Free (or cheap) Mac osx vst's

[mahasandi]

Hey guys I know that there is a simlar thread for windows users, thought

perhaps we could list a good resource here for mac reaperites.

I know Crystal is a great synth (but thats cheating Justin used it in a screenshot)

so share away!

[GIlJanus]

The list is quite big. Check out this nicely done list over at Big Blue Lounge.

http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36431

The list has both Instruments and Effects in AU - VST - RTAS - PLUGGO formats.

Not all of them will work in Reaper. It does give you a really good starting point.

Gil

[mahasandi]

thanks Gil

thats good to wade thru perhaps people can list ones they use.

i'am quite amazed by the plugs included with REAPER.

they are so damn good....

[BoxOfSnoo]

MDA has a great package of them: http://mda.smartelectronix.com/

You should also consider picking up a Computer Music mag, the DVD has a real good bunch of VSTs. Toss Luna and use Reaper!

You might want to consider the Luxonix LFX-1310 http://www.luxonix.com/home/en/products.html?id=lfx1310 but with all the other plugs available, I find myself using this sparingly, if at all.

[pdc]

Most of that stuff is just crap. If you want serious tools, you will need to look elsewhere.

[mahasandi]

yeah thanks i'll check that out but if folks could be more specific and say which plugs they actually use and why, or which ones they tried and don't like and why
that would be interesting , of course its not about consensus , but it can be helpful to know how people use these things and why/why not.
it might immeadetley resonate , whereas of course one has to hear it for oneself .......but it makes for a better resource.

i must say the included reaper plugs are among the best , of the cheaper category.

[pdc]

The problem with VSTs is that the spec is so vague in places that there is no guarantee of compatability or number of instances. Since anyone can and does write them, there is no assurance of quality.

[mahasandi]

thats a good point PDC.

i guess looking for "reaper tested" and vetted vst plugs.

of course its possible you believe all cheap/free vst's suck which might be true.

then again somebody could prove that wrong if even just one was worth a spin....

to be fair i do most of my eq and comp OTB. but some plugs are quite useful like i love the 1073 eq included with reaper.

I like it better then my urs n eq .

[pdc]

thats a good point PDC.

i guess looking for "reaper tested" and vetted vst plugs.

of course its possible you believe all cheap/free vst's suck which might be true.

then again somebody could prove that wrong if even just one was worth a spin....

to be fair i do most of my eq and comp OTB. but some plugs are quite useful like i love the 1073 eq included with reaper.

I like it better then my urs n eq .

No, I would not say all free or shareware plugs are crap. Most are though. You also have to know what they do to your audio. Are they dithering or not? Are they working at your session sample and bit rate or not? Are they 32-bit or 64-bit applications? There is much to consider.

[mahasandi]

pdc

i hear you,
yeah its a bit scattered with the standard,
and some have no real documentation.

at any rate those that are worth messing with or ones people have had fun with

i'd be interested in hearing about.

[darjama]

Also checkout www.dontcrack.com, a great music freeware source. They maintain separate listings for PC and MAC.

http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/software.php/id/7030/audio/Virtual-Instruments/plugins/VST/platform/mac/

[spaz]

Also checkout www.dontcrack.com, a great music freeware source. They maintain separate listings for PC and MAC.

http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/software.php/id/7030/audio/Virtual-Instruments/plugins/VST/platform/mac/

Thankyou for this link, i see a few interesting things there....

[mahasandi]

Crystal is very good.

Has anyone used it a bit?

[spaz]

Crystal is very good.

Has anyone used it a bit?

yes, likes it lots!

note that it is pretty fiddly.

i have to be more organized with coherently noting my settings, i get these excellent sounds and then i can never recall how to reproduce them.....

[guitar junkie]

I really like Camalcrusher for compression and distortions but I most of the time am using the cleaner settings to sort of phatten up a mix....

I like Ambience for reverb and Luxonix has that free one that has some nice stuff in it, I also use Sonicbirth for a few things....



There are some GREAT compressors and EQ plugs out there, and distortion effects Audio Damage makes a nice fuzz effect!

I really like my Logic effects though... the compressor in there is really cool.

Airwindows makes some awesome AU plugs, when REAPER supports those, they will be a go to plug for a lot of us, if we pay attention to them at all.....

[The Spark]

http://www.masseyplugins.com/index_v2.html?page=news

This is something to definitely look forward too!

[mahasandi]

wow thats amazing!

i bought the tape and comp and was about to buy the limiter "
then i sold the lot as i was leaving pt.

man this is awesome these are really useable rich plug-ins.

combined with JS & rea-stuff Reaper will have the most really useable plugs anywhere.

thanks for updating i cant believe he found the time.....

[mahasandi]

I really like Camalcrusher for compression and distortions but I most of the time am using the cleaner settings to sort of phatten up a mix....

I like Ambience for reverb and Luxonix has that free one that has some nice stuff in it, I also use Sonicbirth for a few things....



There are some GREAT compressors and EQ plugs out there, and distortion effects Audio Damage makes a nice fuzz effect!

I really like my Logic effects though... the compressor in there is really cool.

Airwindows makes some awesome AU plugs, when REAPER supports those, they will be a go to plug for a lot of us, if we pay attention to them at all.....



i love fuzz simple and a good tone really good.

the convolution from the sonicbirth stuff is worth it alone!

thanks for those really interesting stuff.

[The Spark]

wow thats amazing!

i bought the tape and comp and was about to buy the limiter "
then i sold the lot as i was leaving pt.

man this is awesome these are really useable rich plug-ins.

combined with JS & rea-stuff Reaper will have the most really useable plugs anywhere.

thanks for updating i cant believe he found the time.....


I had the demo of the limiter that I used for a while in LE. It might be the only software limiter I have ever used that I was comfortable leaving on my mix. The rest of the plugs are great, but that one is top notch IMO.

[mahasandi]

" It might be the only software limiter I have ever used that I was comfortable leaving on my mix."

agreed .
when Steve was developing it he said he was going for different modes
one similar to a sony
one similar to L2
and one of his own,
all bit transparent before limiting.
when i would use it i was amazed that it was so good/transparent,



the JS clipper is also great. i have an aversion to digital limiters.
but the massey is great.

[mahasandi]

so in using crystal a little more I gotta say
the randomize patch function should be on every
synth I love it, what a great time - waster,
.....no seriously it is cool !

[techelectro]

i've created a site dedicated to linking to my fav OS X UB synths and effects. It also has RSS feeds from a few different industry news and forum sites. It's a work in progress!

cheers

-techelectro

http://www.techelectro.com

[mahasandi]

cioool


i'll have to check these out...

[Magicbuss]

I just did a big search for mac freebies for a friend. I am quite familiar with the MANY hi quality PC freebies and the argument that free vst's are crap is ridiculous. There are a bunch that give the expensive plugs a serious run for the money.

Here's some mac compatible plugs and suites to check out.

Most of these are listed Here:
http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36431

DDMF IIeq pro and LP10. These are donation-ware EQ's that can be had for as little as $1. They are fantastic EQ's
http://www.ddmf.eu/

Voxengo freebies - R8 brain and Span in particular
http://www.voxengo.com/group/freevst/

Roger Nichols Inspector - spectrum analyzer
http://www.kaosaudio.com/roger-nichols-digital-inspector-free/

Digital fishphones - This guys free stuff was so good it got him a job designng plugs for Samplitude
http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=5

PSP vintage meter - extremely accurate vintage style VU that can be setup on your master buss for Bob katz's K-metering.
http://www.pspaudioware.com/indexen.html?url=http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/vmeter.html;

Free G - another high quality metering plug
http://www.sonalksis.com/index.php?section_id=99

W1 Limter- A clone of the waves L1
http://www.yohng.com/w1limit.html

Audio Damage - free compressor and fuzz plug-ins
http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads/

Smartelectronix - Ambience is a pretty good algo verb
http://magnus.smartelectronix.com/

Smexoscope - cool little visualization plug that lets you watch what other plugs are doing to the waveform in real time. I find it useful for tweaking compression
http://bram.smartelectronix.com/plugins.php?id=4

MDA plugs - some are more useful than others burt there is alot to choose from
http://mda.smartelectronix.com/

Camelcrusher - Distortion/compression
http://www.camelaudio.com/camelcrusher.php

Frohmage - crazy filter FX
http://www.ohmforce.com/UseFreeSoftware.do?action=listFreeStandalones&productId=6

TAL FX
http://kunz.corrupt.ch/?Products

Steven Massey Tape Head
http://www.smassey.com/au.html

Izotope Vinyl
http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/

[mrelwood]

A few notes about the list above:

SPAN is only for Windows (too bad, I love it).
Digital Fishphones not for Intel Macs (very bad, I love them).
MDA plugins won't work in Intel.

But atleast CamelCrusher, Tape Head, TAL Tube and Vinyl work fine on an Intel Mac (OSX 10.5.5) and are marvellous plugins. Another nice one is this stereo field manipulation tool:

http://www.fluxhome.com/products/Freewares/stereotool.html

[bennals]

MDA are UB as far as I know. I'm using them on intel at the moment.

Bill.

edit:confirmed after checking their website. Both AU and VST are UB, although the AU list is smaller.

[mrelwood]

MDA are UB as far as I know.

Wow. I wonder if I used to download them from a different location, 'cos they didn't work. The ones I downloaded from the link DO work on Intel. Great! I missed them already.

[Tus Tep]

Anyone know of a good alternative (though cheaper) to RND Frequalizer which would work on a Macbook pro?

[Magicbuss]

Here's a list of the voxengo plugs some of which are mac compatible

http://www.voxengo.com/downloads/?highlight=glisseq

Looks like:
Overtone EQ (free)
Sound Delay (free)
crunchessor
Elephant (lots of love for this limiter)
Varisaturator

Bummer because the Gliss EQ looks like it would be a really good cheaper alternative for the RND frequalizer.

[Magicbuss]

Anyone know of a good alternative (though cheaper) to RND Frequalizer which would work on a Macbook pro?

The Electri-Q full version has a frequency analyser overlay like the gliss eq and the RND. Its not available for the mac YET but they are going to release a mac version soon according to the website.

http://www.aixcoustic.com/index.php/Electri-Q-FULL/13/0/
http://www.aixcoustic.com/index.php/Newsletter-OSX/46/0/

I use the free win version and can say that it is an excellent EQ.

[eric90000]

im currently on windows but will be changing to OSX soon. If i download these mac plugins now and save em in a folder, can i just transfer them over to the mac and they will work?

[pixeltarian]

super secret. don't tell no one:

http://www.smassey.com/au.html

[UncleAge]

im currently on windows but will be changing to OSX soon. If i download these mac plugins now and save em in a folder, can i just transfer them over to the mac and they will work?
Shouldn't be an issue depending on what you use to transfer them. However, if you don't mind me asking, why not wait until you have the mac?

[eric90000]

ah im just getting a head start collecting vst's so i'll be ready to go when i get the mac. i had loads of windows ones but its a bit shit the way mac vst's are more scarce. ill be using a usb memory stick or somethin so in that case its cool!

[pixeltarian]

Anyone know of a good alternative (though cheaper) to RND Frequalizer which would work on a Macbook pro?



not sure if it's exactly like the frequalizer, but:
http://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-q.php

i used to use the frequalizer, but ended up switching because I liked the pro-q better. the only bummer is that you have to enable the spectrum analyzer every time, but it's not that big of deal - just press a button and it's on.

[liquidsonics]

For some fairly low cost true stereo convolution reverb on OS X you might like Reverberate Core when coupled with some lovely M7 IRs from Samplicity.

http://www.liquidsonics.com/software_reverberate_core.htm
http://www.samplicity.com/bricasti-m7-impulse-responses/#download

[dumant]

A few notes about the list above:

SPAN is only for Windows (too bad, I love it).
Digital Fishphones not for Intel Macs (very bad, I love them).
MDA plugins won't work in Intel.

But atleast CamelCrusher, Tape Head, TAL Tube and Vinyl work fine on an Intel Mac (OSX 10.5.5) and are marvellous plugins. Another nice one is this stereo field manipulation tool:

http://www.fluxhome.com/products/Freewares/stereotool.html

I tried the fishphones some weeks ago and they seemed to work in bridged mode. Not tested extensively, but you should give them another try!

And Span has a mac version too (VST/AU).

[steadyrev]

Saw this somewhere:


http://www.airwindows.com/

[iainduncan]

Hey y'all, just switching to reaper and os x. I like to code my own synths and fx, but want good quality highly configurable reverb, eq, and compressors. ( and maybe a highly configurable delay )

I'm willing to pay for quality, but not looking pay Waves/Antares/TC style prices. Are there some good options out there that are affordable (or free) but are actually usable in a professional context? I'm working with acoustic instruments like sax for which our ears are very sensitive to doing reverb and micing/eq correctly.

Impulse Response reverbs especially, even if it needs to be printed slower than real time.

Not so much interested in 'here's a big list' responses, I want to hear from serious users which ones they actually use on sessions! =)

Thanks for the tips!

[CaptainHook]

The free Bricasti impulses linked above are really quite good. Being free is ridiculous.

http://www.samplicity.com/bricasti-m7-impulse-responses/#download

The native lexicon plugs are hard to beat for non-impulse verbs. But so are the prices i guess. ;)