Marco Ortali has released WalterDelayer, a freeware stereo splitter/enhancer effect in VST plugin format for Windows-based digital audio workstations (both 32-bit and 64-bit DAWs are supported).
WalterDelayer is a simple utility for splitting the audio signal into the left and right channels which can be delayed (independently) by up to 1474 ms. It can be used as a stereo enhancer, an “artificial double tracking tool”, or a utility for precise alignment of multiple audio tracks.
See also: Free VST PluginsApart from the delay amount controls for the left and right stereo channels, the plugin also features a noise amount slider which modulates the input signal with a random noise source. The author explains that this type of noise modulation can work well on snares and similar percussive sounds, resulting in a more natural-sounding “stereo width” effect.
The plugin code was written in pure C++ using double precision buffers but with very low latency, (it is twice faster than the Ableton Live native delay, according to the developer). WalterDelayer is extremely well optimized in terms of CPU consumption – you probably won’t even notice it on your host applications CPU meter display. The user interface is easy to use, featuring only three sliders and value readouts for the channel delay and noise modulation parameters. I’d love to see a slightly larger GUI perhaps, but that’s just me being picky.
One thing to keep in mind is to always double-check your mix for phasing issues in mono when using stereo enhancement plugins such as WalterDelayer. This is particularly true if your tunes are meant for playing on mono audio systems like the ones found in nightclubs, or small portable devices with mono speakers (like most tablets and smartphones). To help you check your mix in mono, you can download a recently released freeware utility called TrackControl, developed by DMG Audio.
Download: WalterDelayer (2.86 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST plugin format for Windows)
