3 Great Free Mixing Plugins

You don’t always have to spend a lot of money to get a great sounding mix. Check out these three free plugins that have a lot to offer:

FerricTDS – Variety of Sound

The FerricTDS tape simulator by Variety of Sound is designed to recreate three of the most distinct sounds of analog reel-to-reel tape recorders: dynamics, saturation and limiting.

Among FerricTDS’s listed functions are that it

• performs gentle audio dynamic treatments,
• adds extra harmonics and saturation effects, and
• controls outgoing audio peaks.

Its biggest downside is that it’s not yet available for Mac.

NyqustEQ – Smart Electronics

NyquistEq is a paragraphic equalizer designed to process deep basses and avoid the treble warping that some digital EQs can be prone to have. According to the maker, Smart Electronics, NyquistEQ also never clicks.

The reason it's called NyquistEq is because it's designed to be a filter that sounds good all the way up to the Nyquist frequency.

Lisp – Sleepy Time DSP

Lisp is a simple to use de-esser that’s designed to give you a great sound right at the start. This is due to the fact that the effect is pre-tuned to vocals. It’s fast and uses less CPU load. If you don’t already have a de-esser in your tool box, it’s a must have. At this point, it’s also only for Windows, though.

These three plugins are proof that getting a professional quality mix doesn't always have to break the bank.