In today’s digital music production landscape, accessing a wide range of plugins is essential for creating professional-sounding tracks. However, the cost of high-quality plugins can quickly add up and become a significant barrier for many producers.
Fortunately, many free plugins can help improve your workflow and take your productions to the next level without breaking the bank. Rather than sifting through countless websites and plugin advertisements with the concern that you are wasting or looking in the wrong place, Magnetic Mag has already researched you.
In this article, we will explore some of the best free plugins available for mixing and mastering that can help streamline your workflow and enhance the quality of your music. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your plugin collection, these free tools are sure to become valuable assets in your music production arsenal.
Voxengo SPAN – Spectrum Analyzer Plugin
Voxengo SPAN is a free spectrum analyzer plugin that allows you to visualize the frequency content of your audio in real-time. It provides a comprehensive and accurate display of the frequency spectrum of your mix, including peak and RMS levels, phase correlation, and mid/side processing.
Additionally, Voxengo SPAN features a customizable interface with a variety of display options and supports multiple channel configurations, making it a crucial tool for mixing and mastering. With its high-quality and on-the-nose frequency analysis, Voxengo SPAN is a powerful plugin that can help you achieve a polished and professional sound in your productions.
What’s Included In Voxengo SPAN:
- Fast Fourier transform spectrum analyzer
- Stereo, mid-side, surround spectrum analyzer
- Stereo correlation meter
- EBU R128, K-system meter
- RMS, true peak level, and clipping detector
Download Voxengo’s SPAN Plugin For FREE
Tokyo Dawn Labs – TDR Kotelnikov
Another solid cost-effective option is Tokyo Dawn Labs’ TDR Kotelnikov. This free mastering compressor plugin delivers transparent and high-quality compression with a clean and modern interface. It features an advanced stereo linking system, M/S processing, and a comprehensive set of controls for shaping the dynamics of your mix.
TDR Kotelnikov is special because it has the ability to alter the dynamic range of a track by dramatic amounts, yet manages to preserve the pitch, timbre, and tone of the original soundscape. Also, it uses an innovative algorithm that analyzes the audio signal and adapts its processing to achieve optimal compression, making it a versatile component when mixing and mastering.
Altogether, the TDR Kotelnikov can be described as “stealthy” and is truly a must-add to your production toolkit.
What’s Included In TDR Kotelnikov:
- 64bit multi-rate processing structure = highest accuracy
- Super fast, yet natural-sounding compression
- “Crest factor” based control scheme: independent release controls for peak and RMS events
- Flexible sidechain highpass filter
- Advanced stereo linking options optimized for the stereo bus
- Delta preview mode: previews the difference between compressed and original signal
- Latency compensated, click-free bypass (i.e. processing never interrupted)
- User interface rescaling (100%, 125%, 150%)
Download Tokyo Dawn Labs’ TDR Kotelnikov Plugin For FREE
Softube – Saturation Knob
Widely known for its ability to supplement warmth and character into your mixes, the Saturation Knob has received praise throughout the music industry. The single knob on it controls the amount of saturation, making it easy to use and ideal for beginners.
Guaranteeing its top-notch efficiency and usefulness, seven-time Grammy award winner Michael Brauer (mix engineer for Coldplay, Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and more) has this to say:
“My response when they told me the Saturation Knob is a free plug-in was — are you nuts? Seriously? It’s too good to be free! I use it to make guitars fatter and more aggressive, snares naturally brighter, kicks punchier, and vocals warmer. Basically, it’s good on just about anything. Saturation Knob should be renamed Attitude Adjuster! If a plugin can be addicting, the Saturation Knob is it!”
What’s Included In Softube’s Saturation Knob:
- Three modes: Keep High, Neutral, and Keep Low
- Perfect for fattening up drums and bass, adding harmonics to vocals, and more
- Modeled output distortion and saturation
Download Sofetube’s Saturation Knob Plugin For FREE
MeldaProduction – MAutoPitch
Fourth on our list, MAutoPitch is a free pitch correction plugin that allows you to tune your vocals or instruments with precision. Developed by MeldaProduction, this tool encompasses a simple and intuitive interface with a set of controls for adjusting the pitch and timing of your audio.
The plugin uses advanced algorithms to analyze the audio and correct any tuning errors, with a variety of modes for different types of audio material. As if this was not enough, MAutoPitch also includes features such as MIDI control, adjustable input and output gain, and a built-in harmonizer. Backed by powerful pitch correction and advanced attributes, MAutoPitch is a weapon for success for any producer or engineer looking to tune up their projects.
What’s Included In MAutoPitch:
- Precise and adjustable pitch correction
- Different modes: default mode for vocal tuning; automatic mode for real-time pitch correction
- Formant shifting to change the timbre and character of the vocals
- Built-in harmonizer with control over the number of voices and intervals
- MIDI control for tuning, formant shifting, and harmonization
- Adjustable input and output gain
- GUI Customization: the plugin’s interface can be customized to suit your workflow and preferences
Download MeldaProduction’s MAutoPitch Plugin For FREE
LVC Audio – Limited-Z
When it comes to limiter plugins, LVC Audio’s Limited-Z is the best free device on the market. It provides transparent peak limiting and loudness maximization for your mix. Limited-Z has a basic and intuitive interface with a set of controls for adjusting the input and output gain, release time, and limiting threshold as well.
An X-factor that Limited-Z brings is its power to minimize distortion and maximizes loudness, making it optimal for mastering and final mixdowns. Other comprehensive qualities are DC filtering, oversampling, and selectable stereo or dual mono processing. Grab the bull by the horns and forge professional-grade limiting with this beneficial program from LVC Audio.
What’s Included In Limited-Z:
- GUI improvements: larger interface, resizable GUI, and smoother drawing of vector graphics
- Spectrum Analyzer view
- Waveform history view that can extend to show 2 minutes of audio
- User-changeable colors for all elements of the waveform history and spectrum analyzer
- Plugin default settings (including colors) can be set by the user
- ISP filtering and indicators
- True peak output monitoring
- Two additional limiting modes
Download LVC Audio’s Limited-Z Plugin For FREE
Flux Audio – BitterSweet
From the renowned and trusted music tech brand, Flux Audio, BitterSweet is a designer plugin that allows you to control the transients of your audio with precision. Like many of the other plugins on our list, BitterSweet utilizes advanced algorithms to analyze the audio. Then, it applies transient processing in real time, allowing you to shape the attack and sustain of your music with exactness.
Some additional practical elements of BitterSweet are M/S processing, stereo width control, and a mix knob for parallel processing. If your objective is to micromanage the transients of a track, while simultaneously adding punch and impact to it, then you need BitterSweet. Given all these incredible applications within BitterSweet, it is hard to believe that this plugin is absolutely free.
What’s Included In BitterSweet:
- Up to 16 channels Input/Output
- Controls the output gain at end of processing (-/+ 12 dB)
- Transient amount: adjusting the Bitter/Sweet setting for decreasing or increasing the transients
- Transient integration: provides three different modes of transient processing; Fast, Medium, and Slow
- Three different operation modes (Main, Center, Stereo) lead to versatile transient processing.
- Open sound control support
Download Flux Audio’s BitterSweet Plugin For FREE
Blue Cat Audio – Blue Cat’s Gain Suite
Closing out our list is Blue Cat’s Gain Suite, devised for producers and sound engineers to level up their game. What makes this tool unique from the ones previously mentioned is that it is more than a plugin; Blue Cat’s Gain Suite is actually a free plugin bundle.
Primed for shifting gain and volume, the suite includes three plugins: Gain, Gain 2, and Mono Gain. The Gain plugin provides an elementary and operative method to adjust the gain of your audio, with control over the input and output levels. The Gain 2 plugin includes extra dimensions such as M/S processing, phase inversion, and adjustable slope for more fine gain adjustments. The Mono Gain plugin is intended specifically for mono audio sources, hosting buttons for adjusting the gain and panning. All three plugins combine for a clean and user-friendly interface, making them pleasing to use and great for beginners.
What’s Included In Blue Cat’s Gain Suite:
- Single or dual channels gain plugins
- Stereo or mid-side processing
- Multiple instances linking capability: link several instances of the same plugin and control several plugins from a single user interface
- Relative, absolute, or reverse link
- Full MIDI control and automation support (MIDI Learn)
- Customizable user interface with transparency and zoom
- Smooth Bypass: noiseless plug-in activation/deactivation
- Full-featured integrated presets manager
Raised in upstate New York, I was always a big fan of music but never really listened to electronic music. Within the first month of attending Florida State University and meeting some new friends, I was introduced to the rave scene. After seeing Ekali at my first show, I was instantly hooked. Since then, I have dived into every subgenre of electronic music, picked up DJing, and mixed for clubs and different entertainment events in Tallahassee. Once graduating with degrees in marketing and hospitality, I was hired for a sales position. However, I recently decided to leave my sales job to pursue my dream of working in the music industry. Currently, I run Magnetic Magazine's Melodic Techno Charts, along with my role as a PR and marketing specialist for different artists and labels. Some of my favorite artists are REZZ, Kyle Watson, TOBEHONEST, San Pacho, Josh Baker, HUGEL, ARTBAT, Vintage Culture, Ganja White Night, CamelPhat, Green Velvet, Jungle, Milky Chance, Paco Versailles, Franc Moody, and RÜFUS DU SOL. My favorite festivals are Hulaween (by far), EDC Orlando, and all the different venues during Miami Music Week. Outside of music, I love sports (especially hockey, soccer, tennis, basketball, and spike ball), going to the movies, working out, sushi, Chick-fil-A, food in general, and hanging with my dog Maui and my cat Loki. Feel free to reach out to me via my email or on IG, I love expanding my network of friends and business opportunities!
