Free Vst Analog Eq
Luftikus by lkjb is a very nice free VST EQ that works very much like the Maag EQ 4. It has six fixed bands: 10 Hz, 40 Hz, 160 Hz, 640 Hz, 2.5 kHz, and a high boost band / high shelf where you can choose between five different beginning points in the freqency spectrum (2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kHz). See also: Acustica Audio Releases FREE Coral Baxter EQ VST/AU Plugin The plugin emulates a certain Pultec-style analog equalizer. The information on the product page isn’t very exact, but users who are familiar with boutique studio gear will probably be able to guess what hardware EQ is being modeled here.
Analog Obsession has released Loaded, a freeware (with optional donations on Patreon) custom 500 series channel strip effect in VST, VST3, and AU plugin formats for digital audio workstation software on PC and Mac.
Loaded is inspired by modular racks, namely the API 500 series. The free plugin developed by Analog Obsession models a six-component channel strip, including a preamp, a de-esser, a noise gate, an equalizer, a compressor, and the main controller module. Each module can be switched on and off, but it isn’t possible to rearrange to signal chain.
As with all Analog Obsession plugins, Loaded isn’t meant to be a precise emulation of a particular piece of gear. Instead, the developer captures the general vibe and feel of the modeled hardware, with a special focus on workflow and analog-style saturation.
Let’s take a closer look at the Loaded channel strip plugin and its modules.
The first step in the signal chain is the preamp module with adjustable gain and a high-pass filter. The user can also flip the phase, apply a -20dB pad, or boost the low end by +3 dB for some extra bass. That’s quite a bit of extra functionality that could come in handy when mixing a more complex project that requires proper gain staging.
The de-esser and noise gate modules are pretty standard. They both feature a gain reduction meter, a mix knob, a threshold control, and a release knob for fine-tuning the gain response. Wheres, the noise gate module performs its job rather well, I would prefer substituting the included de-esser with a more advanced third-party plugin.
The equalizer is a 4-band module with LF, LMF, HMF, and HF knobs. The LMF and HMF bands have adjustable peak frequency. All in all, it’s a very decent semi-parametric equalizer that’s handy for making broader tonal adjustments before opting for a more surgical EQ in the later stages of mixing.
The compressor module is where Loaded truly shines as a channel strip. The comp is easy to use and it does sound quite musical. You can try to push it for a more aggressive sound, but I particularly liked how it sounded with more subtle settings, shaving off just a few dBs of volume for a slightly rounded tone. The compressor also features a fast attack switch and an auto-release mode which can be helpful if you’re compressing a more complex type of signal.
The last module is the main controller, which is where you’ll adjust the input and output gain. It is also where you’ll find the bypass switch, which can be handy for AB testing.
If you’re a fan of analog gear and modular racks, chances are you’ll enjoy using Loaded. It’s a great little channel strip that captures the joy of mixing with a custom modular rack. It also doesn’t take up any space and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Speaking of which, Loaded is free to download and use, but you can support the developer through their Patreon page. Analog Obsession offers all of its software for free without any functional restrictions, so it’s fair to give something back if you’re putting it to good use.
Loaded is available as a VST, VST3, and AU plugin on Windows and macOS. Do note that only 64-bit plugin hosts are supported. The plugin is still under development, but the latest 1.0 is a stable release.
More info:Loaded(19.7 MB download size, ZIP archive, 64-bit VST/VST3/AU plugin format for Windows & macOS)
More articles:
BEST FREE VST EQUALIZERS
FREE EQUALIZER VST PLUGINS
MEqualizer by Melda Production (Windows and Mac)
If you are new to mixing it can sometimes be of help to have an equalizer that gives you a visual representation to the changes you make in sound. MEqualizer by Melda Production comes in handy here. First of all it is a very well sounding free VST equalizer. It has six bands to tweak and for each band you can choose between 7 filter types.
MEqualizer can be used in a more clean mode but it also allows you to dial in tube saturation and harmonics to your taste through which it will function more as a vintage or analog sounding equalizer.
It comes with a spectrum analyzer and a sonogram and even has an auto-listening option which enables you to zoom in on a certain band. To top it all off you can use it in several modes including mid or side mode and of course in left + right mode for normal use on stereo or mono tracks.
MEqualizer even has it own limiter build in. A very versatile equalizer indeed.
MEqualizer comes as a part of the MfreeEffectsBundle that includes several other nice free VST plugins.
SlickEQ by VOS TDR (Windows and Mac)
SlickEQ is one of the best free VST equalizers out there. It has three bands plus a high pass filter.
While the mid band is a bell curve you get the choice between shelf and bell filter for the low and high band.
You also have the choise of four different filter curve slopes: British, American, German, and Soviet – inspired by hardware consoles from the respective countries (at least the first three).
SlickEQ is very smooth. You can push it pretty far in the high frequency area without any harshness.
Should you desire a subtle saturation you can dial that in by pressing the EQSat button and choose your calibration type in the outstage section where you also get to choose whether you want automatic gain ajustment or not.
SlickEQ can function either as a stereo or mono equalizer or you can use it in either mid or side mode. You can chain two instances of the SlickEQ and thereby double the amount of bands to tweak or set one in mid and the other in side mode and thereby having a very nice m/s eq.
This free VST EQ plugin is highly recommended and should you desire extra options the commercial Gentlemen’s Edition is very affordable.
SonEQ by Sonimus (Windows and Mac)
SonEQ is again one of those very nice free VST tools for digital audio work. You can control the input and output which gives you control over to what extend the eq should work with a clean or vintage sound. The harder you push it the more saturation you get – just like with an old analog mixing desk.
SonEQ has a both a high and a low pass filter. It enables you to do the ”Pultec Buttom End Trick” by boosting and cutting the same freqency in the low band area at the same time.
The mid band can be adjusted to a target frequency between 150 – 4000 Hz and gives you a choice between two q-settings.
The high band can control the frequency spectrum from a center point of either 6, 8, 12, or 15 Khz. For extra saturation use the drive section. A very nice free VST colouring eq!
RED EQ by Acustica Audio (Windows and Mac)
Red EQ by Acustica Audio is a simple yet very well sounding free VST equalizer. Acustica Audio use a form of convolution technique to “sample” the sound of hardware devices. Through this they are attempting to create plugins that are as close as possible to hardware in sound and function. Whether they are more successful in this attempt than developers that base their plugins on algorithms is a question of debate on many internet forums. What can be said here is that their RED EQ is a very good equalizer and definitely worth having in your tool box. It has three bands: low, mid, and high. While the mid band is a bell curve the low and the high bands are shelf EQs.
OCHRE EQ by Acustica Audio (Windows and Mac)
Ochre is another fine free VST EQ from Acustica Audio. It gives you three bands to play with: a low bandwhere you can choose between a centre frequency from 35 – 315 Hz, a mid band with a choice of centre freqency from 315 – 2.500 Hz, and finally a high band where you can chose a centre freqency between 2.500 and 22.000 Hz. Each band can be boosted or cut by up to 16 dB, and you can choose a Q between 0.5 and 4.0. Ochre also has a pre-amp stage that can be switched on for more “analog colour” or off for a cleaner sound. There is also an input gain control as well as an output gain control. Since the plugin acts much like a hardware device you can use these controls to feed the right amount of level to the plugin – and you can “drive” the input to get more colour. Like RED EQ from the same developer Ochre EQ maintains a sweet sound when you boost the high band.
Luftikus by lkjb (Windows and Mac)
Luftikus by lkjb is a very nice free VST EQ that works very much like the Maag EQ 4. It has six fixed bands: 10 Hz, 40 Hz, 160 Hz, 640 Hz, 2.5 kHz, and a high boost band / high shelf where you can choose between five different beginning points in the freqency spectrum (2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kHz). Luftikus has an analog switch that will give you a little extra analog grit and colour. You can use Luftikus in normal mode ot you can switch on the mastering mode that will give you a stepped functionality for the first five frequency bands which comes in handy for mastering tasks. There is a trim for the output volume, or you can turn on the “keep gain” function so you won’t be fooled by differences in loudness when you tweak the equalizer. This is a high quality free VST EQ plugin and it is a valuable tool both for mixing and for mastering purposes.
Free Analog Eq Vst
ColourEQ by DDMF (Windows and Mac)
ColourEQ by DDMF is a very clean free VST eq. The name simply refers to the fact that you can choose between different colours for the GUI. It comes with five bands of ”super parametric” peaking filters, which means that there is one more parameter in addition to the traditional gain/width/frequency set that can influence the curve shape. In other words you can adjust the eq curves in ways that is not possible with a regular graphic equalizer. Further features include: a low cut filter, adjustable GUI colours, freely resizable window size, internal 64 bit processing and low CPU usage.
IIEQ by DDMF (Windows and Mac)
The IIEQ is a fully parametric 10-band free VST equalizer. The 1st and the 10th band are low and high shelf filters, respectively; all other bands are peak filters. Individual bands can be switched on and off. IIEQ comes with different GUIs of which some are available only in 32-bit. If you need an EQ with many bands IIEQ will meet your demands and on top of that it has a very nice sound.
Free Vst Analog Equalizer
Marvel GEQ by Voxengo (Windows and Mac)
Free Vst Analog Equipment
Should you need a linear phase eq for mastering purposes Voxengo Marvel GEQ (graphic equalizer) is an exellent free VST. It is simple to use with its 16 fixed bands, and it gives you the choice of tweaking the mid channel and the channel individually. Marvel GEQ offers extensive internal channel routing capabilities. A very nice free VST from Voxengo – a company that has quite a few free VST plugins on their website. Check them out.