Software Effects

It's time for another installment of Yankovic Explains It All. On this week's episode -- Auto-Tune -- the good Dr. Yankovic explains the difference between vocoding and pitch-correction, and what to take for T-Pain.  

And the AES videos keep coming. This time we're looking at the impressive Sonnox Oxford Plugins Restore Suite, a powerful bundle of post-production tools with some of the most engrossing graphics displays this side of the Windows Media Player Visualizer.  

For a very limited time, the TC Electronic M30 Studio Reverb plugin will be available absolutely free. If you sign up for TC's newsletter by Nov. 18th, you can save yourself $79.  

The latest FabFilter offering, Pro-Q, lets you create and edit up to 24 EQ bands with multiple curves while providing Zero Latency mode, Linear Phase mode with adjustable latency, a built-in real-time frequency analyzer, and much more.  

Those who buy certain VirSyn plugins through the end of this month can save up to 41 percent from the list price. Participating products include Bark, FDelay, Klon, Vocal Designer, TDesign, and VTape.  

Cableguyyyyys happened to be in the neighborhood and wanted to notify you, over breakfast in bed, of its new version of Filtershaper. Version 2 of the VST effect plugin adds parallel routing option for FilterShaper's two filters, individual controls for both panning and volume, and more.  

SKnote wants audiophiles to embrace compression and take it as far as it can go, with the yet to be released FD4 plugin. The VST effects plugin features multiple parallel compression and four different compressors in a single rack.  

Enhance your vocals, robotize your recorded dialogues, and have fun with the Soundgoodizer and other numerous features within the Image-Line Vocodex vocoder plugin.  

Bundled and released especially for the PowerCore platform are the the TC Electronic Tube-Tech-inspired CL 1B compressor / limiter plugin and the Tap Factory multitap delay / reverb hybrid plugin. What's even better is that existing owners of the CL 1B plugin can upgrade to the bundled pack for free.  

The MixControl channel strip pack serves up both large and small mixing plugins, sized for your mixing needs. For light mixing projects, go for the smaller, reduced interface version of MixControl; for complex mixing projects, step up to the all-in-one, large version.  

Who would have thought to use a digital plugin as a source of analog warmth? The folks at Wave Arts did, and put its 64-bit circuit simulation technology into the new Tube Saturator tube preamp simulator plugin. They say you can use the plugin to add that warm tubey sound to your recordings, or use it as a saturating peak limiter.  

Christian Budde's VST plugin, Noise Reduction, was supposed to be Budde's entry for a plugin design contest but because he didn't submit it in time, he is offering it to Windows users for free. Good deal.  

Trident Audio and Universal Audio have joined forces to create the plugin version of the Trident A-Range console. The super-powered EQ plugin for the UAD platform is the true digital model of the original deal, and delivers the same classic Trident sound in a smaller package.  

We tried to get an interview with Chris Lord-Alge, we really did. Unfortunately we waited until the last possible minute, and the famed mix engineer had to beat it to an important gig. Luckily the Waves CLA Bundle makes it seem as though Chris is right there with you, at every step of your mix, guiding your hand to the threshold and ratio buttons.  

With a vintage, red aluminum-like user interface and realistic-looking VU meters, the Focusrite Scarlett plugin suite is like a glamorous, red-carpet addition for DAWs.  

Add the sound of the freestyle lifestyle to your Live sets with FreeStyle 2, a complete pack of instruments, MIDI and effect racks, clips, and samples for Ableton Live 7 and higher. When you're through downloading the chilaxed pack, turn to Audio Synth, a freeware effect rack for Live.  

Create realistic impulse responses with SKnote Verbera, a new, soon-to-be-released algorithmic reverb impulse response generator for Windows.  

The Soundgasm Sector 7 patch collection spins out 128 ambient, psy-trance, techno, acid, and house patches, all ready to play within reFX Vanguard.  

Hardware and software come together with Percussa Modulor, a freeware application developed for the Percussa AudioCubes. Use Modulor to record, loop, process, and assemble musical information coming from the AudioCubes.  

Users of the Apple Logic Pro RingShifter plugin can update their set of presets with 50 new ones. The Ring preset collection delves further within the plugin's audio morphing capabilities, to keep you creative and on top of your game.  

Working in the studio for hours at a time with little human contact besides the vocoded voices you make yourself can really mess with your head. If you're desperate for some company, imaginary or real, try playing with Paperdolls in the studio. This preset collection can be dressed up or down for the Tone2 Firebird+ synth.  

Airwindows Audio Units plugins, TubeSag and Golem, improve your audio's dynamics and phase. TubeSag works like a current-starved tube rectifier and makes dynamics pop by stepping on everything that follows the attack of a sound. It also repels women.  

After checking out the new Waves Eddie Kramer Collection at AES, we wondered what kind of input Eddie Kramer actually had into the product's development. So we asked him.  

De la Mancha GTO and GTX, vintage-style "muscle" compressors, take the lead from their muscle car namesakes for brute power, pure speed, and loud noise. What we want to know is, do they drift?  

Introducing SKnote Retoone, yet another VST plugin release for Windows users, featuring pitch-shifting, three-voice choir, and stereo chorus.  

The Windows-only plugin LE456 by LePou offers amp effects at zero cost. LE456 features the standard tone controls along with nifty switches to control the brightness, focus, bottom end, cleanliness, and crunchiness of your sound.  

Comin' atcha from New York via Tel Aviv via -- Australia? -- Michael from Waves shows off the new Waves Vocal Rider. Yeah, it's a dynamics plugin, but don't call it a processor. You'll see what we mean.  

With some of the coolest names at their booth and some of the coolest products at the show, Waves made a fairly stunning showing at the recent AES conference. Their new Vocal Rider, LoAir, and WNS plugins are sure to find their way into countless professional studios and post-production concerns.  

To celebrate one year of Analog Code, Sound Performance Lab (SPL) is giving away a full-version MicroPlug Attacker plugin for every computer. You'll get a kick out of it.  

Grotto, the new stereo reverb / delay plugin by The Lower Rhythm, focuses on producing cave-like effects and droning ambience. It'll have you mumbling, "My Precious," in your dark home studio in no time.