Florian Mrugalla releases NEL, a freeware vibrato plugin for Windows and macOS.
I admittedly know very little about vibrato as an effect. Yes, it’s based on a simple concept of volume pitch (haha!) modulation, but it was never among my favorite pedals or features on an amp or pedal.
Moreover, I am terrible at playing the organ.
That said, NEL by Florian Mrugalla looks like a thoroughly modern take on the concept.
NEL was designed with the express intent of reducing artifacts and producing a clean and versatile vibrato. To this end, it utilizes feed-forward delays that modulate the signal’s pitch and time. You’ve got six modulators to choose from, and you can mix any two to get your desired vibrato.
The interface itself is a modern affair, calling to mind something like Collage by Kalide, with a very simplistic design that is quick to read.
You’ve got a randomized parameter for trying different sorts of effects out, which can yield some seriously cool results on the right material.
NEL’s modulators include a Perlin noise generator, an envelope follower, an audio rate MIDI input, an LFO, a pitch bend, and a macro.
In addition to the two base modulators active at any given time, four macros can be dragged and dropped to any modulation source for further control over the signal itself.
I found this sounded fantastic on a series of pads. It benefits synthetic strings and house organs quite well and gives a little depth and intrigue I otherwise wouldn’t have done on my own.
I’m not one of the diehards that runs everything through Plugin Doctor, but I didn’t really discern much in the way of noise or bit reduction.
The plugin’s author has done a fair job in creating a modern vibrato plugin. I greatly appreciate the interface, and I’m a huge fan of any plugin with a randomization feature.
While the randomization sometimes does result in unlistenable chaos, it serves as a great point of inspiration where you can sculpt things into a more reasonable state.
NEL is available for Windows and Mac computers. You’ll need a 64-bit host capable of using VST3 or AU plugins to use it.
Download: NEL (FREE)
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20 Comments
JJ
on“I admittedly know very little about vibrato as an effect. Yes, it’s based on a simple concept of volume modulation”
:D
MRG
onMmm, yeah, that’s about it mate… But this one, the amount of knobs. Modern take? Psychotic take, perhaps. Wow.
Florian Mrugalla
onThe plugin started out being really simple in the beginning, but I ended up wanting it to be useful for all kinds of vibrato situations. I actually have had many more ideas for potential features and actively held myself back from adding them, so you can see this as the bare minimum ;)
VibratoEnjoyer5000
on> “I admittedly know very little about apples as a fruit. Yes, they’re basically yellow, curved, and come in bunches…”
It happens to the best of us :D
MRG
onCan we has banana for scale?
mrstew
onBTW Tremolo is based on volume modulation / Vibrato is based on pitch modulation (kind of a slow chorus)
MRG
onAkin to AM (amplitude modulation) and FM (frequency modulation), respectively.
please
onvibrato IS pitch modulation, and tremolo IS volume modulation.
chorus is when you split a signal in two or more copies, then pitch modulate the copy/copies and then mix the untouched original together with the vibrated copy/copies.
Arseniy
onYes, this one is correct
Drugged Bunny
onOK, others got there first… vibrato is pitch, tremolo is volume… not helped by Fender using ‘tremolo’ to describe vibrato on the Jaguar/Jazzmaster’s (uh) ‘whammy bar’ decades ago!
MRG
onOh wow. Do not google “guitar tremolo system”, the horror! NSFW, well NSFA as in Anything, Anyone, or Anywhere. Even the Wikipedia page “Vibrato systems for guitar” mentions this as a common mistake.
Tsk, tsk… Guitar people. They’re built diff’rent.
Easy
onI’ve never tried out his plugins which are all free but I watch all the time his youtube channel Beats Basteln :3
Gustavo Koshikumo
onI couldn´t install it. Can´t fing any .vst3 file in the link . What am I missing?
Florian Mrugalla
onit’s in the release section on the right. sry about that. i don’t have a proper website yet.
MRG
onSome people aren’t used to GitHub’s ways.
A common fix I’ve seen used numerous times is to add a “/releases” link to the readme.md file, so it looks more like a ‘normal’ website. Clever trick to avoid questions. ^_^;
MRG
onAlso, the Windows zip has two .vst3 files, one dated 31 May and the other 25 September, some DAWs will not like that or will load the older build… Oopsie!
Jambo
onThe article says it can be used with a Mac, but it seems to be Windows only 😞 Am I mistaken?
MRG
onYou’re wrong. But it’s not your fault, the main page is wrong. Just use the Releases link on the right column, you’ll find a MacOS build.
Michal Ochedowski
onIf anyone is interested, a Liquid Death Snare plugin from Purafied is currently free.
purafied.com/products/liquid-death-snare
Ragnar
onThat guy let’s you follow his train of thoughts and programming via Youtube, one of the best sources if you want to start programming plugins yourself. The GUI is obviously a special taste, the sound should speak here.