Friday, April 20, 2018

My goto bustools and filters.


I decided I wanted to make a new post for ToneBooseters as they are my become my goto-tools for all my projcets.

ToneBoosters v4 series packs an incredible punch for what they costs with a beautiful UI and extremely CPU efficient coding, 
at 30$ per V4-plugin, it's a no steal, there's 2 bundles as well; BusTools3 and TrackEssentionals3 Bundles.


It took me a few years to appreiceate toneboosters, I ddin't like their older series UI so I looked past them for many years, but when they intruduced series 4, I gave them a try and got blown away. The Reverb is one of the best I've used, especchielly when you start to play with the shimmer features.

I encourage you to check out ToneBooster's PDF manual to see all features there are, but at the same time see how relativity simple and easy to use, yet smart and innovative as well.

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  • TB_Reverb_v4 is a very versatile reverb that is perfect for gated snares, adding diffusion or richness to synths, and forr creating cathedral style soundscapes. There's even a deep LFO feature
  • TB_Barricade_v4 is some of the best bus glue I’ve tried, and combined with the built in limiter it’s perfect to put on your groups.
  • TB_Equilizer_v4 is a power-horse, as a dynamic EQ with built in compression it’s awesome at bringing out harmonics as well as carving out mud in the mix, when a problem arise it can be the perfect solver. It also supports drive based side-chaining which opens up lots of possibilities
  • TB_TrackEssentionals3 €20 
  • TB_BusTools3 €40
    DN: 
    I first bought BusTools 3 and from there I was sold. They were  just so good and so very chea so. I didn’t hesitate a bit and bought buying BusTool3 too. These 2 bundles are probably the best fiter/bus bundles I’ve seen. The only thing it’s missing is a proper channel stripper. TB_BusCompressor, TB_Ferox, tB_Fix/TB_Fix4 and TB_Evoke are some gems too,
I really respect ToneBoosters for making these amazing plugin, never let the low price fool you these are just so-so, they punch well above their $$$ weight.



A quick run through the many tabs of TB_Reverb_v4







TB_Barricade_v4 's Transparent Compressor and True-Peak Limiter.





Testing out TB_Equilizer_v4's dynamic AI assist function.







You can't go wrong with these!


https://www.toneboosters.com/



cheap or free plugins that are truly essential


Not just the good ones, not the great ones, but the exceptional ones


image10TDR_Kotelnikov by TokyoDawnRecords - Free

  • Win: VST, AAX (32&64Bit)
  • OSX: VST AU, AAX (32&64Bit)
“TDR Kotelnikov is a wideband dynamics processor combining high fidelity dynamic range control with deep musical flexibility.”

DN: A truly excellent master compressor that adds saturation your track with richness and new depths you probably didn't know was there. Free plugins like this are very rare so this makes it a no brainer and a essential bus tool for every producer as there no other compressor like TDR_Kotelnikov,  you owe yourself this one.


SDRR by Klenghelm - €23

  • Win: VST, AAX (32&64Bit)
  • OSX: AU, VST, AAX (32&64Bit)
image1“SDRR was built to satisfy almost all of your saturation desires. It provides a comprehensive set of controls to manipulate the character of the saturation to make it fit exactly.”

DN: if you want the saturator that packs the most punch for lowest buck, look no further than SDRR from Klenghelm, cheap as dirt and with it’s 4 modes( turns it essentially into four different plugins in one. I love the slight detune tube mode creates when applied to leads, it's also excellent for adding depths to drums. This plugin is a serious steal!

Not sure? Look into  IVGI by Klenghelm - Free  A free lite version of SDRR.

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OTT by Xfer Records - Free

  • Win: VST(32&64Bit) AAX
  • OSX: VST(32&64Bit) AU AAX
“OTT is a free re-creation of a popular aggressive multiband upwards/downwards compressor set-up used by many dubstep and electro producers.”

DN: A multiband Limiter and compressor sound great, and also can adds a unique bite/grit to your sound, Tip: try it on your master channel at 5-15% wet and see for yourself, musicians like Deadmau5 have been seen using OTT on his master channel during streams.

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CS-3301 by TBProAudio - €49

  • OSX: VST, VST3  AU, RTAS, AAX (32&64Bit)
  • Win: VST, VST3, RTAS, AAX (32&64Bit)
The CS-3301 offers a multiband equaliser, high and low pass filters, compressor, gate, saturation, phase invert and an oversampling mode. There are also neat features such as bypass switches, a pre or post switch for the compressor, input and output level controls and a VU meter. "

DN: First of all - PERFORMANCE - is unbelievable, The SOUND of this plugin is unbelievable and outperforms all other Channel strips I tried it against. I don't know what you did with that saturation thing, but it sounds way smoother than the big majority of analogue emulations out there. It gives a natural and very analoguish and creamy body to a sound. This Plugin is a MUST HAVE in your arsenal and it only cost 49.00 €.
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TAL-Reverb-3  by TAL Softwares - Free

  • Windows XP or higher (32/64 bit)
  • OSX: OSX 10.7 or higher (32/64 bit).
  • AAX: Pro Tools 10.3.6 or higher
"TAL-Reverb-III is an easy to use stereo reverb plugin. It's popular because it's very diffuse sound"

DN: Just an excellent free reverb that also got that nice diffusion delay/reverb(instead of pre-delay AFAIK) which is quite rare among both free and paid plugins, this unique feature really makes TAL-Reverb-3 it a no brainer. The only other diffusion reverbs I know if is the  AirDiffusionDelay (One of my favorite FX ever!) and ValhallaShimmer.


Want to read more  about diffusion reverb/delay, read this excellent blog post by ValhallaDSP


CamelCrusher by CamelAudio - Free

  • WIN/OSX: VST, RTAS &  AU - (32&64Bit)
image5CamelCrusher is a free ‘colouring’ multi-effect plugin. 
It offers two characteristically different distortion sounds which can be blended together to create a wide variety of tones and textureGreat for guitars, drums and plenty more!"

DN: I love the British Clean preset(UREI LN1176 limiter?), CamelCrusher is a essential tool just like OTT for shaping my sounds. CamelAudio may no longer make plugins but their plugin’s legacy lives on, CamelAudio was acquired by Apple in 2015.


Vinyl by Izotope - Free

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  • WIN/OSX: VST2, VST3, AU, AAX, RTAAS (32BIt/64Bit)
Vinyl simulate the dust, scratches, warp, and mechanical noise reminiscent of yesteryear for FREE with Vinyl. “

DN: It's great for adding textures to shakers, percs, texture recordings etc. If a sounds is missing texutre or sound to sterile, vinyl helps a lot.


BitterSweet v3 by Flux - Free

  • WIN: VST 2.4, AAX & VS3 (64Bit)
  • OSX: VST 2.4, AU, AAX (64Bit)
image9“BitterSweetv3 is Flux:: acclaimed transient processor used by hundreds of thousands of users for audio transient management with the simple turn of a knob – Turning it to the Sweet side reduces the transients, and turning it to the Bitter side magnifies the transients.”

DN: I've tried many transient shapers and BitterSweet wins by offering most good amount of functionality with great sound and also being free. You may or may not have heard of Flux before(they sure flew under my radar for a few years) but in my book they're on par with FabFilters, Waves.


Other Transient Shapers to consider:
Transpire by Sonic Anomaly (Mac, Windows)
Transient by Sleepy-Time Records (Windows)
Transient by Audio Assault (Mac, Windows)



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