For a long time, Green Oak Software’s Crystal was regarded as one of the best free VST synth plugins around, and became a go-to for many budding producers in the noughties.
After releasing it - more than 20 years ago now - its developer, Glenn Olander, went on to work with Spectrasonics on its acclaimed Stylus RMX, Omnisphere, Trilian, and Keyscape instruments, but now the Green Oak brand has been revived and we have two new free effect plugins to play with.
The plugins go by the names of Tungsten and Cesium, and promise textured delay and lush chorus processing respectively. Each one has a slightly steampunky GUI and runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU formats.
Green Oak describes Tungsten as “a sound design tool to add ambience with texture and colour”. You can use it to create “heavenly echoes, dense reflections, or mysterious drones.”
Cesium, meanwhile, promises characterful chorus, and covers everything from “luscious stereoizing to exotic flanging to bizarre spatial effects.” If you want to add motion and depth to your sound, it could help you out.
Given Crystal and Green Oak’s reputation, we’ve got high hopes for Tungsten and Cesium. You can download them for free now from the Green Oak Software website.
