From the developer White Elephant Audio comes MONSTR, a plugin that provides up to six bands of stereo width control.
I don’t really use stereo-width plugins too often. More often than not, I can coax out the results I want with a little mid/side EQing and reverb.
That said, there is always a place in the toolbox for novel tools that do the job, and MONSTR might fit the bill if you’ve been on the hunt for one.
You’ve got up to six independent bands for controlling the stereo width of a signal with MONSTR. This makes for a great amount of flexibility, especially as you can adjust the frequency crossover of each band.
Controls are fairly slim despite the vast amount of power you’re getting out of the plugin. You can mute, solo, and bypass each individual band, which suits me just fine.
Additional bands are easily added with a single click, which is just as easily undone.
Adding width to a sound with MONSTR is a piece of cake. Depending on what bands you have active, you can slide upwards to get more width out of the band.
Dragging downward, it collapses closer towards mono. I have found that a little bit does quite a bit when it comes to stereo sounds and MONSTR.
You can readily get into the nastier side of stereo width with the plugin, which probably isn’t your intended result.
That said, I find MONSTR more immediate and usable than something like the free Ozone Imager. I always get mixed results using it on single sources and find myself wanting a little bit more when strapping it across the entire mix.
At any rate, MONSTR is well worth a download and exploration. I struggle to think of anything in the paid or free realm that matches up to the same degree of functionality.
MONSTR is open source, which is always a welcome sight with a free plugin. Downloading and installing was a breeze, and it just takes a moment to get things going. I’m a big fan of the visualization, which is always great.
It is worth a punt if you’re looking for something new to add a little width and intrigue to your sounds.
Download: MONSTR (FREE – open source)
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6 Comments
alex
onFracture Sounds released Gentle Strings, another Kontakt Player library in Blueprint line. It’s a chamber-sized string ensemble playing the muted Con Sordino articulation, creating a soft and cinematic sound.
fracturesounds.com/product/blueprint-gentle-strings/?mc_cid=c660c20b42&mc_eid=34d0dfa080
johsuabeens
onDuuuurooo
Cedric
onAvast is telling me there is a malware when downloading…..?
alex
onYeah, same here. Most probably, it’s false positive. VirusTotal says it’s clean. However, Avast didn’t let me download the file at all, so I didn’t do it, for now.
CGrrr
onThis is very useful.
james
onit seems like a free SideMinderME equivalent and that would be a phenomenal offer O_O