Free SoundToys Little Radiator Plug-in

Posted on March 17th, 2012. Written by Chris Conover

[UPDATE: FREE OFFER EXPIRED]

SoundToys is back at SXSW this year where they announced and released their new plug-in Little Radiator. It emulates the Altec 1566A tube microphone preamp which is known for its warm sound and pleasing harmonic distortion.

The unmistakable green-faced Altec gear, and in particular the 1566A and 1567A, played a big part in shaping the early “sound” of Motown between 1961 to 1964. Songs by greats like The Four Tops, The Marvelettes and The Supremes went through a 1567A mixer to the massive three track recorder. Ahhh, when life was simple. These mic preamps and mixers have a very colored warm sound and are very loud. The EQ is as simple as it gets, with one knob for bass, and another for treble. After Motown, and after much gear came and went, analog diehards began seeking out the 1566A and 1567A as inexpensive sources for real tube sound. Producer Matt Wallace was a very big fan. Butch Vig and Billy Bush are also fans. Check out our Gear Closet on the 1567A for even more info.

The controls are dead simple: The pad attenuates, “Heat” controls the amount of gain (more leads to pleasing harmonic distortion), and mix allows you to choose how much of the processed sound is used. Little Radiator seems like it’s a great way to avoid the sterile sounds often associated with digital recording.

Click here to download your FREE copy of Little Radiator.

Check out my video to hear the Little Radiator on a mono drum overhead mic:

Quiztones Frequency Ear Training for Audio Professionals

Chris Conover

I'm one half of remix production duo EarthMoonEarth, do sound design for Google, and have a lot of talented friends who trust me to mix their tracks. Follow me @chris_conover

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  • Jon

    Haha yeah it’s “free,” if you’ve already got a $50 ilok thingamajig.

    • http://www.chrisrobertconover.com Chris Conover

      If you don’t have an iLok and aren’t willing to buy one, you probably aren’t in SoundToy’s target demographic — potential customers.

      I found an iLok for $17.99 on ebay. You can thank me later.

    • Jon

      Well since it isn’t free, you might want to take the word “free” out of your article title.

    • Jon

      You can thank me later ;)

    • http://DanComerchero.com Dan Comerchero

      Jon -

      We’re not taking the word ‘free’ out of the title because in reality – even though it may not be ideal – iLoks are an industry standard in the Pro Tools plug-in realm.

      Your argument is like saying a free Blue-ray disc isn’t actually free because it requires a Blue-ray player to play it on your TV. It’s just simply a hardware requirement. Maybe not the best analogy but you get my drift.

      The language used in our write-up is no different than the official SoundToys page (https://www.soundtoys.com/sxsw2012/).

      What is your DAW of choice? Do you purchase plugins? Not judging, but curious.

      -Dan

    • Jon

      Hi Dan, thanks for the sarcasm-free response. It’s much appreciated :) Well I mainly use Cubase and Reaper, so I guess I’m a bit out of the Pro Tools loop. I try my best not to buy plug-ins, seeing as how there are a lot of good-quality free VSTs on the web. My search for those is actually what led me to this article. I’m sorry if I came across as trying to start an argument or anything. My apologies.

    • http://www.chrisrobertconover.com Chris Conover

      Hey Jon, have you checked out Bittersweet by Flux? It’s a cool transient designer plug-in that doesn’t require iLok. Flux is an incredible company with some great plug-ins. Check it out at http://www.fluxhome.com/products/freewares/bittersweet2

  • http://www.proaudiogearreviews.com Blair

    Looks like a cool plugin. I clicked your link and it just took me to the soundtoys home page. Did the free download expire?
    Thanks.

    • http://DanComerchero.com Dan Comerchero

      Blair -

      Looks like the link must’ve just expired! Sorry about that.

      Stay in touch.

      - Dan

  • dennis

    Its not free anymore so take it down. I just wasted my time signing up for the sound toys site. Their plug-ins are more expensive than hardware.

  • http://dancomerchero.com Dan Comerchero

    There is no reason to take it down. It says “Offer Expired” at the top of our post, and SoundToys makes fantastic plugins so we will continue to support them.

    -Dan

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