##UPDATED## 25 Free Mastering and Mixing VST plug-ins

Steve
Thanks for this, a great list.
I have been using the JB stuff for some time now. I find most of Jeroen's plug ins superb. In fact I just purchased (only 10 euro) his Barricade pro - effective and very transparent.
I have tried the Tal stuff in the past and thought these were not up to much. Have they been updated recently would you know?
Cheers
Nigel

Hi there Nigel

The Tal plug was one of Legion's contributions so no doubt he'll be able to help out with your question.

Glad you liked the thread!

Steve

I see now on the simulanalog.org site that they have this message:

SimulAnalog Vintage Suite ... coming soon!

That should be interesting! Wonder what kind of vintage gear they aim to emulate?
JV

Thanks for the heads up John - I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

Steve

Steve and Legion,
This thread has changed my life

You're a cakewalk superhero!

ORIGINAL: No How

Steve,
This thread has changed my life

You're a cakewalk superhero!

Thanks Rick, that's kind - don't forget Legion though, he actually supplied more VST's than me to the finished list!

ORIGINAL: SteveStrummerUK

ORIGINAL: No How

Steve,
This thread has changed my life

You're a cakewalk superhero!

Thanks Rick, that's kind - don't forget Legion though, he actually supplied more VST's than me to the finished list!

You're right. Hasty of me to overlook that. Thank you mucho, Legion!

Bajan Blue: I don't think TAL Tube has been updated but most of their other plugins have been and they have a new very good dub delay as well now. I really like the TAL Tube though, it don't sound exactly as good as Bootsies Tessla but I find it much faster to work with on the other hand so it's one of my go to plugs. Tls Saturated Driver is really good to on the other hand so check that out if you dont like the TAL but personally, I use TAL's plug more. Usually on tracks I start with the TAL Tube to get the warmth and put JB's FEROX as the last plug in the chain to "put it on tape" and am very happy with the effect. On the masterbus I almost always put the Colortone Free as well as the the Nebula 3 Free (wonderful sound but CPU hog) and mix through them. Why do you dislike the TAL tube?

JayJay: Thanks for the information about the new plugs!

No How: Thanks a lot for the kind words

Steve: Wow it feels good that this thread seems to have contributed to many people don't you agree?

ORIGINAL: Legion

Steve: Wow it feels good that this thread seems to have contributed to many people don't you agree?

I do mate - I think some newer DAW users are not always aware of just how much good free stuff is available.

Some of the VST's here are in my go to list for most projects, alongside stuff I paid for like the Vintage Warmer and the Gearbox plug - I think it's just incredible how the guys who dream these thing up don't charge even a nominal fee to download them!

Keep up the good work Strummy!

-1 keg leaves 3 to go. By the way where are my fuel vouchers?

Legion
Thanks - it was quite some time ago that I tried the TAL stuff and to be honest I really can't remember why I didn't like them! I'll download them and give them another try.
I'd also like to thank you and Steve - this is a really great list - I've already installed a couple of the plugs you mentioned and I think they are very good - Leftover lasagna and Bootsy Rescue especially

Bajan Blue: What did you think of the TAL plugs this time around? (I actually didn't like them at first but after listening to them a little more it seems I just thought they had booring GUI's and let that affect my judgement...)

Hi Legion
I've had some friends over from Europe for the past week so have only just gotten around to downloading the TAL stuff. I'll get it installed this week (once my hang over has finally cleared!!) and let you know what I think.
Thanks
Nigel

legion
Now downloaded and installed. I have to say these are far better than what I remember. The TAL tube sounds really good as did the chorus. I shall definitely be using these in the future.
I also downloaded the synths while I was at it - nothing ground breaking but for FREE!!!!!
Once again, thanks to you and Steve for this great list - wish I'd known about a few of these before buying some of the commercial products I use, which more and more I am coming to the conclusion are probably not much better than some of the excellent free products available. As I mentioned in my original post I have been using the Jeroen Breebaart plug ins for some time, and they always seem to end up in my work now.
Thanks
Nigel

Do I need to do something special to get these to work?

SoulPuppy,

Just install them to Sonar's shared plugins folder on your computer and then run the Cakewalk VST scanner to allow Sonar to find them. Then they will show up in your plugin list.

Hope this helps!
Bob

This is a fantastic thread.Thanks for the work on this. Lots of information.

Thanks Steve, over in Guitar Tracks, I've just put up a load of links to various free VST download sites - some of the links are to sites that also have links to plugs and to other sites!

Click this link: http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=1498134

Thanks Steve, over in Guitar Tracks, I've just put up a load of links to various free VST download sites - some of the links are to sites that also have links to plugs and to other sites!

Click this link: http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=1498134

Bump

I'm just a noob so I've been exporting my midi tracks straight to mp3s without doing much mixing. To use the mixers do I have to export to wav, or is there a way to use them on midi projects without first converting to audio?

I don't entirely understand what you mean. Do you only use your computers wavetable midi or do you mean you only use soft synths? If you use midi via for example TTS1 or the other synths you can mix and add effects and mix right away. If you don't use soft synths but only the microsoft wavetable, start using soft synths emidiatly Check out the tutorials in your manual, I think they are pretty good for begginers.

Yeah, I'm using soft synths, but the mixing plugins don't show up in the FX list for midi tracks; they only show up for audio tracks.

Shawn, you better ask these questions on the dedicated forum of the Cakewalk software you're using. And do start a thread of your own for your question. This thread is about those free plugins. No harm done, though

Sorry about that. These are the only plugins I've downloaded that don't show up in my midi FX list so I figured it was an issue specific to them. (They show up on audio tracks though so I guess I'll just convert the midi data to audio first to use them.)

Bump

Bootsy has some new plugs out and a reverb on the way, his other stuff is excelent so I have high hopes. Downloaded but haven't had the time to try yet. There's a new version of the awesome Rescue (with 4x oversampling and more...) plus a virtual analogue summing device and a new eq wich seems to be based on pultec (boost/cut) for low end, 1081 for midrange and 1073 for high shelf. If the new plugs are anything they claim and as good as his other stuff we will have some new great plugs to ad to the list.

Off to check 'em out now

Here's a link: http://rekkerd.org/bootsy-plug-ins/

B U M P

Have you tried the new Bootsie plugs yet? I tried them a little and really liked the sound but haven't had the time to work with music that much at all lately. To much going on around me right now...

Hey Steve....got a good recommendation for a free frequency analyser plug?

Anything you think would be out of sight or you really dig?

Not yet mate - I'll give them a go asap.

ORIGINAL: montezuma

Hey Steve....got a good recommendation for a free frequency analyser plug?

Anything you think would be out of sight or you really dig?

Hi there Matt - how's it hanging brother!

For a free spectrum analyzer you can't do any better than the VOXENGO SPAN

Check out the ReadMe help file that downloads with it - there are some very useful features incorporated with the Span.

Catch you soon mate

Steve

Matt, here's a run-down on the Span I did in another thread:




Here's a step by step, which I hope will clarify how to use Span:


DISPLAY

In Console View, insert the Span VST into the FX bin of whichever strip you wish to analyze - this can be in any track, bus or in your Master strip.

I'm not sure what the Span default settings are, but when you start playing your track, you should see a real-time waveform in the main window of the GUI. What you choose to display here is dependent on the various controls in Span.

First off, the most important thing to set is what you want Span to display - the five choices are:
* Avg - Average [of the left and right channel summed]
* Max Maximum [of the left and right channel summed]
* L - Left Channel only displayed
* R - Right Channel only displayed
* L+R - Both channels displayed [left channel is blue, right channel is red]



The graph represents two values of any point on the curve/s displayed - the horixontal x-axis represents the frequency of the sound, the vertical y-axis represents the relative level [gain, volume?] of the sound.

The range of frequencies displayed can be altered using the buttons arrowed below so you can view a broad spectrum or effectively zoom in to a narrower range:



For those that prefer the 'step' view, Span allows you to display the curve in eight different column 'widths':




ANALYZING

Once you're happy with the display, Control Click anywhere inside the graph window. Where you place the pointer determines what you hear. The frequency band heard corresponds to where you place it on the x axis and the volume you hear that frequency at is determined by how 'high' up the y axis the pointer is.

The green 'envelope' [probably not the best description of it] that appears causes the frequencies it encompasses to be be heard in isolation as the level of the frequencies outside it are lowered by the program - this shows a full volume audition of the sounds at around 100Hz:



Shifting the pointer around changes the values of the sound you can audition - this is at 5kHz:




If you do download Span, there is a bit more detail about the settings and what the other controls do in the readme text file found in the unzipped folder.

Hey Steve...that's really far out man! I'm dl'ing that now but will have a look after I get back from work.

Sorry about all the 60's lingo...I'm in a weird mood this morning.

Peace brother.

ORIGINAL: montezuma

Hey Steve...that's really far out man! I'm dl'ing that now but will have a look after I get back from work.

Sorry about all the 60's lingo...I'm in a weird mood this morning.

Peace brother.

Groovy

That's an awesome post, Steve. I've been trying to learn how to use that Span for months. You're a scholar and a gentleman.

ORIGINAL: No How

That's an awesome post, Steve. I've been trying to learn how to use that Span for months. You're a scholar and a gentleman.

No problem Rick.

I can't believe a VST that is just that good is so free!!

Just wanted to say that I've played around with Bootsy's NastyCS EQ a little now and am very Impressed. Very smooth musical sounding to my ears (altough they probably are far from golden). I preffered the NastyCS over Pushtec, Voxengo Overtone GEQ and VC64 in some cases. Will definitely use it some more

Haven't gotten around to try out the analogue summing moddeler yet though more than trying to push it to the max and letting it distort... Looking forward to experementing some more with it when I (hopefully) get the time.

I second the Span. I've been using it for two years and it has become indispensable. The Roger Nichols stuff(which is not free) doesn't even come close to giving you the flexibilty of the span.

This deserves to be bumped ahead of all the DVD software spam...

Thanks for the post, Steve!

Thank for these. In particular, I found Basslane to be particularly effective in placing the bass perfectly in the mix. Uses very little cpu also:

20. BASSLANE

ORIGINAL: esmail1

Thank for these. In particular, I found Basslane to be particularly effective in placing the bass perfectly in the mix. Uses very little cpu also:

20. BASSLANE

+1 for BassLane. Simple and subtle, but powerful.

Great post by Stevestrummer.Really some good stuff here.

Big thanks for your kind remarks guys.

But please don't forget this is a joint effort between myself and Legion

Bump

Basslane...'controls the stereo field'...what does that mean exactly?

'controls the stereo field'

Panning
Cj

Exactly, panning the bass content to the center without effecting the other parts of the spectrum.

So if you just pan it there yourself withuot the plugin, bass tends to be a large sound which occupies/ smears a broad area in the stereo spectrum...and this plugin reduces the smear?? (so to speak)

If you don't use extreme amounts of hpf there's bass information in almost everything wich will smear the stereo field. Maybe you don't want all the instuments panned center (I hope you dont ) so then the plug only centers the bass freqz and not the other information, Remember to use it after panning as it will otherwise pan all bass you have just tried to center...

Maybe an addition step to take against SPAM would be to bump useful threads to the top, so as to push useless ads off the first page more quickly...

ORIGINAL: retrosaurus

Maybe an addition step to take against SPAM would be to bump useful threads to the top, so as to push useless ads off the first page more quickly...

What a good idea - BUMP!!

Hi Steve / Legion
Just wanted to say thank you for this thread - I ended up using a couple of the plug ins, Basslane and Leftover Lasagna in particular, quite a bit on the new CD, Politicians aren't the People I meet.
The CD has just come off the production line and goes on sale this week, you can hear some clips on the website at www.devinelie.com
The whole thing was recorded solely in Sonar 7 and 8.
I am going to get some full songs up on Soundclick next few days.
So thanks to you guys and everyone else at the Forum
Nigel

Hey Nigel - how cool is that, I'm off for a listen now - congratulations

And big thanks for the kind words

Steve

I've just put a full track up on Soundclick - only the crap 128 quality, but still sounds OK ish!
The link is below - let me know what you think
Nigel

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=775760&songID=7389927

That's superb Nigel - I love the Parliamentary Questions at the start, nice touch.

The mix and production are top notch too my friend, and the lyrics well though out.

Good stuff indeed

Steve

Steve
Thanks for the great comments - I'm chuffed!!
Hope you liked the lyrics - wrote this a while ago - after all that seems to be happening in the UK, perhaps it should have been a bit ruder about our Politician friends!!
At least in Cape Town our African Politicians are KNOWN to be corrupt - they don't even try to hide it - but in the UK it still seems that want everyone to think they are such good chaps - makes you sick!

Bump