My favourite plugin maker is about to port all (or at least most) of his plugins to VST (first MAC and then Windows). Since he began he's only been releasing in AU format, but his plugs are really something special. I use Console, BussColors, Logical, Compresaturator, Cojones, IronOxide, Purest Air, ADClip, NonLinearSpace, Floor, and others on all my mixes. Some of his ideas are "out there", but that's what I like about his plugs, they aren't the same old fair we're getting from everywhere else. His approach is unique.

His plugs used to be a flat $50 each (I've lost count of how many I've purchased over the years), but now he's going to a Patreon payment structure. Basically as long as enough people are supporting him through Patreon so he can eat and pay the bills he'll release all the plugs he makes for free to everyone . . . Beginning with the porting over of his hundreds of AU plugins to VST. He's never put any copy protection into any of his plugins up to this point, so this isn't quite as wild a scheme as it might sound.

Anyhoo, he's a mad scientist and you should check him out:
https://www.patreon.com/airwindows
http://www.airwindows.com

 

Last edited: Aug 6, 2016

I like his style

 

Last edited: Aug 6, 2016

Seems like a cool guy, appreciates his customers and has a sane amount of disdain for consumerism...

But tbh I hear a very slight difference with monitoring headphones on. Which means someone listening to my music on their consumer speakers or.. you know... iphone will hear no difference at all.

Which is not to say it's not a good plug-in. But we producers and engineers get carried away with tiny details that no one will ever notice or appreciate.

 

As Console's effect doesn't affect EQ, or saturation, or dynamics, but rather only increases the perceived depth and separation of the soundstage, I think it's far more noticeable through monitors than a set of phones . . . at least I find that to be the case.

I've A/B'd Console ON/OFF for friends in my little home studio (and at their "pro" studios) and consistently got the wide-eyed "holy-shit" look from them.

It doesn't do anything except depth and separation, but for that I've found nothing else that compares.

I'm sure you're right that someone listening on a set of crappy consumer speakers or from their iPhone will not hear this difference . . . but this isn't an effect that I apply for them. ;)

 

Last edited: Aug 9, 2016

okay you've convinced me to try it out in my DAW

 

Hot damn!

The gain staging can be a pain because all track faders AFTER an instance of ConsoleChannel should be at unity, so you have to set your track levels before the ConsoleChannel plugin. This is easy in a DAW that has post-fader plugin slots, but a pain in Logic where I have to set my levels with a gain plugin before ConsoleChannel.

Also, on your stereo bus, (what Airwindows refers to as your "2buss"), your signal should not be peaking above 0dbu before it hits your instance of ConsoleBuss. I think Chris imagines this happening by keeping your track levels low so they sum without peaking above 0, and then bringing things up to your desired loudness after the ConsoleBuss plug . . . I on the other hand like the sound of running my tracks a bit hotter into my Stereo Bus Compressor to attenuate the signal appropriately before it hits ConsoleBuss.

Have fun!!!

 

Great plugs i `am digging them until they finally become Win vst!! Chris deserves every penny and the patreon thing is fucking great!!Pledge dudes!! ;-)

 

this thread needs a bump.

saw chris' plugs mentioned in every other thread over the past weeks.
since then watched many of his description vids and tried some of the plugs.
awesome stuff. lots of special single trick ponys with a twist.
definitely needs more attention.

one of my favs so far is density.

 

And don't forget to support him via Patreon if you can. A dollar a month won't make you any poorer or him any richer. It's all in good spirit.

 

today, chris released the mac/pc vst version of high impact.

it's another special kind of distortion unit... check it out and if you like, become a patreon!

 

Yeah I agree I love his plugs, and his way of distributing (free and support through Patreon) is worth the support !
His dynamic tools are impressive too (Pyewacket, Point, Pressure4 and Thunder are glorious), I also use a lot as well capacitor, PowerSag, Surge, fracture, toneslant, distance and slew (so simple but yet nice), Melt has proven to be a lot of fun and I simply love Channel4 and Console4....
The excellent news is that he has reached 600$ of monthly donation through Patreon, so if it's confirmed he is going to start porting and releasing in vst and for free his "star commercial" mac plugins in may....
This proves that it's both viable to do free great plugins, make a dime and not starve, and not fall into the advertising schemes, just by relying on people who use your work and calling to their generosity.
I hope it gets even better for him, 600$ is still short (and initially he planned to reach 800$ before launching the commercial vsts for free..), but this happened in a few months, I'm sure if we keep promoting his great toys and helping through Patreon, it will get even better for him.

 

After reading this thread and following the link I decided to pledge through Patreon. Thanks for the heads-up people.

 

Big fan of Airwindows! I hit the patreon as well.

Faves are DrumSlam, Toneslant(tweaked), & Console

 

Bah ha ha ha ha ha!!! I started this thread and think of myself as a bit of an Airwindows officianado, but it just goes to show how many great Airwindows plugs there are that I didn't even know that DrumSlam exists!

 

I'm in as soon as Windows versions are released? Any idea when?

 

He has been porting them for almost 6 months now...I'm on win 7 x 64 and I have about 50 of them on my hard drive...

 

Thanks,
I stopped reading after:

.vst files are Mac VSTs.

in his 'What' text document

 

No problem.
For those interested here are the plugs that are free and available for both mac and pc (au/vst) so far, and a brief description of what they do.

High Impact is distorted grit and punch without fatness.
SideDull is like Sidepass, but a lowpass on the side channel. Treble-centerer.
Surge is a compressor for accentuating beats and pulses.
DCVoltage is literally a DC control voltage, in a plugin.
Hermepass is a mastering highpass to set by ear only.
EdIsDim is mid/side conversion utility plugins.
Melt is a wobbly chorusy weird diffuse effect.
BuildATPDF is a dither-making toolkit.
DoublePaul is like PaulDither but more so.
Capacitor is a lowpass/highpass filter of a new type.
Sidepass is a simple utility plugin, a highpass on the side channel. Mono-maker.
NotJustAnotherDither/CD is next-gen wordlength reducers (24 and 16 bit).
Tremolo is fluctuating saturation curves for a tubey tremolo.
TubeDesk is a tube recording console type tone coloring.
TransDesk is more of a transistory, rock desk analog modeling.
Desk is classic Airwindows subtle analog modeling.
PowerSag is for emulating power supply limitations in analog modeling.
Fracture is a frequency multiplier/waveshaper with a soft disruption to the sound.
NaturalizeDither is deterministic dither that uses Benford Realness calculations for each sample.
NodeDither is adjusta-TPDF-dither, like a dither flanger. Can do Paul and Tape settings.
TapeDither is TPDF dither with noise like reel-to-reel tape.
SpatializeDither is a high-performance clarity and accuracy dither.
VinylDither is a high-performance dither that converts digital noise to ‘groove noise’.
HighGlossDither is a hybrid between shiny dither and truncation! Unnatural science experiment.
PaulDither is a highpassed TPDF dither. (quieter, airier)
TPDFDither is TPDF dither. (exactly what it says on the tin)
BitShiftGain is the ‘One Weird Trick’ perfect boost/pad, but in 6db increments ONLY.
PurestGain is a high-res noise shaped gain, with smoothed fader.
Distance is a sound design or reverb far-away-izer.
SurgeTide is a surge and flow dynamics plugin.
Point is an explosive transient designer.
Pyewacket is an old school compressor for high definition transients. Adds no fatness, just energy.
PhaseNudge is a phase rotator/allpass filter.
Drive: the angry distortion!
Density is a Swiss Army Knife of saturation/antisaturation.
Lowpass deepens the tone, leaves a gloss and textural modifications.
Highpass is a time warp, for retro midrangey sounds.
ToneSlant is a super-transparent ‘tilt EQ’ with very low Q.
Average is a distinctive sort of lowpass filter.
Slew2 works like a de-esser or acceleration limiter: controls extreme highs.
Thunder is a compressor that retains or exaggerates subsonic bass when you push it.
ClipOnly is a clipper plugin that suppresses the brightness of digital clipping without affecting unclipped samples.
Pressure4 is a compressor adjustable between vari-mu and ‘new york’ peak-retaining behaviors.
FathomFive is a way of supplementing extreme bass that’s not just EQ.
SlewOnly is a mix check plugin that shows you only the extreme highs.
SubsOnly is a mix check plugin that shows you only the extreme lows.
Guitar Conditioner is like a Tube Screamer voicing without the squishiness and indistinctness.
Channel4 is a tone coloring plugin that gives more of an analog feel.
Slew is a slew clipper, which darkens treble in an unusual way.
Console4 is the original Airwindows ITB mixing system, a two-plugin mix buss replacement for DAWs.

 

WHAT? Does he really have a plugin named "Cojones"?

I have to try it just because of that

 

Guys,
All latest plugins are free, for Windows and AU, x86 and x64
About 4-8 new plugins a month
Each plugin has its too long video about plugin, described by Chris from Airwindows, demonstrated on audio and compared with and without it. Then, word description that is long and if you have questions - read gearslutz in New Product Alert section and Product Alerts Older Than 2 Months section. Everything is described. You have more questions and issues - ask Chris there, he answers with all details, sometimes you get tired from his too long detailed descriptions.
And test by yourself.

Stop looking at vintage analog GUIs, yeah it is realistically looking to see, but interface designers and dsp designers are usually different people. Interface isn't connected with sound processing. It only attracts from sound processing and just dupes you that you work with analog gear.

P.s. Who has first version of Tremolo, re-download and update it. Some issues resolved

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2017