Viator DSP releases Stimulate, a FREE harmonic exciter VST plugin for digital audio workstations on macOS and Windows.
Harmonic exciters or sonic enhancers are sometimes the unsung heroes of a mix. An exciter can add sweetness and brightness and bring a dull mix to life, whatever the genre. Some people advocate using an exciter plugin more often than EQ to avoid unwanted harshness.
Although, overusing any plugin or using it when it’s not needed can lead to harshness. I say this because while some suggest using exciters more often (but sensibly), some quickly go into overkill mode and slam every track with various exciters. You can have too much of a good thing.
Stimulate v1.4 is a nice-looking plugin that comes with some simple but effective controls.
The first pair of controls (knobs) are Amount and Range. These control the amount of harmonic distortion and the frequency range being distorted (everything above the set frequency).
Next, we have Odd and Even; these determine the amount of odd and even harmonics to be added. Typically, odd harmonics are thought to be more aggressive or rougher around the edges. Some plugins that deal with odd/even harmonics let you choose between the two, so I like that Stimulator allows you to blend both.
A graph on the GUI provides visual feedback of what the harmonics are doing to the signal.
Above the graph are Phase and Oversample buttons. To the right of the graph are Mix (dry/wet) and Trim (output volume attenuation) sliders.
Another thing I like about Stimulator, and Viator DSP plugins in general, is that it keeps it simple. It uses a clean, straightforward interface to do a specific job without any unnecessary bells and whistles.
We’ve covered a few Viator DSP plugins like BT Clipper and Electron EQ that are worth checking out.
We’ve also covered various free exciters like Variety of Sound’s ThrillseekerXTC mkII and Blanka from AudioFB. We featured Blanka around two years ago, but I rarely get to reference Street Fighter-inspired plugins, so I’m not missing this opportunity.
If you like Stimulate or anything else Viator DSP does, you can support the developer through their Patreon page.
Stimulate is available in 64-bit AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
Download: Stimulate (64-bit VST3/AU plugin formats for Windows & macOS)
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9 Comments
Michael Jackson
onThis did clean up the bottom end and made the high end sound crisp on a synth audio I made. Added some reverb with Ozone 5 on it. It does a really good job for free!
Ondrej
onAnybody else has a problem downloading the PC version? I’ve been trying since yesterday and the link for PC Installer seems to be dead :(
Wick75
on@ Ondrej
Check your browser extensions (like ublock origin if you own it), that may be the cause .
I’ve downloaded the PC version fine, so its seems its a browser problem.
Excuse me for my enblish, i’m french
Ondrej
onThanks for replying WICK75. I tried to disable Adblock (I don’t use origin) – nothing, I tried different browser – Explorer – nothing, I tried Tor browser, it didn’t even let me access the page of the post on Patreon, because it was suspicious I’m robot, so I copied the direct link to the file to the clipboard and tried to load that in Tor and it finally worked. So if anybody has the same problem – this is one workaround.
Ondrej
onI wanted to move the file and then go for the instal and now my antivirus says there is trojan inside?!? Is it because I downloaded it over Tor? Is it actually in the file or is my antivirus just messing up? I think I’m gonna give up on this one.
Tomislav Zlatic
onAntivirus programs sometimes detect VST plugins as malware. My suggestion is to scan with multiple programs just to be sure. That said, I’ve never seen a VST plugin that’s infected with a virus.
Neytcev
onVery strange and complicated that the Mac AU installer
puts component with a different name than the original,
then or later very hard to find such component by name.
I never understand why that even happens, not useful.
Anyway, i like the sound that most Viator plugins produce,
even i kept some preferred older versions for myself.
Thanks! Enjoy! God bless you all here and there-where!
Neytcev
onAs well the trim fader reacts not exactly right how expected,
probably “output gain” will be added too in the future updates …
Zach
onYeah if you’re trying to uninstall this thing, the plugin itself is called “exciter”. I’ve never seen a plugin that gives the actual vst/au file a completely unpredictable name.