The most recent Airwindows plugin is Smooth, which might be the slickest compressor in existence. Operating on different principles from any normal compressor, Smooth taps into the essence of LA2A and delivers a unique sound, that works great with vocals or mixes, warms up drums, and turns guitars into grease-guns: you've got to hear the guitar demo to hear what this thing can do. Obliterates the texture of practically anything and replaces it with melted butter- or, you can use the subtlest doses imaginable, it dials right back to dry signal.
The next most recent Airwindows plugin is Sable, which is the best sort of paintbrush. Sable is Airwindows' first really serious channel EQ. Rather than doing peculiar tricks, it's dedicated to just throwing on a great-sounding boost or two, and then if you like, trapping in the extreme lows and highs to clear up the overall mix. Sable has two amazing sweepable boosts achieved through convolution technology (NOT normal correct boring digital EQ) and even more unusual high/low cutoffs. Terrific color EQ for making anything sound bigger and livelier.
The next most recent Airwindows plugin is DeRez. This one is unique- it's an 'analog bitcrusher'. How can that be? Simple- instead of having discrete steps for how many bits or what sampling rate you get, there's a slider for each and they're continuously variable. So, unlike typical bitcrushers, you can do automation sweeps on them instead of just switching in and out. Killer sound- bitcrusher on acid. Enjoy :)
All of the following plugins are free. They are for you to use as much as you want, on personal or commercial projects, forever. It's also important to mention that these are the demos for the pay plugins- they're built on the same code base, so if they work on your host then so will the pay ones. In many cases the freebies are every bit as good as the commercial ones! They are my way of making sure that I'm not forgetting to be generous and support the struggling artist. If I do that, then I can deserve to be supported in turn through people buying other stuff.
AcousticBass, convolution modeling of acoustic bass
Airwindows Impulses, which is not a plugin but is a set of reverb impulses for convolution reverbs
Amps is all six Airwindows amp plugins for free. Buy Cabs or use them with a speaker convolution impulse- these are pre-speaker.
CabSVT, the ultimate bass guitar plugin
Channel, the classic mix buss and individual channel analogifying plug. Back to the original formula by popular demand!
ChannelEQ, a basic four-band fixed-frequency EQ which passes bit-identical output when set flat
Chorus, a taste of the Airwindows modulation effects for free
Crystal, the colorless but still fully functional version of the Character plugs, free!
Density, a very warm overdrive. Warning, extremely high gain at high settings!
Drive, a gutsier, edgier overdrive.
Flanger, more Airwindows modulation magic for a really sweet, airy flange
Flutter, which includes a stereo version, sounds fantastic, but doesn't have working delay compensation, so it's free too.
FreeverbCJ, the ultimate Freeverb hack- adjust room size AND RT60 independently, not just RT60 labeled 'room size'
Gate, formerly for sale here, in a simplified but still amazing-sounding version
Nikola, an attempt to do the sound of an audio Tesla Coil. NASTY!
Pressure, an early vari-mu compressor design
RMSBuddyCJ, graphical RMS readout for easy reference on hot modern mastering levels
SampleDelay, the only sample delay with negative delay, allowing you to nudge things slightly ahead of the beat, as well as behind.
Silhouette is a specialized plugin that takes a track and replaces it entirely with noise shaped to the exact dynamic profile of the track- use it to tell if you have a beat or just an over-compressed mess ;)
Slew, just the slew section of what's now in Channel.
SpacedOut is just the 'aliased Myspace monitoring' section of SpaceOdyssey, might also be good for low-fi old school sampler sounds in conjunction with Slew.
Stereo Chorus, the stereo version of Chorus. Modulates both channels! Feed with mono or dual mono.
Vibrato, which can be set with vibratos so fast it becomes ring modulation, and can do two frequencies at once- try doing chimelike sounds or similar effects.
Wah is the definitive Airwindows style plugin. It's a wah pedal. Really- try it. Unlike anything else in software- it sounds, feels and reacts like an analog wah pedal.
All those are free and I want you to have them, whether or not you're able to get the commercial plugins too. Enjoy!
Once you have bought a plugin, please back it up safely. Copy it to any computer you need to mix on- please clean up after yourself when you go, your respect and good will is my copy protection.
Airwindows plugins will never shut themselves off, demand a dongle, phone home, switch into demo modes or in any way screw with you. This is intentional, and an act of principle against the reg-code-laden, dongle-happy, audio engineer unfriendly state of many plugin vendors. Please do your part- if you know anyone distributing these plugins, ask them to quit it, and if someone's using them who hasn't bought them, bug them to come here and do the right thing. The cost of these plugs is very low specifically to encourage doing the honest thing.
I will take care of you no matter what, whether it is in Kagi's existing 30 day refund policy or outside of it. Whatever it takes, I will make it right. Do understand that doing refunds actually costs me money, so don't do them needlessly- I should not have to pay you to use my work for free. I'd like to think I can earn the right to be treated better than that, by treating people right myself.
I'm available by phone to help with any problems you might have- all I ask is that phone support be for an Airwindows plugin you've bought, or are seriously meaning to buy. There's nothing more important than helping one of my users and I feel that this inevitably helps me in return because the person might talk positively about Airwindows in future.
However, you don't have to make a phone call- you can also send email which will get nearly as quick a response. I'll do whatever I can to answer your questions or set you up with suitable plugins.
Some of the most general questions I can answer right here- I don't have a PC and don't know how to make VST plugins- I'll happily help out any other plugin maker but don't have the facilities to go beyond Mac AU myself. And- if you're asking what plugins you should have and you haven't already got strong opinions on what seems useful to the way you mix, then you should download all the freebies I make and use those, and NOT buy anything yet. Wait until you have more clear ideas of what you want to make happen in the plugin world, and see if I make something that does that. Please don't ask me what plugin you should get- I want you to have specific goals in mind, and then I'll help you achieve them, if I can.
Thank you! -Chris
