Sonic Anomaly has released TriLeveler 2, a freeware broadcast voice lever effect in VST plugin format for PC and JSFX format for PC/Mac.
TriLeveler 2 is a three-stage dynamics compressor optimized for leveling voice recordings. It is compatible with the EBU R128 loudness recommendation issued by the European Broadcasting Union. The plugin is relatively easy to use, making it equally suitable for leveling podcasts and YouTube clips, as well as for more advanced use on TV and radio broadcasts. If you’re using it in video projects, it’s worth keeping in mind that TriLeveler 2 introduces 105 ms of latency, which won’t be automatically compensated by certain plugin hosts.
See also: Free Leet Delay 2 VST Plugin Released By Sonic AnomalyThe control scheme is simple, in a good way. The user can set the target LUFS (loudness units relative to full scale) value and manually trim the input and output gain levels. Apart from that, the user can adjust the noise gate threshold and speed values, or set the plugin to auto-input and auto-threshold modes. The Config button displays the control panel with a set of advanced adjustments such as maximum gain and attenuation values for each dynamics stage, as well as the amount of applied high-pass filtering. These advanced parameters can help the user fine-tune the processing to fit a particular recording, in case the default settings don’t work well.
While testing TriLeveler 2, I was very happy with the results and I can see myself using it regularly for adjusting the loudness of voiceovers and interviews. Setting the target loudness value without having to adjust anything else is a godsend when you need to process a voice recording as quickly as possible (which is something I need to do when editing our Musikmesse or NAMM intervews at the event, for example). The plugin does a great job leveling the dynamics of speech recordings and the processed signal sounds very natural thanks to the smooth three-stage dynamics processing. The CPU usage of around 3% on an i7-based computer is also decent, given that the plugin will often work in tandem with just a few additional effects (probably an EQ and a limiter). The only thing to keep in mind, really, is the aforementioned latency of 105 ms. TriLeveler 2 performed without any issues in Studio One 2, although I couldn’t get it to work in the latest version of MuLab.
Sonic Anomaly has been around for quite a while, developing plugins in JSFX format. They’ve recently launched a new website and started releasing plugins in VST plugin format, which is great news for all Windows users. Be sure to check out the other freeware plugins available for download on their website, there are quite a few gems that are well worth adding to anyone’s plugin arsenal.
TriLeveler 2 is available for free download via Sonic Anomaly (808 KB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST plugin format for Windows, JSFX plugin format for Windows & Mac OS).
13 Comments
Chris Schutte
onI can see myself using this most definitely! Thanks again Tomislav!
Tomislav Zlatic
onIncredibly useful for me. One of the best releases so far this year.
Esol
onWow cool. Love the other freebies from sonic anomaly. Will check this out.
heavymetalmixer
onMaybe I’ll start using it from streams.
MikeH
onWould this work for sung vocals, do you think?
Vitali
onI advise you to use VOLA2 to this effect. You can find it on his page also.
Variety of Sound Fanboy
onIt looks like a less efficient SlickHDR which has 4ms of latency instead of TriLeveler 2’s 105ms.
Another Variety of Sound Groupie
onI think SlickHDR works totally different and serves a different purpose, don’t you?
Tomislav Zlatic
onYes, it’s much more subtle.
Esol
onBootsy is that you ? :D
Nick
onWebsite has been down, for me at least, the last few days. Any mirrors?
Kitty
onHow do I install it into garageband once I download it?
Jaime Lopes
onUse the way back machine to get these great plugins:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190926213601/http://sonic.supermaailma.net/plugins