Bittersweet and Stereo Tool

Let me start with two excellent plugins from Fluxx – Bittersweet and Stereo Tool, both of which you can download for free on their download page.

Bittersweet v3 is a versitile transient designer plugin. Turning the big wheel button on the sweet side decreases the transients amplitude. On the bitter side the transients amplitude is magnified.

Bittersweet video demonstration

Stereo Tool features ultra precise control of input gain and individual pan for left and right channels. A phase inverter is available on each channel. Global stereo pan and stereo width settings are also implemented to complete the management of the stereo signal.

FreeG

FreeG by Sonalksis is another essential tool – a master fader with volume, phase and pan control. Comes with an accurate RMS/peak readouts and can be used in mono as well.

LePou guitar amp simulators

Less known, but nevertheless great sounding guitar amp plugins by LePou, available both for Mac and Win. Choose between HyBrit, Le456, Legion, LeXtac and LeCto.

Samplicity’s Bricasti M7 Impulse Response Library

Bricasti name speaks for itself in the audio recording world. Their M7 Stereo Reverb Processor is hands down one of the best reverb units available. If 3700 € is too much for you, however, this library will give you a taste of the M7 reverb sound. The usage of this library is free as long as you’re not using it in any commercial product.

For the samples to work you’ll need to install a plugin that can accommodate this kind of IR samples. A very good plugin is LiquidSonics Reverberate ($80).

Proximity by Vladg

Proximity is a collaborative effort by Tokyo Dawn Labs and vladg/sound. It is an easy to use distance “pan-pot” based on several psycho-acoustic models. The idea is to give mixing engineer a reliable tool which allows him to manipulate the “depth” of several sound source in a straight forward and convincing manner.

See this plugin in action in the video below: