Who is using Cracked Plugins?

Let me start off by saying that I dont have any cracked plugs and I don't condone it. I was on the Waves website yeaterday, I bought GTR and I was having trouble with the authorizations. To start withI saw the ad for their June special which is 35% off of the Mercury bundle. Sounds like a good deal right? Well you still pay $6370 from the Waves store. That's almost $10,000 regular price. I know there's some good stuff in there but really, you can buy a good used console for that price.

The price got me to wondering, I've seen people on message boards who list equipment and software they use in their signature lines. I've seen Waves bundles listed by people still in their teens. There is no way these kid's parents are buying them thousands of dollars of software. Either they're selling dope or they're cracking plugs.

Plugin Download list

Here is a list of FREE RTAS plugins.

Blue Cat Audio Freeware Chorus, Phazer, Flanger, EQ and others.

iZotope Vinyl "The ultimate lo-fi weapon" Makes your track sound like a record being played on a record player.

Flux BitterSweet II and Stereo Tool are both freeware.

RNDigital Inspector, From spectral analysis to extensive metering.

More to come later.

Flux Plugins

Flux Picture and Sound Development has two freeware plugins available for download from their website. Bittersweet II and Stereo Tool.

Bittersweet II from the Flux website:

Turning the central button to the sweet side decreases the transients amplitude. To the bitter side, the transients amplitude is magnified. BitterSweet also features a control for processing the signal. When the main position is selected, the process affects the stereo signal. If Center is selected, only the M signal of the internal MS matrix is processed. If stereo is selected, only the S signal from the MS matrix is processed. Three transient detection modes can be selected. Varying periods of integration for transients can be accessed. A Link function is available to compensate the output gain with respect to the transient processing setting.

Like all Flux:: plug-ins, it features 64 bit floating point processing, up to 8 channels and up to 8 FS (384 KHz). Center and Stereo Modes are only available in stereo processing (2 channels).

We hope you will enjoy this new toy and make your Mix Sweeter or Bitterer.

BitterSweet II is only available in native version for AU, RTAS and VST.

Neither Flux or iLok dongle, nor registration are required.

Stereo Tool:

Stereo Tool features ultra precise control of input gain and individual pan for left and right channels. A phase inverter is available on each channel. Global stereo pan and stereo width settings are also implemented to complete the management of the stereo signal.

Stereo Tool also offers accurate visual feedback reflecting the signal content. A vector scope display, PPM meters for both inputs and outputs, and a phase correlation meter permanently monitor the signal.

Inserting our Stereo Tool after a BitterSweet II, will open your mind to new ways of controlling the stereo stage.

Like all Flux:: plug-ins it features 64 bit floating point processing, up to 8 FS (384 KHz).

Stereo Tool is only available in native version for AU, RTAS and VST.

Neither Flux or iLok dongle, nor registration are required.

I haven't had a chance to really sit down and play with either of the two but I did load Bittersweet on a heavy guitar track in a project I am working on. The bitter side seemed to take away some of the highs and the track sounded a little duller. The sweet side seemed to brighten it up but either way I decided to take it back off the track.

Anyway, they're both free plugs so give them a try. I'll write more when I use them more.

Amplitube 2 DUO

Though Amplitube isn't a 'free' plugin this is a limited version and I didn't pay for it so I'll talk a little about it. I got it as a free download from the IK Multimedia web site with the ignition pack that came with Pro Tools. The version I have is limited and if you try to access something not included in this version it gives you an opportunity to upgrade. It has two amp models, One an 'American Tube Clean' looks like a Fender to me, and one that is called 'British Tube Lead' obviously supposed to be a Marshall JCM 800. It has two stomp boxes available an overdrive and a wah pedal. Even though it is limited it is still very useful if you need some amp modeling. There are no clicks or pops or dropouts like you get with some demo amp modeling. After using this one quite a bit I would defiantly consider buying the upgrade from what I have experienced with this version. I guess that means it did it's job for IK.

Hello Blogging World!

I sat in front of my computer for most of the day yesterday staring at my Pro Tools LE screen. Today i started thinking are there any really good but free plugins avaliable for PTLE? There are many rood free VST plugs for users of Cubase, Reaper, etc. but unless the Pro Tools users buy a VST to RTAS adapter we're out of luck.

I have a small home studio. I mostly record my own stuff and occasionally do work for others. I'm running Pro Tools LE with a digi 002 into a Dell PC. I don't have a big budget so any cool free stuff I can find I am always willing to try. So what is there out there? Anyone have something that you have uncovered let me know I would love to try it out and I will give it a review and a link.

All I have to offer at this point is my experience with the stuff that came with my software. I have gotten a lot of use out of the Amplitube 2 Duo that was a free download with the PT ignition pack. I currently am in a one year demo licence of Waves GTR Solo 3.5 amp and stompbox modeler. I go back and forth on which one I like better. More on these two later. Once again send me any suggestions.