Tubeshifter is a free analogue-style tube saturation plugin for macOS and Windows from the developer Frostwave Audio.
Frostwave Audio is a Nordic developer founded by Reidar Schæfer Olsen, who later partnered with sound designer Niklas Eurén.
Reidar Schæfer Olsen is perhaps better known as Danheim, an acclaimed Nordic folk artist whose penchant for epic Viking music helped him amass over 500,000 YouTube subscribers.
Frostwave Audio’s goal is to create unique sample libraries, Kontakt instruments, and plugins that embody the spirit of the North.
The Nordic sound favoured by the developer combines Norse tradition and mythology, modern innovation, and the raw elements of nature.
You can hear these influences in libraries like Arctic Wind and Nordic Folk Vocals or Kontakt instruments like the Reindeer Antler Whistle.
With all of that in mind, the plugin we are looking at today is something of a stylistic departure from the norm for Frostwave Audio, at least on the surface.
Tubeshifter sports a bright orange GUI complete with a playful logo, a far cry from the typically darker image of plugins like FrostEQ and Asgard Sampler 2.
Despite the playful image, Tubeshifter is a serious plugin that delivers some of that classic analogue magic. Like our BPB Saturator, Tubeshifter adds warmth and character, bringing dull sounds to life.
Inspired by analogue tubes, Tubeshifter emulates the warm and harmonically rich character of vintage hardware, a much-desired sound in modern music.
The plugin has just three controls: Colour, Drive, and Mix.
The Colour knob controls a tilt EQ that adjusts the tonal balance of the audio. All the way left is dark and subdued; all the way right is extremely bright.
The Drive knob adjusts the amount of overdrive applied to the audio. Tubeshifter goes from a warm sheen to fuzzy to distortion with some grit and bite, depending on your Mix setting.
Tubeshifter is a nice freebie, and I hope to see more from Frostwave Audio.
The duo that makes up this development team clearly likes to push musical boundaries (and some physical boundaries as they venture further North to bring back unique sounds – there are certainly no half-measures).
Tubeshifter is available in 64-bit AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
Download: Tubeshifter (FREE)
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