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I had no idea that everybody and their brother made plug-ins for audio apps. I guess if I want to fit in, I better create one too. Man you can do a simple search at Google for VST Plug-ins and come up with a billion lists of stuff. I have sifted through quite a few of them in search of the best ones and have came up with the following list. Some are freebies, some are not. If they are not free, then I have at some point decided they are worth their price tag. Most of these are installed on my studio computers and I now use them as if they were always there and will never leave.
A Quick Note About Using Plugins!
Plug-ins are usually in the form of .DLL files, DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library, basically it is an extension of an application. The more DLL's you put to use, the more CPU and RAM you will be using. So if you have a 14 track song that works just fine, and then you add 3 equalizers, a delay, reverb, a chorus and some compression to each track, your host application (Mixcraft, etc.) is now much larger and more CPU intensive than it was before the added effects. Every computer will have a limit! Try to remember to remove any plug-ins that you try and do not like, don't just leave them on your computer. and if you can get the same effect from a 31 band eq that you get with two instances of a 15 band, then use the 31.
If you find your CPU and/or Page File/Ram maxing out when you playback or render your projects from your host application, try cutting down on the plug-ins.
You can use Windows Task Manager to watch your CPU/PF usage as you playback or render, this gives a good idea of how well the computer is dealing with the extra load.
How to use the Task Manager to stay in the "safe zone" when recording. HERE
And now....The Plug-ins we all find so damned cool!
Anwida Software Audio Plug-ins
Shareware Music Machine - Hordes of categories and plugins!
Melda Productions - I am floored that this company is giving away these plugins! The parametric equalizer alone was enough to get a reaction out of me at first use, but they have around 12 absolutely free plugins that are just incredible! One of them is a small version of their big product called MDrummer which is a VST instrument, midi controlled drum plugin. If you click on any links here today, this is the one to go for.
PSPAudioWare - These guys make some of the most authentic sounding plug-ins we have tested to date! With a couple of freebies as well as professional grade studio limiters, compression, awesome parametric equalizers, delay, multi tap delay and much more!
VocSteady - This is an absolutely excellent plug-in and a must have for anyone who does any type of home recording. It's kind of like a compressor that sets itself for you! VocSteady smooths out vocal tracks to bring up the low spots and pull down the hot spots. And it works great, exactly as promised. Try it out, play your song without VocSteady and then try it with the plug-in turned on, Immediate difference with no guesswork! Of course, it is configurable via sliders and other controls, but the default settings work awesome as well with no tweaking. This plug-in has replaced the compression plug-in I was using, even for tracks besides vocals. No understatement, you MUST HAVE this plug-in, unless you LIKE to spend hours on compression and leveling.
JeroenBreebaart - There is a nice pack of free plugins here including a free version of their pride plugin "Barracade". The Barracade brick wall limiter free version was more than enough to convince me that it's great for squashing vocals and lifting low spots.
KarmaFX - Four free VST effects. A really nice equalizer, delay, reverb and a filter. Definitely worth checking into.
Free-Plugin-List - A site dedicated to free vst and vsti plugins. I found a few new favorites here including equalizers, compressors and a lot of oddball type plugins that yo never knew you needed until you try them out!
VSTCentral - A nice listing and forum for free vst plugins.
Rekkerd.ord - An archive of free plugins and also tons of free sound samples and loops for the taking!
Slim Slow Slider - Among many free vst plugins, are two equalizers, one is an extremely easy to use parametric, the other is the best free graphic I have found so far. It boasts a range from 25Hz to 16kHz. There also complex compression units, a tremolo, and many others. I had to dig to find a working link for this author, so it might not be valid for long. Also, the page is in Japanese (or some Asian language) but you can simply click download and the products are in English.
670 Free VST Plugins - A lot of the links are dead but still worth clicking around. I think this page was created around 2005.
VST Planet - Looks to be a new site that is sort of emulating a download.com-ish feel. It would be great if it took off and did well, then we would not have to search every dark corner of the net trying to find that one cool plugin. There are not loads of plugins here right now, but I can see it growing.
Blue Cat Audio Products - Some great freeware plugins which produce excellent results! My favorite freebie here is the FreqAnalyst, which is a unique spectrum analyzer plugin. This type of plugin is a must for any audio mastering project. Another product offered here is a set of free gain utilities which let you control the volume of an audio track, among other things.
Klanglabs - Many free vst effects and also many free vst instruments! A little tough to navigate the site because there are no explanations of the screenshots of each vst, but worth clicking every one :-)
The Melodyne Plugin - Does your voice suck? Have you been a heavy smoker for 30 years and just can't seem to carry a tune anymore even if it was in a bucket? Then this plugin is for you! (and me). Seriously, this is one of the most amazing plugins I have ever demo'd, you can literally drag your voice in tune. It sort of records the track you apply it to and then you can move the "blobs" of vocal up, down, and even lengthen you note! This is soooo cheating, BUT we all know we would ALL do it if nobody would find out, heh heh. Maybe I use it, maybe I don't, you'll never know :-) This plugin is not cheap, but well worth the money. And it does work with Acoustica's Mixcraft 3!
A Few Good Plugins - Including an exciter, and one of the coolest plugins in this list called ""DrumTrig", it can replace your recorded sound with any wav file sound. What does this mean? If you record your drummer on several tracks, and it sounds like crap, just use this to replace the sounds with perfect ones obtained elswhere!
BetaBugs Audio - Many very cool looking and sounding plugins including some usning MIDI and VSTI plugins.
The Fish Fillets - Yes it's a strange name, but this is a set of three very nice plugins. A compressor, a superb gate and a de-esser. Well worth the download, especially since they are free!
MadShifta - I searched the net quite a while to find a decent pitch shifter that was a freebie. This one fits the bill and does a great job. There are no automatic octaves or other bells and whistles, but you can easily create some cool tracks with this funny looking thing :-)
Mda-Vst - Some of my new favorite plug-ins! The one called "Dynamics" is actually a compressor and gate in one, it absolutely saved a live drum recording we did at the studio. There was a nasty hi-hat screech coming through the snare microphone and this little gem fixed it! They have plugs listed for Windows, Mac OS and even BeOS!
Huge list in a forum post - Tons of links to plug ins here
The Sonic Spot - A large list of freebies and some demos, I found a nice gate here
Audio MasterMind - Tons of free plugs at this site, and tons of not so free ones as well. Software, hardware, tweaks, you name it.. This link will take you to their free plugins list, you can browse from there for other stuff if you want to.
Voxengo - They make some great plug-ins, some free, some cost 1000 gold nuggets. I prefer their "Polysquasher" compressor.
Anwida - This company makes many professional plug-ins for host apps, they offer one free VST that is a great reverb unit.
Magnus - This guy make some great plug-ins, including the free and totally awesome "NyquistEQ" which is a 5 band parametric equalizer. If you are doing any professional mastering, you need a parametric. This is another MUST HAVE plug-in. Seriously, don't go without at least trying it.
SmartElectronix - This site lists a bunch of developers, they each have a section of the site to themselves which lists all their plugins, some very useful and unique. Many are freebies as well.
Cubase Plugins - Yes they work in other recording apps, not just cubase. There is a list of links on this page leading to info and download for many useful plugins.
AnalogX Gate - Stereo gate, not too shabby, especially for free
The Sonic Spot - Now here is a list of plug-ins! Some great ones here, check this one out.
Acoustica - has some links to great Plug-ins on their site. All worth the download.
More to come!
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