Florian Mrugalla has launched Absorbiere, a free sidechain ring modulation plugin out there in VST3 format for Home windows and macOS.
Absorbiere takes an clever method to fixing probably the most persistent issues in mixing: uncontrolled peak ranges that consequence from stacking a number of tracks.
Quite than utilizing conventional compression or quantity ducking, Absorbiere makes use of sidechain-based ring modulation to tame transients and peaks.
It’s an uncommon method, however it’s additionally essentially the most clear one, typically with no audible change to the sound. It jogs my memory of the lately launched MASSIMIZER plugin, which we coated just a few weeks in the past.
Right here’s the way it works.
You load Absorbiere on a observe and set a sidechain enter, sometimes one thing like a snare or kick that’s spiking your grasp ranges. Through the use of the Seize button, the plugin robotically analyzes the sidechain enter and adjusts achieve staging for optimum headroom.
Within the developer’s demo under, you’ll be able to see and listen to how this course of helped tame a snare that was pushing the grasp into clipping, with out altering its character in any respect.
It’s fairly spectacular, particularly in the event you’re chasing that further loudness in your combine with out sacrificing sound high quality.
What makes Absorbiere stand out is its intelligent use of observe identifiers. Should you assign the identical identifier (e.g., “drums”) throughout a number of situations, any parameter adjustments or sidechain recaptures made in a single occasion robotically apply to all others.
This implies you’ll be able to tweak your drum bus processing and have Absorbiere re-calibrate all linked tracks immediately, with out the effort of redoing each sidechain setup manually. It’s a game-changer for rushing up your mixing workflow.
There’s one other neat trick for further transparency. If the impact feels too invasive, you’ll be able to merely dial again the Combine knob to scale back the modulation depth. This allows you to hold the sonic advantages of peak management whereas sustaining transparency in your combine.
Absorbiere’s interface is colourful and barely chaotic at first look, however it all clicks collectively fairly quick when you get going. I liked the customized pixel-art mouse pointer, which provides a little bit of retro attraction to the general design, and I’m at all times a sucker for such particulars.
Absorbiere is totally free and open-source, and you’ll seize it straight from Mrugalla’s GitHub web page. No sign-ups or installers are required.
It’s out there in VST3 format for Home windows and macOS, making it accessible to most fashionable DAWs.
Obtain: Absorbiere
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Final Up to date on August 23, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
