CarbonDSP has launched its first four audio plugins, including two freebies for Windows users. The free pair is Vellum, a vocal-focused reverb, and Biased, a component-modeled tube preamp.
The other two launch products are paid dynamics processors. Black Ion 76 is a FET limiter inspired by the classic 1176-style circuit, while Carbon CL-610 is based on the Spectra Sonics 610 compressor/limiter. Both are available with introductory pricing until August 31st, but the main attraction here, of course, is that Vellum and Biased are free.
CarbonDSP claims that its plugins are built with component-level DSP and verified with pluginval strictness 10 before release. That doesn’t guarantee that we’ll love the plugins, but it is good to see from a new developer.
Vellum isn’t a general-purpose reverb for every possible job. It’s intended for use specifically on vocals. We’ve been talking a lot about GAS on BPB lately and cutting down the number of installed plugins, so the question is: do we really need a special reverb only for vocals?
Either way, Vellum is easy enough to use if you want to give it a try. The front panel has four main controls: SIZE, TONE, DUCK, and MIX, and CarbonDSP describes them as macro controls that move several internal parameters at once.
The most useful part for me is the DUCK control. It pulls down the wet reverb signal while the vocal is present, then lets the reverb come back in the gaps. Also, it does not shorten the tail or change the reverb decay itself, so the space remains behind the vocal while the words stay clearer.
Biased is the more color-focused freebie. It models a tube preamp at the component level with two cascaded gain stages, a dynamic grid-bias point, supply sag under drive, and separate input and output transformer saturation.
You can add transformer color without pushing the valve stage, adjust capacitor-aging behavior across three capacitance sizes, and use the envelope follower and LFO section for movement over time.
Biased also has a live signal-path visualizer with waveform lanes, a transfer-curve display, and a meter that reacts as you drive the tube model harder. Visual feedback is not everything, of course, but it can be handy when you are trying to understand what a saturation plugin is doing to the signal.
Both free plugins are available as VST3 plugins and standalone applications for 64-bit Windows, with no reported latency. CarbonDSP says macOS support is in progress, and downloads require creating a free account on the CarbonDSP website.
Download: CarbonDSP Vellum and CarbonDSP Biased (FREE)
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Last Updated on August 17, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
