reFuse Software has just launched a FREE Halloween-themed plugin called Spooky Meter. It’s a simple peak level meter with a ‘scary pumpkin’ design, and it’s limited edition too.
You can only download this up till November 2 (The Day of the Dead, a holiday celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November), so we’d advise you to get this sweet freebie before the undead come back to haunt you!
The plugin comes in the 64-bit VST3/AAX/AU formats, so it’s compatible with both Windows and macOS. However, there is no 32-bit variant.
So how does this pumpkin peak meter work?
Spooky Meter has three levels of lighting based on the input:
- At -24 dB, the green mouth lights up;
- At -12 dB, the yellow nose lights up;
- And at 0 dB, the red eyes light up fully.
This happens progressively, so the intensity of the lighting is dependent on the dynamics of your audio signal. We tried it on a clean guitar signal, and it responded well to the picking attack.
The red eyes also function as a peak hold indicator, as they’ll stay lit up if you’re clipping. You’ll need to click inside the plugin to reset it.
The GUI is freely resizable, so you can put it up anywhere on your screen. Just tuck it into the corner of your DAW and watch the aesthetic lighting!
Here’s a quick demo video of the plugin:
The developer describes it as being “Perfect for horror genre recording sessions and scoring Carpenter films”. So if that fits your taste, this plugin could probably provide some much-needed inspiration.
reFuse Software is not new to the plugin world though. Their Bucketverb (a bucket-brigade reverb) and Lowender (a subharmonic synthesizer) plugins are well-developed, very affordable, and offer some interesting tones. Definitely worth checking out!
Now I’ll be honest here – this plugin doesn’t serve any musical purpose. The peak level meter doesn’t provide any accurate metering – it’s a mere fancy graphic.
But if you’re in the Halloween mood, this is the perfect complement to Spooktober! Just dim the lights, add some pumpkin spice in the air, light some candles, load up the Spooky Meter in your DAW, and get to creating some haunting music!
Download: Spooky Meter (64-bit VST3/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & macOS)
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6 Comments
Bob
onYum Audio LoFi Flux Light is free for a limited time:
https://www.yum-audio.com/LoFi-FluxLight
Tomislav Zlatic
onThanks for the info, Bob! Here’s a BPB article about it: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2021/10/21/lofi-flux-light/
Aris
onFree for a limited time i believe.
h ttps://www.yum-audio.com/LoFi-FluxLight
Lucent
onThanks, was actually looking for a plugin that does the tape warble thing!
Mike B
onGot it. Thanks!
Tomislav Zlatic
onThanks, Aris! Here’s the article on BPB: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2021/10/21/lofi-flux-light/