Surreal Machines is offering the Diffuse Delay effect ($49 retail price) in VST/AU plugin formats for PC and Mac as a completely free download from their website until June 8th.
Diffuse Delay is one of the two plugins included in the newly released Dub Machines bundle by Surreal Machines, focused on emulating the sound characteristics of classic hardware delay and reverb units of the 1970s and 1980s. Described by the developers as an analog/digital hybrid, Diffuse Delay allows the users to morph between different vintage delay and reverb flavors. The delay module is modeled after classic hardware gear, transferring their non-linear behavior and other peculiarities into the digital domain.
The interface is organized into three control groups. The knobs on the left control the volume and the stereo width, the centrally positioned knobs control the delay time, feedback, and diffusion parameters, whereas the knobs on the right control the tone, modulation, and mix level. It is also possible to A/B test different settings, lock the mix level parameter (probably intended for live performances), and save presets internally for later use. The plugin includes a decent selection of factory presets to help new users get started.
And now for the most important bit. Diffuse Delay sounds absolutely stunning. Browsing through the presets I was instantly reminded of an old Dynacord tape delay unit which I still tend to use from time to time, mainly for resampling. The virtual delay by Surreal Machines comes pretty close to that type of sound, with the added benefit of providing plenty of different flavors on the side. One drawback I noticed is that the CPU usage is somewhat higher than expected (around 9% on a single core of my laptop’s i7 CPU), but it’s not too bad considering the sound quality on offer.
To download your free copy of Diffuse Delay, simply complete the checkout process on the product page linked below. Your serial number will be delivered via email as soon as you register. To activate the plugin, copy your serial number and click the plugin’s user interface on first startup (it will detect the serial number and activate your license automatically).
Diffuse Delay is available for free download via Surreal Machines (2.42 MB download size, ZIP archive containing EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU plug-in formats for Windows & Mac OS).
15 Comments
George Macksoud
onRegistration appears to bee a looping nightmare.
Tim Bucktooth
onSorry to hear you’re having trouble, but luckily it doesn’t seem to be a common thing. In fact, for myself, it was quite the opposite.
Registration took me all of maybe a minute or two. When I finished registering and installing, I immediately thought to myself “Easiest ever plugin activation, besides basic serial number.”
Caleb
onAre you copy/pasting the whole serial number, including the words START and END? That’s what tripped me up. You have to copy something like this to your clipboard:
START|Firstname Lastname|[email protected]|#### ####-####-####|END
If you only copy the parts between START and END, or just the #### portion, it won’t work.
Stefan Lang
onI can only say – get it! Its a fantastic plugin. Many thanks to the developer.
Tim Bucktooth
onAgreed! One of the highest quality freebies to come out in a very long time!
bmovie
on+1
A fantastic freebie, this one and Unfiltered Audio Indent are probably my favorite “limited time freebie” ever.
Registration was quick & painless for me.
imprint
onRegistration is…unique, But just using it out of the box with free VST Lokomotiv for 20 minutes or so, can already tell it will become a favorite in the arsenal…
Manuel
onHad not problem on registration. This thing sounds great, but a mayor problem is the interface. Click-dragging the knobs with my mouse makes them jump all over the place. Your only chance is the mousewheel.
Ara
onThis is definitely of the greatest free (limited time) VST so far in 2017! The registration is easy, once you figure out that you have to copy the whole Serial, including the Start and End tag.
The Dub Machines VSTs are based on the Dub Machines that were previously only available as Ableton Max 4 Live plugins. The other plugin in the pack is based on the Roland Space Echo, while Diffuse is based on digital delays and hardware reverbs such as the Lexicon and MXR delay pedals. Shoutouts to the developers (another Berlin based company by the way) and a big thank you!
Ara
onBTW:
Here is some more information (based on the previous M4L devices, the VSTs appear to be fully newly coded): http://cdm.link/2014/05/inside-dub-machines-analog-modeling-delays-reverbs-twist-max-live/
Steven
onAbsolutely amazing! Cheers for the headsup!
animus
onNice one. I already used it in a project, to great effect.
Michael
onSounds terrific, silky smooth. Thanks for the headsup and to the developer!
frozenjazz
onThanks for sharing !
I love how easy the registration was, so quick and easy. Would like to see this more often!
Testing it right now – will add it to my TAL Dubs :)
Atme
onDiffuse is awesome!