Youlean Freq-Balancer is a useful audio signal analyzer/processor for mastering purposes, developed by Julijan Nikolic. The recently released v2.0 of the plugin introduces a re-designed user interface, along with various fixes and performance optimizations.
Before we take a closer look at the improvements included in the new version of the plugin, here’s a short recap of what the plugin is designed to do. Simply put, the plugin analyzes the frequency content of your mix (or any other audio signal on the input) and compares it to a specific frequency curve which is found in many commercial tracks. For best results, it is recommended to analyze the busiest and loudest part of your mix.
See also: Free Mastering Tools For Windows & Mac OS!
Once the analysis process is finished (it takes just a few seconds), you can either automatically process your audio material using the built-in equalizer or use the comparison as a guide for fixing your mix manually. I personally recommend this plugin as a tool for testing your mix, especially after long mixing sessions when your ears get tired. The plugin can give you a fresh perspective and help you find problematic frequency ranges in your project.
The new version of the plugin introduces a new modern looking GUI, with a more accurate representation of internal equalizer settings (you can see the old GUI in our previous article about the plugin). Under the hood, the new version brings various performance optimizations which can help with reducing the CPU hit on older machines. The plugin now also includes a new normalization engine which is much easier to use.
Please note that the plugin is released as donationware and a minimum donation of $1 is required in order to get the full version of the plugin (if you can’t make a donation, contact the developer and you might get the full version of the plugin for free). The demo version of the plugin can be downloaded from the product page linked below (white noise will play in random intervals in the demo version of the plugin).
Download
Youlean Freq-Balancer 2 is available for free download via Youlean (1.9 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit VST plugin format for Windows).
