An exciter plugin is a type of effect plugin that adds harmonic distortion to a certain frequency band in order to increase the audio’s spectral content. High-frequency exciters, which add harmonics at frequencies greater than 3kHz, are the most prevalent exciter plugins. Exciters have been used to provide clarity to audio by generating high-frequency harmonics with calculated distortion. Similarly, exciters for adding low-frequency harmonics to make audio sound richer are available.
Some current exciters are designed to generate harmonics intelligently based on the target frequencies you choose for examination. So, if you use a high-frequency exciter on the voices and set the analyzer to focus on middle frequencies, the exciter will ignore sibilance. Instead, it will concentrate on improving the clarity of the vocals’ major body.
Engineers used hardware exciters like aphex vintage aural exciter to brighten up specific parts or entire mixes recorded to tape that had gotten dull owing to extensive overdubbing or age back in the analog days. The legendary Aphex Aural Exciter, maybe the most popular of them, was even included in the liner notes of numerous popular albums in the 1970s.
AudioThing Type B
Type B provides brightness and presence to your voice, bass, leads, and other instruments, drawing influence from the old Aphex Aural exciter hardware unit. We have a Tune parameter in this plugin, which is the frequency selector for the filter section directly below it. For the created harmonics, the Color knob functions as a slight low pass filter.
We preferred the sound of it on melodic instruments over drums and percussion instruments. On synths, a focus on the filter section can provide unique sounds. To produce even more dynamic sounds, you could try automating the Tune knob. The Direct toggle switch then aids in the addition of any missing low and mid frequencies while you’re having fun. We particularly appreciated the Noise Env toggle switch, which makes the noise appear only when there is audio input.
This plugin has the same sound as the Aphex hardware unit. So, if you like late-70s hits, this plugin will help you get the sound you want. This plugin’s user interface can be resized. If you prefer simplicity, you can hide the extra parts beneath the six fundamental characteristics. As a result, it caters to both traditional and experimental manufacturers.
The filter component can be placed before or after the saturation. Similarly, instead of utilizing a standard high-pass filter, you might try using a band-pass filter. Similarly, the Emphasis setting can easily add an interesting characteristic to your music. This plugin sounds identical to the Aphex Type B unit by default. However, with a few adjustments, you can make it sound pretty different as well. This sounds great on electric keyboards, large saw pads, and vocals. Driving the input higher creates an analog grit that could be the missing piece in your wavetable synth or guitar.
If you like analog-sounding plugins and want a little more versatility, this is the plugin for you. For added realism, there’s even a noise option where you can replicate the hum that the original gear produced. Check out the 12dB wet boost if you just want to hear extreme distortion. This is the best Exciter VST in 2022.
Softube Abbey Road Brilliance Pack
These iconic Abbey Road Studios equalizers will brighten up your life! The RS127 Rack, RS127 Box, and RS135 were meticulously designed by Softube to give the finest treble equalization possible. Today’s DAW-based mix engineers can add as much air and top frequencies as they like with the Brilliance Pack, exactly like Abbey Road Studios’ engineers did on their recordings from the 1960s forward.
The Brilliance Pack from Abbey Road Studios is a highly specialized but essential tool for mix engineers of all genres. The three provided equalizers are solely focused on the presence/treble frequencies, allowing solo tracks or entire mixes to breathe. The presence boxes were found to be good for guitars, vocals, and drums, particularly snare and kick drum direct to tape, by Abbey Road Studios engineers. The devices were used to define the sound of instruments, brighten the input to the echo chambers, and patch over compressors to create de-essers across the studios during recording and mixing. They made it into the cutting rooms as well.
In the 1960s, Abbey Road engineers created the first equalizers solely in-house, and they immediately became a studio secret weapon. They had never been available outside of Abbey Road Studios before the plug-in version was published. Component by component, Softube has precisely reconstructed the passive circuitry of the three original machines.
The grey RS127 Rack is the first treble equalizer from Abbey Road Studios. At 2.1, 3.5, and 10 kHz, it provides a boost or reduction of up to 10 dB. (or kilocycles per second as they used to be known). The portable green RS127 Box was developed when more units were required in the studio. The original RS127’s circuit was used, albeit with the addition of an audio transformer. The engineers rapidly determined that the transformer had a significant impact on the RS127’s sound quality and operating frequencies. The frequencies have been pushed somewhat higher, which is also true for the plug-in model. Finally, the RS135 was developed to bridge the frequency gap left by the RS127 units. It has an 8 kHz fixed frequency, boost only, and is as sweet and silky as its siblings. This is the best Exciter plugin in 2022.
Izotope Ozone Exciter
Izotope Ozone Exciter is undoubtedly the most popular VST exciter plug ins. This is primarily due to the circuit Triode and Dual Triode modes, as well as the modified Retro, Tape, Warm, and Tube modes. These modes may be applied to each particular frequency band, making it a great tool for adding variety and color to your music.
This plugin has a user-friendly interface. Each of the four frequency bands (low, mid-low, mid-high, and high) has two control knobs: an amount control knob and a mix control knob. Most of the time, users will apply excitation to the mid-high and high frequencies, while it is occasionally a good idea to raise the lower frequencies for a little more flavor.
The oversampling button on the Ozone exciter is used to dramatically improve the accuracy and sound quality of the analog modeling in the harmonic exciter. This capability can be used in real-time on powerful machines. Otherwise, utilize it when exporting the track. A bypass button is also included in the plugin. This is a handy tool since it allows the user to skip the effect on specific frequencies to determine which parts of the mix are being processed by each band.
