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Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
"What you cannot hear, Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst shows it to you, for free!"
Price: Freeware
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - Real Time Spectrum Analysis Plug-in (VST, Audio Unit, VST3, AAX) (Freeware)

Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst is a free spectrum analyzer plug-in that lets you monitor the spectral content of your audio signal in real time.

MacOSUniversal BinaryWindows Vista or newerWindows x64 (64-bit)VSTVST3AAX64-bit AAXAudio Unit
Also in Bundle: Free Pack

This plug-in has been designed to provide extreme smoothness and high resolution for both time and frequency: unlike most spectrum analyzers, Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst is able to display continuous variations even with a very high frequency resolution, thanks to its unique smooth interpolation algorithms.

Most aspects of the audio to frequency display conversion can be managed, which lets you total control over the monitoring. A special thresholding system has been developed to help you see the important parts of the spectrum easily. In case you need extra precision in a particular frequency range, you can zoom the display and check the part of the graph you are interested in.

This plug-in supports Blue Cat's skinning language, so that you can customize the user interface to your personal needs.

For more advanced capabilities, check Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst Pro plug-in, an extended version that offers many more features, such as saving/restoring curves, precise measurement tools, 3D spectrogram view, MIDI output. For multiple tracks analysis, you can use Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst Multi plug-in.

Main Features:

  • Mono and stereo real time spectrum analyzer.
  • Total control over the audio to frequencies tranformation.
  • Smart interpolation algorithm for extreme display smoothness.
  • Zoomable display with multiple sizes.
  • Custom absolute and relative thresholds.

Blue Cat Audio Standards:

  • Available in most plug-in formats for Mac and Windows.
  • Full MIDI control and automation support, MIDI Learn.
  • No CPU load on idle: processing shuts down when fed with silence (optimal CPU usage).
  • Customizable user interface with transparency & zoom.
  • Smooth Bypass: noiseless plug-in activation / deactivation.
  • Undo/Redo.
  • Full featured integrated presets manager.
  • Copy/paste the state of the plug-in between instances.
  • Any sample rate supported.
User's GuideOn The BlogTutorialsNewsletter

Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - Real Time Spectrum Analysis Plug-in (VST, Audio Unit, VST3, AAX) (Freeware) Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - Small display size Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - Control the opacity of the plug-in window and continue working on your project while the analysis is running. Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - Large display size Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst - select and zoom with a simple mouse drag.

User Comments & Reviews

Blue Cat strikes again with another quality product! [...] I really enjoyed this one on the last mix-down I had to do. It did a nice job and was pretty accurate. Jean-Patrice Remillard, www.pheek.com

"Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst has been tested by the Softpedia labs and found to be completely clean of adware/spyware components. We are impressed with the quality of your product and encourage you to keep this high standards in the future."

"100% FREE award" granted by Softpedia
- www.softpedia.com
Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst was granted the '100% FREE Award' by Softpedia - Click here for more information

To add your own comment about this product, please contact us.

Downloads

MacOS

Need help with downloads? Click here!

System Requirements

MacOS

  • An Intel or Apple Silicon processor.
  • Mac OS 10.9 or newer.
  • Any VST / Audio Unit / AAX compatible application (64-bit) .

Windows

  • An SSE2-enabled processor (Pentium 4 or newer).
  • Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10.
  • Any VST / AAX compatible host software (32 or 64 bit).

For more information about supported platforms, see our Knowledge Base.

Versions History

V2.43 (2024/02/15)

  • Fixed GUI performance issues on MacOS 14 (Codename Sonoma).

V2.42 (2022/12/12)

  • Added Apple Silicon support for AAX Plug-in Format.

V2.41 (2022/09/02)

  • Added an option in global & preset input settings to send MIDI events when MIDI-enabled parameters are modified in the plug-in (to update control surfaces accordingly).
  • Improved undo management and automation when using the mouse wheel to move knobs.
  • VST: improved parameter value display in some host applications.
  • Mac: installers and plug-ins have been notarized to avoid security warnings on Mac OS Catalina and newer.
  • Mac: fixed user interface display issues on early versions of MacOS 10.9.
  • VST3: fixed some parameter update issues in some hosts.

V2.4 (2022/01/03)

  • Native Apple Silicon (M1 processor) support.
  • Dropped 32-bit support on Mac.
  • Now requires MacOS 10.9 and newer.
  • Added MIDI control support (MIDI CC messages) for Next and Previous Preset commands, with MIDI learn.
  • Improved MIDI & automation control settings with lock, reset and "save as global setting" capabilities.
  • Unicode support.
  • Reduced the number of threads used by the plug-in.
  • Reduced memory footprint.
  • VST3: fixed random crash in Ableton Live 11 upon load.
  • VST3: fixed parameters update issues in Studio One when bouncing tracks.

V2.32 (2020/12/15)

  • Arrow keys can now be used to navigate presets.
  • Improved smooth plug-in bypass (faster and smoother transition).
  • New high resolution graphics for knobs.
  • Reduced disk footprint.
  • Misc DSP performance enhancements.
  • Windows: improved GUI loading performance.
  • Mac Audio Unit: fixed plug-in listing in some host applications (Plogue Bidule).
  • Mac: fixed GUI performance issues on native P3 displays and improved performance on other displays.
  • Mac: fixed mouse wheel that required large movements to change parameter values.
  • Mac: fixed mouse cursor flickering issues.
  • Mac: fixed Esc key not closing fine edit parameter dialog.

V2.31 (2019/12/20)

  • MIDI Program Change preference is now saved into session instead of global preferences, so each instance can now use different MIDI channels. It is also saved in the user default preset.
  • VST3: added program change support for VST3 plug-in format.
  • Mac: much faster GUI rendering on recent Mac OS systems.
  • Mac: fixed user interface not properly shown on retina displays in some applications built with the 10.14 Mac OS SDK (Cubase 10.5 for example).
  • Mac: fixed settings panel rendering issues in dark mode on Mac OS Mojave and newer.
  • VST: the user interface is now properly resized in Cubase on Windows when loading skins.
  • Dropped support for legacy RTAS plug-in format.

V2.3 (2018/12/13)

  • Refreshed GUI design, with improved usability and improved touchscreen support.
  • The GUI can now be zoomed from 70% to 200%.
  • Added Retina displays support on Mac (text and graphs using high resolution).
  • Spectrum analysis is now performed in the background and does not affect audio performance.
  • Last loaded preset is now remembered in session and displayed in the presets menu.
  • Plug-in state can now be reverted to the last loaded preset.
  • New installer on Mac.
  • Fixed minor compatibility issues with Mac OS High Sierra and Mojave.
  • Dropped support for Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.6 and earlier.
  • Dropped support for legacy DirectX plug-in format.
  • Fixed: audio did not pass thru the plug-in in some VST3 hosts.
  • Fully compatible with previous versions of the plug-in (except for VST3 on Mac, as explained below).

Warning: because of a bug of the initial VST3 release, this new version may not work with existing sessions that used the VST3 format. See this blog post for more details and how to fix it.

V2.2 (2016/03/03)

  • VST3 plug-in format support.
  • Custom skins can be selected directly from the main menu.
  • Presets can now be selected using MIDI Program change and bank select messages (optional).
  • Last loaded preset can now be saved directly from the presets menu without having to select the file.

V2.1 (2014/01/09)

New Features:
  • Copy/paste the plug-in's current state from the presets menu using the system clipboard.
Improvements:
  • Reduced the plug-in's memory usage.
  • Windows VST Installer now remembers where the plug-in was initially installed to simplify upgrades.
  • (Mac) plug-in version number is now available when using "Get Info" in the Finder.
  • (Mac) Improved display of Audio Unit parameters in most host applications.
Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed window frame not showing with Cubase 7.5 (32-bit) on Mac.
  • (Mac) About window does not show up first in the corner of the screen anymore.
  • (Win) Alt-Click on a control now resets the value to default in Pro Tools, as expected.
  • Fixed version number reported to host application for VST and Audio Unit versions.

V2.02 (2013/06/21)

New Features:
  • 64-bit AAX support for Pro Tools 11.
  • Audio Suite support for offline processing in Pro Tools (AAX).
Improvements:
  • The windows installer now automatically detects the most appropriate VST install path.
Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed AAX version not showing up in Pro Tools 10.3.5 on Windows.
  • (RTAS) Fixed parameters control with EUCON control surfaces in Pro Tools.
  • Fixed user interface issues in Final Cut Pro X.
  • Fixed compare button issues in Pro Tools.
  • Mac-VST: Fixed window resize issues on Cubase and Nuendo (Mac).
  • Mac: Control MIDI settings dialog now brought back to front when already opened in the background.

V2.01 (2012/04/23)

Bug Fixes:
  • AAX/RTAS on Mac: Fixed audio engine freeze or error issue with Pro Tools on some Mac configurations.
  • AAX on Mac: Fixed compare button that did not work well when using factory presets or any preset created on Windows.
  • Performance improvement when running under high CPU load for other platforms.

V2.0 (2012/03/28)

New Features:
  • New animated user interface with multiple display sizes.
  • New integrated presets manager:
    • Load/save presets from the plug-in's user interface.
    • Organize presets with folders.
    • Customize the default preset.
    • Exchange presets easily.
  • Automation range and response curve can now be customized for each parameter.
  • Automation and MIDI settings (channel, MIDI learn etc.) are now accessible from the main user interface.
  • AAX plug-in format is now also supported on Windows.
Improvements:
  • Plug-in name has been shortened for a clearer display in mixer view for most host applications.
  • Changed the default VST install path on Windows.
  • Improved default response curve for automation and MIDI control.
  • Added new presets.
  • Improved value display in fine edit window.
  • Improved user manual.
Optimizations and Performance Improvements:
  • Reduced VST plug-in loading time.
  • Improved parameters precision (now stored as 64-bit).
  • More compact presets format (uses less space and loads faster).
  • Smaller binaries on Mac (dropped PowerPC support).
Bug Fixes:
  • Fixed presets-related crashes in Cubase on Mac.
  • Fixed user interface display issues in Wavelab on Mac.
Note: this new version can be installed side by side with the previous version for backward compatibility reasons: installing this new version won't break your previous projects.

V1.71 (2011/02/10)

  • Fixed keyboard focus stealing issue in Pro Tools and several other host applications.
  • 64-bit Mac VST support.

V1.7 (2010/12/01)

  • 64-bit Mac VST support.
  • User interface enhancements:
    • Improved readability.
    • Select and zoom with one click.
    • Drag the rulers to move the curve when zoomed
    • Zooming is now animated.
    • Improved consistency with our other analysis tools.
  • Performance improvements (the plug-in now requires an SSE2-enabled processor).
  • Default release time is now shorter.
  • Fixed issue with Freeze button not freezing all curves on the stereo version.

V1.52 (2010/03/19)

This update only concerns the RTAS version of the plug-in:
  • RTAS plug-in bug fix: when using both the mono and stereo versions in the same session, the controls of the instances were linked together.

V1.51 (2010/02/25)

  • Space bar does not trigger plug-in buttons anymore (avoids conflict with transport control in most applications).
  • Win x64: fixed issue with some hosts not opening the plugins.
  • Win x64: fixed issue with settings window that was not displayed properly in some hosts.
  • Mac: fixed keyboard/mouse focus issues in some hosts.
  • Mac: fixed multiple screens issue.

V1.5 (2010/01/30)

  • RTAS plugin format support for Pro Tools (Mac and Windows).
  • 64-bit applications support for Windows DX and VST under Windows x64.
  • Mac AU 64-bit format support (compatible with 64-bit Logic 9.1 on Snow Leopard)
  • Mac: fixed user interface crashes in some hosts under Snow Leopard.
  • Fixed MIDI learn issues.

V1.4 (2009/11/20)

  • RTAS plugin format support (final beta stage - currently available with the Free Pack only)
  • Mac: fixed keyboard/mouse focus issues in some hosts.
  • Mac: fixed user interface crashes in some hosts, when used with particular display settings.
  • Mac-AU: fixed user interface resizing issue when changing skin in some hosts (Logic).
  • Mac-AU: fixed settings lost issue when doing offline rendering in some applications.

V1.3 (2009/09/21)

  • New Windows Installer (much faster install, improved upgrades).
  • Bug Fix (PC): Cubase freezes when loading a preset using a different skin while the plugin window is open.
  • Blue Cat's Skinning Language 1.6.1 support.

V1.21 (2009/05/05)

Mac VST update: fixed incompatibility issues with Cubase 5 on Mac.

V1.2 (2009/02/03)

Mac Audio Unit Support.

V1.2 (2008/11/21)

  • First Mac version.
  • New skins with enhanced usability and new look and feel.
  • New toolbar to access main features.
  • Undo/Redo.
  • Import/Export presets in a host and platform independent format.
  • Smooth Bypass: activate/deactivate the plugin with absolutely no noise.
  • Improved parameters display in host application and settings window.
  • Improved graphical display performance and smoothness.

V1.1 (2007/10/18)

  • Undo/Redo.
  • Load/Save presets in a host-independent format: you can now share presets between the directX and VST versions.
  • New toolbar to access main functionalities.
  • Improved skin loading speed.
  • Improved user interface performance.
  • Reduced memory consumption when using several instances.
  • It is now possible to choose wether displayed curves are filled or not.
  • Improved the display of parameters values in the MIDI settings panel and the host application.
  • Bug fix (VST): when loading a project or changing presets, some host applications could hang.

V1.0 (2007/01/22)

First version.