Xhip has announced the release of Xhip Effects R6, an updated version of their freeware effects suite in VST plugin format for Windows.
This freeware bundle has been around since 2009 and it’s constantly being updated with stability and performance improvements, bug fixes and new plugins. The included effects were originally designed for use within the freeware Xhip synthesizer, however the developer has decided to make them available as separate VST plugins as well. The latest version of the Xhip Effects bundle consists of 13 plugins in total: clipper, compressor, envelope follower, noise gate, limiter, delay, multiplier, phaser, s&h quantizer, rectifier, reverb, tremolo and ring modulator.
See also: Free HY-Mono Synthesizer By HY-Plugins!The quality of the included plugins is very high and it’s quite surprising that Xhip’s freeware effects aren’t more popular. As a toolbox for every day mixing and sound design tasks, the Xhip Effects collection works quite well, especially for users with slower machines. Xhip’s plugins are very well optimized and they use only a tiny fraction of the available CPU resources. In fact, this is one of the most lightweight FX bundles around in terms of storage requirements as well. The installer is only 620 KB in size, which is quite impressive considering the fact that it contains a set of 13 plugins.
On the negative side, the user interfaces are somewhat small in size, so using them on higher resolution displays can be a bit troublesome. Having the option to increase the size of the user interface if needed would be a very welcome improvement for a future update.
Some of our personal favorites from the bundle are the reverb, the limiter and the delay. Xhip Reverb is unusually complex for a freeware reverb plugin, featuring two different algorithms, detailed diffuse and tail controls, tone adjustments and an echo module. The limiter is also quite versatile, with the adjustable envelope, lookahead amount, and even a side-chain input. The delay comes with two filters and features a very handy modulation section which works great for emulating old tape delays.
The plugins will work in 32-bit and 64-bit digital audio workstations on Windows. If you like these freeware effects, you should definitely check out the freeware Xhip synthesizer as well. It’s available in the Synth section of the website linked below.
Xhip Effects R6 are available for free download via Xhip (620 KB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST plugin format for Windows).
Last Updated on September 14, 2016 by Tomislav Zlatic.
