What a VST plugin actually is
A plugin is a small program your DAW loads onto a track. VST3 is the format almost every DAW reads on Mac and Windows. AU (Audio Unit) is Apple's format, and it's the one Logic Pro and GarageBand use. A vocal plugin takes your voice in, changes it (tune, EQ, compression, saturation, delay, reverb) and sends it back out, with knobs for the parts you want to control.
The traditional way to build one is a C++ framework, months of signal-processing work, then an installer, code signing and a separate build for each system. That's why most people never make their own.
Make one in five steps
- Describe the soundOne sentence about what it should do to a vocal: "warm tape saturation with a tempo-synced 1/8 delay, dark and a little gritty." Name the character, not the brand of gear.
- Play it on your own vocalIt plays in your browser before anything else. Use your own acapella so you hear what it does to your voice, not a demo.
- Change what's offAsk for different controls, a new look or a sound tweak in plain words. Renaming, colours, lettering, knob style and presets are free.
- Put it in your DAWInstall the free Sidechain Player (VST3 and AU, Mac and Windows), sign it in, and every plugin you make shows up inside it.
- Keep itIt's yours. Once it's in your library it works offline, and every knob is tested so it loads clean: at zero it's your dry vocal.
How to write the sentence
- Say what it does first, then how it feels: "hard tune, bright, a little crunchy" beats "make it sound good."
- Give a key if there's pitch correction in it ("in F# minor"). Correction in the wrong key sounds out of tune.
- Give delay and reverb as note values: 1/4, 1/8, dotted 1/8, 1/8 triplet. They follow your session's tempo.
- Say which knobs you want on the front: "a Grit knob and a Space knob" gives you exactly those two.
- Describe a sound you've heard, not a product name. "Phone-filtered ad-libs" works. Another company's plugin name doesn't.
What it costs
| What | Credits |
|---|---|
| A new plugin | 10 credits (your first one on Free is free) |
| Change the controls | 5 credits |
| A new look | 3 credits, with 1 free re-roll on plugins made with credits |
| A sound tweak | 1 credit after the first 5 on each plugin |
| Rename, colours, presets | Free |
The Free plan plays your plugin in the browser. To open it in your DAW you need a pack (from 10 credits for $9) or a plan. Plugins made with a pack stay in your DAW for good.