Autor: Producer Gang

Analog Obsession has released TheBus, a free analog-style compressor plugin for macOS and Windows. Coming from one of my favorite indie developers, I was super excited to test this one. Analog Obsession describes TheBus as a fully custom compressor rather than a clone or variation of a specific hardware unit. My first impressions are good. It has a soft character, a soft knee, and a linear frequency response, with a design that works well for drums, percussion, and a mix bus that needs a bit of glue. I tested TheBus on a drum bus and on the master bus, and…

zplane has launched PEEL STEMS 2, a major update to its real-time stem separation plugin for macOS and Windows. Stem separation is a busy area right now, but PEEL STEMS offers an interesting angle: it works directly inside your DAW. Instead of uploading audio to an online service or bouncing files back and forth between apps, you can insert the plugin and separate vocals, drums, bass, and other musical elements within the session. PEEL STEMS 2 focuses on making that workflow faster and cleaner than before. zplane says the new version uses its latest real-time stem separation technology, reducing latency…

KVR is celebrating 20 years of its Developer Challenge, as Developer Challenge 26 gets underway! For anyone new to the annual Developer Challenge, it’s a chance for developers to showcase their creativity by creating a new free plugin, app, or sound library/pack that benefits the broader music production community. KVR members vote on their five favorite entries, with their top choice getting five points, the next getting four, and so on. So, it’s also a substantial feather in the cap for the winner, because the acknowledgment comes directly from the people who will use these tools most. One of the…

Developer Nextlight has released Next OXX, a free OTT-style multi-band compressor plugin for Windows. It’s been almost two decades since the original OTT Multiband Dynamics preset came on the scene with Ableton Live 8. Although presets are meant to be inspiring, and a lot of effort goes into designing them, this particular preset, designed by Claes Johansson, who went on to develop Bitwig Studio, has had a journey that most people probably never expected. This over-the-top combination of upward and downward compression became the signature sound of in-your-face electronic music, most notably in genres like dubstep and drum & bass,…

BPB reader Bemused has created a free Audiomodern Soundbox instrument using sounds from Flame Sound’s Heatwave library. For those who don’t know, Flame Sound is my cinematic sound design label, and you can visit it to download a free pack of 50 royalty-free cinematic SFX sounds. Also, I will soon release a premium mix finisher plugin on Flame Sound, so feel free to drop me a note if you’d like to join the beta team. The free instrument from Bemused uses the Moods samples from Heatwave and turns them into a playable Soundbox pack with 17 presets. Twelve presets are…

510k Arts has released WOMB intro, a free 909-inspired bass drum synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows. 510k is built by Alexkid, a producer and DJ with decades of experience, releases on F Communications, and a key role in the 2000s French dance music scene. Alexkid develops the concepts and prototypes in Berlin, while Tadashi, based in Nagoya, Japan, turns those ideas into the plugins you use in your DAW. WOMB intro is the free edition of 510k’s WOMB bass drum designer. It uses the same synthesis core and the same eight sound-shaping controls as the paid version, but keeps…

Plugin Boutique has launched the exclusive Summer Bundle, offering 14 plugins, instruments, and sample packs for $39. The bundle is listed at $700.99 if the products are purchased individually, so the current price saves $661.99. The offer runs until September 1, and Plugin Boutique is also including a free gift with each purchase. At the time of writing, the gift options are Cloudmax Breeze Black Edition by Karanyi Sounds, AXXESS by GForce Software, and Toneknob Stargazer by Audified. If you ask me, the headline name for most producers will probably be IK Multimedia’s Black 76 Limiting Amplifier. It is modeled…

OTODESK has released LowCutPolice, a free and open-source equalizer plugin for Windows. The repository name is HighPrecisionEQ, which I think gives you a better idea of what the plugin is actually doing. LowCutPolice is mainly built around low-end cleanup, but it is also a full-range surgical EQ with filters and bell bands extending up to 25 kHz. We’ve already covered a few OTODESK releases on BPB this summer, including ANATOMY, Quad Morph Filter, and Ambience. LowCutPolice continues the same open-source Windows plugin run, and this one helps you see and remove low-end mud that can be hard to judge with…

Bright Isn’t the Same as Harsh  “Everything in moderation.”— Aristotle One of the biggest mistakes beginner producers make is chasing brightness. More treble. More presence. More air. At first, everything sounds exciting. Until… The cymbals hurt your ears. The vocal becomes painful. The guitars become brittle. The mix becomes exhausting to listen to. The goal isn’t maximum brightness. The goal is pleasant brightness.   Quick Summary 👉 Harshness usually lives in the High Mid (2–6 kHz) and High (6–12 kHz) frequency ranges. It can be reduced using EQ, dynamic EQ, de-essers, better microphone choices, and by balancing bright frequencies with…

Air-G Audio has released Air-G Plugins Collection, a free/pay-what-you-want bundle of 18 audio plugins built on open-source DSP algorithms from Airwindows. Airwindows plugins have been around for a long time, and they have an almost legendary status among us bedroom producers. Chris Johnson’s approach has always been more about sound and speed than shiny interface design. The only real drawback, depending on how you like to work, is that Airwindows plugins don’t have custom GUIs. They use whatever default interface your DAW gives to GUI-less plugins, which is perfectly usable but not always inspiring when you’re in the middle of…