topic.

Here's a free delay i like a lot. It just sounds different than any of the others I have. I especially like it on guitars. https://valhalladsp.com/shop/delay/valhalla-freq-echo/
Also if you buy any plugin from them you get their flanger for free too. The Vintageverb plugin is very widely used, and cheap ($50).

TAL has a little collection of free plugins. I use the chorus sometimes. https://tal-software.com/products - Their Uno-lx plugin is GREAT, totally worth the 60 bucks. But if you're looking for a free synth they have one called the Noisemaker, which is more Moog-ish.

Klanghelm offers a few free plugins. All worth checking out. https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/products.php

Wavesfactory is another company that has some free options. Their Cassette plugin isn't free but it's another i really like. *tip* turn down the mix control and it becomes a really good phasey flanger sound. Very reminiscent of the sound you hear on Tame Impala records (the end of "The Moment").
https://www.wavesfactory.com/free-plugins/

And one more... Thump by Metric Halo https://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/produc ... thump.html
I haven't tried this one yet but I have a 2882 interface that i use for conversion and summing. Can't say enough good things about this company. Their customer service is on par with Peterson.

[Tim Kowalski]

Hey Brett,
I have a few TAL plugins and they seem to work pretty well. Haven't spent enough time with them to get zoned in.

Thanks for jumping in.

[Brett Lanier]

Here we go, Soundtoys Effect Rack is free til June 30th. This has nearly all of their plugins. If you don't have Soundtoys' plugins already definitely check it out.

https://www.soundtoys.com/