5 Handy FREE Plugins for Mixing Guitars

Over the last little while we have been looking at some of the great free tools that are available for shaping the tone and dynamics of our guitar tracks. Each of these options prove that just because something is free doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t valuable. In this article we review some of these handy little plugins and discuss how they might be useful options for dealing with our guitar tracks in the mix.

BasiQ EQ

For the most part, when it comes to getting a good guitar tone through an amplifier we are actually quite limited in the tone adjustments we can make. Many guitar amps only have two or three tone settings, while others are limited to just a single tone knob. Conversely, with all the tools available, sometimes when it comes to mixing it is very easy to overthink EQ. The BasiQ EQ from Kuassa is a simple 3-Band Baxandall style equaliser which is more reminiscent of how most guitar players are often used to thinking about EQ. While this would not be the most fitting choice for more precise or ‘surgical’ EQ needs, it does sound quite neutral and is useful for making broader adjustments that can tend to sound more natural on guitars. 

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​BitterSweet v3

Often when we think about guitar tone, we tend to think in terms for how a performance sounds sonically as opposed to how it feels dynamically. Bittersweet v3 by Flux is a handy tool designed to work with the transients (or initial attack) of a sound source. In other words, this plugin can either accentuate or soften the percussiveness of a performance. While a transient designer like this is popularly used on instruments like drums and percussion, it can provide some really interesting options for adjusting the dynamics of a guitar track after it’s been recorded. This plugin can essentially adjust how aggressive the pick attack sounds on a particular performance. For something that sounds relatively complicated, it’s actually very simple to use.

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Pancake 2

Isn’t panning guitars just a simple choice of left or right? Not necessarily. Resembling more of a simple drawing tool, PanCake 2 from Cableguys represents one of the more interesting plugin interfaces you might see. This plugin basically lets you drawn in panning automation to loop your audio through. It can be used for anything from smooth and subtle panning movements, to extreme jumps across the stereo spectrum. This plugin certainly offers some unique options for experimentation and using it in conjunction with additional effects (such as modulation and delay) can definitely create some very interesting results.

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CamelCrusher

Sometimes adding a touch of grit and colour to a clean guitar tone is the perfect remedy for an overly thin sounding guitar track. CamelCrusher from Camel Audio is a colouring, multi-effect plugin that can be used to create a wide variety of tones and textures. This effect features a number of options for distortion, compression and filtering as well as the ability to blend any processing adjustments made in parallel with the original track. This plugin is quite capable of both softer overdriven tones as well as nasty, all-out distortion. Additionally, it is also very well suited for creating those big, dirty drum loops.

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Bark of Dog

Looking for a big bottom end? That’s right, I’m talking about that bass guitar! There is arguably no faster way to kill your mixes than to be boosting a whole lot of low end frequencies that you don’t really need. Bark of Dog from Boz Digital Labs is essentially a bass resonance filter that allows you to accentuate the pleasing parts of a bass tone without making everything else sound muddy. While this plugin may or may not share some striking similarities to another popular plugin of a similar name, it is a handy alternative for producing some very desirable results on various things like bass instruments, kick drums and even voice overs. When used tastefully, this plugin is a simple but powerful tool for adding some low end excitement to your mix.

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​While this selection of free plugins is by no means a comprehensive list of all the free mixing tools available, it does represent some extremely handy options for dealing with our guitar tracks in various mix situations. In my experience the old adage, ‘You get what you pay for’ certainly holds true in many circumstances but it must be said that these little freebies show there are always some exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, (if you’re lucky) you might just get considerably more than what you’ve paid for.