Matthieu Brucher has released ATKAutoSwell, a freeware mono auto swell effect in VST and AU plugin formats for Windows and Mac based host applications (both 32-bit and 64-bit hosts are supported).
So, what’s an auto swell effect? It’s definitely not something that we see often in the world of VST plugins and virtual effects (ATKAutoSwell is actually the first one I’ve ever used. EDIT: actually it’s not, there’s also the excellent AutoSwell Light by Pecheneg Audio FX. Thanks to our reader Panda for the reminder in the comments section below!). Guitarists, on the other hand, are probably quite familiar with this sort of effect, since volume swell guitar pedals are not that much of a rarity. The Strymon Mobius pedal is a good example of how nice auto swell effects can sound when applied to a guitar.
Anyways, a volume swell effect is somewhat similar to a compressor, except for the fact that it affects the entire signal. Depending on the setting of the slope parameter, you can actually use it to attenuate the signal above the threshold. It’s not easy to describe in words, so my suggestion would be to test this effect in your DAW in order to fully grasp its functionality (keep in mind that this is a mono plugin, though). The download page also features a nice and simple graph that will help you visualize what’s going on with the audio signal as it passes an auto swell effect.
The plugin itself is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Matthieu Brucher has been releasing some rather high quality freeware stuff for quite a while now and I’ll definitely pay a lot more attention to his plugins in the future. Matthieu’s effects are completely free to download and use and there are no hidden signups or other requirements included. If you enjoy using his free software, you can support his future work by sending a donation (more info available on the product page linked below). In case you’re looking for a decent sounding and easy to use freeware limiter, the recently released ATKStereoLimiter is certainly worth a try.
Download
ATKAutoSwell is available for free download via Audio ToolKit (892 KB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU plugin format for Windows & Mac OS).
Last Updated on May 14, 2016 by Tomislav Zlatic.
