Oh, by the way.
Another really nice VST effect treasure is "LookAhead Limiter" (freeware) by the still honorable Christian Budde.
That limiter single-handed suddenly allowed me much better mixes after I started using it. Somebody might need to re-host the Christian Budde VST plugin files somewhere additionally, like a "mirror", because I think I had a lot of difficulty tracking down the files (unless it was just a hotspot filter glitch).
I'm not sure which address is most stable these days. But it's NOT vaporware. It's still 100% good. I used one of his limiter VST effects yesterday for goodness sakes!
If you set the mode to "dual mono" and the timing to superfast, you can get really nice results. I usually set the desired output level to be something like NEGATIVE ZERO POINT TWO FIVE decibels full scale. (-0.25 dBfs)
The VST I'm talking about looks like this:
There's several other Dynamics VST effects (I call them "VSTe's; VSTi for instrument; VSTu for VST utility; VSTe for VST effect).
That plugin seems to have full delay compensation compatibility without crashes, and the latency seems to be rather low despite having an actual "look ahead" buffer. I'm a little bit confused by myself: I have both Linux Reaper and Windows Reaper (via WINE) installed on the same computer. So I apologize if I make some odd mistakes about which system I'm using.
I used that module on both individual tracks in REAPER and on the Master Stereo Output buss.
To decompress the download, use 7-zip (also nice forward thinking!).
Definately clever!
Before using LookAhead Limiter, I was using TLs Maximizer which is impressive, but can be buggy anymore. Also, it's hard to find the right edition of TLs Maximizer as there are two different versions sharing the same name (urgh!).
I still like BuzMaxi Limiter, which can be found on the Wavosaur site. And I really still like using Wavosaur! Wavosaur rocks. I don't mind using both Wavosaur and OcenAudio. OcenAudio is so suave I feel like I'm hangin' with the "big boys" whenever I'm using it. It feels like I just stepped into a nice vacation from stress whenever I use OcenAudio. Wavosaur feels like living proof that antique software, when properly supported, can smash barriers and get the job done excellently. I really love being able to use VST's in a standalone editor.
I'm moving more and more into WAV files and sampling and editing, and slightly away from synthesis and softsynths, so I like to have 2 Audio editors available without having to jump full on into Reaper (or some other DAW) just to do some simple WAV edits. I can't always remember all the subtle varieties of techniques in Reaper (available from within the "Actions...") menu. And, I don't want to confuse myself about projects and stuff if I'm just wanting to process a single file or whatnot.
I like to edit WAV sample pack materials to make them more personally aurally attractive. I find that this technique helps to make my personal composer sound more unique as we all use different combos of gear and sounds. I like to mix and match free samples from a wide variety of sources. I still like VST Instruments a lot, but it's a lot of manuals to read and tools to test out and learn if I just downloaded 150 plugins in a month!
Last but not least, back when I was routinely composing successfully (around 2014-2015), I whittled down my freeware VST(i) collection down to 150 unique VST "plugin" modules total. I couldn't get any lower, because each one had a specific musical purpose that I liked and didn't want to give up.
Since I'm trying to find and test out new VST instruments and effects THIS year (2022), I have to "go with what you know" without limiting myself.
Right now, the Tone2 plugins look and sound really impressive. I already like the demos I tried over the years. Also, SynPlant finally has my attention.
Back in the day, I bought both Image-Line "Harmor" and Image-Line "Toxic Biohazard" (top notch, both). But I want to save my current funds for much cheaper items. I'm not able to re-acquire my registration to those, because I relocated addresses so many times and lost the REG files and changed banks and changed phone numbers and changed and forgot telephone numbers and email addresses. I can't even remember which home address might be on file. Cloud computing can't solve everything. Thank god I still remember my own name.
