As this week's Free Plug-in, we are featuring Baby Audio Pitch Drift. This brand new plugin introduces pitch variation to audio, anywhere from subtle tape wow to wide vibrato. And it’s new, and free!
What Is Pitch Shift?
Pitch Drift introduces pitch fluctuations to make your tracks feel more organic and natural. The effect ranges from subtle instabilities that make your instruments sound less sterile – to intense pitch drifting that will make your tracks clearly out of tune.
Pitch Drift lets you control the depth and speed of the fluctuations in a simple interface (hover over the screen to control the speed). It is powered by the "Drift" algorithm in Baby Audio’s Super VHS plugin and offers the same fluctuation effect.
Inspired By Real Instruments
One of the appeals of acoustic instruments is that they are never 100% in tune 100% of the time. These subtle pitch instabilities compound when you bring multiple instruments together in a mix – making the music sound richer and more dynamic.
However, in the computer era this effect is frequently lost. Pitch Drift makes it fast and easy to introduce some pitch variation. In general it usually works best at subtle levels on sustained tonal instruments or entire mix busses. As a rule of thumb, the less sustained your source, the faster the speed parameter should be set.
How Do I Get This Plug-in?
Use the button below to go to the Baby Audio website, and download the appropriate installer. That’s It!
Baby Audio Pitch Drift is available for Windows or Mac as a VST, AU or AAX plugin.
Julian Rodgers is Editor of Production Expert. He has a background in live sound and has been a Pro Tools user since 2001. He lives by the sea in West Cornwall where he plays piano, bass and guitar equally badly and is an avid collector of microphones and opinions about all things audio.