Usually priced at $69, Joey Sturgis Tones is now giving away their free JST Extra Spice plugin.
Extra spice comes in VST3, AU, and AAX formats and works with macOS and Windows.
Most BPB readers probably have a thick folder of saturation plugins at this point, but one can never have too many, right? Distortion is an important mixing tool, and different flavors work for different tasks.
JST Extra Spice has analog-modeled saturation that is frequency-specific, meaning you can target a frequency range with surgical precision while leaving the rest of the spectrum untouched.
Perhaps you want to help the bass region translate better by introducing some additional harmonics, or maybe you need to warm up a harsh midrange without cluttering up the lower mids.
The big knob labeled “Heat” is the overall saturation effect that adds harmonics and movement. “Spice” lets you target anything between lows and highs to create “deep bass grit” or “biting treble”.
The layout of the plugin is pretty straightforward. Check it out here:
JST Extra Spice also boasts a tone control and a filter that can be routed either before or after the saturation, providing you with additional flexibility for anything between subtle mixing tasks or experimental sound design.
Sometimes you want to push certain parts of the sonic spectrum into the saturator to emphasize them even more and with texture and character, while other times you might want to use the tone control post-saturation to brighten or darken the overall sound.
JST Extra Spice also has an auto-calibration feature to help you stage the plugin input properly. Click the button below the input visualizer and let it run for a couple of seconds. This is a nice feature to ensure that you’re not driving it too hard. Unless you want to, of course.
As we’ve come to expect from new saturation plugins, JST Extra Spice has an auto-gain feature at the output as well. This makes it easier to judge if the processing you’re applying actually improves things without being fooled by the always-alluring volume increase in itself.
To top it off JST Extra Spice has a mix knob to blend processing and dry signal to your desired amount. The plugin has relatively low CPU usage and operates with zero latency.
All in all, the name Extra Spice seems apt. A selectable pre- and post-emphasis filter and EQ in combination with frequency-specific saturation, gain compensation, and a mix knob makes this a versatile tool for adding vibe, solving tricky problems, or unconventionally saturating things.
Downloading the plugin is easy. You’ll have to sign up for the Joey Sturgis Tones newsletter, and you will be provided a download link through an email within 15 minutes.
The file was relatively big at 56.3 MB. In contrast, we recently covered the Topos: Play plugin with its impressive functionality at only 2,2 MB! Be sure to check that one out too.
Download: JST Extra Spice (FREE – email required)
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