Outobugi has just introduced Toner, a free shaping equalizer plugin designed exclusively for Windows users.
For those unfamiliar with Outobugi, this Finnish developer has steadily built a reputation with a series of high-quality, free plugins. Although currently limited to Windows, there’s potential for macOS versions in the future.
For a few year now Outobugi has been doing great work in the world of music production.
This year also saw the release of Refire, a popular drum effect plugin that further showcased the developer’s growing talent. If you missed it, Refire is well worth revisiting.
Now, Outobugi has returned with Toner, a powerful, four-band tone-shaping EQ plugin for Windows.
Toner is equipped with saturation and de-emphasis controls, allowing for comprehensive tone shaping. Each of the four bands features two modes (Left to Right/Mid to Side), along with Frequency, Gain, and Balance knobs. The low and high bands function as shelving filters, while the mid bands serve as bell filters.
The plugin also includes a Saturation knob, which adds warmth by introducing odd harmonics. On the right side of the interface, you’ll find De-EQ (de-emphasis) and Delta controls. De-EQ inverts the EQ settings, while Delta removes the dry signal from the wet, offering precise control over the final output.
Other features include an Output knob, which controls the gain after the Delta processing but before the Mix, and a Mix knob to blend the dry and wet signals.
Toner maintains Outobugi’s sleek and minimal interface design, offering a few color schemes to match your preferences.
While independent developers often face challenges, including occasional bugs, Outobugi’s work continues to impress, with some plugins already amassing tens of thousands of downloads. The appealing design of their interfaces is an added bonus.
Toner is available as a 64-bit VST3 plugin for Windows.