J1000 has announced the release of CL36, a freeware multi-band clipper effect in 32-bit VST plugin format for Windows based host applications.
CL36 is the latest release from J1000, a developer who has provided several truly fantastic freeware mixing tools in the past couple of years. His superb BTQ2 “twist” equalizer was included in BPB’s latest round-up of freeware VST plugins and the CH4D chorus effect is featured in our round-up of the best free chorus plugins. Since the new CL36 is such a unique clipper effect (at least on the freeware market), it’s quite possible that it will be included in this year’s best VST plugin round-up.
Much like all other J1000 releases so far, CL36 sports a nice clean looking GUI which is both easy to use and easy to look at. The plugin splits the incoming audio signal into three fixed frequency bands (low, mid, high, with variable crossover frequency). The three bands can be turned up or down using the gain knob, muted, and of course processed using the built-in soft-clipper circuit. It is also possible to engage the hard-clipping waveshaping curve, output filtering and global bypass. Finally, the plugin features a handy waveform display for visualizing the combined waveshaping effect of all three channels, as well as the additional M/S processing mode.
Compared to most other clippers on today’s freeware market (and even the commercial ones), the new CL36 plugin from J1000 is quite a rare beast. We don’t get a freeware multi-band clipper effect with M/S processing ability every day and it really is a shame that the plugin is limited for use on 32-bit Windows systems only (due to the fact that it was made with SynthEdit). CL36 is pretty much the perfect tool for brushing up the mix dynamics and boosting the loudness a bit without using additional limiters and/or compressors. If you’re running a 32-bit Windows based digital audio workstation, you should definitely check this one out and consider adding it to your mixing/mastering toolbox.
Download
CL36 is available for free download via J1000 (2.5 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit VST plugin format for Windows, made with SynthEdit).
10 Comments
Ninja Mode
onNice! This could probably come in handy on my mixes :]
Tomislav Zlatic
onHey Ninja, haven’t seen you around here in a while man. :)
Yep, definitely a great tool for mixing. Give it a try!
K
onHow’s it on cpu?
Tomislav Zlatic
onPretty decent, nothing out of the ordinary.
Mariusz
onI use generally plugs of this developer – they are very usefull and have nice gui. I will try this newest.
Tomislav Zlatic
onIt’s just as good as the other ones from J1000, quality stuff.
coconuts
onI don’t know why J1000’s SX36 isn’t more popular. I’ve never found a stereo tool that was as useful and powerful. I will definitely try out this plug!
Tomislav Zlatic
onIt’s probably due to the 32-bit limitation. More and more people (including myself) are going 64-bit nowadays. I only keep a 32-bit DAW for testing purposes.
Jazzigula
onI am gonna add it to my J1000 collection ! Guess I will use it more than expected when first seen the news. Reading article, I’ve realized that I too often use a compressor for the job that actually needs a clipper. And having one from trustworthy developer is a good way to change old habits :)
Pedro Galeano
onThanks for sharing this awesome plugin. It’s an answer to my prayers!
Greetings from Guatemala (central america).