I’ve recently jumped on Pro Tools 11 for mixing. I’ve only worked with VST/AU compatible hosts before (Logic, Ableton Live). Now with Pro Tools I’ve been introduced to a new plugin format, the AAX.

Free Aax 64 Bit Plugins
Bpm Analyzer Plugin Aax Player
Free Aax Plugins Windows

The plugin fiend I am, I’ve been scouring the internets for the best free AAX plugins to add to my fresh Pro Tools setup. I’ve posted about the best free VST and AU plugins before and now it’s time to take a look at what’s available in AAX. And boy do we have some goodies on offer!

Now, this post is not an extensive listing of all free AAX plugins. There are many more available, and without a doubt I’ve missed some cool ones (please let me know if you think so).

This plugin is a Spectrum Analyzer and can be a lifesaver if you’re mixing on headphones, using smaller speakers or don’t have a well acoustically treated room. I find this plugin particularly useful for finding the prominent frequencies of a kick drum or bass guitar and see how you can get them to work around each other frequency wise.

Download the Best Free Audio Plugins. Synths, Reverbs, Compressors.and much more. Just click and download. This plugin is a Spectrum Analyzer and can be a lifesaver if you’re mixing on headphones, using smaller speakers or don’t have a well acoustically treated room. I find this plugin particularly useful for finding the prominent frequencies of a kick drum or bass guitar and see how you can get them to work around each other frequency wise.

In keeping with the spirit of this blog, I focus on quality. I’ve hand picked the top of the crop for you here.

What is AAX format?

AAX is Avid’s own plugin format which was introduced a couple of years back. Pro Tools 10 supports 32-bit AAX plugins. The newer Pro Tools 11 version only supports 64-bit AAX format (and no other plugin formats).

Why another format – we already have VST and AU? Avid says:

“In order to create a 64-bit version of Pro Tools, it was necessary to develop a plug-in architecture that supports 64-bit processing. AAX was created for the future, and will pave the way for Pro Tools technology advancements down the road.”

Makes sense to me if it adds stability and future-proofness. My experience is that host crashes are often related to 3rd party plugins. Of course there’s probably politics involved as well; I will leave that to someone else to muse about.

I was initially afraid of not being able to use some of the VST and AU plugins I own in Pro Tools 11. However I was quite pleased to find out that most of these plugins also do come in AAX versions by now.

There are a few that will be missed though, but it looks like most plugin manufactures are on the case and in the process of porting their products to the AAX format (if they haven’t already).

OK – enough of the format. Let’s dive in.

The Best Free AAX Plugins (2014 edition)

Softube Saturation Knob

This is a great sounding and delightfully simple plugin that has the potential to transform entire mixes. Use it subtle or drive it hard, the choice is yours. Sounds great either way!

Info & download here

Metric Halo Thump

Thump synthesizes low end based on what it’s hearing. It looks both at the pitch as well as the dynamics of your audio. You can tweak it quite a lot too and tune it very precisely. Very useful.

HOFA 4U Pack

HOFA offer three free plugins in this bundle. The highlights for me are the loudness meter/fader/m-s pan plugin and the goniometer & correlation meter plugins. Great stuff!

BOZ Panipulator

A cool utility plugin to put on your master channel. Allows you to check your mix in mono, invert phase and swap L/R.

BOZ Bark of Dog

The Bark of Dog is a beast of a plugin! I am already finding myself drawing for this one a lot. It puts some smack on your low end. Be careful of the bowel movement.

BX_Solo

Stereo width control and Mid/Side solo. Great tool.

BX_Cleansweep V2

This is an useful little plugin for cleaning the low end of your mix without causing problems.

TDR VOS SlickEQ

This is a plugin that I have been raving about, and there’s no way not to include it in this article. A great, great EQ for coloring and mastering situations. They also recently released the Gentleman’s Edition paid version, which is even more awesome.

TAL Chorus LX

This chorus plugin is the definition of fat. Love it. The stereo width control and dry/wet mix adjustment make it perfect for beefing up many kinds of things. It’s modeled after the Roland Juno 60 chorus.

U-He Zebralette

This is a great sounding synth! Comes with a demo of their paid Zebra 2 instrument.

Flux BitterSweet V3

BitterSweet is a transient designer tool and a very useful one. I have been using it a lot on drums. Even if you have other transient processors, I recommend downloading this because there are differences in behavior between different processors. I often find myself trying different ones and seeing which one gives me the best result in each situation.

Blue Cat’s Freeware Plugin Pack II

This is an excellent pack of plugins, but for me there is one here above the rest: the FreqAnalyst spectrum analyzer.

Ample Guitar M Lite

I am not much of a guitarist myself but this plugin is sounding great to me and lots of fun to play around with. It’s a very advanced emulation of acoustic guitar – I am quite impressed by the quality and features of this plugin! Some of the features are locked though and only available in the paid version. It is an unusual plugin but fun to check out and could come handy in some situations!

Acon Multiply

Last but not least, a plugin that Dave Pensado tipped me off with (thanks!). If he uses this, so should probably you. Acon Multiply is a versatile chorus effect with plenty of settings. You can use it for all kinds of things from creating multiple voices to doing special FX and spatial work.

There we go – enjoy the plugins and please do let me know if you think there are some good ones missing!

If you enjoyed this article, I would appreciate if you shared it by tweeting, through Facebook or whatever happens to be the most convenient way for you – thank you!

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“My audio sample sounds dry” – I’ll add a reverb effect to make it wet (sound roomy) a little!

That was a joke, I can bet you have come across several effects in your software applications (DAW) such as reverb, delay, compression, distortion, and other various effects.

But! Why do we use audio effects in the first place?

To answer that question, I’ll ask you a simple question. How would your meal taste without any ingredients?

Tasteless right! Yh, sure, it’s still eatable but it lacks flavor. Let’s transition back to the old question, why do we use audio effects?

Audio effects are software devices (ingredients) that manipulates an audio signal to a specific taste, it can make a dry audio signal sound wet, it can help in controlling the gains of an uncompressed sound (proper leveling of peaks), it can make a dull audio sample sound lively, and it can also be misused (think of adding too many/too little salt to your meal).

Since we know the importance of using audio effects, I would be recommending some of the best free VST effects plugins.

It doesn’t make any sense to randomly list the effects, so I decided to categorize each and every effect, all compressor vst effect plugin would be under the Compressor Vst category, reverb vst effects plugin would be under Reverb Vst category, you get the idea.

Page Contents

Compressor Free VST/AU/AAX Plugin
Reverb Free VST/AU/AAX Plugin
Delay Free VST/AU/AAX Plugin
EQ Free VST/AU/AAX Plugin

Let’s get cracking…

Compressor Free VST/AU/AAX Plugin

Compression is an effect or an audio processing tool that is used to control the overall Dynamics of an audio signal or an audio portion.

Some of the best free compressor plugins are…

1.) Audiofb – SeteChave Compressor

SeteChave is the first compressor on our list and is designed with characteristics close to the “pumping” effect. It can be used for parallel compressing and it is really intuitive with minimal knobs, so, you will quickly get a hold of this one.

Features:

Input – Input signal gain control from -12db to + 12db
Att – Attack spanning from

Bpm Analyzer Plugin Aax