6 of the best Lewitt Audio microphones

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

LCT 040 Match The tiny LCT 040 Match is a lightweight, small-diaphragm condenser mic with a 17mm pressure-gradient transducer in the capsule and fixed cardioid polar pattern. It comes as both as an individual and precisely matched stereo pair for superior stereo recording. We used them in several recording scenarios when testing them, including upright […]

6 of the best freeware for live performance

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

Circular Labs Mobius Ever fancied some of the looping action that has helped propel Ed Sheeran to his monumental heights? These live hardware loopers are all the rage thanks to the songwriter extraordinaire, but Mobius delivers the simple produce-a-song-as-you-loop philosophy in software form, for free. You get eight separate tracks to loop, plus several loops […]

6 of the best freeware utilities

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

GT Analyser Getting a good overview of a sound or your entire mix is as important as being able to hear it, and we’ve included several free utilities that enable you to ‘view’ your sound. GT Analyser is one of the most sleek and modern, a high-resolution spectrum analyser plug-in that offers stereo and mid-side […]

6 of the best freeware orchestral plug-ins

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

AmpleSound Percussion Cloudrum While the rest of the titles in this round-up mostly concentrate on full orchestras – bar the Versilian piano – this is more of an out-there Steel Tongue percussion plug-in, but it has such a lovely, delicate and acoustic sound, we just had to fit it in this round-up. It’s a 700MB […]

6 of the best freeware mix effects

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

Ignite Amps PTEq-X It’s a Pultec in looks and (almost) name, but Ignite Amps – one of the best developers of guitar-effect freeware – has added a few extras to this EQ. PTEq features three types of EQ – PEQ1A, MQ5 and HL3C models – and four valve types. There are more precise frequency controls […]

6 of the best modelling synths

Published on : Published by : Adam Crute

Novation SuperNova/SuperNova II The SuperNova and SuperNova II are virtual-analogue synths that deliver a lovely, rich sound. Most commonly found as a rack module (a keyboard version does exist), the synth’s extensive control panel provides oodles of MIDI-recordable hands-on control over the instrument. The version 2 model has an external audio input, too. Circa £550 […]

6 of the best freeware guitar player plug-ins

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

Blue Cat Audio Free Amp This is a straight-down-the-line, three-way amp emulation featuring Classic Clean, Classic Drive and Modern Drive models. Simply load them onto your DAW channel and play; no nonsense about upgrading to full versions, they work straight out of the download. More importantly, they sound great and each has a range of […]

6 of the best freeware drum machines

Published on : Published by : Andy Jones

AudioSpillage MiniSpillage A returning drum favourite and must inclusion is MiniSpillage, a synth/drum plug-in. It’s still Mac only, we’re afraid, but an essential download for that platform. It’s a cut-down version of AudioSpillage’s DrumSpillage with three drum pads for kick, hat and hollow drum. It comes with several kits and synth features – LFO, filter, […]