ON THE CHEAP
Dec 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Doug Eisengrein
I know how it goes: You go to the gear shop, real or virtual, and discover all of the goodies that you absolutely need in your computer-based studio, or you read a review of some brand-spanking-new soft synth or plug-in bundle and decide that you have to have it. Perhaps you're just starting out and have a studio-owning friend who has just rattled off a laundry list of must-haves for your new studio — then, you look at the prices. And at that moment, you determine that you don't actually need any of it so badly after all. But the yearning for fresh production tools doesn't stop, does it? Well, the answer for those of you with shallow pockets and deep ideas is freeware and shareware, and the Web hosts some great sources for free and next-to-free plug-ins for various host formats.
The cool thing about freeware and shareware is that it's developed by people who truly do it for the love of the sport rather than the love of the almighty profit. Some developers actually live a dual life: They work at for-profit software companies during the day while staying up into the wee hours to develop other applications that they distribute freely online. The best part, however, is that freeware and shareware are accessible to anyone with nothing more than a computer with a modem. And because these programs are written with widespread distribution in mind, many shareware sites tend to link to other compatible sites.
SOFTWARE SOUP KITCHENS
One of the best-known and longest-lasting plug-in resource sites on the Internet is K-v-R (www.kvr-vst.com). This Website, which originally started as a serious personal hobby by one individual, is now owned by Muse Research and features tons of individual plug-in downloads. A professionally designed Web presence, K-v-R covers free and shareware titles and features large screenshots of most, if not all, of the plug-ins available on the site, along with user reviews, a lively forum section and a chat area. Although K-v-R covers cross-platform and multiple-format software, it sticks to supporting open-source goods, leaving proprietary formats to their respective creators. A few recent favorites found at K-v-R are Lallapallooza Lite (free), a three-oscillator, three-LFO polysynth with five filter types; ErsDrums (free), a basic old-school-style drum machine with only 10 drum sounds (with tone-adjust), MIDI learn and 10 direct outs; and SynC Modular ($49), a top-rated slice of modular software-synth heaven in the school of Native Instruments Reaktor or Cycling '74 Max/MSP yet for a fraction of the price. MDA-VST (www.mda-vst.com), a sister site to K-v-R, boasts a single download that includes 30 free VSTs for Windows, Mac OS 9 or OS X, all in one bundle.
For some good, free bread-and-butter plug-ins written by one such aforementioned dual-life developer, visit Digitalfishphones.com (www.digitalfishphones.com). There, you can find a handful of dynamic and mastering basics for both Mac and Windows, including a stereo compressor (Endorphin); an envelope filter that is capable of filtering and more (Dominion); and a package of channel-strip essentials (the Fish Fillets) that include a compressor, a de-esser and an expander/gate. Can't afford those high-end bundles? All plug-ins at Digitalfishphones.com are free downloads. Perhaps the best parts of this site, however, are the explanations of the various plug-in formats and the in-depth technical descriptions of the different plugs-ins found on the site.
If you do some Web searches for freeware plug-ins and other related terms, you will find an abundance of plug-ins for Windows. But what about the Apple crowd? Well, just pay a visit to Green Oak (www.greenoak.com/vst.html) for some really nice free Mac-only VSTs. Some interesting takes on classic effects are to be found in Chorusifier, Delayifier and Phaserifier, and if you need a killer new VST instrument, look no further than Crystal. Crystal is a semimodular synth that features FM, subtractive and granular synthesis and has a dedicated Yahoo user-group following. All plug-ins found at Green Oak include Mac OS 9 and OS X versions bundled together. A similar site for dedicated Windows users is SinusWeb (www.sinusweb.de), where you can find a few essential freeware and shareware tools for dynamics, mastering and more. The shareware prices range from $19.95 to $27.95, though their user interfaces would have you believe otherwise; an excellent freeware reverb is also available (FreeVerbToo). Shareware titles include TripleComp, a multiband compressor and brick-wall limiter that supports 96kHz sample-rate signals, and Multilens, a stereo filter with eight LFOs and multiple lo-fi controls.
NOW INTRODUCING YOUR HOST
Fortunately, freeware isn't just limited to plug-ins. Every plug-in needs a host, and everyone who records or makes music with a computer needs a stereo audio editor. Both can be found in the free application Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net). Audacity is easy to learn yet provides all the basic editing tools you'll need, such as dB boosting, cutting and normalizing; fade-in and fade-out envelopes; and more. Audacity has been rock-solid in my experience. It has its downsides, such as limited file-format support, but it is available for all of the modern Windows systems, Mac OS X and even Linux and Unix.
The desire to make music with a computer need not be limited by a budget. If you've ever visited a music-industry trade show, you can feel the buzz of marketing mania. Rest assured that the same energy exists around the freeware and shareware communities, and this is in large part because it is populated by bright, generous individuals who actually like to share. Can you imagine? There are literally thousands upon thousands of resources out there, so the next time you can't afford that swanky new box of software, stop making excuses.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
