Pro Tools software has always come with a basic host of Digidesign plug-ins to get a project started.

People have varying opinions on how good these plug-ins were/are, but more recently Digi has been slipping in updated or completely new plug-ins that I have found to be incredibly useful, especially for tv and film post production. I wanted to mention them because even though they’re free, they aren’t necessarily installed on your system depending on what version of Pro Tools you’re using, etc. All of these plug-ins can be downloaded and installed on any combination of Mac, PC, TDM, or LE system. One that has never been a part of a Pro Tools system until now is the PhaseScope plug-in.

You’ll find it as part of the SignalTools download on Digi’s website. In addition to the scope we can now view different types of metering in more detail. I find the Peak+RMS setting to be similar to those of a hardware digital meter. Obviously, I’d prefer to use a hardware meter but this at least finally throws us a bone if we don’t have access to one, especially when working in LE. It also has an Leq meter for those that require it. Version III of the Digidesign plug-ins brought a significant sonic improvement as well as a much-needed facelift.

The EQIII is certainly the most colorful of the bunch, but more importantly to me, it’s an EQ that I know works and I can use no matter where I go. There are certainly plenty of EQ plug-ins out there that are more glamorous but this one is the one that will always be there for you. Another updated plug-in is the De-Esser Dyn 3.

I thought the old De-Esser sounded fine. This one sounds better and has a few more controls. It’s part of the Dynamics III package. The compressor in this package has, like the others, been improved sonically and given a facelift but there is another free compressor plug-in that I will use sometimes for the same reason as the EQIII and that is the BF76

When Bomb Factory first released their plug-in version of the 1176 it was revolutionary to Pro Tools. Many people raved about how it may not sound quite as good as the real thing, but it still sounded damn good and you can have as many of them as you want. Like the EQIII, for a free plug-in it’ll handle the job and it can be used on any system. It can be found in the Free Bombfactory Plug-Ins bundle on Digi's website. Lastly, I wanted to mention the TimeShift plug-in just

because it’s so important to post production.

This AudioSuite plug-in combines the pitch shifting and time shifting features of the previous versions into one plug-in but the most important feature is a significant sonic improvement. If you use the TC/E tool, you can set the Pro Tools preferences to take advantage of that. From the picture below you can also see that you can choose presets optimized for the type of material that you are working on.

To download any of these plug-ins, go to www.digidesign.com. On the right hand side in the Quicklinks section, click on ‘Pro Tools Plug-Ins’.