In case anyone is not aware, Melda Production has an excellent set of FREE plugins and has recently added a couple more to the free bundle: MConvolutionEZ is a great sounding convolution reverb and MRatioMB is the MRatio plugin with the Melda multiband functionality. (Check out the tutorials below.) I could go on, but you really must try the plugins and be willing to invest some time in the learning curve to really get the most out of them. (I’m still learning them big-time!)
Also, Melda runs a continuous “Eternal Madness Discount” where they put 4 of the plugins on at 1/2 each week. So if you have your eye on one and are patient, you can get a 50% discount when it comes up on the deal.
Finally, PluginBoutique and AudioDeluxe both carry Meld plugins at a discounted price and also have the Eternal Madness specials. However, if you are NEW to Melda and want to buy something, you can get an additional 20% off whatever you are buying on the Melda site by using a referral code. (Mine is " MELDA2490257 " - Disclaimer: I get a 10% credit.) – OR – if you’ve got a friend that owns a Melda plugin, use his/hers and give them the credit.
Regardless, just try out the FREE bundle and be patient and take some time to learn the UI, it’s worth it!
Mike, yer killin me here with these free plugin posts…! Really testing my resolve not to add another plugin until I finish another song project… Must… resist…
It’s been tempting in the past, but it’s like 35 plugins, and like Dave says … sometimes you just say to yourself “no more plugins for awhile”. So even though the free bundle doesn’t cost anything, you can upgrade for more features for like $57? Are the plugins really quite functional without the upgrade? Any noticeable downsides where you’d say “dammit, I guess I gotta upgrade these free plugins to really enjoy them”?
Oh, and since I do have a few of their plugins, I know the installer gives you the catalog and you check-box what you want to install. Is it possible to only install some of the free plugins and not all of them?
Yep, you can pick which ones you want to install. Regarding the FREE upgrade, it goes for half off during Black Friday and Xmas. They are definitely usable without the upgrade, but upgrading does give you some nice additional features like resizing and presets. Details here: https://www.meldaproduction.com/MFreeFXBundle
There are some really good plugins in the FREE bundle. One that comes to mind is MEQ. It has features like saturation, harmonics and the “AutoListen” where you can solo an EQ band. Another is MLoudnessAnalyzer - it has a batch function where you can enter a Target Loudness and it’ll tell you how many dB ± to adjust your mix to get there. The features just go on and on. Really impressive.
One last thing, Melda feature I never see talked about is the “kernel technology”. This one is big for me since I’m still on a crappy old i3 Dell laptop most of the time. These plugins are very friendly on the CPU - almost as good as Boz’s.
You can manipulate (save, load, organise) your own presets.
That suggests to me that they do have some pre-loaded presets? It’s just that you can’t save your own custom presets? Or do they not come with any presets whatsoever until you upgrade?
Honestly, I don’t remember. But after MAutoVolume, the free bundle upgrade was the next thing I purchased. I got it for $25 during a 1/2 off Black Friday sale.
I noticed that MAutoAlign on sale (for a few more hours). It looks like it could be really useful. Do you have any experience with that? It looks like it can link instances - like multiple drum tracks - and correct the phase on all them at the same time. You have to do some setup to make that happen, but I don’t think I have seen another plugin that does quite what this one does.
Yup, it’s a good one too. MAutoAlign is another of my regularly used Melda plugins. You put an instance on each track, i.e. kick and snare, tell it to analyze, then it time offsets and/or flips the phase on one of them to “align” the tracks. Then you can toggle the “Bypass All” button back and forth to see if you like it better or not. I used to go through and check the phase on each of the drums, but this plugin has made me lazy.
So even though the free bundle doesn’t cost anything, you can upgrade for more features for like $57? Are the plugins really quite functional without the upgrade? Any noticeable downsides where you’d say “dammit, I guess I gotta upgrade these free plugins to really enjoy them”?
MAutoAlign is another of my regularly used Melda plugins. You put an instance on each track, i.e. kick and snare, tell it to analyze, then it time offsets and/or flips the phase on one of them to “align” the tracks. Then you can toggle the “Bypass All” button back and forth to see if you like it better or not. I used to go through and check the phase on each of the drums, but this plugin has made me lazy. 