Minimal Audio Announces Free Plugin “Formant” Ahead of Flagship Vocal Suite
Minimal Audio is about to drop a new free plugin called Formant, and after trying it myself, I can say it’s a surprisingly powerful little tool. Formant is all about vocal tone shaping like shifting the character of a voice without changing its pitch, and it does this in a way that feels effortless.
When I loaded it up, the first thing I noticed was how clean and minimal the interface is. The XY pad makes exploring different tones almost playful, and I found myself dragging the cursor around just to hear how drastically a vocal line could change. The addition of a tilt EQ is smart too, with just a quick move, I could brighten or darken a sound in seconds.
What impressed me most was how natural the results felt. I’ve used formant shifters before that made vocals sound robotic or warped, but this one stayed quite musical and transparent, I mean, until it is pushed further to radical levels. In one session, I tried to create backing vocals that felt like an entirely different singer, and in another, I gave a synth lead an almost vocal-like quality.
The fact that Formant is free is a great opportunity. Minimal Audio could have easily charged for something this useful, but instead they’re offering it as a no-cost introduction to their upcoming flagship plugin, Evoke, which they say will take vocal resynthesis to a whole new level. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for that.
If you work with vocals or just like experimenting with sound, I think Formant is well worth a spot in your toolkit. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and opens up creative options I didn’t expect from such a simple interface.
Formant will be available for free in AU, AAX, and VST formats for Mac and Windows starting on September 10.
Berk Öztuna, a musician from Istanbul, is skilled in handpan, percussion, and guitar, performing and recording his own compositions globally. With expertise in music production and audio technology, he integrates virtual instruments and sound design tools seamlessly into his work. He also writes insightful articles on music production and gear for platforms like Plugin Noise and shares his music on Spotify and Instagram.
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