Fuse Audio Labs has released Big-Sur, a freeware guitar distortion pedal in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for digital audio workstation software on PC and Mac.
Big-Sur is a freeware emulation of a diode clipper guitar pedal. There’s no information on which specific guitar stompbox is emulated, but the plugin seems to be based on the classic Big Muff distortion pedal. The developers describe Big-Sur as a stompbox that is suitable for distorted rhythm guitars and heavy leads, with a wide distortion spectrum and plenty of fuzz.
See also: Best FREE Guitar Amplifier VST PluginsThe interface features a bypass switch, four control knobs (Sustain, Level, Tone, and Mix), and two on/off switches – one for the Tone control and one for the oversampling feature. The user can also adjust the GUI size (from 80% to 125%) and control the graphics quality (useful for reducing the RAM usage).
In terms of sound quality, Big-Sur is a great little fuzzbox effect. I’m not a guitar tone expert by any length, but I love stompbox emulations because they can work great for coloring the sound of softsynths and samples. Big-Sur works great for this and it’s a recommended download if you’re looking to add another distortion effect to your arsenal. It’s also worth pointing out that Big-Sur offers zero-latency processing, so it’s suitable for live use. All that said, I’d like to hear what experienced guitar players think about Big-Sur’s sound, so do leave a comment after you’ve tested the plugin in your DAW.
Big-Sur is available as part of Fuse Audio Labs’ new VPB-Bundle (short for Virtual Pedal Board Bundle), a collection of five guitar effects in VST plugin format. In addition to Big-Sur, the bundle also contains El-Germano (a drive pedal based on Germanium transistors), Octafish (an octaver pedal), Gate-230 (optical noise gate with a hold function), and Chorus-65 (a stereo chorus based on a vintage analog bucket brigade chipset). The bundle costs $19 but the Big-Sur plugin is completely free to download and you. To install your copy of Big-Sur, download the installer from the product page (no registration required), run the installer, then choose the custom installation. Make sure to select Big-Sur from the many and choose your preferred plugin format.
The other plugins included in the bundle can be tested for fourteen days without any restrictions. This is true for all other Fuse Audio Labs products, so there’s plenty of time to test the company’s other plugins if you’re interested in buying them.
More info: Big-Sur (14.7 MB download size, ZIP archive containing EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & macOS)
More articles:
