Free plugins for heavy music. Mac and Windows.
Eight free plugins made for heavy guitars, bass and drums: the Nu series, a loudness matcher, a strobe tuner and a lo-fi plugin. No license key, no subscription, no trial that runs out.
| Plugin | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| NuEQ | EQ | 8-band EQ with a live analyzer and dynamic bands that only cut when the mud shows up, plus 24 factory presets. |
| NuComp | Compressor | Compressor with a live transfer curve, parallel mix and auto gain. A slow attack lets the pick through. |
| NuGate | Noise gate | Shuts the hiss between the chugs without chopping the chugs. |
| NuSat | Saturator | Cuts the lows before the distortion, so palm mutes stay tight and thick instead of muddy. |
| NuPump | Sidechain pump | Pump locked to your tempo, or keyed off your real kick. |
| Parity | Loudness match | Holds loudness the same with your processing on or off, so you judge the sound, not the volume. |
| Rack | Strobe tuner | Strobe tuner for 6, 7 and 8 string guitars, with drop-tuning presets from Standard to Drop A and 8-string F#. |
| Dead Tape | Lo-fi | Bit depth, sample-rate hold, hiss, a filter and a mix, for intros, transitions and Reels. |
How to get them
Open any plugin above, drop your email, and the Mac and Windows download buttons appear on the page. That email also gets you the free Heavy Mix Cheat Sheet. The Nu series page has the first five together.
Where to start
A muddy guitar tone: NuEQ then NuSat. Hiss between the chugs: NuGate. Chugs that need more hit: NuComp. Tuning a 7 or 8 string: Rack. Judging a mix fairly: Parity.
When the free ones are not enough
The free plugins get you a clean start. The paid ones do the jobs they leave open, each one a one-time price with a 14-day refund:
- Finishing the master: Vantage, mastering that listens first (launch-week price until Nov 3), or Bulkhead, a true-peak limiter with a loudness readout, $19.
- Harsh S sounds on vocals: Sickle, a de-esser that cuts the S and keeps the voice, $15.
- A kick with no weight: Anvil lays a tuned sub under every kick, $12.
- Delay that gets in the way of the riff: Barrow ducks its repeats while you play, $15.
- Drops, risers and hits: Collapse, nine synthesised sounds locked to your tempo, $15. Pads and swells: Ashfall, $49.
- Guitar tones on a Helix: the preset packs, eight presets and a setlist from $8.
Questions
Are these plugins really free?
Yes. All eight are free downloads for Mac and Windows. You enter your email once on a plugin's page and the download buttons appear. There is no license key, no trial and no subscription.
Which DAWs do they work in?
On Mac they come as AU and VST3, so they load in Logic Pro, GarageBand, Ableton Live, Reaper, FL Studio, Studio One and others. On Windows they are VST3, for FL Studio, Reaper, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One and Bitwig. Pro Tools (AAX) is not supported yet.
What do they run on?
Mac: macOS 12 or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel. Windows: 10 and 11, 64-bit. The Mac installers are signed and notarized by Apple.
Why are they free?
They are how people find Dead Signal Audio. If one earns a spot in your chain, tag us in what you make with it.
Can I use them on music I release?
Yes. Use them on anything you record, mix or release, commercial work included.
Want more? See the paid plugins or the Mix Notes that show these tools at work.