{"id":404,"date":"2018-04-24T13:43:04","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T13:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wooolfsounds.com\/?p=404"},"modified":"2021-01-06T16:46:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T16:46:11","slug":"15-free-plugins-worth-your-time-and-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wooolfsounds.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/24\/15-free-plugins-worth-your-time-and-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"15 free plugins worth your time and attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio software plugins are great!\u00a0 You can use them in any DAW and free plugins are available to simulate nearly any kind of audio effect or instrument.<\/p>\n

So many free plugins are available for immediate download.\u00a0 ‘Free’ means that there’s no monetary cost involved.\u00a0 But this doesn’t mean there are no other ‘costs’.\u00a0 Because every tool has a learning curve and that takes time, it’s worth knowing what plugins are useful before diving in and personally testing every single one of them.<\/p>\n

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To help you with that, I’ll highlight some free plugins that I’ve used repeatedly and with good results.\u00a0 I’ll start of with a complete bundle that contains basic versions of many common audio production and mixing tools.\u00a0 After that, I’ll discuss a few individual free plugins in various categories.<\/p>\n

Cockos Reaper free plugins suite<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cockos is the company that brought us the wonderful and affordable DAW ‘Reaper’.\u00a0 (Check this article<\/a> if you want to start using Reaper)<\/p>\n

The ReaPlugs free plugins suite is included if you install the Reaper DAW, but you can also download<\/a> it separately if you want to use these plugins with any other DAW.\u00a0 The download page also has a nice overview of some of the plugins included.\u00a0 All essential plugin types are included and they sound great.<\/p>\n

There’s a great equalizer, gate, compressor, multi-band compressor, delay, tuner, pitch-shifter and much more.<\/p>\n

The user interfaces are sometimes basic but functional.<\/p>\n

Free equalizer plugins<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Cockos
Cockos ReaEQ Equalizer Plugin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cockos ReaEQ<\/strong><\/p>\n

A very useful equalizer plugin.\u00a0 Still my go-to equalizer, even though I own a lot of great paid EQ plugins.\u00a0 It’s quick and precise, it allows adding or removing bands at will and it gets the job done.<\/p>\n

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Variety of Sound BootEQ mkII<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"VarietyOfSound
VarietyOfSound BootEQMkII analog style EQ plugin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to equalizers, sometimes you want different options.\u00a0 If you’re looking for a more ‘analog-style’ EQ plugin, check out this EQ by Variety of Sound.\u00a0 There’s a classic arrangement of EQ controls like you can find on analog gear or consoles.\u00a0 There’s also a preamp and tube simulation setting for some extra coloration of the signal.<\/p>\n

The difference in sound with a more ‘accurate’ EQ like ReaEQ above is subtle.\u00a0 If you want to boost frequencies in a more ‘musical’ way, a plugin like this can get you better results.<\/p>\n

However, the difference in look-and-feel of these kinds of plugins has other advantages:<\/p>\n