Top 10 FREE Mixing & Mastering Plugins 2019
The never-ending quest for the best mixing and mastering plugins is back again, only this time we’re searching through the freebies. We scouted through many polls and forums to look for what the audio engineering community has to say about freeware mixing and mastering plugins. So here is our top 10 list of the best and brightest freeware mixing and mastering plugins in no particular order.
Professional Music Recording Programs NCH Software has developed a number of professional music recording software for Windows or Mac available for free to download. Each program is specifically designed for particular recording tasks including general audio recording, music mixing. Seamless punch recording. Automatic take management. Support for pristine 24-bit/192kHz audio. Logic Pro X makes it all easy to do — and undo. You can create projects with up to 1000 stereo or surround audio tracks and up to 1000 software instrument tracks, and run hundreds of plug-ins. It’s all you need to complete any project.
1 Youlean Loudness Meter 2 by Youlean
One of the most important aspects of proper mixing and mastering is monitoring. Both audible and visual. This is where Loudness Meter 2 by Youlean comes in to play. This is a freeware loudness metering plugin featuring four metering modes (LUFS, LRA, DR and true peak). It is a must-have visual tool for every producer and mixing engineer on a budget as it will help determine the proper amount of loudness without sacrificing the sound quality and dynamic range of the track. Compared to V1, it has a better-looking GUI which is resizable with reduced CPU usage and is more stable than the previous one.
2 Bitter Sweet V3 by FLUX
FLUX is a very well-known company with amazing high-quality plugins respected by many audio professionals. Bitter Sweet is their freeware audio sweetening tool. Basically, this is a tone and transient shaper plugin which can make your individual tracks go from biting hard to silky smooth. The UI is very simple to use and it features a large knob for controlling the amount of the desired effect.
By going to the sweet side you get very smooth transients and a silky tonal character, while going over to the bitter side you’re getting much more pronounced tonal characteristics and more aggressive transients. A must have for anyone working with percussive and rhythmic materials.
3 Stereo Buss by Minimal System Group (MSI)
Music Making Software For Mac
We already talked about this plugin in a previous post about the best free VST plugins overall but we’re going to give it some more attention here again.
This is a Windows only plugin but even so it’s very special. Yes we know that there are many other free “mastering” buss compressor plugins out there, and sure they all give you that kind of final touch and glue to you mixes, but in all honesty MSI Stereo Buss does it better than most others plain and simple. For what it does and the fact that you’re getting it for free, it really is the best one out there at the moment.
4 SPAN by Voxengo
Voxengo are very well-known among the freeware VST users out there and they’re highly praised. Everyone needs a good plain simple spectrum analyzer for metering and in all honesty you really can’t beat Voxengo here. It is our favourite spectrum analyzer overall and it beats many analyzers out there that are paid-for.
You can control the ballistics and response of its graph which makes it flexible enough for a wide variety of tasks. You can even route multiple tracks into SPAN and compare their frequency content. It is a great addition to YOULEAN Loudness Meter 2. Everyone needs to have Voxengo SPAN in their collection.
5 Freeware Plugins by Brainworx
This is not an official collection but mainly our own pick of various freeware plugins by the amazingly talented people at Brainworx.
bx_solo is a powerful tool for working with M/S because it features the legendary M/S technology from their bx_control V2.
bx_subfilter is a subharmonic content processor. Basically it shapes your sub content and adds more oomph to your signal with body and punch. Highly recommended if you’re into EDM and trailer music production.
bx_cleansweep is an extremely powerful Hi/Lo-Pass filter using advanced Brainworx technology.
6 Wider by Polyverse Music
We’re re-visiting Wider for this list also as we have nothing but high praise for it. This is a simple freeware VST plugin that widens your stereo signal with a very unique ability to broaden the stereo width of the signal without causing phasing issues when played back in mono.
You can’t make it simpler than this because Wider features only one control parameter and that’s it. The slider affects the amount of stereo processing, but be careful when pushing it too far though because too much stereo widening can make your track sound as if it doesn’t exist in the same space with others in your mix. Treated carefully, this plugin is one of the best stereo wideners while keeping your mix compatible with any type of playback system.
7 Neutrino by iZotope
iZotope’s Neutron plugin bundle features a very unique technology and they scaled it down in order to present us with Neutrino, which is a freeware version with limited options. Even though it is limited compared to the full-blown Neutron, you can still achieve amazing results with it. Neutrino tames undesirable resonances caused by poor room acoustics, cheap gear, and heavy-handed processing. iZotope calls this effect “spectral shaping” and it can sound similar to gentle, low-ratio multiband compression.
The GUI is very simple to understand and use because it features only two knobs for controlling the effect and 4 buttons for selecting the sound source you are working with.
8 Limiter No.6 by VLADG/Sound
This is a rather cool and useful mastering plugin packed with features. Combined with the previously mentioned YOULEAN Metering and Voxengo SPAN, you get a free mastering power tool. Limiter No.6 features 5 separate modules mostly known as gain stages. A compressor followed by a peak limiter, high frequency limiter, clipper and the protection module.
The Protection module ensures that your output of the signal doesn’t go into clipping. Each module is controlled individually and you can turn it on and off separately. The plugin has a certain character when pushed hard but it produces a warm pleasing output. It’s a no brainer if you want to own one.
9 MFreeFX Bundle by MeldaProduction
MeldaProduction are well-known for some great plugins and they have earned their keep in many pro audio engineers’ plugin collections. This bundle contains 30 completely free plugins which span from bread and butter tools like compressors and EQs to some not so common effects like ring modulator and oscilloscope. If you’re starting out your path to becoming an audio engineer, or if you’re a student with no budget this is a must-have for you.
10 NOVA EQ by TDR
This is a rare sight to see when it comes to freeware plugins. NOVA EQ is a real Swiss army knife when it comes to fixing those problematic frequencies. It is very easy on the eye with its rather sleek looking GUI.
Each EQ band features a dedicated dynamics section which allows the EQ to cover a wide range of frequencies. The sound is very transparent.
What are your favourite free mixing and mastering plugins?
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Mixing audios have become easier with the advent of technology. Not everyone can afford to hire/set up a sound recording/mixing studio.
Related:
With our list of free mixing software you can give that studio quality sound you have been trying to incorporate in your projects right from your PC. Use these free software available for Windows, Linux, Mac OSX.
1. Audacity – A Powerhouse Mixer and Editor
Download Audacity if you want a free mixer for your sound projects
- Live audio recording
- Backwards playing capability with Scrubbing and Seeking option
- Editing options such as cut, copy, paste, mix are present
- Configurable pitch, frequency and volume settings
- Completely free and available for Windows , Mac and as well as Linux
Free Music Production Software Mac
2. Wavepad Audio Recorder: A Mixing Software For Everyone
Check out Wavepad Audio Recorder for a mixing software with lots of special effects
- Noise reduction and click pop removal
- Basic Sound editing functions like cut, copy etc. present
- Batch Processing enables you to transform and edit multiple tracks at a single go
- Audio effects like amplify, normalize, echo, envelope etc. are present
- Cons: Supports only Windows platform and, few features available only on an upgraded version.
3. Wavosaur Free Audio Editor: A Lightweight Yet Power Packed Mixer
Download Wavosaur Free Editor now to record, master and design your creations.
- Handle multiple documents at a single time (Batch Processesing)
- Provides a solid ASIO and VST effect plugin support
- Detailed statistics present to analyze your projects
- Volume envelope automation is present
- Commands can be controlled by an external controller
- Effects such as Fade in, Fade Out, Auto Trim etc. are present
4. Music Editor Free (MEF) – Record, Process and Mix Audio Files
Download Music Editor Free (MEF) to give your files the highest quality of production
- Includes variety of effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction
- In built CD ripping and burning
- ID3 editor and Text to Speech tool present
- Audio effects include reverb, reverse, sample rate conversion etc.
- Supports a vast array of audio formats like vox, gsm, au, ogg, wmv etc.
- Cons: Supports only WAV files
5. Kristal Audio Engine: A Powerful Mixer and Multi-track Recorder
Download Kristal Audio Engine if you want a recorder, mixer and a mastering software all in one.
- 16 audio tracks
- 32 bit floating point audio engine with a 44.1 to 192khz sample rate
- 3 band equalizers, 5 VST effect slots and 4 plugin slots
- Graphic visualization of sound waves
- File formats supported: WAVE, OGG Vorbis, AIFF, FLAC.
- Cons: Files can’t be saved in Mp3 format
6. Mp3DirectCut: Edit and Mix with Cue Sheets
Best Mac Music Software
Download mp3DirectCut to edit and mix your projects in no time.
- Doesn’t tamper with audio quality when you cut or paste
- MP3 recording with ACM OR LAME encoder
- User-friendly interface for a hassle free experience
- Cue Sheets for managing long files
- 1 tag editor – ID3v2 tag keeping
- Available on both Windows and Linux
7. WaveShop: An Open Source Mixer and Editor for Windows
Use WaveShop if you want a fast, lightweight and bit-perfect software for mixing from your PC.
- It is bit-perfect, which means samples aren’t changed unnecessarily
- 64-bit version can edit files above 2gb
- Effects such as : Fade in, Fade out, amplify, normalize etc. are present
- Most file formats are supported. For example: AAC, FLAC etc.
- Unlimited undo function
- Channels can be inserted, swapped and deleted
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