Two free plugins, two Polish stories

Discussion in 'Software News' started by studiokozak, Jun 15, 2026 at 10:24 PM.

  1. studiokozak

    studiokozak Noisemaker

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    Hello everyone,

    I released two plugins a few days ago, each carrying a little legend of its own. Whether those stories ever really happened, nobody can say. But you're welcome to add your own chapter to them by installing the plugins.
    You can download them for free, links below. You will also find a more detailed description of how they work.


    LINA - 4-band tube EQ

    [​IMG]

    Legend has it that a Polish engineer named Lina built a unique tube equalizer and named it after herself. Her technical choices were radical and unusual, but she knew it would sound exactly as she wanted. Some swear they heard her, while others claim she never existed.

    LINA is four fixed, musical bands, and not much else: no surgical precision, no endless menus, no preset library the size of a phone book. Just a handful of knobs that you turn until something sounds right. LINA adds colour and warmth with a bit of attitude, and makes no apology for it. If you're after subtlety this probably isn't your stop, because LINA doesn't really do that. Polish generosity is no legend.


    FALA - vintage BBD chorus

    [​IMG]

    Another Polish story. A teenager with far more curiosity than money once wanted his guitar to sound bigger, but couldn't afford any of the chorus pedals he saw in the magazines. So he spent his nights in a small bedroom surrounded by old radios, dead cassette players and a soldering iron well past its prime, and most of what he built produced either nothing at all or noises that were interesting without ever being musical. Then one evening a chord rang out wider and stranger than it had any right to - the circuit drifted, it hissed, it never behaved quite the same way twice, and that turned out to be exactly the point.

    That's FALA ("wave" in Polish), a BBD chorus that leans into the imperfections of old analog circuits rather than ironing them out: gentle drift, an unsteady clock, a touch of hiss, and movement that feels alive. Shallow gives you subtle widening, while Deep pushes into that unmistakably vintage warble. The labels are in Polish, but no dictionary is required. Just turn knobs, play a chord, and you'll soon work out what does what.


    The practical bits

    Both are free, with no copy protection, and run as VST3 + AU on macOS (Universal, Intel + Apple Silicon) and as VST3 on Windows.

    - LINA https://github.com/studiokozak/LINA
    - FALA https://github.com/studiokozak/FALA

    Go to the release section on the right.


    macOS - first launch

    Because these are free releases put together without an Apple developer account, the plugins aren't notarized, so macOS will most likely refuse to open them the first time and tell you the developer can't be verified.
    Use this command in a Terminal and adjust the file name:

    Code:
    xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/FALA.vst3"
    Then restart your DAW. Done.


    Both plugins were built with a fair amount of stubbornness and far too much coffee, and I hope they find a home in your sessions.
    I wouldn't ask for your email address or to buy me a coffee, as I developed these plugins primarily for my own personal use. If they prove useful to you, then I'd be more than happy.
    I'd just genuinely love to hear what you think, too. Praise, complaints, bug reports, "this ruined my mix", whatever you've got, positive or negative. It's all welcome and it all helps.

    Stéphan (Studio Kozak)
     
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  3. Will Kweks

    Will Kweks Audiosexual

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    Do not ask me why, but the post title reminded me of this:

    "Four Polacks, six opinions."
    --
    Frank Sobotka, The Wire

    But thank you, I'll give them a go and try to make some constructive commentary once I've put them through their paces
     
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  4. shinyzen

    shinyzen Audiosexual

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    No presets for the eq? How am i supposed to mix?!
     
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  5. Obineg

    Obineg Rock Star

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    use AI like all the pros.
     
  6. studiokozak

    studiokozak Noisemaker

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    No presets, correct. That's the feature, not the bug.
    I figured anyone brave enough to download an EQ from a stranger on AudioSex could handle some knobs.
    Turn one until it sounds right. And congratulations ! You're mixing.:wink:
     
  7. studiokozak

    studiokozak Noisemaker

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    Yep.
    Also used a soldering iron metaphorically, a keyboard literally, and electricity throughout.
    Shocking how many tools go into a free plugin these days.:)
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2026 at 1:32 AM
  8. wizardmoon2

    wizardmoon2 Ultrasonic

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    Gee that's a tough one...
     
  9. Obineg

    Obineg Rock Star

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    haha, i am so stupid. i just clicked the git links and then i thought by myself "those names are so familiar?"... right, i already downloaded them yesterday from the usual place.
     
  10. studiokozak

    studiokozak Noisemaker

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    Tough indeed.
    Some nights I'm convinced she existed.
    Other nights I check the code and realize I have no idea who wrote half of it.
     
  11. studiokozak

    studiokozak Noisemaker

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    The "usual place" ... I like that.
    Sounds more mysterious than my GitHub.
     
  12. Lois Lane

    Lois Lane Audiosexual

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    Everyone knows that a github is a guitar rack, what could be so mysterious about yours? Plus, can I really trust and install software from someone who's built a guitar chorus that doesn't know that? It all seems so sketchy! In addition I can confirm that Lina is a real person who is in fact my sister-in-law. She happens to make the absolute best Bigos in Lublin! She doesn't code audio software but rather a fantastic maker of the most beautiful and unique stained glass you've ever seen!

    [​IMG]
     
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