If you are missing the wow-factor in your kicks, the latest free plugin from renowned producer KSHMR – Kick Essentials – has left me really impressed.

A cut down version of his new plugin called Essentials, Kick Essentials is the free version with an assortment of controls to tighten up and enhance your kick drum.

With a similar idea to Infected Mushroom’s Pusher plugin, Kick Essentials combines all the effects you need into simple controls in a single plugin.

The controls are easy and clear to use and really add punch and brightness to kick samples and sounds, as well as fattening them up and adding warmth so they can be heard on lower-end speakers.

Showcasing how much time he puts into mixing his kicks, KSHMR’s Kick Essentials allows deep control of the main components of the sound.

The sub control allows for tuned enhancements so you can keep your kick boosted in the right key, while the mid and air controls have enough oomph to brighten up a dull sound.

The pressure control is a juicy multiband compression effect, clearly with a lot of thought put into the ratios and maths, as it is an instant improvement, even if you don’t touch any other control in the VST.

The tape control adds some subtle distortion, which works, but can be a bit scratchy, so in my tests, I didn’t lean on it much at all. The compression control, likewise, does its job but won’t beat a dedicated compressor plugin.

The final control is the width, this one was perhaps the least useful in my tests, generally causing the click of the kick sample to pan left or right.

The main plugin

KSHMR Kick Essentials is the “Lite” version of KSHMR Essentials, which not only covers kicks, but also has tabs for basses, vocals, drums, and synths.

It is available on Splice’s rent-to-own payment plan at a cost of $4.99/month for 20 months, after which you own the plugin forever.

The post Killer kick drum enhancements in new free plugin from KSHMR appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Sub is an easy-to-use free drum synthesizer which comes in a small download size (~35MB) because all the sounds are synthesized and not stored as samples.

On offer is 18 analogue drum sounds with volume and pan options. While it does not have a sequencer built-in, most people prefer to map their drum lines in MIDI anyway.

Even though Sub is a free VST, there is one requirement before you can download it. It requires you to pass a social share gate, meaning you must share it on one of the main social media platforms.

The control of sounds on it is pretty limited, you get to tune and control the pitch and decay of your kick, and the tone of your snare, two of the most important features needed for a good drum instrument.

You also get to control the click and sub volume of the kick, as well as the pitch of 6 tuned toms/congas.

For a free drum VST, all of the limitations are expected, and in the end, it is another great instrument to add to the collection!

It is available on Sampleson’s website for download

The post Sampleson launches free VST drum synth called Sub appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

Glitch 1 - by ILLFORMED

Perhaps the most well-known, and most loved Glitch plugin, this is the older version of a paid product – Glitch 2. Offering many of the features in the full-priced version, Glitch 1 is a great tool to add variety to your mix. 

Whether you want to chop and disassemble the sounds you’ve recorded or add a computery layer of electronic glitch to a beat, this plugin has plenty of scope. A great  trick with Glitch is to have it on random and record several playthroughs. This means you can pick the best sounding parts, or even resample them through Glitch for a second time. 

I have even ran vocals through it and turned them into effected percussion loops, just from choosing the right glitch effects within. It makes for an awesome effect in a song where over the course of several bars the listener realises you are morphing vocals into a beat.

Free Download link here

Fracture - by GlitchMachines

A glitch effect that can really spice up your sounds by adding glitchy articulations and abstract textures. It works really great on drums and comes packed with some amazing presets which will come as a relief, since the interface sacrifices making immediate sense for looking so damn cool.

You will find however, that after playing with each control in turn, it isn’t actually as hard as it looks. Be wary though, it has such a broad range of sound, it can be quite hard to replicate previous ideas so make sure you save your own presets too!

Free Download link here

 

Krush - by Tritik

Tritik have made an outstanding free Bitcrusher effect which provides way more than it’s competitors do. It has seen numerous uses since I’ve downloaded it and I highly recommend it to everyone. 

Perhaps one of the best uses of bitcrushers is brightness. Sometimes you can actually add a lot of bright sparkle to a sound by very cautiously applying some gentle bitcrushing. In the same way you wouldn’t default to cranking a distortion or saturation effect, try adding a shimmer to your audio with small touches of bitcrushed signal mixed in with the dry signal. To read more about the best creative uses of a bitcrusher, check out our guide.

Free Download link here

Full review here

Hysteresis - by GLITCHMACHINES

By the same people that brought us Fracture, here is another gem. Hysteresis is a tool that will really mess up your sound – in a good way. Much like with Fracture, you are getting a great selection of presets with it. Unlike Fracture, this is much easier to use and understand. The controls are laid out and labelled making it clear what each section does. 

Free Download link here

Therapy - by DE LA MANCHA

You don’t so much control this plugin, its more like providing it with a seed for it to go its own way. Instead of the traditional controls, it invites you to type words in which control the plugin’s internal calculations. The creativity is taken right out of your hands and replaced with artistic maths that you cannot predict. Because of this, it’s hard to even describe the sound this makes, because there’s a low chance that people will end up with the same outcome.

You can type in whatever you fancy, and be sure to take note of what works because not everything does. Kudos if you can make a killer preset from all the rude words.

Free Download link here

The post Best FREE glitch VSTs to spice up your productions appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

It offers three simple controls. A primary Drive control will see most use, while parallel mix fans can adjust the dry/wet blends. An output control is also present, underlayed with an “LED” meter displaying volume. As you can see, it really cuts down on the already simple interface of its big brother. 

You can get the plugin for free here.

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