• Best Audio Vst Plugins
• Best Professional Vst Plugins
• Free Mastering Plugins Vst
• Top 10 Free Plugins

Article Content

Top 10 FREE Mixing & Mastering Plugins 2019 The never-ending quest for the best mixing and mastering plugins is back again, only this time we’re searching through the freebies. We scouted through many polls and forums to look for what the audio engineering community has to say about freeware mixing and mastering plugins. Mastering SIGNAL VST Effects Analog Obsession – Konsol size 12.5 MB / 12.9 MB / 6.6 MB Konsol is a 3 Model mixing console bus with transformer, bus option and 2 band shelf EQ. My Top 10 VST Plugins for producing & mastering electronic music My studio has gone through some relevant changes since the release of my last album Focus in 2017. Even though one or two pieces of hardware have found new owners the biggest change for me has been on the software side of things. On this page, you will find a list of over 70 high-quality free Vst plugins you can download and use for free in your various Daw Software. Welcome and enjoy your stay here! Note: These plugins are randomly listed, no best of best among the Vst plugins, just sort and check the one you would find useful below. This list has been categorised. Mastering in-the-box plugins combine many useful effects that you need to achieve that professional feel for your tracks. Speaking of which- these days, audio producers have more than enough options for the job. If you are looking for one or two reliable picks for in-the-box mastering needs, below are some fantastic VST mastering plugins worth.

As I cover in my new course Mastering in the Box, there are some incredible plugins available for anyone interested in computer-based mastering. Although nothing can replace an experienced engineer, working in an expertly designed room, on high-end equipment, there are some fantastic free tools available online that will aid engineers working on projects with limited budgets.

But finding the right mastering plugins can be tricky. There are tons of great plugins out there, so finding the right ones isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve picked out the 17 best reverb plugins of 2020. So if you’re looking for the greatest mastering plugins of today, you’re in the right place!

Here are some completely free plugins that you can work into your in the box mastering workflow …

1. Voxengo SPAN

As I cover in the course, Metering is absolutely essential to mastering, and SPAN is a versatile and free utility plugin.

It provides spectral analysis, correlation metering and clipping detection, as well as displaying RMS and max crest factor. The interface is simple, clear, and even somewhat customizable. It’s a truly deep, accurate and useful metering plugin, which is refreshing considering that it’s free. It’s also compatible with virtually every DAW.

2. LoudMax by Thomas Mundt

Described as “a look-ahead brickwall loudness maximizer plugin with a clean transparent sound, designed to retain the original character of the music as much as possible even at high compression levels,” LoudMax is a wonderfully simply tool. It has two sliders: threshold and output — and that’s all it needs.

If you’re interested in learning how a limiter works and affects your material, LoudMax boils the concept down to its most basic elements, all while providing a mostly transparent sound.

3. Limiter №6 by Vladg Sound

This is a more complex and versatile take on limiting. It offers more control than LoudMax, which can be helpful if your program material requires detailed tweaking.

Its five modules include: RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, and true peak limiter.

Each of these modules have extremely flexible controls. There are some expensive and well-known limiter plugins that don’t come with features like mid-side processing, oversampling and true peak detection. The fact that these features come included with Limiter №6 makes it even more special.

4. mvMeter from TBProAudio

I’m still pretty shocked that this plugin is free. It looks great, it’s easy to use, and it’s deeper than some metering tools that cost hundreds of dollars more. It allows you to measure PEAK, RMS, EBU R128, VU and PPM. Additionally, it has multi-channel metering so you can see what’s happening on the stereo, left, right, mid, or side channels.

The five different themes allow the user to change the look to various classic VU and PPM Meters, which is a nice touch. (It doesn’t improve the sound quality — I prefer the sleek look of the retro skin.)

5. Stereo Tool v3 by Flux

Some mixes require a bit of balancing the information spread between the channels, and Stereo Tool v3 is prefect for this application. It includes panning controls for the left and right channels, a vector scope display, global stereo width and pan controls, PPM Input and Output meters, a phase correlation meter, and a variety of other useful features.

If the content you’ve been delivered has balance and phase issues, this is an excellent free plugin.

6. Voxengo Marvel GEQ

Being able to sculpt your signal using an equalizer is essential for a mastering engineer. Lethal vst free. This linear-phase 16-band graphic equalizer is impressive in both functionality and sound.

I’m not sure why every plugin doesn’t have an “undo/redo” function, because after using this equalizer, I find it to be quite helpful. Being able to work in mid-side mode allows the user to treat information in the center separately from the sides, which, when used properly, can result in a much clearer stereo spread, and a more defined space amongst individual elements.

As with each of the great tools on this list, it’s surprising that such a useful tool is free.

I generally believe that in audio, you get what you pay for, but each of the aforementioned plugins are exceptions to this rule.

Mastering in the Box Course

If you’re interested in expanding your knowledge and learning effective techniques for getting great sounding masters 100% in the box, check out my debut course: Mastering in the Box

Mastering in the Box with Ian Vargo

As I cover in my new course Mastering in the Box, there are some incredible plugins available for anyone interested in computer-based mastering. Although nothing can replace an experienced engineer, working in an expertly designed room, on high-end equipment, there are some fantastic free tools avai

FREE Masterclass: Low-End Mixing Secrets

Downloaded Over 19,455 times!

Discover how to make your kick and bass hit hard by cutting (NOT boosting) the right frequencies! Plus, more counterintuitive ways to get fuller yet controlled low-end in your mix. Download this 40-minute workshop by Matthew Weiss, now for FREE!

It’s true that you can mix your music using stock plugins, but mastering engineers require specialized tools. Part of the reason for this is that they’re usually working with mixes that have been sent to them as a stereo track. Instead of opening up a mix session to turn a kick down 2 dB, they need to resort to other methods that will not only fix the issue but preserve the quality of the overall track.

Every plugin company mentioned in this list has had sales in the past, some offering over 80% off their products. Be patient and keep an eye out for sale announcements on the social media pages of these plugin manufacturers; you should be able to pick up a majority of these mastering tools at a heavily discounted price. Check out 'The Ultimate List of Plugin Companies' to see which plugin manufacturers are worth keeping an eye on.

8. FabFilter Pro-Q 3 ($179)

I mostly use stock or analog-modeled EQs while mixing, since I’m either looking for convenience or color at that stage in the production process. Things change a little bit once I get around to mastering either my own music or the music of others. At a mastering level, I want a digital EQ full of features, with the ability to perform surgical processing; this is where the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 steps in.

Best Audio Vst Plugins

This EQ offers up to 24 bands, 9 different filter types, linear phase, zero latency, and natural phase modes, the ability to toggle bands into dynamic mode, per-band mid/side processing, full surround support (up to Dolby Atmos 7.1.2), the ability to solo bands, optional auto gain, a customizable spectrum analyzer, and a resizable GUI.

There’s a feature called Spectrum Grab included with the Pro-Q 3 that automatically identifies peaks for you and allows you to create new bands at resonant frequencies. I find this to come in handy quite often since it prevents the need to go frequency fishing. FabFilter’s Pro-Q 3 offers plenty of surgical processing options, making it ideal for mastering purposes.

7. Oeksound Soothe (149 €)

Best Professional Vst Plugins

Soothe is a spectral processor for suppressing resonances in the mid to high-frequency range of mixes. When the different elements of a song sum together when they reach your stereo bus, specific harmonics can sum together to create resonant frequencies that unpleasantly stick out of the mix. Soothe offers a solution to this common mastering problem, and also has several useful mixing applications.

This plugin can tame vocal sibilance, fretboard noise on acoustic guitar, whistling from cymbals, and overly bright electric guitar and piano tracks. I’ve had soothe rescue many recordings that not many other tools could have saved. This is absolutely a specialty plugin, but one with a wide range of applications. Whether you’re a mixing or mastering engineer, soothe will provide tremendous value, on top of an easy-to-use interface.

Soothe made its way into “4 Essential EQ Techniques to Get Clean Mixes,” which touches on some mastering EQ tips as well. Read the full article for more information on cleaning up your mixes and masters.

6. UAD SSL 4000 G Bus ($299)

The UAD SSL 4000 G Bus compressor offers a lot of punch and does a great job of preserving the transient information of mixes, while effectively gluing together the components that make up the song you’re working on. Most of the characteristic sound that the SSL 4000 G Bus offers is due to the feedback-style approach to compression that its analog counterpart takes.

Free Mastering Plugins Vst

In his article on “Feedback Vs. Feed-Forward Compression: The Differences You Need to Know,” Rick Slater of SonicScoop explains that “The SSL bus compressor is designed so that faster attack release times will deliver smaller amounts of reduction while slower settings provide lots more, making for more even gain reduction as you cycle through the attack settings.” The SSL 4000 G Bus is perfect for Pop, Country, and Folk songs; it does a great job of maintaining the articulation and clarity of tracks.

Top 10 Free Plugins

If you’re looking for a bit more color, a strong alternative to the SSL 4000 G Bus is the Vertigo VSC-2 ($299). Like the SSL 4000 G Bus, the Vertigo VSC-2 is a VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) compressor, but instead of providing crisp compression, it adds an often-desirable thump and roundness to mixes. I particularly like the sound of this compressor on Hip-Hop and grungy EDM tracks.