Apogee releases Soft Limit, a freeware tape saturation and limiter plugin for digital audio workstations on Windows and macOS.
The plugin emulates the Soft Limit feature found in Apogee’s standalone analog-digital converters ever since the AD-500 model. In short, Soft Limit is an analog circuit that adds harmonics and subtly transforms the transient before the A-D conversion takes place, simulating the effects of analog tape.
Now that exact same feature is available in plugin format. Apogee offers a faithful software recreation of the original Soft Limit circuit, packed with modern features like oversampling and automatic gain makeup.
We already discussed Apogee Soft Limit in a recent article, but let’s take another quick look at the plugin’s features and GUI design.
Soft Limit sports a simple and well-design interface. The top half of the GUI is where you’ll find the Input, Soft Limit, and Output meters. The meters also offer clip indicators to help identify and prevent distortion.
The bottom section hosts the Drive, Soft Limit, and Output control knobs, along with the In, Oversample, and Auto Makeup switches. The Oversample knob lets you apply up to 16X oversampling to enable smooth and artifact-free saturation.
If you need help with any of the control parameters, click the question mark in the upper-right corner to display tooltips. You can also use the size switch in the upper-left corner to resize the GUI.
Soft Limit isn’t the type of plugin that will magically make your mix sound amazing. However, use it sporadically on multiple channels, and you will end up with a warmer, rounder, and possibly more pleasing-sounding mix. Use it in tandem with our free BPB Saturator plugin for added saturation and analog warmth.
Apogee Soft Limit is available in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for compatible plugin hosts on Windows (Windows 10 and above) and macOS (macOS 10.14.6 and above). Apogee lists the plugin as a $99 value, but it is free to download from their website. Submit your name and email address to receive the download link from Apogee.
If you’re looking for more similar tools, check out our lists of free saturation plugins and free limiter plugins.
Download: Apogee Soft Limit
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Last Updated on July 2, 2022 by Tomislav Zlatic.
