The Top 12 Multi-Platform Plugins Today

Plugins are the accessories to the producer’s toolkit, we all must appreciate what comes in-the-box nowadays but we often need something more from our DAWs, the sweetest way to enjoy that special sauce is if it’s free. We’ve assembled a list of the top 12 multi-platform plugins today ranging from synths, drums, and effects all the way to the weirdo oddities of plugins:

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1. Synister the Synthesizer

 

Synister is easy to use with one of the cleanest looking interfaces we’ve seen around. Look at those primary colors! It’s open source and comes as a VST or AU, download here.

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2. u-he Tyrell N6 Synthesizer

 

We’ve already mentioned u-he plugins in a few of our blog posts – they’re well-known for their high-quality products – so we’re excited to mention another hit, the Tyrell N6 synthesizer. This synth is loaded with enough presets to cover your bases from basses to leads and silky-smooth pads. If you feel like diving in the interface features 2 LFOs for modulating the 2 oscillators. Download it here!

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3. Cableguys PanCake

 

Stereo movement is often underutilized in production where static stereo panning is chosen instead. If you want to spice it up a bit you can automate your pan pots or you could use the PanCake plugin from Cableguys. This plugin lets you draw the panning movement your sound will make over 1/128th a note up to 32 bars. That kind of power doesn’t often come free, so check it out and download here.

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4. MT Power DrumKit 2

 

We talked a bit about Multi-Timbral drum samples in a recent post of ours and we mentioned their increasing ability to emulate real drums, these sample libraries are the way of the future. We think the best free multi-timbral drum plugin available today is MT Power Drum Kit 2, and it beats out the others with its high-quality samples AND groove library. Download here.

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5. Livecut

 

Livecut is a unique glitching tool you can put on individual tracks, busses, or the master channel if you damn please. The interface is simple but offers a lot to choose from. Download here and get glitchin’.

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6. Alan Vista Plugins

AlanVista has made a number of plugins that feature percussion instruments samples from the University of Iowa Electronic Music School. The sounds are all pretty good and the plugins allow for nice control and shaping of your sound. We thought they were all so cool you should download them all, click here!

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7. Multiply Chorus

 

This Chorus from Multiply is a useful tool for thickening up vocals, it features an EQ for you to target the chorus effect. Download here.

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8. Shattered Glass Audio Tube Amp

 

This plugin can be used to add some analog warmth to your mix and boy is it good at doing so. The tube ampe emulation utilizes oversampling to add that tasty grit and girth to your sound, the simple interface makes the plugin that much more appealing, download here.

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9. Fine Cut Bodies Exciter

 

Exciters add subtle harmonics to the high end of signals so adding them to your vocals, leads or entire mix to brighten them up can really make things sparkle. La Petite Excite does an awesome job at that very task and it does it so well we had to feature it here. Download now!

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10. MeldaProduction MAutoPitch

 

Melda Production makes awesome plugins and we should feature them all here but we wanted to feature their autotune plugin specifically for its high-quality output. This plugin comes with their free plugin bundle so you can experiment with their other tools if you want! Download here.

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11. u-he Triple Cheese

 

Here it is again, u-he created a plugin specifically for out of the box sounds and they gave us Triple Cheese. This synthesizer uses three comb filters to shape sounds as opposed to the typically FM, additive or subtractive synthesis. Its sounds are cheesy, but not TOO cheesy, just enough. download here

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12. Softube Saturation Knob

 

Softube makes amazing plugins and we’re lucky enough to make use of their Saturation Knob plugin. It adds warmth, grit, and fuzz if you crank it! This is one you don’t want to miss out on, download now!