Audio Assault has introduced HeadCrusher Free, a lightweight freeware version of their brand new analog saturation effect for Windows and Mac based digital audio workstations.
HeadCrusher Free is a free saturation plugin. Use it on drums,vocals,bass,master track to add power or simply to destroy a track.
Unlike the full version of the product, the free version features a single saturation mode (five in the full product) and lacks some advanced controls such as filter resonance and distortion character switches. It is still a rather useful tool though, and doesn’t feel like a crippled version of commercial product.
I’ve tested the free version on my computer and I can say that this plugin is certainly worth your attention if you’re looking for a simple freeware saturation/distortion unit. It’s definitely more of a distortion effect than a subtle mastering grade saturation tool, though. Even the tiniest increase of the drive parameter setting will push the sound on the output straight into audible distortion category, so be careful when using the plugin on your master bus.
For processing individual tracks, the plugin performs very well and it can add a bit of that nice tube like flavor to bass guitars, keyboards, even vocals when used in subtle amounts. It also works well for high gain distortion effects and you can further shape the sound character with the tone knob. The low cut filter is surprisingly transparent and it can work rather well for cleaning up the low end of individual tracks. I certainly didn’t expect to hear such a nice low cut filter and it would be cool to see a dedicated filter plugin from Audio Assault in the future!
A special thank you goes out to BPB reader Fridolin for letting me know about this freebie. It hasn’t been announced anywhere else yet. Thanks for the support!
Download
HeadCrusher Free is available for free download via Audio Assault (2.4 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU/AAX/RTAS format for Windows & Mac).
Last Updated on August 29, 2014 by Tomislav Zlatic.
