Sonic Academy is offering the Waves OneKnob Louder ($49 value) plugin as a free download for all of their registered and subscribed users (registration process is free) until June 23rd, 2020.
OneKnob Louder is a limiter/compressor plugin developed by Waves. It is part of the Waves OneKnob Series, a collection of eight plugins that are optimized for performing a single task by using a single control knob. OneKnob Louder boosts the volume of the processed audio by applying compression (with automatic makeup gain) and peak limiting to the signal. The plugin can increase the RMS by up to 24 dB on single tracks and mixes.
See also: Best FREE Limiter VST PluginsOf course, the OneKnob series is not the right choice if you’re looking for effects that you can fine-tune or if you need high-precision processing. That said, these plugins can be a tremendous workflow efficiency boost when you’re working on a mix, and you need to do something quickly – boost the loudness, add a bit of reverb, some quick delay, etc. OneKnob Louder is one of the better plugins in the collection, and it’s certainly worth checking out for free, as long as you don’t mind the bumpy Waves update plan.
The software is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for compatible digital audio workstations on Windows and macOS. Both 32-bit and 64-bit plugin hosts are supported.
Regularly priced at $49 (currently on sale via Waves for $39.99), Waves OneKnob Louder is a free download for all registered Sonic Academy users for one week only. To get your free copy of OneKnob Louder, first, you’ll need to sign up for a Sonic Academy user account or log in to your existing account. Once you’re logged in, locate the “1 Reward Available” button in the user area.
Locate the “1 Reward Available” button in your Sonic Academy account.
Clicking this button will take you to the rewards section of the account. You will see the free OneKnob Louder license and two additional Sonic Academy $2.50 store voucher codes that are unlocked after reaching Level 1. However, the free Waves plugin is available for all account levels (even Level 0).
Waves OneKnob Louder license is waiting in the rewards section.
Clicking the license button will show a pop-up screen where you’ll be asked to confirm your email subscription. This can be done only once, meaning that only one OneKnob Louder license is available for each account.
Confirm the subscription to claim your OneKnob Louder license.
Finally, after confirming your subscription and claiming your free license, the activation code will be shown in the rewards section of your user account. You will need to redeem this code in your Waves user account to download and activate the OneKnob Louder plugin for free. The offer expires on June 23rd, 2020.
On a related note, Waves is currently running a storewide sale, offering up to 51% OFF in combined discounts on select plugins and plugin bundles. Use the coupon code CREATIVE40 to apply a 40% OFF discount to your orders. Free plugins included when spending $50 or more. Find more info at Waves.
More info: Waves OneKnob Louder (free @ Sonic Academy until June 23rd)
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12 Comments
Pham Duong
onif anyone interested, Ozone Elements is free again on Plugin Boutique with the code FreeOzone
Tomislav Zlatic
onInteresting, I’ll look into it. Thanks for the info!
Alter Diego
on« as long as you don’t mind the bumpy Waves update plan. »
Exactly. Got H-Comp for free a and now Waves won’t let me activate it again unless I update for 20 dollars. Paid updates is one thing but forcing users to do those updates is uncool. Won’t complain it was a great freebie but won’t use their stuff anymore as a result. Shame :/
Bani
onHello friend! I agree with your frustration a 100%. I have to say though… if I were you, I would pirate it and be done. Here is my reasoning: if you have to re-activate it means you lost a previous activation. Let’s suppose you didn’t lose it, right? You’d still have it no problems. No questions asked. You’d have it for free… you’d have waves permision. It was a freebie. So… just pirate it. I think you are right here and this is just a problem in their system they don’t care to fix. Maybe the extra activations have a cumulative cost on their servers they don’t feel like paying. Whatever. I agree with you and this shouldn’t be necessary. But you were present when it was free, went to the trouble of getting it and actually got it. Pirate it. vstcrack.com. Its yourse anyways. My best to you!
Tomislav Zlatic
onPirating isn’t the way to go, no matter the justification. So, BPB’s official view on this topic is: don’t pirate software.
Gabriel Garcia
onI don’t understand what you are talking about. I’m still using all the freebies I got from Waves, I was never forced to pay, it’s entirely optional if you want to update, which I don’t think is worth it. H-Comp is great and I still use the V10 version I got for free.
The only “problem” I see with their licenses is that you need to remember to deactivate them on one computer before moving the license to another machine (or format your computer), just like online iLok licenses, otherwise you will lose them.
Brenny C
onThat’s a slippery slope and as a rule I don’t condone pirating.
You do make a point that, on one hand, I understand. I’ve lost access to 3/4 of my Waves plugins due to their stupid Coverage Plan…but the fact is, pirating a VST even if you technically own it violates Wave’s rules and EULA (not to mention the ethical issues). So personally I’d suggest that Alter Diego *doesn’t* download a cracked version.
Just my 2 cents.
Alter Diego
onThough I see Bani’s point I won’t hack it dw. Simply to release music with a clear conscience, and to avoid the hassle. I actually used to use hacked stuff (with which I have never released any track) and I cannot be happier to use loads of freebies / cheap stuff now – it all works and you can update all your stuff without worrying. BPB notably helped to go “legit”.
As for Waves though HComp is good there are loads of other good freebie “character” compressors listed on this very site (RoughRider!!). This Waves policy really is a dealbreaker though, shame as their stuff looks good.
Tomislav Zlatic
onGlad to help!
Bani
onI’m glad there was a bit of healthy discussion on the subject! There is definitely a nice crowd on this blog! I was inflexible with piracy untill I lost acces to stuff I had paid a *lot* for. I still put way more money than I should into this and don’t use anything that doesn’t belong to me. I guess its about legality and fairness. I draw the line at not hurting the company’s pocket. In this case piracy IS illegal but also… it IS fair. It still makes me unconfortable but I’d be more unconfortable with my money in the trash. Also, I guess that the illegality could be argued about when taking into consideration the actual spirit of the law, which is the continuous job of any judge, lawyer, customer and citizen. I’ll stop with the rant now. I just wanted to show you guys that I also don’t take it lightly and have an apreciation for your point of view.
Tomislav Zlatic
onYes, the community here on BPB is quite friendly, welcome! :) I don’t always respond to all comments, but oftentimes a reader would respond to another reader’s comment even better than I would. On the topic of piracy, everyone can have their point of view, but the bottom line is always that it’s not cool.
Darryl Lim
onSigh, I missed it. Your article says June 23rd, but when I signed up today to try to get it, I found out that the offer ended on June 22nd… :(