nClear has released Sibalance and VocRide, two pay-what-you-want vocal processing plugins for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Both plugins are available through Ko-fi, and you can optionally enter zero to download them for free. That said, these are full versions of these two plugins, not lite versions or time-limited trials.
The tools started as more complex setups in Bitwig Grid and Cardinal. Not everyone uses Bitwig, and not everyone wants to rebuild a vocal processor from scratch, so the developer turned them into regular effects you can load in a DAW.
Sibalance is a vocal de-esser and sibilance shaper. It is designed to control sharp “s”, “sh”, breath, and other high-frequency vocal noises without affecting the rest of the vocal take.
The idea is slightly different from a basic high-frequency compressor. Sibalance listens for moments where the upper range jumps out without the lower voiced part of the signal, then applies reduction only when that sibilance-like energy appears.
You get a main sibilance reduction control, Delta monitoring to hear what is being removed, and smoothing modes for different vocal material. The latest v1.1.0 update adds a Sibilance Sensitivity control, a smoother Tight-to-Soft slider, click-free bypass, a handy little oscilloscope, and various host compatibility and performance fixes.
VocRide is the more unusual of the two. It is a pitch-aware vocal harmonic EQ that follows the vocal fundamental instead of using fixed EQ bands.
In practice, that means VocRide tracks where the singer is actually singing and lets you boost or reduce the fundamental and harmonics as the pitch moves. This can help add weight, reduce boxiness, or shape presence without manually chasing notes with static EQ (my least favorite sport in all of mixing).
The original version focused on the fundamental and second harmonic, but the latest version adds third harmonic control, a new parametric Nth harmonic band, input/output frequency analysis, level meters, output volume, and improved harmonic detection and frequency readouts.
I like the concept behind both plugins. Vocals can be hard to mix, and these two solve very specific vocal problems quite well.
The interface design is also well-done and both plugins come with light and dark color schemes.
Sibalance and VocRide are available for macOS Universal in VST3, AU, and CLAP formats. Windows x64 builds include VST3 and CLAP, while Linux x64 builds include VST3, LV2, and CLAP.
Download: Sibalance / VocRide (FREE/pay what you want)
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Last Updated on June 8, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
